A review by kaylaswhitmore
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wonderfully frustrating and painful. It took me a second to get accustomed to Kuang’s fast-paced style, and by the end of this first book I wasn’t totally convinced that this series is better off a trilogy than a longer chain of books, but I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless. If anything, I think of that as mostly a compliment, as I wish we would have had even more time dedicated to her world and it’s characters. One of my main critiques is that Kuang tends to let her supporting cast lay dormant when Rin is not with them, which can sometimes lead to two-dimensional stakes, but the upside is that the interactions we do see are often exceedingly charming or absolutely infuriating in the best way. A praise is that her use of real life inspiration is both ironic and rather devastating. I assumed coming into the book that certain historical events would be referenced, and it was still somehow even more disturbing to actually read through (
Spoiler The Rape of Nanking
). I’m very excited to finish the trilogy and hope there’s some level of happiness waiting for our dear characters by the end. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings