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

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

3.75

First of all, really well written and loved the first half but after that quickly realized it’s not for me because I wasn’t really rooting for the main character once I realized where it was heading. I didn’t really feel the connections with supporting characters either though I wanted more of the existing connections to lead somewhere (maybe it does in the next few books but I don’t see how it can get better after where it ended). I did find the ties to real historical events interesting though I had read about the history of the war before and it was just as gruesome as I remember and the „justice“ at the end was purposefully not satisfying. Just too dark for me but again, really well written and I had trouble putting it down in between.   
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