boliv3 's review for:

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
2.0
dark informative sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
I stopped reading so many times because I was so annoyed. The main character is aggravating and incompetent, the “historical” element reads like a textbook and something to validate the fiction, and those parts are like tragedy porn. There were also several discrepancies and contradictions in the plot that made the story hard to follow. The character development to justify all the tragedy never happened. The characters with any depth went to waste. And yet I’m reading the second book to know what happens.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings