meanieheadbookreviews 's review for:

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

dark sad tense

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 I think I’ve stumbled into yet another fantasy love triangle in a military academy. THEY CAN’T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS. I am OVER this premise. Excuse my outburst. I should point out that the romantic storyline is barely there, but I do think it’s brewing something for the subsequent books in this trilogy. It’s unfortunate that I read this after all the other fantasy love triangle military academy books, because I would have liked it more if I read it first. The main character isn’t a weak, meek idiot who grows into a badass. She’s an angry, poor kid who outsmarts her circumstances and works hard to develop her skill set. All for herself, no one else. That arc alone is a refreshing change for a female character in a fantasy book. This also offers great Asian representation in fantasy; a lot of the plot points and political structure is actually based on the Chinese civil war and the second Sino-Japanese war. The prose isn’t terribly literary—wish it was. The plot isn’t a clean arc. But the politics of war feel much more real and fleshed out than other books in this category. It’s actually pretty graphic when it comes to war crimes, rape, drug use. I guess I would recommend it… I just can’t read the other books in this series right now. I need a break from fantasy.