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

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

4.0

This book took me on a journey. It is split in three parts, and each part was so incredibly different for me. The first part was a bit slow, but I did quite like it. The academic setting worked great at kind of developing and explaining this world. It caused for a natural way to go into the history of this world. I also really liked the cast of side characters in this part of the novel. Their dynamics were really interesting. 
The second part of this book I wasn't as connected to, honestly. I still thought it was well crafted, but we got a switch in the cast of side characters and I wasn't as attached to them. I also thought Rin could get   a bit annoying in that part of the book. At times it felt like she was toddler doing a temper tantrum. However, it was neccecary for her character developement in the long run. I also feel like the plot was a little less interesting. It just felt a bit like a bridge between part one and three.
Talking about part three, I absolutely loved that part. It was extremely high stakes, and tense. It also got extremely brutal. The descriptions could be a bit much at times, so if you get very squeemish, keep that in mind. It truly got my heart racing, and it made me extremely excited to keep reading this series. I don't really know how to talk about it though without using any spoilers. So yeah, I did really like this book. It's just that the middle got a bit less interesting to me. 
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