jlautry 's review for:

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

3.5

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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 A war orphan earns her way into an elite military academy, and becomes a shaman with the ability to call upon Phoenix, the god of fire. 

 

This is the first in a series of three books. It gets rave reviews so I thought I’d give it a try. It was a good, solid read, even for someone like me who doesn’t really read fantasy. The storyline was good, the characters were interesting, and the world development was great. While I thought this book was good, I probably will not finish the series. I found myself skipping the parts heavy on the fantasy because it didn’t keep my interest. It is a long read (530 pages, small font, narrow margins), and the chapters are long, both of which are things I don’t like in books. Despite those things, it kept me, the non-fantasy reader, engaged for most of the book. 

 

Bottom line: If you like fantasy, you will most likely love this book. Please check trigger warnings before reading as it checks off nearly every one of them. However, 95% is in chapter 21, so if you’re concerned but still want to read it, just skip that chapter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Infertility, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment