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

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

4.75

The only reason it doesn't get the full 5 stars is because it's a VERY slow start. Reading this in 2022 as a BIPOC female in the US it RESONATED. I felt this so deeply while reading it. One of my favorite things so far is that none of the characters are inherently good or bad. There is no black or white. It's varying shades of grey because everyone things that where they are coming from is what is best. There are a lot of things that really resonate with me but I feel like that is the most nonspoilery thing I can mention. The last like 150 pages I spent them as an absolute mess crying as everything just kind of toppled over around me. I love this book and will be doing a reread with a much deeper annotation once I've finished the series. 
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