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A review by asaph95
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
4.0
3.75* rating
- Writing: 3/5
- Plot: 4/5
- Characters: 2/5
- Overall enjoyment 4/5
I didn't know how to rate this book because it took me ages to get through it. It lost my interest about halfway through but I was determined to finish it and I'm glad I did.
It's taken me a while to get my thoughts in order for this book but I'm finally ready.
CONS
* Worldbuilding - Or the lack of worldbuilding rather. The setting was vague, I don't really know or understand what the world looks like, there was a lack of atmosphere and ambience and that made it difficult to get lost in. The infodumps in this book. Oh my god. There were pages and pages of textbook-like paragraphs trying to explain things and it was awful to read. It didn't blend in nicely with the writing or the story, it was just like reading a textbook.
* Our lovely MC - No. I just did not like her at all. She was impulsive and annoying. She was literally the whiniest brat I've ever had the privilege of reading about.
* Characters - Hi, nice to meet you random-ass characters that disappear halfway through the book and hello new characters we know NOTHING about but are supposed to care for??? Excuse me, Ms Kuang please can we have some backstories for the characters so we can actually give a shit about them? Thanks :)
* Pacing - The pacing was all over the place. The first section of the book was good, the school setting was interesting but then we jump a few years into a war and it's like what the hell just happened?! Weird.
PROS
* The story itself - I really enjoyed the story, I enjoyed reading about the battles. I enjoyed how fucking dark it was. It made me feeeeel and I enjoyed that.
* Where the story is going - I'm interested in where it's going. I like that there's a blurring of morals and that we may possibly be following a villain.
Overall, I had a lot of issues with this book but for some reason I just really enjoyed it despite these issues. I can't put my finger on it, but I rate my overall enjoyment higher than worldbuilding or character development. If the worldbuilding sucks, then I'll just come up with my own in place of it. If the characters suck, then usually I'll DNF that shit but in this case, I'll let Kuang off as it's her first book and I'm hoping that there's some character development and backstories in the sequels. That being said, I think Rin has had an incredible arc in this book and I like where she's going. She's annoying and whiny but she's also a savage and I like that.
- Writing: 3/5
- Plot: 4/5
- Characters: 2/5
- Overall enjoyment 4/5
I didn't know how to rate this book because it took me ages to get through it. It lost my interest about halfway through but I was determined to finish it and I'm glad I did.
It's taken me a while to get my thoughts in order for this book but I'm finally ready.
CONS
* Worldbuilding - Or the lack of worldbuilding rather. The setting was vague, I don't really know or understand what the world looks like, there was a lack of atmosphere and ambience and that made it difficult to get lost in. The infodumps in this book. Oh my god. There were pages and pages of textbook-like paragraphs trying to explain things and it was awful to read. It didn't blend in nicely with the writing or the story, it was just like reading a textbook.
* Our lovely MC - No. I just did not like her at all. She was impulsive and annoying. She was literally the whiniest brat I've ever had the privilege of reading about.
* Characters - Hi, nice to meet you random-ass characters that disappear halfway through the book and hello new characters we know NOTHING about but are supposed to care for??? Excuse me, Ms Kuang please can we have some backstories for the characters so we can actually give a shit about them? Thanks :)
* Pacing - The pacing was all over the place. The first section of the book was good, the school setting was interesting but then we jump a few years into a war and it's like what the hell just happened?! Weird.
PROS
* The story itself - I really enjoyed the story, I enjoyed reading about the battles. I enjoyed how fucking dark it was. It made me feeeeel and I enjoyed that.
* Where the story is going - I'm interested in where it's going. I like that there's a blurring of morals and that we may possibly be following a villain.
Overall, I had a lot of issues with this book but for some reason I just really enjoyed it despite these issues. I can't put my finger on it, but I rate my overall enjoyment higher than worldbuilding or character development. If the worldbuilding sucks, then I'll just come up with my own in place of it. If the characters suck, then usually I'll DNF that shit but in this case, I'll let Kuang off as it's her first book and I'm hoping that there's some character development and backstories in the sequels. That being said, I think Rin has had an incredible arc in this book and I like where she's going. She's annoying and whiny but she's also a savage and I like that.