Ratings668
Average rating4
This morning I traded extra sleep to finish The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, this is an Adult fantasy and the author's debut! Set in the imaginary world of the Nikara empire that is based on historical China (which era I am not too sure as there are no guns or motorized vehicles but many scenes and events in the book are pulled from historical accounts of World War 2). This book was excellent, it had a morally gray and ambitious female main character, it never went where I expected it to go, and it presented these hard decisions that the main character had to make and it seemed no matter the choice it was never going to be the right one.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because it is an excellent read it had me hooked from the beginning and did not let me go. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because it is brutally heart wrenching. I most likely will not re-read this book and I definitely need a lighter and fluffier read because this it not a book you read to escape hard times. It's called The Poppy War it's about war and the author does not gloss over the horror that comes with such a conflict.
Trigger warnings for: self-harm, rape and sexual assault, child abuse, torture
Content advisory for: drug abuse, violence of all kinds
Recommended for fans of:
high fantasy
Asian inspired fantasy
war books
morally grey characters (heroes who aren't 100% good people)
a heroine's journey