So a while back I read The Poppy War, & holy canned creamy cannoli, this book was so bad I didn't even make it to the main conflict. I think we've all heard of show-don't-tell before, but this author hasn't apparently, so the entire beginning is smothered in info dumps. The book decided to start us in the middle of something happening, which is smart to hook your audience, but the second it assumed we were hooked we're immediately given a flashback in time to explain the story up to where we're at. Now normally, this is ok, but not when that backstory is insanely long, but it gets worse, because the character is studying, we then get info dumps inside of an info dump, that is a guarantee your readers are going to be disinterested & drop the book. Plus, once we finally do get into the part of the story where we were in the present, it still felt like we were being told what happened, rather than experiencing it, which by that point I put down that book as fast as I could & didn't look back. The Poppy War is a good book for the rare few people who like their fantasy stories structured like a science article. If you want a decently similar trilogy that's actually a good read, definitely check out Shadow & Bone, but the books, not the Netflix show, that show was a disappointment that I'm honestly glad got cancelled(For a series so obviously deeply set in Russian culture & history, it astounds me how none of the Russian characters were actually Russian in that show. I know its cuz they want to be more diverse since most of the characters are white & all, but they're white because it's based off of Russia, & Russians honestly don't get as much representation in media unless they're some of of weird villain, Rasputin, or if a character being Russian was just throw in there without any relevance to the actual plot. Enough about the show though.) The book is amazing, with the worldbuilding & back stories being rich & deep, but not all served up to you on a plateful of paragraphs. Each time a bit of lore is dropped, it leaves you wanting to read more & find out the rest. Plus, attractive characters & also Toyla, what's not to love??
