The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1) opens Goodreads in a new tab

My thoughts

Obvious 5/5stars Oh I finally finished this book, imagine what other wonders does 2021 have in store :P This is one of those books where I knew it in my heart even when I wasn't even halfway through it that it's gonna be a good 5 stars for me (unless obviously they did some real fucked up shit in the end or carved out a love triangle or something you know) and that's exactly what happened AND I LOVE TO SEE IT, CANNOT WAIT TO GRAB MY HANDS ON THE REMAINING TWO BOOKS OF THE TRILOGY If there is a divine creator, some ultimate moral authority, then why do bad things happen to good people? And why would this deity create people at all, since people are such imperfect beings? If you don't already know, this book has- 1. Fantastical military school with some sort of secret magic going on 2. Beautifully built world based on modern Chinese history 3. Shamans and gods and magic and Pantheon 4. Detailed characterization which made me fall in love and grow oh so attached to so many of them 5. Opium-smoking mentors who are also fucking smart and adorable I MEAN HOW COOL IS THAT what's not to love about this whole thing, combined with the fact that I shipped these two so hard, pls I was dying to see something, a little bit of anything happen between them :/ “Nothing is written," said the Phoenix. "You humans always think you're destinied for greatness. Destiny is a myth. Destiny is the only myth. The gods choose nothing. You chose. You chose to take the exam. You chose to come to Sinegard. You chose to pledge Lore, you chose to study the paths of the gods, and you chose to follow your commander's demands over your master's warnings. At every critical juncture you were given an option; you were given a way out. Yet you picked precisely the roads that led you here. You are at this temple, kneeling before me, only because you wanted to be. I am secretly very much hoping and wishing that in the next book of the series Nehza somehow comes back to life and I FINALLY GET TO SEE THE SHIP I HAVE BEEN DYING TO SEE SINCE CHAPTER ONE OF THIS BOOK, pls their chemistry is so?!??!?@??##?#?$?$? CWs for the book: This book is pretty heavy with it's details, def on the darker side, please look into the content warnings before starting to read it. Here is a list of all things I could remember( I might have missed out a few, there was a LOT happening)- Genocide; self-harm; drug use; substance addiction; misogyny; abuse; animal cruelty; rape; death (often graphic); torture; child death; starvation; mutilation; bodily experimentation; gaslighting; suicide; cannibalism (alluded to off-page, committed by background characters).