Sometimes you read a book and everything about it is what you need in a given moment. The Poppy War combines the cosy magical school narrative with war, vengeance, addiction, drive and mythology. I’m not sure how much of this narrative is based on existing Asian mythology and how much is Kuang’s creation, but the world building and magic system in this book is wonderfully complex and fascinating. The main factor preventing this from getting 5* is the few loose ends which aren’t really resolved or addressed. While most of the plot points, passages and characters were incredibly well crafted, I felt there were a few moments that felt forced in; perhaps they will be addressed in the sequel. But holy fuck I could write essays on the genocide/war relevances of this book it’s so powerfully created i love!!