the poppy war final review + new book pick

oh and an apology, I'm drained.

it took me the entire last week to finish the second half of the poppy war and i barely made it in time for book club. i’m talking last-minute, red-eyed, two-days-of-no-sleep kind of finish. my brain is fried. i’m drained. there was so much bloodshed. so much war. so many descriptions i cannot unsee. what a ride. what a world. what a debut, honestly.

the second half of the book took a sharp, vicious turn into full-blown military fantasy and said “you wanted pain? here you go!” it was like watching a slow descent into hell, and i couldn’t look away. rin's arc was devastating. the gods, the drugs, the moral collapse of it all... fuck. but it was also brilliant. brutal, but brilliant.

what shook me the most is that r.f. kuang doesn’t flinch. she doesn’t soften anything for the reader — she lets war be exactly what it is. cruel. dehumanizing. full of impossible decisions. and she writes it so sharply that i kept forgetting this was her first book. we’ll definitely talk more about this one in the comments, because there’s a lot to unpack and i have thoughts.

meanwhile, i’ve been packing and unpacking irl too. i moved this week (!!) and it has absolutely wrecked me. my body hurts. my brain hurts. everything is in boxes (everything I mean my books). but my new place has the most gorgeous bookshelves i’ve ever seen — we’re talking led lights, framed art, warm wood, the whole vibe. she’s a dream. the house is still under construction, so i haven’t unpacked my books yet, but once i do, i’m definitely doing a post on the forgotten gems i find in those dusty moving boxes. you know there’s treasure in there.

but first… a reset.

after something as emotionally intense as the poppy war, i think we need a palate cleanser. something with banter. something a little unhinged. something where people fall in love and don’t immediately go to war.

and since I am a romantic person at heart, and also a consumerist, i’ve decided its time to return to my basic bitch roots. and so, without further ado, the next book pick is:

say you’ll remember me by abby jimenez

abby’s books always leave me with lingering emotions and found feelings. they’re romance, yes, but they’re also about grief, healing, family, purpose — all the stuff that sits in your chest long after the last page. she always manages to crack me open in the softest possible way. and more often than not, i end up crying in bed. in a good way. mostly.

and as much as i’d like to finish this one alongside you in two weeks... i fear that may not be possible. i’m in dire need. of my annual abby dosage. i might read it too fast. i might reread it. i make no promises.

about my pick:

i’ve been waiting for this release for everrrr. basically since she dropped just for the summer last april. abby jimenez and emily henry are my april girls, my emotional reset queens, my seasonal therapy. i can’t believe it’s time again. it snuck up on me and yet — perfectly timed.

sooooooo i decided why not? the poppy war left me in a rut and there’s nothing better to climb out with than a little romance between a broody vet and a social media girlie like myself.

about the plot:

there might be no such thing as a perfect guy, but xavier rush comes disastrously close. a gorgeous veterinarian giving greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? immediately yes.

that is, until xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. like, really wrong. of course, there’s nothing samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…

...unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. but after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—samantha is forced to admit the truth: her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. she begs xavier to forget her. to remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.

but no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. and the only thing better than one perfect memory… is building a life—and maybe even a love—worth remembering.

yayyyyy see u sunday for a recap and even sooner I hope for my latest book recs!