the story of this book is one so original and captivating, it's hard not to give it a high review. enough to where i'm forgiving it for the parts where our wires were crossed and the pacing muddy or times the character relationship didn't really make sense. in all, i'm here for it.

Thank you net Galli and the publisher for early access to this book. First of all, I loved her previous book so I was so excited to read this one! The cover and printed edges are everything. This book really made me think and I love that. I definitely recommend this book.

The Poppy Fields 🌺🌷🌻
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Shoutout to NetGalley for that early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. I am forever thankful and happy I got to experience this book.

I feel like this book was made for me in this time of my life. I’ve dealt with so much grief these past 3 years that I related so much to this book and story line. I loved Nikki’s book The Measure, which I read last year around the same time, that I was so excited for her next book.

The first question asked is: How far are humans willing to go for love and heartbreak? And I can tell you right now, the feeling of giving love and being loved is greater than any other feeling. But with great love comes great heartbreak where there will always remain a hole in one’s heart. As much as I wish I could endure the love of my father and grandmother in another form, it’s just not possible and I truly believe could never live up to the love that was engraved into me at birth for the two of them. But what would you do to heal that heartbreak?

“There is only one reason anyone would sleep at the poppy fields. Love. Love makes people do wild things, things they can’t understand, things they might have sworn they would never, ever do. So, were they ever to lose that love, I imagine they might do just about anything. But here’s the thing: they haven’t lost that love. They’ve lost the physical, the visible, the tangible layer of love, but not the love itself. The love itself endures. The love itself is baked into our memories….but the love itself is fragile and it put at risk by the sleep”

Ugh this story was gut wrenching, raw and full of emotion. For anyone going through grief, because it will happen, read this book! The characters that Nikki interweaves is so critical to the paths of their storylines and the realization of whether or not they go through with the experiment of sleep.

I would give anything to be able to read this again as if it was the first time, but I know this book will live with me for years to come.

This was such an interesting read! Much like Erlick's previous novel, The Measure, The Poppy Fields weaves together interesting characters and innovative storylines to make a thought-provoking book. I think this one will be an excellent pick for book clubs and people who like their novels to have a bit more substance.

I really wanted to love this one as I loved the Measure but this fell flat for me. It was slow=paced, filled with filler, and dragged on. I wasn't tethered to the story nor could I fully connect with characters. This might just be a me problem. But, all in all, it felt a little too slow/not what the premise of the book promised

Nikki Erlick has done it again! She is an incredible storyteller, and, if nothing else, her books will make you wonder and think just a bit differently.

If you liked The Measure, I would highly recommend The Poppy Fields.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me awhile to think about this book and formulate a review or write a response to this book. Poppy Fields is the newest innovation in medicine. It is available for people who are feeling unbearable grief from the loss of their loved one. Poppy Fields will put a grieving person to sleep, for 1-2 months, in order to ease the sadness. When you wake up, studies show that most patients will feel newly charged, the depression gone and the grief is now bearable. A possible side effect to the medication is that you are absolutely distanced from your loss and the memory has faded into the very distant background. Wow! Go to sleep and feel good after the death of someone close to you. This book balances the pros and cons of avoiding grief through the characters and their behavior. This has so many implications -- where would it stop? Could we get rid of all undesirable feelings? This book is interesting, the characters are likable and it made me think. Thank you to William Morrow Publishers and NetGalley for the complimentary ARC. This review is my own, honest opinion.

Another beautiful story from Nikki Erlick! I loved these characters and their own journeys with grief. This book had so many beautiful quotes about grief and how it affects us. Ultimately, it's about love! Nikki's writing is so beautiful and had me in tears multiple times. It felt transformative in my own experiences with grief and helped me in a way to be able to see others who are grieving in a different light. This was just a really, really good book! Probably one of my favorites of the year!

The way that I have not read “The Measure” yet but POUNCED on this ARC when it was offered to me 😂

The Poppy Fields is a remote treatment facility in California that offers a “treatment” of sorts for those grieving- it is new, experimental, and controversial. We meet Ava, Sasha, Ray, and Sky- a rag tag group of individuals that find each other amongst their individual journeys with grief and how The Poppy Fields has affected them.

This was more literary than I was anticipating, but I found that it worked for this story. Each character has a distinct experience with grief and opinion on The Poppy Fields I thought was very thorough. I think there’s a lot of relatable content here while offering a different perspective on how different people, grieve differently (don’t take a shot every time I type the word grief, lol). Incredibly well-written but easy to digest. I’d say this would be a great one for anyone that may be looking to dip their toe into speculative fiction. It definitely has that aspect to the story, but reads more like literary fiction and provides a lot to think about/relate to on the topic of grief (there I go again!).

Though I enjoyed this one a lot, I didn’t connect with as much as some other character driven novels I’ve read this year, so the rating struggled there a little bit for me. But I did like it enough to move “The Measure” up on my TBR, and I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Nikki Erlick might be the queen of speculative fiction. The Measure is a favorite of mine, and although this one didn’t quite live up to the hype of that one, I did enjoy it. The concept was really interesting, I just wasn’t invested.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. The Measure is one of my all time favorite books. The Poppy Fields is completely different, but I couldn't put I down. It was so interesting and great.

Rating: 3.5

The Poppy Fields is a novel that looks at how we deal with grief with a dash of The Wizard of Oz. In the future, if you're having problems dealing with grief, there is the possibility of visiting the Poppy Fields. It's a controversial treatment center that will allow applicants to stay in a sleeping state for 4 or 8 weeks to deal with whatever grief you're dealing with. A group of three unknown individuals go on a road trip to the Poppy Fields each with their own agendas. Along the way we learn the stories behind these three individuals and the people they meet along the way.

I found The Poppy Fields to be an interesting concept for a novel. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs throughout, where different chapters would be told from the perspective of a specific character. I did find the ending somewhat unsatisfying and a bit rushed. This book is ripe for book club discussions, just like Erlick's previous novel The Measure. Erlick has a way with writing novels that have fantastical elements in a real world setting that are compelling to pick up. I look forward to seeing what she'll write for us in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

I wanted to love this more than I did. In theory, it should have worked with the grief-exploration and speculative aspects. The concept was intriguing. A few things kept me from rating it higher like dialogue that felt unnatural to me and a sense that the characters kept me at an arm's length. But overall, I still liked this and will definitely read more by this author. A full review is posted on my website at: cassieetter.com/eclecticallybookish/reviews/the-poppy-fields

I was really excited to read another book by this author because The Measure is still one of my all time favorite books, and I've had some of my favorite conversations around the topics in that book. I was hopeful that I would be able to have similar conversations about this book too! And as much as I feel like I could, unfortunately this fell flat for me. Instead of more of the book being focused on the idea of the sleepers, it kind of became more of a found family type story of them going on the road trip, and I just kind of found myself bored. It was an interesting concept overall but unfortunately the execution wasn't up to my hopes for the book.

The Poppy Fields is a stunning novel about the complexities of grief. This is a book that will make you THINK - Nikki Erlick has a way of capturing deep, profound thoughts/topics in a matter of a few lines. I really appreciate the thought and creativity she puts into her writing! She has a way of encompassing the human experience that makes you feel seen, but also helps you understand others just a little bit better too.

The only thing I knew before starting The Poppy Fields was that it was about grief. Going in fairly blind allowed me to soak in every part of the story. I was pleasantly surprised with the roadtrip aspect of this book and I liked the different stories and media (newspaper articles, interviews, etc.) woven in throughout the novel. The twists were well done and helped tie everything together! The story started off a little bit slow, but was well worth it as I devoured the last half. I will be thinking about The Poppy Fields for a long time!

I absolutely loved The Measure so I was eagerly awaiting and looking forward to this book! While I started out instantly engaged and curious in its unique storyline, I unfortunately finished the book with mixed feelings. I once again loved this author’s thoughtful exploration of challenging topics, the creative premise, and the characters...but I found myself losing interest about 2/3 of the way through. I did end up happy with the ending but it was much slower and character driven than I expected. This all being said, this author won me over with her first book and I will absolutely be looking forward to her next read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

This was a story about grief and road trips. It’s a story about finding a way through the broken hearts we inevitably face from time to time. Erlick has a knack for taking an ordinary dilemma or question in life and creating an answer that makes you think—would you sleep away your grief if you could?

In the story, overachiever Ellis Jones starts an experimental treatment center that invites those suffering from grief to sleep away their pain for 1-2 months. Meanwhile, a trio of strangers come together to make their way to The Poppy Fields, each for their secret reason. And as they get closer, we learn some of their secrets.

This story had two common themes I’m seeing in books today. Mainly, sadness and road trips (I believe there are three new releases currently with road trips). These seem to be themes popping up in many stories this year. It was an interesting premise, and Erlick’s writing was strong, but the story didn’t land for me. I enjoyed the three characters as they grew closer on their road trip, but I never fully connected to the story. The ending was well-done, and overall, the story makes you think about how we handle our grief. Is it better to ignore or bypass it, or do you need to move through it? These are essential questions. But unfortunately, the story itself didn’t work for me.

I had loved ‘“The Measure” and was thrilled for the chance to review this book. Overall it was extremely well written with a great cast of characters. The story is centered around how we as humans deal with grief and loss. Though a bit of science fiction concept - this feels so realistic as if it is something that could happen in our society. I loved reading this; my only reason for 4 instead of 5 is that I felt like I was waiting for “something” more to happen.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher! I look forward to reading anything that Erlick puts out.

This book was so interesting. The author, Nikki Erlick, truly has such a great imagination and her ability to create these amazing stories is truly incredible. I loved her first book and this second one was great too.

Can you imagine sleeping your grief away? What a concept! That’s the premise of The Poppy Fields. The way the different characters were woven together with the “sciencey” bit of how the sleep works was done so well. I also enjoyed the snip bits of interviews and articles.

There were a few parts that felt like they dragged on for a bit, but overall this was a great read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

The Poppy Fields is about a group of people who find themselves on a road trip together; all connected by grief and a desire to reach the illusive Poppy Fields, where a scientist has discovered a way to heal traumatic grief by inducing sleep for 1-2 months. Though this book has several elements I typically love: a speculative premise, found family, and a road trip, I just didn't connect with it in the way some readers might.

Though the premise is speculative, the story really focuses on grief and guilt. I am privileged not to have a deep connection to those themes and am not connected to stories that explore them right now. Aside from that, I had a hard time keeping the female characters straight with the multiple POV structure. I also felt like there was a lot of telling and not showing who the characters were which hindered my emotional investment.

This book may speak to some people deeply, but it was just okay for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy. The Poppy Fields released on June 17, 2025.