✨The Poppy Fields ✨
By Nikki Erlick

Genre: Literary Fiction, Magical realism
Format: 📖+🎧
Steam: None
Publishes: 6/17/25
Publisher: William Morrow
Audiobook: HarperAudio
Narrators: Fabulous full cast- Marin Ireland; Dan Bittner; Stacey Glemboski; Graham Halstead; Mia Barron; Callie Dalton; Janina Edwards; Shawn K. Jain; Christian Barillas; Jason Culp

In a remote California desert lies the Poppy Fields, a controversial center offering a radical cure for heartbreak: a prolonged sleep to awaken healed, though not without potential shadowy side effects. Four strangers, each burdened by loss and secrets, embark on a transformative road trip to this mystical destination, forcing them to confront how far they'll go to escape their pain and what it truly means to heal.

As a huge fan of The Measure, I was incredibly excited for Nikki Erlick's new novel! The Poppy Fields did not just deliver, it surpassed my expectations. This beautifully crafted, thought-provoking story features a cast of such rich and complex characters. I loved discovering how their individual stories and grief journeys wove together throughout. The writing itself is stunning, filled with countless lines I found myself wanting to jot down and revisit.

The audiobook is brought to life with a full cast narration. I primarily enjoyed it during my solo evening walks after the kids were asleep, and it proved to be a perfect walking companion, offering significant food for thought during my sunset strolls. For anyone seeking a character-focused, thought-provoking exploration of the complexities of grief and loss and its diverse effects on people, this book is highly recommended. This will be a book that sticks with me. I loved it.

After taking a few days to reflect on 'The Poppy Fields', I've found it's a book that truly improves with digestion time. My initial rating was 4 stars, but upon further thought, it feels much more like a 4.5-star read for me.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

📖Read The Poppy Fields if you like reading about:
-Complexities of grief
-Magical realism
-Character driven story
-Complex characters
-Ethical dilemmas
-Speculative treatment and consequences
-Multiple POV

🙏 Thank you to Netgalley, @williammorrowbooks, HarperAudio, and Nikki Erlick for this ARC & ALC in exchange for my honest thoughts. The Poppy Fields publishes 6/8/25. 💖

This read was very interesting to me. I liked the concept of the poppy fields and I liked the various narrators we were following, however, I didn't feel connected to all of the characters which made me care less about the story as a whole. I liked the connections made between the characters and the overall discussions of grief and loss. I still think this is a well written, worthwhile read.

THIS WAS AMAZING! This is one of those reads that will stay with you forever, and I was hooked from the very first page. I would recommend this to anyone!

The Poppy Fields is a beautiful piece of fiction that touches on the experience of grief, loneliness, and the human condition. Each of the five characters is necessary in the way they eventually connect with one another and in the arc they have, and the impact they have on one another.

I appreciated that the ending didn't completely demonize the poppy fields but rather showed there are multiple ways to go about grief, and neither way is inherently wrong. It's just about the way that you want to heal. I felt that made the story more poignant in its final messaging.

The narration was great, I appreciated that the news clips and stories were separated out with different narrators.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and especially Nikki Erlick for the advanced copy of The Poppy Fields! After falling in love with The Measure, I couldn’t wait to dive into this one—and it absolutely lived up to the hype! Once again, Nikki has crafted a story that really makes you reflect on what you’d do if you could escape your pain. This will be my next pick for book club!, I already have friends in mind that I will be recommending this book too. While The Measure still holds a special place in my heart, The Poppy Fields is definitely right up there. I’m already excited to see what Nikki has in store for us next!

The poppy fields
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.25

This was a surprisingly good read considering it’s a genre I don’t read a lot of - speculative fiction. In Nikki Erlich’s The Poppy Fields, she asks a lot of poignant questions about loss, grief and the ways we manage and work through it. Leaving the reader pondering many moral ethics, including whether loss and grief is something we should feel as a part of the gamble of love, or whether science can possibly or should aim to erase this human experience.

📖 The Poppy Fields is a creation from the mind of scientist Ellis, allowing grieving patients to fall into a month long sleep and wake feeling at peace from the loss of a loved one. The books follows 4 main characters, one being Ellis, and the other three - Ray, Ava and Sasha, as they travel together to the Poppy Fields on their own individual missions. 📖

I found it interesting to note that those drawn to the Poppy Fields were often those whose losses and grief were also tied with regret. This alone left me thinking about how we interact with the ones we love and how to move through life purposefully, and without regret.

I would recommend this book widely to anyone, especially those drawn to thought-provoking books and speculative fiction. I would also highly recommend this as an audiobook for those who are new to audiobooks or those who love them. This full cast narration (led by Marin Ireland - a favourite to those who loved Beartown) was excellent.

Thank you to HarperAudio and Nikki Erlich for the Advanced Listeners Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautifully written book that explores grief and regret and how we as humans deal with it. It discusses what people go through when losing a loved one, how many cope, and it explores a new way to cope - to sleep for 1-2 months at the poppy fields. If you could sleep the grief away, would you? What if there is a 25% chance you will wake up no longer having strong emotions towards that person you were so crushed by losing?

This story follows a cast of characters that are thrown together by a series of events outside of their control, and yet it's like they were drawn together for a reason. Throughout the book we learn more about our four main characters, three thrown together, and the fourth - the creator of the poppy fields. Switching between characters perspectives we slowly uncover the truths behind their journey, and their feelings about the poppy fields. Meanwhile, we see the person who started it all deal with the decision of expansion and if they should allow it to be for profit and have people pay for treatment.

This book made me cry a couple times and teary-eyed countless more, it made me smile, and it made me appreciate life and how precious and fragile it is. More than that, it helps show how hard grieving a loss can be. That pain might never go away, but it can soften over time.

Hands down a must read! Thank you, William Marrow, for sending me an ARC & NetGalley for sending me an ALC! The full cast narration was fantastic!

Thanks to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for the advanced listener copy of The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick. I absolutely loved this book, and the narrators were amazing—truly bringing depth and emotion to every chapter. Nikki Erlick is now firmly on my auto-buy list!
The Poppy Fields follows a group of grieving individuals who travel to a medical facility in California offering an experimental sleep treatment designed to help people cope with profound loss. As the characters travel to reach their destination, the story moves between the present and flashbacks from their lives, gradually revealing what led them to this point—and what they’re hoping to find on the other side of grief.
The writing is heartfelt and powerful, with each storyline offering an authentic and emotional look at the many ways we process loss. I cried multiple times while listening. The characters' journeys felt real and relatable, especially the depictions of family dynamics and sibling relationships, which were a highlight for me. The slow unfolding of each person’s backstory kept me fully engaged throughout.
The one character I had a harder time connecting with was Ellis, the woman who founded the Poppy Fields. I personally didn't connect with her motivations, but she added an interesting layer to the narrative and raised compelling questions about the lengths we’ll go to in order to process or avoid pain.
Overall, The Poppy Fields is a stunning, emotional novel that blends science fiction elements with raw, honest storytelling. It’s about the ache of grief, the hope of healing, and the strength it takes to move forward after unimaginable loss. I can’t recommend it enough!

I thought the premise of this book was great! The mystery about each character and the actual poppy fields were very interesting. However, I don't think all the characters were needed, and the focus could have been narrowed down to have more of an emotional impact. Overall, I enjoyed that this was a lighter sci-fi read.

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Audio & Nikki Erlick for the advanced copy of The Poppy Fields! After loving The Measure, I was thrilled to read this one early... and it did not disappoint! Another story that definitely makes you think - what would I do if given the choice to sleep away my suffering? I think The Poppy Fields would make an excellent book club choice and I will be suggesting it for my book club in the future! While I still love The Measure more, this one was amazing as well. Can't wait to see more from Nikki Erlick in the future!

📖 Book Review 📖
🎧 "The Poppy Fields" by Nikki Erlick

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Expected publication June 17, 2025

I loved "The Measure" and was excited when I received this an audio ARC from @netgalley.  Another speculative story about a future where there was a cure for a broken heart. Grieving sent one to the Poppy Fields of California, an experimental, highly controversial treatment center where patients find healing in sleep. Similar in style to "The Measure" Erlick jumps characters until they all somehow fit together, giving readers their personal histories and backgrounds as the story goes. Ava is a book illustrator and the sister to Ellis, the founder of the Poppy Fields. Ava wishes Ellis didn't chose work over family and has decided to confront her. Ava's flight is canceled along with a few others so they all rent a car and travel together. Ray is a fireman, mourning the loss of his brother Johnny who went to the Poppy Fields and returned home different. He believes Ellis is sinister and wants to find out what happens at this treatment center. Sasha is an occupational therapist, dealing with the loss of her wedding and future plans. And then Sky a 18-year-old wanderer, searching for something in life. I really enjoyed the audio book and all the different narrators. This would be a great book club pick- exploring grief, the five stages, some people never able to find closure. Definitely a thought provoking book that opened my mind to what if one could be put into a deep sleep that would ultimately stop the grieving process.


#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

Multiple perspectives, character driven, and a journey story… count me in. Erlick follows the story of a handful of characters to explore how society would react to emerging technology.

An emotional gut punch journey. Beautifully written with relatable and real characters and a very interesting premise.

Many of us have experienced grief and its many shapes and forms. It isn't confined to a set of standards, it can't be shoved into a one size fits all, it varies from person to person and even loss to loss. Its realistic portrayal and the fine line between both grief and love in The Poppy Fields is so delicately handled. How the story weaves through each character is at times confusing but that I attribute that to multiple stories that while interlaced aren't individually created by the same threads which makes following via audiobook tricky. That said though, the narrators do a very good job.

If you had the choice to go to sleep for 2 months to wade through your grief and pain without having to bear the weight of it all and then wake up less burdened....would you do it? What if there was a risk of waking up completely numb to the loss devoid of those emotions and no longer missing the loved one? Risk your love? I wouldn't.

I've never read anything by Nikki Erlick before but I'll be looking into The Measure now!

Arc Reader- Audio

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and it wasn't what I expected. I think it was what I needed it to be though. This is a found family story about grief, the impact of a life lived, and how we can remember our loved ones without allowing their legacies to swallow us whole. I will admit that it did take me a little bit to get into the book, but once I did I was hooked. There was so much nuance and power in what was happening around these characters. I cried so many times that it was completely unfair. I was not aware of this author and her previous book, but based off of this book, I am interested in going back to read it.
I have struggled this last year with the death of my own mother and was listening this around the anniversary of that (poor timing probably) and I feel like that helped click some things in place for me. If you don't want to cry, don't read this book. But if you want to think about grief in a unique way, please do.

4.5 ⭐ rounded down

In a remote part of the California desert lies the Poppy Fields, a controversial treatment center offering a prolonged sleep cure for the broken-hearted, promises healing upon awakening, but an unpredictable side effect causes hesitancy for many. Four strangers—Ava, Ray, Sasha, and Sky—embark on a journey to reach the Poppy Fields, hoping to confront the enigmatic founder, Ellis. Along their way from the Midwest, their hidden pasts and secret motivations for making the trip are slowly revealed, and the trust they had built with each other begins to fade.

Nikki Erlick, once again, does speculative fiction brilliantly. She creates an absolutely fascinating concept, and takes the reader on an unpredictable journey of "what ifs". I'm not going to lie, I can see how the idea of prolonged sleep, similar to a hibernation, would be an appealing treatment for people experiencing deep trauma, and if this was real I can vividly imagine the loud controversy that this would lead to. Similar to her debut novel, The Measure, this book caused me to do a lot of self reflection and introspection. Additionally, the character back stories were expertly crafted and I cared deeply for them. What is keeping this from five stars for me personally is that the ending, while not bad, fell a little flat for me. I wanted to be really wowed, but ultimately I felt let down by the final moments of this novel. Regardless, this is a must read.

Thank you to HarperAudio and NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 star rating

To anyone who loved The Measure by this author, and/or anyone whose life has been touched by grief, get yourself in line for this one!

The Poppy Fields is a treatment center in the desert where individuals can go, at no cost, to sleep away their grief. The catch? 1/4 of those who undergo the treatment will wake up with no emotional attachment left to the person they are grieving. This can, for obvious reasons, create conflict with other friends and family members of the bereaved, and for this reason a large amount of controversy has developed around the center.

This novel is told in multiple perspectives, all with differing views of and plans surrounding the center. There is a bit of a road trip saga mixed into the plot, and the best part of the audiobook was getting to hear podcast transcripts and patient applications/interviews mixed in. Excellent narration by the cast! I will say, that this is a book I would still like to have the physical copy in front of me to keep track of the characters and highlight my favorite sections.

This is a book I will likely be buying and will want to share with anyone I know who is going through a time of grief in their lives. It offers many perspectives on grief and healing without feeling too heavy or sad.

My only critique is that it took a little bit of time for me to really feel engaged with the characters and the story, and it felt a little light on details. I would have liked to learn more about how the treatment worked and why.

Either way, I plan on picking this one up again in the future, and the book would make an excellent choice for book clubs.

Beautiful, thought provoking, and very insightful!

4.5⭐️

I'm pretty much strictly a mystery/thriller fan, so I think the fact that I love Nikki Erlick's books so much says a lot about her incredible talent. No matter what genre you prefer, you will be captivated by "The Poppy Fields" and Erlick's extraordinarily profound writing. After "The Measure," I had high hopes for this book, but I wasn't really sure what to expect. It was completely different, but it was also similar in how thought-provoking and compelling it was. I thought the book's main focus would be the treatment center, but much of the story is about the characters' journey from the Midwest to the Poppy Fields in California. Although I am not a sci-fi or fantasy reader, there were plenty of twists and emotional moments to keep me engaged and turning the pages. I loved the mystery element, of course, and I also enjoyed how character-driven this book was. This was such a beautiful story about love, loss, grief, and healing.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by a full cast, with the majority of the book being read by Marin Ireland. She did a fantastic job narrating the multiple POVs, and she has amazing versatility to voice a wide range of characters. I've listened to several of her audiobooks before, and she is such a delight. She brought a lot of heart, humor, and emotion to the story in all the right places.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

As was the case with Nikki Erlick's previous book, "The Measure," this book has an intriguing premise and is beautifully written. Four strangers are thrown together through different circumstances as they make they way to the Poppy Fields in the California desert, where they will undergo a controversial sleep cure to help them overcome grief. You get to know and feel invested in each character's backstory, and it's enjoyable to follow the growing friendships among the characters. I listened to the audiobook, which was performed beautifully by various narrators. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow and Harper Audio for the e-ARC and audio e-ARC of this original and thought-provoking book.

Nikki Erlick’s The Poppy Fields explores grief and how people want to do with it; how people want to heal. Everything begins in an airport, where we meet Ray. Sasha, and Sky (and PJ). They are all looking to go to The Poppy Fields for different reasons. The Poppy Fields is an experimental treatment center where they work with specific patients, typically going through grief, to be put into a sleep state for 6-8 weeks to help mute and process their pain. Due to a freak weather event, their travel turns into a road trip adventure.

It reminded me a lot of the book Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 due to how slow I felt the book was. It was hard to stick with at the beginning.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy of The Poppy Fields!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the exploration of the themes of grief through the characters on a road trip. I also like books centered around questionable research and its ethics as it makes for great discussions.

I did think though that the book spent to much time with the characters backstories, and still reading about them past the halfway way point felt like the story lost momentum and I became less invested in them.

Overall I genuinely liked this book and the questions regarding the subject matter it explores. Would make a great book club book!