Thanks to HarperAudio I got to read this one. I’m a huge fan of Nikki Erlick and will read anything she writes. I liked this one. Definitely was thought provoking.

I squealed in delight when I received my approval for the advanced audio copy of The Poppy Fields and it did not disappoint! With a dual cast narration, Nikki Ehrlich’s thought provoking novel was a compelling and emotional listen. Four strangers are brought together when their flight to California is canceled due to a hurricane warning. As the passengers decide to share a vehicle and road trip to their destination, we learn where and why they are traveling to California. Part science fiction, part dystopian and 100% engaging, this story is PERFECT for book club discussions. Ehrlich explores the many sides of grief, recovery, and the unique ways individuals experience and cope with loss. I was completely invested in this book and found myself questioning some of my own beliefs and ideas. Nikki Ehrlich has quickly become an auto-buy author. I wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy of The Poppy Fields. Audio production is outstanding!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio and author Nikki Ehrlich for my gifted audio copy. In exchange I have provided my honest opinion.

Audiobook Review: The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

Nikki Erlick’s The Poppy Fields is a beautiful, thought-provoking novel that gracefully explores the many unique ways individuals experience and process grief. Set in a near-future world where science has begun to offer new ways of understanding loss, the story remains deeply human at its core. Erlick’s ability to blend speculative technology with raw emotion creates a powerful narrative that feels both timely and timeless.

The audiobook version is especially moving, thanks to a stunning performance by the narrator, whose sensitive and nuanced reading brings each character's journey vividly to life. The narrator’s voice captures both the fragility and resilience of those navigating their sorrow, enhancing the novel’s emotional resonance. The Poppy Fields is a tender reminder that grief is not something to be fixed, but something to be honored — and that even as science evolves, the heart remains our greatest guide.

Another thought provoking novel by Nikki Erlick that inspires readers to reflect grief, forgiveness, and found family. This novel is told from multiple POV and the audiobook includes an entire cast of narrators, which I felt truly brought this powerful novel to life.

When your life has been upended by loss/grief, would you choice to sleep through your pain to wake up renewed? Would you still select healing if it came with a controversial risk factor? Four strangers come together on their journey to the poppy fields but each is drawn to this location for a different reason.

I absolutely could not put this audiobook down, I found the plot captivating and the characters relatable and well developed. The pace of this novel is slow but I felt it enabled the reader to reflect on their own journey and choices.

Thank you William Morrow and Harper Audio for the advanced copy!

Actually 2.5 stars. It makes me so sad to say this, but this book just wasn’t it for me. The Measure was my favorite read of last year so I was thrilled when I got the ARC to review. I loved the premise of the book and couldn’t wait to dive in. I kept waiting for the book to pick up, for them to get to the Poppy Fields. I guess I wanted to know more about how that worked. And then the book just ended so abruptly once they actually arrived there with really no conclusion at all. I know I’m in the minority here, so I’d say still give it a try if you loved The Measure. Thanks NetGalley and the pub for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How far are you willing to go to escape the grief over the loss of a loved one?
Would you be willing to risk the possibility a negative side effect from said escape?
Should we sit with our grief as to not discard any memories of a lost loved one?

These are the questions that you need to ask yourself in the Nikki Erlick’s “The Poppy Fields.”

Nikki Erlick has done it once again. She has created a book that sparks deeply controversial conversations. We follow the journey of several strangers who meet on their way to the Poppy Fields. In the Poppy Fields people can apply for the opportunity to stay at a facility to sleep away their grief of a lost loved one. It is completely paid for, but not everyone who applies is a candidate. A small cohort of people who wake up from the sleep experience an unfortunate side effect.

I love how the author is able to circle around and connect so many characters together in a six degrees of separation way. The writing and narration of the book was exceptional and kept pulling me in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this ARC of the audiobook!

I overall enjoyed this audiobook. I can see the story line being helpful to someone experiencing grief or allowing for a new consideration regarding death and grieving. There were lot of audio narrators, however if was still hard to keep track of who’se view point we were in. I would have personally enjoyed a wider variety of voices to be able to identify whose thoughts we were in.

Audiobook Review

I think this book would probably be best listened to! The narration is done by cast of characters and even has radio/tv narration which I found made listening so much better.

The story is about grief/loss and how we all deal with it differently. It’s about the “Poppy Fields” which is a facility that people can choose to apply to go to in order to sleep for 4-8 weeks after a traumatic event such as a death, divorce, etc. After they awake then they are able to deal with the grief and be themselves again, 3 out of 4 people anyway…. There’s the risk of the “side effect” but they all know the risk prior.

Overall I thought the story was thought provoking and cute. The characters are likable and relatable. Like I said before, I am not sure how I’d feel about a physical copy but the audiobook was great!

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Audio for an advanced download of the audiobook!

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

Pub date June 17
Publisher Harper Audio

3.5 stars

Synopsis: there is a new treatment for grief and heartbreak at a clinic called the Poppy Fields. The treatment involves sleeping in basically a medically induced coma for 4-8 weeks and the “sleeper” wakes up free from the grief and sadness they were feeling. This story follows four people, three of whom have differing relationships to the treatment and have come together to road trip to the Poppy Fields and the fourth is the scientist behind the treatment.

Review: 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

First, the writing style of this book is so great. Nikki Erlick writes absolutely beautifully. Second, the premise of this story is good and kept me interested to the end.

However, this story was way too character driven for my tastes. There is no plot to speak of and I wanted more plot. That’s a preference and no fault of the author obviously. This book is also all about grief and is a beautiful exploration of all the emotions that make up grieving. I wanted more to actually happen and I felt like the story became extremely predictable at a certain point.

The audiobook narration was wonderful and the added cast was effective for the format of the book. It was very well done.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harperaudio for the advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The Poppy Fields dives into the deeply personal area of grief and how individuals process it. The Poppy Fields is a treatment for grief where people sleep for 1-2 months and wake up healed. This book is multi-point of view following a cast of characters. I'm so sorry, but this book did nothing for me.

I LOVED The Measure and was very excited for Erlick's sophomore novel. It unfortunately fell flat. I felt like it would have been a great novella, but the story ran long repeating the same messages over and over again. Ultimately this was a DNF for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy audiobook. My opinions are my own.

There is only one reason anyone would sleep at the Poppy Fields. Love.

Wow! I really enjoyed this book. Definitely unique and a different take on overcoming grief.
I know for some grief is a sensitive and triggering subject. And sometimes hard to read. So keep your mental health in mind.

Nikki did a fantastic job when writing this story.
And the idea for the Poppy Fields was very interesting.

The Poppy Fields is a treatment facility when you can go to heal yourself from grief. All you do is sleep for 4-8 weeks. While under medical supervision.
We follow four characters who are on their own journey to the Poppy Fields. Ray, Sky, Sasha, Ava and her little dog too.

I definitely enjoyed the Wizard of Oz vibes. It made the story so enjoyable.

And we get a little mention from The Measure.

This would be a great book club choice! Just like the author's book, The Measure, Poppy Fields explores a controversial topic that will elicit strong feelings on both sides. I love how this book really made me think and process to form an opinion. There were some really powerful arguments for all sides of discussion, and some really great quotes pertaining to grief.
I really enjoyed the narration by Marin Ireland. Thankful to NetGalley for the chance to listen to this book.

3.5/5 Stars

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick offers a beautiful, surreal premise that pulled me in from the start: a mystical place where you can sleep for two months and wake up without the soul-gnawing weight of grief. Honestly, as someone who's lost someone close, I found the idea almost painfully tempting. Imagine being able to press pause on the hurt, just for a little while. To breathe again without every breath feeling like a betrayal of the person you lost.

Ellis, the enigmatic founder of the Poppy Fields, is one of the more compelling characters. Her intentions blur the line between healer and escapist cult leader, and I found myself both drawn to and suspicious of her. Her own loss shapes the fields, and while she offers peace, there’s this underlying question of whether it’s peace or just forgetfulness.

Ava, our protagonist, is raw and relatable. She’s grieving her grandmother (as well as her sister - the backstory there unfolds gradually and with care), and when she decides to travel to the center of the Fields with Sasha and Ray—two people she meets along the way who are also wrestling with their own pain—the book starts to feel like a grief pilgrimage, wrapped in dreamy prose. Their dynamic felt a little underdeveloped at times, but I appreciated how each of them brought something different to the journey: Sasha’s quiet resolve, Ray’s reluctant openness, Ava’s ache.

The book stumbles is in the pacing and emotional payoff. The journey inward (both literally and emotionally) feels a bit meandering, and while I didn’t expect every grief to be neatly sewn up, I wanted a little more clarity, a little more depth to the healing. The idea is huge, but the resolution felt a touch too dreamy to leave a lasting impact.

Still, The Poppy Fields gave me something to think about: What would I give up to stop hurting? And who would I be on the other side of that decision?

Not quite a full heart-healer, but a beautiful, imaginative meditation on loss and the strange paths we take to survive it.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for providing me with this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A beautiful and unique story on grief and love. Very thought provoking. I enjoyed all the characters and their interconnected stories. I've been lucky enough not to experiance major grief in my life, but this was still relevent to me! Such a powerful read.

I thoroughly enjoyed the unique premise and thought-provoking tale of The Poppy Fields. Imagine a place you can go to sleep and wake up free of the heartwrenching grief that brought you there. The story is told from various perspectives, including several different characters and their association with The Poppy Fields. I love how we are introduced to each character, and how their bonds are created and told throughout the story. I especially enjoyed the road trip they embarked upon after their fateful meeting. Each character has their own story, but they meld together seamlessly with the overarching theme. In addition to the main characters, we also hear excerpts of interviews with potential and previous patients and bits of news articles covering the work done at the fields. This added such depth to the experience of reading this novel.

As with all treatments, side effects often come; the same is true of The Poppy Fields. We learn of the main side effect and see how it affects those unfortunate enough to experience it. There is a bit of a mystery surrounding the founder of the fields, Ellis (aka Emmy), and her sister Ava, who had a falling out shortly after the fields opened. The way I gasped when I realized what happened to create their rift - it was an excellent twist.

Nikki Erlick thought of everything in the execution of this novel. The way she approached grief and its devastating effects on those experiencing it was both introspective and tasteful.

Multiple narrators brilliantly performed the audio version to give differing voices dependent upon their perspective that brought this story to life.

The Poppy Fields presents a unique and thought-provoking premise for a book – what if there were a cure for a broken heart? This character-driven novel follows four strangers (Ava, Ray, Sasha, and Sky), each burdened by personal grief, as they journey to the California desert in search of the Poppy Fields, an experimental treatment center, and its founder, Ellis. The Poppy Fields promises to heal a grieving soul by putting particiapnts into a month-long "sleep."

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, and I'm still undecided on how much I liked it. A blend of magical realism, science fiction, and contemporary fiction, it explores the tension between letting go of grief and holding on to the memory.

I listened to the audiobook, which was superbly done. The always fantastic Marin Ireland delivered a stand-out performance, with strong support from a full cast for articles, letters, and news segments.

I loved Nikki's debut book and this one sounded even better. I was right. There is no sophomore slump here. The Poppy Fields are a new and experimental treatment center designed to help people cope with their grief. It is not without controversy but people still flock to the Poppy Fields seeking healing.


I loved that this book looked at grief not only in the typical sense but also other situations that could cause you to feel grief. Nikki really delves into human relationships and what it means to connect with those around us. She weaves the characters stories together, intertwining them in ways that feel surprising yet realistic. The multiple narrators did justice to the story. I'm such a huge fan of dual or full cast narration. These narrators were amazing.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and I hope we don't have to wait another 3 years for her next one!!

I liked the concept of this book. It was fascinating to think about the ramifications of sleeping through grief. What it does to your body, what it does to those you love. I felt like the middle of this story was slow, felt drawn out. Overall, I liked this novel. Would recommend to sci-fi readers. 3.5 stars

Such a great read. I loved The Measure, and I think I loved this more. The audio was well done and the multiple narrators and story lines were beautifully woven together. Don’t rush through it. Sit back and enjoy the character development.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio Adult for the ALC.

This book is more than fiction—it’s comfort. It’s for the ones carrying quiet grief, the ones who know what it means to lie in bed and wish you could just sleep through the pain. The Poppy Fields imagines a world where you actually can—a place where people go to sleep for months to process their grief. But, as with all healing, there are side effects.

This is a story about what it means to lose, to ache, to try to keep going. It’s about grief in all its raw, complicated forms. And for me, it hit deep.
The chapter with Audrey and Alan absolutely wrecked me—in the most beautiful way. Their story was tender, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable. Honestly, this book touched me more than Erlick’s first, The Measure. Maybe that’s because I’m still holding onto my own losses. Maybe that’s why it felt like this book found me exactly when I needed it.

What makes this book even more powerful is the way Erlick breaks up the narrative with unique formats—news articles, podcast transcripts, social media posts, and even fictional application forms for the Poppy Fields. These interludes give readers a chance to breathe while adding depth to the world she's created, making it feel all the more real.

I listened to the advanced audiobook and it added so much. The narrators brought these characters to life with such honesty and depth—I felt like I knew them. It made everything even more intimate and emotional.

From the very beginning, I was hooked. I grew to care for every single character and their journey. This is one of those books that stays with you, long after the last page.

If you’ve ever experienced loss, if your heart still hasn’t fully healed, this story will speak to you. It spoke to me. And I’m so grateful it did.