I went into The Poppy Fields with an open mind and an open heart and I’m so glad I did. This is my first bout of speculative fiction and I am not disappointed. I loved the entire premise of the story. I absolutely do understand why people would want to go to The Poppy Fields. This book really made me wonder if I would risk any portion of the memories or feelings to get to the other side of grief. I love how the characters friendship evolved and grew. I loved the many different perspectives, and thought this was such a thought provoking read. The Poppy Fields is a wonderful book about love and loss and the path from grieving to healing. I look forward to reading Nikki Erlick’s other books. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job.

I would like to thank HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for giving me an ARC (which did not sway my opinions or review).

This was the most unique book I’ve heard in a while. I vacillated between loving it and being indifferent with it. The story deals primarily with coping with grief and secondly love. The characters were mediocre. I deducted one star for profanity, especially taking the Lord’s name in vain. I am glad I read this.

I was blessed with an audio ARC. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.

This is my first time reading Nikki Erlick. I'm a sucker for speculative fiction, and was not disappointed! This book was definitely mind opening and had me doing a lot of inward thinking. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs and formats - different characters, interviews, podcasts, and the like. The different narrators did a great job separating the different POVs but also keeping the story cohesive.

The Poppy Fields is a poignant novel exploring grief and loss and healing. Four strangers, all who have experienced some type of loss, band together to travel to the Poppy Fields, an experimental sleep treatment to heal heartache. Along the way they find love in their new found family, and find self-discovery through their journey and how they have handled their loss and how far they would go to heal.


Thank you HarperAudio and NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley for this early audio copy!

The Poppy Fields is a facility where people dealing with loss can go “sleep away their grief”. We follow Sasha, Ray, and Ava on their way to The Poppy Fields for various reasons. This was a lot different than I was expecting and I really loved it! I enjoyed the multiple POVs and I was able to keep track of who was who, the pacing was great and I didn’t want to stop listening! Highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction.

Grief and heat break are powerful emotions that some struggle to overcome. But what if there was a cure. Erlick’s new novel is a speculative look at a world with a cure for grief and heartbreak.

I found this book to be an interesting thought experiment on the impact of a new cure for grief. Instead of working through the normal stages of grief, your brain would do all the work while you slept the month away. It delves into who may want to participate in such an experiment and what the impact of following an experimental cure might be on the person, friends, and family. I found the concept creative and the characters were well thought out. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that I connected emotionally to any of them and would have like to have seen more reflection within each of these characters. I found a secondary character the most interesting and would have liked to have seen her impact the group more dramatically. The ending left me a little perplexed. If you like a thought provoking character drive book, this might be for you, but if you haven’t read The Measure, I’d read that first.

This book was not my typical read with a mix of a little sci-fi, a little mystery, and a lot of speculative fiction all wrapped up with a grief bow. Loved the dynamic of the four characters inadvertently road tripping together to the poppy fields. The alternating character chapters with interview breaks and news reports held the story together really nicely. Great use of minor characters too and how they relate to the poppy fields.

The narrator did an amazing job, her inflections felt realistic, conversational and full of emotion supporting the heaviness of the theme. This would be a great book for a genre palette cleanser for a book club with lots of room for questions and discussions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio Adult for the advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this. Wasn’t something I would normally read but was good :) love a book that opens you up and makes you think outside the box!

3 ⭐️ I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped and I think it boiled down to me expecting more of a speculative fiction book about the Poppy Fields and how it works but instead got a book that deeply explores grief and the various journeys of individual loss. If I had reframed the story in my head before I picked this up, I might have actually skipped it since I am probably not the right audience but I do think it was very well done in each character’s journey and how these very different people come together. I just am left with so many questions about the sleep itself that I genuinely could not get past in order to really enjoy this book.

I listened to the audio production, which was very well done and kept me engaged even when the story did not resonate with me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. This book is set to publish on 6/17/2025

This was my 58th book of 2025
Format: NetGalley, ALC

Thank you HarperAudio for the gifted ALC!

What an incredibly thought-provoking book. The premise alone had me so intrigued: a controversial treatment for grief where simply sleep their heartache away. I loved hearing the story mostly from our main cast of four characters, I felt so attached to each of them by the end of the book.

It definitely makes you think - and on that note, fans of AppleTV's Severance will likely be pretty drawn to this book.

Having enjoyed this one so much, I think I need to go back and give The Measure a read!

The Poppy Fields pub date is June 17.

I really liked the premise behind this book and the idea of The Poppy Fields was intriguing. However, the plot line fell a little flat for me. The majority of the book was spent on a road trip to the fields and started to feel repetitive. I did enjoy the narration of the audiobook and the multiple narrators to help break it up and make it feel more of a full cast.

Ok, now that I’ve had a chance to recover, lol, here’s my actual review of "The Poppy Fields" by Nikki Erlick.

This book was fantastic. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it, I ran to buy Nikki's novel, The Measure. There is nothing I love more than when a story pulls me in and makes me think deeply about life. This one did exactly that. It’s speculative fiction with heart, it explores grief and healing in such a thoughtful and original way.

I went into this book pretty blindly, and it ended up exceeding all of my expectations. I listened to the audiobook, which was so well done. I didn’t realize it would be a full cast, but it was, and the narrators were incredible. They really brought the story and the characters to life.

The book follows four characters, Ray, Sasha, Sky, and a very good dog named PJ as they make their way to The Poppy Fields, a medical center offering a new treatment for grief. The center is run by Ellis, its brilliant and mysterious founder. The treatment sounds simple enough, but is intense: patients go to sleep for a month to process their grief. But there’s the potential for one big side effect. There’s a 25% chance that when you wake up, you’ll no longer feel love for the person you lost. You won’t feel pain anymore, but you also might not feel anything towards who you lost at all.

Would you risk that? Would you trade your grief if it meant losing the love too? DAMN.

There were so many moments that really stuck with me. I actually slowed down the audiobook so I could write down a few quotes:

"Life that has found a way to survive. Even when the world makes it near damn impossible."

"If it hurts this much now, then I must've been pretty darn lucky."

"Could it really be true that their late partners had somehow brought them together? That the spirits of those who loved us could still yield some type of power? That their love could keep working its magic on us even from somewhere beyond?"

"Grief was love in its second shape."

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ALC! All opinions are my own.

Nɪᴋᴋɪ Eʀʟɪᴄᴋ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ ᴏғ 2022 ʙᴇsᴛ sᴇʟʟᴇʀ Tʜᴇ Mᴇᴀsᴜʀᴇ ʙʀɪɴɢs ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ. Tʜɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴇs ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɢᴇ ᴏʟᴅ ϙᴜᴇsᴛɪᴏɴ :
' 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥? '

Gʀɪᴇғ ɪs ᴀ ᴅᴇᴇᴘʟʏ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴇ ᴀʟʟ ʜᴀɴᴅʟᴇ ɪᴛ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛʟʏ. Iᴛ ɪs sᴀɪᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ғɪᴠᴇ sᴛᴀɢᴇs ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ, ʙᴜᴛ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ɢᴇᴛ ᴘᴀsᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪʀsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʀᴇ ᴅʀᴏᴡɴɪɴɢ ɪɴ sᴏʀʀᴏᴡ, ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ ғᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ.

❓ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰? 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭?

Tʜᴇ ᴘᴏᴘᴘʏ Fɪᴇʟᴅs ɪs ᴀ ғᴀᴄɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜᴛ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ɪɴᴅᴜᴄᴇᴅ sʟᴇᴇᴘ ғᴏʀ 4-8 ᴡᴇᴇᴋs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴜᴘᴏɴ ᴡᴀᴋᴇɴɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴀɪɴ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ɢᴏɴᴇ. Tʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀ sʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴘᴏsɪʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴀᴛ 25% ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀᴛɪᴇɴᴛs ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏ ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢs, ɴᴏ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇs, ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀs ᴀ sɪᴅᴇ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ.
𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭?

I ᴀʙsᴏʟᴜᴛᴇʟʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪsᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ. Iᴛ ᴡᴀs ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇsᴛɪɴɢ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴡᴀs ʙʀɪʟʟɪᴀɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ɪs ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛ ᴅɪsᴄᴜssɪᴏɴ ᴍᴀᴛᴇʀɪᴀʟ ғᴏʀ ʙᴏᴏᴋᴄʟᴜʙ. Eᴀᴄʜ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʜᴀs ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴏᴡɴ ʙᴜʀᴅᴇɴ, ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇs ᴏғ ʀᴇsɪʟɪᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ.

ɪᴛ's ᴀ ғᴀɴᴛᴀsᴛɪᴄ ʙᴏᴏᴋ. I ʜᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ᴘʜᴇɴᴏᴍɪɴᴀʟ ᴄᴀsᴛ. Tʜᴇ ᴠᴏɪᴄᴇ ᴀᴄᴛᴏʀs ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴘᴜʟʟᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴ ɪᴍᴍᴇʀsɪᴠᴇ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ.

Nᴀʀʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ:

Marin Ireland, Dan Bittner, Stacey Glemboski, Graham Halstead, Mia Barron, Callie Dalton, Janina Edwards, Shawn K. Jain, Christian Barillas, Jason Culp

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy. My review was voluntary.

A fantastic book that's well written and so thought out, and a great audiobook! The narrators did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and separating each part of the story and each character's journey. The plot is such a unique idea, and truly makes you think about life, love, and loss. I had all the emotions while reading this book, and it makes you want to go hug your loved ones!!

The story explores a fascinating concept, if you could sleep for one to two months and erase your grief, would it be worth it? This question sets the tone for a compelling journey in which a car full of travelers, each with their own motivations, embarks on a trip to the poppy fields. As their lives intertwine along the journey, their individual quests take on deeper meaning. The characters, Ava, Ray, Sasha and Sky were enjoyable and their motivations relatable, making the premise feel grounded rather than far-fetched, especially compared to The Measure.

I found the author's first book too slow and I overanalyzed the topic, but this one kept me engaged, even though it also was also a slow burn. I finished this in two sittings while cleaning, which speaks to its appeal and I’ve thought about this topic since I’ve finished it last week. If her debut didn’t work for you, this one might be a better fit.

Out in the California desert is where you’ll find the Poppy Fields, a revolutionary treatment center that helps patients find closure for debilitating grief. Patients embark on a prolonged period of medically induced sleep (one to two months), and when they wake, their pain of their grief has been healed. But the treatment does come with the risk of side effects….

Three strangers and one little dog, all on their way to the Poppy Fields for their own reasons, are thrown together at a Kansas airport after a tornado warning cancels their flight. Ava, Ray, Sasha, and PJ the dog decide to rent a car and set off on a cross-country road trip together. Along the way, they meet a fourth traveling companion and as their journey unfolds, they share confidences, learning a little more about each other and ultimately themselves too.

Just like in her incredible book The Measure, Nikki Erlick takes a speculative fiction concept that almost feels possible and thoughtfully examines it from all angles through the lens of intricately intertwined character arcs. The result is a story that’s profoundly emotional, resonating with themes of loss, grief, healing, self-discovery, and found family. This is a book that practically begs to be read by a book club or buddy read – I can just imagine the meaningful conversation it would inspire!

I would be remiss as a Wizard of Oz fan if I didn’t mention the parallels between this book and the iconic classic. They’re subtle, but if you know to look for them, they’re there, and I absolutely loved that. Not just in the motifs of the four travelers, Kansas, tornado, and sleep-inducing poppy fields, but also in some similar character arcs and themes. It would make a pretty incredible high school English assignment to have students compare the two stories!

The audiobook version is narrated by a full cast helmed by the talented Marin Ireland. She does an outstanding job bringing this story to life, her lovely voice adding an extra layer of depth and emotion. The extensive cast narrating other perspectives, interspersed with news articles and interviews of potential patients, makes for an immersive listening experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Harper Audio for providing me an advance copy of this book.

💤 What if you could sleep through heartbreak? In The Poppy Fields, Nikki Erlick (author of The Measure) returns with another stunning speculative concept.
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This time, a controversial treatment center in the California desert that offers the grief-stricken a chance to rest their way to healing… for a price.
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Ava, Ray, Sasha, and Sky are strangers drawn together by loss, regret, and hope. As they make their way to the Fields, their secrets surface, and with them, questions about love, pain, and whether grief is something we should want to erase.
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This book made me think and feel in the best way. The found family. The moral dilemmas. The way Erlick intertwines science, ethics, and deeply human emotion. I found myself pausing to underline lines like: “Grief was love in its second shape.”
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It’s thought-provoking, heartfelt, and a little bit haunting. The ending didn’t totally blow me away, but this story still landed exactly where it needed to- with hope. Highly recommend this one, especially on audio (full cast = chef’s kiss).
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Out June 17—add it to your TBR and get ready to feel everything. 💔✨🌺 Thank you @netgalley @williammorrowbooks @harperaudio @nikkierlick for the advance copy in exchange for my review. All thoughts are my own. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+
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❔Would you ever consider being a patient at the poppy fields ?!
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#ThePoppyFields #NikkiErlick #SpeculativeFiction #BookReview #GriefAndHealing #BookstagramRecs #EmotionalReads #FoundFamily #JuneBookRelease #ContemporaryFiction #BookLover #BookAesthetic #BooksThatMakeYouThink #AudiobookRecs #TBRTuesday #NetGalleyReview #WilliamMorrowBooks #BookishThoughts #SleepawayGrief #BooksThatStayWithYou #GriefIsLove #BookQuoteMagic #FictionThatHeals #EmotionalReadsOnly #NewRelease2025

Grief is universal, but also so individual. Everyone handles it differently. Some can’t live with it…but what if you could forget? Does life without grief seem preferable if it means forgetting your loved one almost entirely?

Erlick’s novel is undeniably unique, her characters plausibly flawed, and the plot full of small twists and turns. She asks you to ponder your own thoughts on loss, but without telling you which option is best.

I received an ARC of this audiobook, and it was so well done.

Nikki Erlick is a Master of the Speculative Fiction Premise...

"The Poppy Fields" has an original and creative premise with an out-of-the-box dynamic that encompasses what-if situations, allowing readers to ponder grief. It is intense in all the right places and offers life and substance to the struggles of loss...

With that said, several aspects of this story fell short for me..

An emotional connection with the main characters, which I look forward to in every book, didn't happen until well into the story. The one character I fully connected with was a secondary character who surfaced near the end of the book. She was full of life and memories to share, and worthy of a story of her own.

The main characters' backstories unfolded too slowly, causing the story to drag, feel repetitive, and lengthy. At times, it felt as though reaching the Poppy Fields had become secondary, and the story had lost its focus.

This was an immersion read; the audiobook features a multicasting narration with Marin Ireland as the primary narrator. Her voicing and recounting of the story were seamless and uplifting.

"The Poppy Fields" has a unique premise that drew me in. It's a story I liked, but I didn't love it, and I was expecting a better execution overall. I'm glad Nikki Erlick has a strong following, and many positive reviews and high ratings for this book. I look forward to more of her work in the future!

3.25⭐

Thank you to William Morrow, HarperAudio, and Nikki Erlick for the gifted DRC and ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for providing the eARC.

Having come across various reviews of Nikki Erlick's books, I eagerly seized the opportunity to read the ARC. Unfortunately, I found that this one did not resonate with me. While the narrative was beautifully crafted and the performances by the talented cast were undeniably engaging, I struggled to connect with the story's themes and characters. The intertwining lives and the emotive backdrops were, without a doubt, rich and vivid, yet there was something that that kept me from fully immersing myself. Perhaps it was the pacing or the particular narrative choices that didn't quite align with my personal preferences. Nevertheless, I appreciate the intricate storytelling and understand why others might find it captivating. It’s a testament to the diverse experiences literature can offer, where every reader's journey is uniquely their own.

I listened to the advance listener copy (ALC) of The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick and narrated by Marin Ireland; Dan Bittner; Stacey Glemboski; Graham Halstead; Mia Barron; Callie Dalton; Janina Edwards; Shawn K. Jain; Christian Barillas; Jason Culp. I love when you get a full cast like this as the production was so good. All characters had their unique voice, and we have multiple POVs in this story. The Poppy Fields is a unique concept for grieving. If you have suffered a significant loss, you can apply to The Poppy Fields to sleep for 30-60 days to help you overcome the grief, the risk is that in approximately 25% of 'sleepers' they lose the attachment to the person they are grieving. In other words, they do not remember the love, the feelings. The option to sleep your way to a cure when you are deep in the journey with grief is so tempting. I can't imagine anyone feeling worse than I felt in my loss, and I wanted to feel bad, but I would not risk forgetting the love no matter how much the grief hurt.

Ellis is the genius behind the Poppy Fields. She lost her parents as a five year old, and she and her younger sister were raised by their grandmother. We also have three protagonists who band together after their flight is cancelled and they share a rental car from Kansas to drive to California. We have Ray, a fireman who is looking for answers about his younger brother, Johnny, Ava, an artist who is looking for her sister, Sasha, an almost bride who wants to understand why she was rejected from The Poppy Fields, and Sky a free spirit who joins them on the ride, but is not looking to sleep. There is also the adorably PJ, the dog, the team's mascot.

As someone who has grappled with grief I enjoyed this read. Everyone wants answers, and wants to know how to get through this terrible pain, but mostly, they just want the person they lost, back. And, that can never happen. But, if you open yourself up to living again, new people will enter your life.

I enjoyed this ALC and excellent production, and I need to thank Net Galley and Harper Audio for my ALC. This book releases on June 17, 2025.