Wink Poppy Midnight - More Rant than Review

Wink Poppy Midnight
Contemporary Standalone
Written by April Genevieve Tucholke
Magical Realism, Mystery, Young Adult
Published March 22nd 2016 by Dial Books
Add to Goodreads
Every story needs a hero. Every story needs a villain. Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened? Someone knows. Someone is lying.
WARNING: HARSH OPINION TIME (#donewiththisbook)

Kynndra's BITTER Thoughts

Normally this is where I would write my own little summary of what went down in the book. But if I'm 100% honest.. nothing - just about nothing that equates to an actual story does happen in Wink Poppy Midnight. I was going to be generous and give this book two stars, but then I recall giving other books (which had more of a story) far less than two stars and that just didn't seem fair. I really should be giving this book no stars as I didn't seen any substance worth rating, but hell one star it is.

I feel nothing but frustration towards this book. You'll have to understand that I was aching to read this novel. What with the eyegasmic cover to the alluring synopsis - how could you not? But I fell straight on my ass and into shitville with this one. I detested this book because I hate feeling like I've wasted hours of my life on something useless, hours that I'll never get back. That's the gamble with every book, I suppose. Boy did I lose out on this one. Yes, this book is fairly short but still. I've never felt so empty finishing a book than I did when I finished WPM.

Why did I give it one star then, you ask? Well because the writing is fucking beautiful. If writing could leave colors I'd be purple from head to toe. April is one hell of a wordsmith. She makes every line poetic and stunning. There's no doubt about that. I love nice writing as much as the next guy, but if there's no story to back it up then I don't care if the words are written in gold. I read for the story and if there's no story, I find no enjoyment in what I'm reading. I'm going to share my brutal opinion right now - not even her writing could make this a good book

Quite literally, I think it was page 210/247 on my ereader that there was actually a plot taking place. Other than that it was Wink telling fairy tales, Midnight fawning over Wink or thinking about his mom and brother for the fiftieth time, followed by Poppy being a vindictive bitch and essentially manipulating any male with her hauntingly good looks. I did not like any of the characters. The biggest kudo I have to give to this book is that it's easy to make aesthetic edits for it because the author writes so beautifully you can't help but imagine the mystic and southern gothic-like setting.

Literally the plot of the book: FAIRY TALES AND SHIT. POPPY BEING A STAGE 5 STALKER. Red hair and the smell of jasmine, -210 pages of pointless bullshit- *gasp* Where did Poppy go? *looks for Poppy for 5 pages* OH NO! IS SHE DEAD? *cue dramatic music + weird fake possession* Wink knew where Poppy was the whole time *gasp x3* (she was camping by a river living that #hillbilly life). One of the many boys Poppy stalks suddenly wants her. Wink and Midnight makeout. Yes it's as stupid as it sounds. The end.

In Conclusion

I'm not saying don't read this book, but I'm definitely not recommending it. We all perceive books differently. I think Wink Poppy Midnight was supposed to provide me with a message of "we're all the villain and hero sometimes" but wow. What a waste of my time. Sorry for being a bit of an asshole, I just couldn't sugar coat my salty feels about this one, folks. I got 96% pretty words, 2% useless characters and 2% plot which equated to a 100% terrible read.

Gunna waddle my bitter ass off the internet for awhile.


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35 comments

  1. I was so disappointed by the 'twist' in this book, I want Poppy to remain an awesome and apologetic villain - but she did everything for a boy? Which is kinda ew? The whole thing was so pointless. Waste of gorgeous proses and waste of that STUNNING cover, I want to find out who the designer is and go offer God my soul for half their talent.

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    1. Thus entire book was a dissapointment to say the very least. Baha! At least you actually enjoyed Poppy. I didn't understand her, plus her entire character - like you said, revolved around a boy (one that I don't even comprehend). Total waste of a good cover and pretty words D':

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  2. Ha ha ha ha... thank you for the review. :D

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  3. OH GOSH. I am so horrified this book was terrible. That cover? Where did it all go wrong! It's always such a disappointment :( So sorry you wasted precious time on this one!

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    1. Gahhh! It really was a terrible book unfortunately :( there were so so many things that went wrong. I'm sorry too, but alas there's always a few duds!

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  4. Haha, you're awesome. Thank you for this. I've been eyeing that cover. Ugh, it's so purdy. But pretty writing just isn't enough sometimes. Unpopular opinion time... I felt this way about I'll Give You The Sun. The writing was beautiful, but I just could not get into the story.

    Sarah @ Kerosene Lit

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    1. The cover is so gorgeous. Too bad it's for a piss poor story :c I haven't read I'll Give You The Sun but if I ever find myself going to read it I'll be wary. Thanks for the heads up, Sarah!

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  5. I see reviews for this book... but i always forget what the book is about, idk haha xD
    Still, mannnn that comment about being like 80% in and only just getting some form of a plot. That's crazy - i cant believe you stuck with a plotless book for that long! :o

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    1. Ha! I can't believe I did either Geraldine. I think I wanted it to be good so bad that I refused to quit. My mistake obviously!

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  6. I've been really, really wanting to read this book but after seeing all the horrible reviews I just don't know what to do. I'm still intrigued, because like you said, the description just pulled me in. I'm stuck in the abyss of should I read it? Or ditch it? *cries*


    ~Noor

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    1. Ooh has there been horrible reviews? I can't say I've looked. But I'm glad I wasn't the only one who disliked wpm. I'd say ditch it, but it's ultimately your decision. Who knows? You may end up loving it!

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  7. Oh dear... I literally gasped when I saw the one-star rating. I love the cover and the premise is so mysterious! I'm so sad to hear you didn't like this one. I actually really like poetic writing so maybe this one will work for me..? Maybe? If I ever end up reading it, I'll check it out from the library though.

    Jess @ Princessica of Books

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    1. I was being generous with one star. The cover was probably my favorite part, past that I wish I hadn't flipped a single page. The writing is devine, so maybe you would like it? I wish you luck!

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  8. Aw, I'm sad that you hated it. xD I liked it! But I kind of liked it in a way that I knew I was turning off half my brain to like it? ;D If that makes sense. Because it was sooo repetitious. And honestly? Describing someone has having "green green eyes" is NOT really clever writing. Ahem. BUT THAT SAYING. It was beautiful and I loved the aesthetics and the names and just the general themes of heroes and villains and fairy tales. :')

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    1. Aw, well I'm glad you enjoyed it far more than I, Cait! :D

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  9. Brutal. I, too, was enamoured by the cover when it first started popping up in the blogging world, but I don't really have the time to waste on a pointless, plotless book. I'm not a fan of faery tales, anyway, so I'm glad i didn't pick up a copy.

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    1. The cover is astounding, but it's not worth the story within based on my experience unfortunately. You definitely saved yourself some time in my opinion, Joy!

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  10. Aw bummer! I'm glad I didn't end up buying this one but I'm still somewhat curious. It might be something to grab from the library - see if I can get into at all, but I'm not so sure about that. haha

    -Lauren

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    1. I definitely wouldn't recommend buying it. Get it from the library! Maybe you'll like it. Who knows xD

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  11. Oh shoot. Sucky plot, gimmicky writing, no thank you. :/

    I really wanted to read this book too, because the cover is freaking gorgeous and I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings. Sucks this turned out to be a terrible read for you. Thanks for the heads up, Kynndra! :)

    Blessie @ Mischievous Reads

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    1. No problem, Blessie. Maybe I'm just an asshole. If you really want to read it, it wouldn't hurt to give it ago. It just wasn't for me!

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  12. Ahh, it sucks when a book feels like a waste of time. I was laughing about the spoiler, though! :D

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    1. It does suck! Ha, I'm glad you were able to laugh :D it was just so bad.

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  13. HAHAAHHAHAH THIS WAS SOOOOOO ME. Especially the ending, where I was just like "what was the POINT of all of this?" I just want to spoil it all and rant, but I will not :) But seriously, I don't understand why any of it happened. Like between Wink and Poppy.

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    1. LMFAOOO. The ending was such rubbish! I hated it so so much. There was absolutely no point whatsoever! I can't understand it either, Val. Beats me. All I know is that it was a waste of my time! xP

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  14. HAHA oh dear I loved this book to pieces :) Five stars from me! But I can definitely see what you meant about the lack of plot. I just loved the fairytale-ness and the beautiful writing :)

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    1. Gah! I'm glad you loved it, Em. I wish i could have but alas it was so not for me! The writing was indeed beautiful ^^

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  15. Haha! Tell us how you really feel, Kynn! :D
    I was never interested in this book despite the gorgeous cover because something about that summary didn't click with me. I would be seriously annoyed by the lack of plot in the book. And ugh. The characters sound terrible. They all sound like they are high on something the whole time.
    I'm sorry you had to suffer through this mess of a book, but hey, at least I got an awesomely funny review out of it so maybe I'm not THAT sorry! ;)
    Fab review, Kynn!

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    1. Baha I'd have my head on a stake if I went full on rant w/this book! I did my best though. You dodged a bullet, believe me Nick. I only wish I had been like you and avoiding this catastrophe of a book. It's probably a book you have to be high to understand. I'm glad I could sate you with a funny review nonetheless c; thanks Nick!

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  16. I am laughing SO HARD right now, especially from the spoiler section! Like, actually sitting by myself in my room laughing. But it IS sad, because of course the cover is pretty, and also the writing sounds really good. But like- I don't even understand how three people could be named Wink, Poppy, and Midnight. At first, I assumed it was about like, a romance where there was a wink and a flower and it happened at midnight or some shit. But nope. My plot actually sounds... better? Thank you for saving me, for I feel like I would have raged a LOT.

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    1. Ha! I'm glad you could laugh at my suffering, Shannon c': The cover is GORGEOUS. There's no doubt about that, same with the initial writing. But other than that it was garbage in my opinion. Now, that's just my thoughts on WPM lmao. Your plots sounds 30x more enjoyable. Glad I could save you from this torture :D

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  17. Wow Kelly, this must be the first 1 star review I've ever read from you! I can definitely sense your frustration from reading this story especially with the lack of the plot! I actually have this one on hold from the library, I'll have to let you know if I feel the same way.

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  18. Oh no! I've been looking forward to reading this for a while now. I hate deceiving blurbs, I think writers sometimes focus so much on the writing that they forget every other aspect of a book. There's far too many good books out there to read to waste time on boring ones. Thank you for saving me some hours of my life! :P

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  19. I love this review! This book was so fucking stupid and pointless. I'm annoyed that I wasted my time on this, even if it was the audiobook. I had high hopes for this one, sad that it was such a bummer.

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