adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No

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adventurous tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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adventurous slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

While the story was entertaining, I feel like the book was too long for what little actually happened in it. The last 10% of the book was definitely the most exciting. I especially enjoyed the characters and the brotherhood they share.

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adventurous slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The Three Musketeers is a classic for a reason. It's a quintessential adventure story of romance and intrigue, camaraderie and swordplay. That being said, it is one of few longer classics I would mostly recommend an abridged version to those interested. If you're invested in the historical side of the fiction, or just interested in knowing at every point the protagonists must come up with funds or horses for one reason or another, the full thing is for you! However, I think most readers will find an abridged telling just as, if not more, compelling as the whole tale. Another thing of note is partially to be expected with the time period, but be warned that the misogyny in this piece of literature is severe and largely unresolved in any just way towards the female characters it victimizes. Personally, I find taking a modern eye to the women of Dumas' story to be part of my fascination with it and still believe it to be an entirely worthwhile read. 

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous challenging slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Would have been sick as hell to read if I was getting it a chapter a day in 1800s France. Unfortunately I am not a 19th century Frenchman, so instead it was a slow, meandering slog where I felt like I was missing pretty much all the context for everything that was happening. There were glimmers, here and there, of what made The Three Musketeers so influential - not enough to make me love it, but enough that I get why other people do. I can guarantee any decent movie adaptation will be infinitely better, simply because time constraints mean they have to keep the good stuff and cut out the bullshit parts. Maybe that's sacrilege in the literature sphere, but I stand by it.

Also, D'Artagnan
straight up rapes Milady
. Like, I know it was a different time and all but jesus christ.

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goldripred's review

2.25
adventurous dark funny sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It was entertaining in some parts. Like the gambling of horses by "noble" Athos that absolutely wrecked D'Artagnan was hilarious. But Milady characterization as a femme fatale was so sad. Beyond belief. I could not believe the author did her such a bad turn and that she was sentenced to death. D'Artagnan should've been called D'Astardly because he was actually pure evil in forcing himself on Milady and using false pretences the second time. 

The murders that the Musketeers commit  is so numerous you couldn't count them on two hands and go unpaid. Meanwhile Milady kills one girl and gets condemned to death. Also it is insanity that she is punished with a "fleur-de-lis" for having had sex as a minor. It may be my modern sensibilities, but that branding led to her almost dying of hanging by Athos. Seems like a huge overreaction. This book could be a good companion novel to Just Mercy because the justification of her sentence of death was ludicrous and as soul-crushing as some of the examples in that book. After having read this book two things have been made clear to me: the death penalty is immoral, and dueling is injurious to health. Au revoir. 

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adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book was great, but never lived up to the hope I’d built around following reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s adventurous and in some parts really fun, but was slightly ruined for me by the way women are used and portrayed
I also believe that some of what D’Artagnan did would constitute as rape with today’s morals - it should have done them too!

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