A review by alienor
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

5.0

"Take what you want, it said. I’ll hate you for it. But I’ll love you forever. I can’t help but love you.
Ruin me, ruin us, and I’ll let you."

Ah, fuck. You know what's hilarious? I thought I was prepared. I knew [b:The Burning God|45857086|The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3)|R.F. Kuang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584965579l/45857086._SY75_.jpg|70666057] would ruin my life but it all came to pass in a way I hadn't anticipated—and really, after [b:The Dragon Republic|41118857|The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2)|R.F. Kuang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539963703l/41118857._SY75_.jpg|64240081]? I should have known better. I should have known that Rebecca Kuang would slowly make me accept a fate I dreaded, only to rip it to shreds and give my pain another face instead.

The sheer brilliance of that ending will haunt me for years to come—I've finished it at 10pm yesterday, spent 3 hours rereading the last 20 pages, read [b:The Drowning Faith|55927316|The Drowning Faith (The Poppy War, #2.5)|R.F. Kuang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606919817l/55927316._SX50_.jpg|87139336], and sobbed. Then I reread the last 20 pages and all my favorite scenes, again. I woke up this morning and thought of dragons.

“I am the force of creation… I am the end and the beginning. The world is a painting and I hold the brush. I am a god.”

This book was PERFECTION. This book—this series—Rin, Kitay and Nezha—will stay with me forever.