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A review by miyaosamu
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
— Thank you to HarperCollins for this complimentary physical ARC via Goodreads giveaways, with no obligation to review in exchange.
“Ruin me, ruin us, and I’ll let you.”
So all I'm feeling is an immense amount of pain. Thank you very much RFK for writing an ending so painful I’ll be recovering for years to come!! Where to even start? I'll try not say speak on major spoilers at this time and maybe update with a full spoiler review closer to release date. After mulling this over for a week and still recovering I finally attempted finishing writing this. These characters have definitely come a long way, and I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey of watching them grow but also fall apart. Part one of this book was an absolute exhilarating ride, I felt exactly what Rin was feeling which was riding the high of the war and consistent victories. Rin’s development from The Poppy War til now, and her arc throughout The Burning God was quite gripping to read. Her overall character arc was true to indications made on what was to come with foreshadowing in the Poppy War. Seeing her come full circle at specific parts of this book since the first book was very satisfying to read. Kitay, my best boy, his one-liners and caring personality really makes the reader laugh and forget about the despairing atmosphere of this book even for just a few seconds. He’s changed so much from the curious boy we met at Sinegard with what the effects of the horrors of war had on each of the characters. He’s hardened a bit, but still the caring, even smarter, and unconditionally loving Kitay we know. His platonic soulmate dynamic with Rin has been brought up front and center of the story in this one and seeing how their bond affects them both individually as the story goes on especially with Rin being on the battlefront. And then there’s Nezha, seeing where we left off with him in The Dragon Republic, he was the one I was most looking forward to seeing where his particular story goes and the actions he was going to take. When we do finally see him, the route he took for himself was both expected and unexpected due to his opinions on shamanism back in the second book. Broke my heart to see the impact as it further strained his relationship with both Kitay and Rin. With Venka I was soso happy we finally got to see more of her in a prominent role in this one, as she’s by Rin’s side after the events of The Dragon Republic. Her quick wit dialogue, and how her character has toughened but also strengthened to rise to her place in war and prioritizing helping Rin, Kitay and the Southern Army. These four characters are just so close to my heart and are truly on the top of my list of being some of my all time favorite characters. I’m just gonna miss reading about them genuinely so much. Some critique I had was that I was underwhelmed with some particular big plot points that I won't get in depth to unless I make a spoiler review. I think part two of the story slowed down the exhilaration of part one as it dragged on a bit. In addition there were some new info plot points that weren’t explained further and has the reader deduce their own conclusions.
But nevertheless, The Burning God was still an outstanding read during the third act of the story with profound moments the characters had being internal war of their own emotions and stability. Kuang captured a bleak, desperate atmosphere for the story that really has the reader fearing for their life for anything that could happen, and desperate in the sense of enduring how long the war has gone on just as Rin, Kitay, Nezha, and Venka feels as the plot furthers. Her stunning writing truly had me feeling what they were going through with the dread of thinking what will come next along with the unbalanced young minds trying to stay afloat thinking for their country with the fear of not knowing how to handle it all. Now excuse me while I continue to cry and try to process this book, specifically the last chapter and epilogue.❤️
“Oh, but history moved in such vicious circles.”
“Ruin me, ruin us, and I’ll let you.”
So all I'm feeling is an immense amount of pain. Thank you very much RFK for writing an ending so painful I’ll be recovering for years to come!! Where to even start? I'll try not say speak on major spoilers at this time and maybe update with a full spoiler review closer to release date. After mulling this over for a week and still recovering I finally attempted finishing writing this. These characters have definitely come a long way, and I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey of watching them grow but also fall apart. Part one of this book was an absolute exhilarating ride, I felt exactly what Rin was feeling which was riding the high of the war and consistent victories. Rin’s development from The Poppy War til now, and her arc throughout The Burning God was quite gripping to read. Her overall character arc was true to indications made on what was to come with foreshadowing in the Poppy War. Seeing her come full circle at specific parts of this book since the first book was very satisfying to read. Kitay, my best boy, his one-liners and caring personality really makes the reader laugh and forget about the despairing atmosphere of this book even for just a few seconds. He’s changed so much from the curious boy we met at Sinegard with what the effects of the horrors of war had on each of the characters. He’s hardened a bit, but still the caring, even smarter, and unconditionally loving Kitay we know. His platonic soulmate dynamic with Rin has been brought up front and center of the story in this one and seeing how their bond affects them both individually as the story goes on especially with Rin being on the battlefront. And then there’s Nezha, seeing where we left off with him in The Dragon Republic, he was the one I was most looking forward to seeing where his particular story goes and the actions he was going to take. When we do finally see him, the route he took for himself was both expected and unexpected due to his opinions on shamanism back in the second book. Broke my heart to see the impact as it further strained his relationship with both Kitay and Rin. With Venka I was soso happy we finally got to see more of her in a prominent role in this one, as she’s by Rin’s side after the events of The Dragon Republic. Her quick wit dialogue, and how her character has toughened but also strengthened to rise to her place in war and prioritizing helping Rin, Kitay and the Southern Army. These four characters are just so close to my heart and are truly on the top of my list of being some of my all time favorite characters. I’m just gonna miss reading about them genuinely so much. Some critique I had was that I was underwhelmed with some particular big plot points that I won't get in depth to unless I make a spoiler review. I think part two of the story slowed down the exhilaration of part one as it dragged on a bit. In addition there were some new info plot points that weren’t explained further and has the reader deduce their own conclusions.
But nevertheless, The Burning God was still an outstanding read during the third act of the story with profound moments the characters had being internal war of their own emotions and stability. Kuang captured a bleak, desperate atmosphere for the story that really has the reader fearing for their life for anything that could happen, and desperate in the sense of enduring how long the war has gone on just as Rin, Kitay, Nezha, and Venka feels as the plot furthers. Her stunning writing truly had me feeling what they were going through with the dread of thinking what will come next along with the unbalanced young minds trying to stay afloat thinking for their country with the fear of not knowing how to handle it all. Now excuse me while I continue to cry and try to process this book, specifically the last chapter and epilogue.❤️
“Oh, but history moved in such vicious circles.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Murder