Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I was absolutely gutted by 'The Poppy Wars' and couldn't wait to get my hands on the next installments in the series. It was originally recommended by a close friend.

Overall rating: Oof. I have such mixed feelings. Not only is it hard to realize that you're at the end of a series you absolutely loved, but it's also even harder when the last installment mayyyyyyybe wasn't quite as fulfilling as you wanted it to be. I feel like 'The Burning God' got to the meat of the story faster than the other two in the series; however, it then seemed to drag a bit. I found myself being like 'ok, get to the point, get to the next scene, get to the rest of the important stuff,' more often than I did in the first two books of the series. I think another reviewer had mentioned that at points it seemed very textbook like and I would completely agree. I think that Kuang was trying to tie everything together and make it all make sense, but the emotion and rawness of the first two books was lacking in this final chapter.

What it came down to for me is that it felt like we were piling things on Rin and relying on her because it's what was supposed to make sense for the finality of the series; however, it didn't work with who she was made up to be as a character already. I hate to say it, but there were large chunks of the book that I really just wanted to fast-forward through...or that I found myself zoning out for (I listened to the audiobook version). I wanted 'The Burning God' to be the gut-twisting, heart-wrenching, leave me gagging while asking for more dominatrix that 'The Poppy Wars' was and unfortunately it just wasn't it for me. I did really love the back and forth between Daji, Jiang, and Rin. Their united journey was interesting and unexpected but rather anticlimactic and almost thrown away with how everything came to a resolution. (Sorry, attempting to review without spoilers...). I also loved the evolution of the relationship between Rin, Kitay, and Venka. Not going to lie, I feel like Nezha was wishy-washy throughout the entire series... and 'The Burning God' made me feel that way even more so.

Overall, I'm glad I finished the series. I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm also not surprised the book didn't wrap up in a nice little bow as I wanted it to. I think that's almost the point. In the end, I was able to read three amazing books by an author I had not otherwise been familiar with. I will definitely be look for more works by Kuang in the future. I would (and already have) recommend the series.

Reader's Note: I'm just going to carry over my trigger/content warnings from the earlier books in the series, 'The Burning God' includes themes and storylines revolving around self-harm, mental, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, drug use, and war. There are graphic depictions of rape, death/dying, and torture. Additionally, 'The Burning God' shows that you can be one of the most powerful individuals, not scared of anything, and still be susceptible to attacks simply because of what is between your legs.

Audio Book Notes: My complaints from the second book with pronunciation were resolved in 'The Burning God.'