A review by leahgustafson
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 I was SO excited going into this one. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I have enjoyed this series so far, and I figured this was going to be the best, most action-packed book of the trilogy. 
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The exploration of love/friendship is the greatest thing about this book—especially the idea of friendships getting us through difficult times. Of course there’s the friendship between Frodo and Sam, but I also love how this one highlights some of the friendships between other characters. I particularly enjoyed the focus on Merry and Pippin, and I thought this added a lot to their development as characters. 
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The destruction of the ring was SO anti-climactic, and I couldn’t believe it happened so early on in the book. I agree that a journey is there AND back again (something we don’t often think about). I also appreciate Tolkien’s commentary on war and the reality of returning to “normal” after such a traumatic event (like a world war). I like how all of the characters coped with and experienced this in different ways. However, so much of Book Six felt unnecessary, and I feel like a large portion of it could easily be cut out because it didn’t add to the overall story. There were points I had to force myself to just power through. 
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Honestly, I was pretty disappointed because I thought this was for sure going to be a 5⭐️ read for me! 
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