Once again, I am asking that R.F. Kuang pay for the therapy I need after finishing her books.

Babel is a historical fantasy novel that follows the story of four Oxford students studying word etymology in the 1830s, and I think it might just be my new favorite dark academia book.
Let me start by acknowledging that Babel is not the book for everyone. It's long, filled with lectures on etymology, and it can be dense at times...but personally, I discovered that I find word etymology incredibly interesting (which might be a bit sad, to be honest, but I just think it's cool).
Kuang is a master at meticulously plotting her novels. Just like with The Poppy War, this novel takes place over the course of several years but it's paced perfectly so that every time I started to get bored, the action would begin again.
I also love the characters and the found family dynamic with my entire heart. They're all so innocent at the beginning and I loved how Ramy and Letty were constantly bickering even though they obviously had feelings for each other. Each character was dynamic and unique, and while I do admit that of the main four, I found Victoire to be my least favorite, I came to love her by the end. Kuang also did an amazing job of the subtle shifts in Robin's internal monologue, just like she did with Rin's in The Poppy War.
Babel is probably my all-time favorite dark academia novel and no, I am not okay (I'm still sort of crying from the ending).
4.75/5