Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

46 reviews

helalost's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ajsterkel's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 I finished the Simon Snow series Nooo! What will I do with my life now? I've been spending all my free time reading these books.

Does the series really have to be over? There are a bunch of dangling plot threads because the characters decided to let somebody else save the world. They could change their minds and keep things going . . . .

Anyway, this series is about a group of 20-somethings who have finished wizard school and are now in college or starting careers. The final book is Any Way The Wind Blows. It's slightly less plot-focused than the previous books, which is kind of the point. What's a Chosen One supposed to do when his enemies have been vanquished? How's he supposed to live without the whole world watching? What if fighting monsters is his only job skill, and he doesn't want to do it anymore?

The humor and quirky characters are the best part of this series, but I also love that it's set after a wizard war. The characters have regrets about how they behaved during the battles. They're now trying to correct their mistakes. In the process, they make friends with the classmates who had to get out of their way during all the saving-the-world stuff.

This series is awesome because it takes the villains and background characters from traditional fantasy series and turns them into main characters.

My biggest complaint about the final book is the kissing scenes. Most of them become biting scenes. It makes sense because the characters involved are a vampire and a dragon boy who used to be enemies, but it grossed me out. Kissing is unsanitary enough without breaking the skin! I couldn't stop thinking about infections. I hope they brushed their teeth before literally attacking each other's faces.

I'm scared of germs. If you're normal, maybe the biting is fine. Don't let it stop you from reading the book. I enjoyed this series. I'm sad it's over. 
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dreamer01's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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arlaubscher's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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shoni's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Look this book isn't great, I just have a weird attachment to Simon Snow that I can't help giving it 5 stars, he's my comfort character. But in reality, it's more like a 3.5

I have so many issues with this story, and it's because the entire plot (at least what can be considered a plot because there really wasn't one) is just fanservice to the fans AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY. Yes we had expectations, and yes we wanted certain things, but that doesn't mean you should do it. RR wanted to avoid making anyone unhappy that she created a book that doesn't really have a plot, it just has characters doing what they want. It's as if this entire book is just every character doing their side quests before the main one continues as no one is ready to deal with the big boss yet.
the side quest being Simon and Baz trying to have sex with each other, that was made very clear here, and honestly too much of it. I did not need that much of it and could have happily done without it.


Even before we got any information about the book, I was a firm believer that Simon and Baz need to break up to figure out who they are without the other, and as much as it hurt I was happy when they broke up, but seeing them back together shortly after seemed pointless. And I get that each character has their own problems, and issues but the way she went about them doesn't make sense. They seemed so thrown in to just let the reader know these character still exists but are just doing their own thing.
I get the plot line of Penny breaking Shepards curse but it also didn't make sense as it seemed like it should have played a bigger part at the end when it was just that, them breaking the curse so they can hang out more to end up together. AND AGATHA'S STORYLINE IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE. IT MAKES NO SENSE! I get it people love her, and they wanted her but what did her storyline show? She didn't have any reason in the plot, even with the goats there was no need for Agatha to be the one to be able to herd them together, to take care of them. It was just done so Agatha could live that cottage core life with her girlfriend that so many fans wanted. </spoilers> If you were to remove every single one of Agatha'schapters the story wouldn't even change, even with Penny's and Sheps but at least that came directly from Wayward Son. It seemed like all RR wanted to do is show that Simon and Baz would end up together and make fans happy.  I also wish we got more from the final battle that books like these usually thrive from. I felt like I was stolen that moment. 

ALSO THE MAIN "VILLAIN" WAS JUST A RIP-OFF OF THE MAGE. They both essentially wanted the same thing and nothing else. But it was also clear from the beginning that something fishy was going on and the foreshadowing wasn't even done in a way that you are happy and pleased with it. 

I did enjoy the cute snowbaz moments, but they weren't as memorable as the moments in Carry On or Wayward Son, nothing truly stood out to me about it. But It did make me happy. And seeing Penny more of her fierce self was definitely a plus. She was able to show not only how smart she is but how powerful. That she is not one to back down from something. I admire her. Also, Shepard is just a great person all around and if you do not like him, I cannot trust you. He is the character that makes all the bad things seem not so bad in this entire book. I love him. 

I might have a lot of issues with the book but at the core, it was nice to see the characters I have loved and grown attached to get the ending they deserve. I might not agree with the journey/the way they reached it but at least they got there. Though at the end I feel like we are just left with more unanswered questions than before. We are left wanting more because it doesn't seem the end of the story, just the end of a certain chapter in their life.
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brynn_books's review against another edition

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2.5

Have I mentioned yet how frustrating these characters are? I feel like I mentioned that in my other reviews. It makes the book kind of unbearable to read at times. I thought the whole plot with Agatha and Niamh was unnecessary and boring for me to read. Honestly, I found the entire book unnecessary to read. I just want cute Simon and Baz fluff but if you’re not going to give it to me at least have an interesting plot. 
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literallyliterature's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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reading_grin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ne zdaleka tak dobré jako první díl, ale lepší než druhý. Těžce soucítím s Bazem. Objevuje se zde můj oblíbený motiv: “schválně jak fungují končetiny navíc v této konkrétní knize”
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breadbees's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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