Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Any Way the Wind Blows

Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

40 reviews

cuppa_curiositea's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

lol, another reviewer said that there is a lot of smut in this book, and girl, you got my hopes up! This doesn't touch smut, and while I'm being facetious more than anything, there is also a conversation to be had about the harms of labeling basic sexual exploration as "smut." So no, this book is not smutty, but it does include a handful of scenes of consenting young adults who have been in a relationship for a while exploring and expressing normal sexual desires.

Anyway! This was fun, just like the other books. I don't care about Agatha's arc, just like the other books (though I warmed up to her very slightly by the end of the book). The plot is okay, just like the other books. And all of the characters (except Agatha) are so lovable and silly, just like the other books :)
The second book of this trilogy was definitely the weakest, but this one had me laughing crying with the characters throughout it all! I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator is phenomenal. I've never been a "fan" of a narrator before, but I looked up more of his work just because I love the way he tells stories. I digress, Rowell's characters have always been stronger and more interesting than her plots, in my opinion, and I really felt for Simon's struggles with PTSD in this book. His emotional struggles were so raw and real, and I really appreciated seeing that side of "the hero/chosen one" trope. Of course Baz says some cute romantic things that make me swoon, and everything is tied up satisfyingly, in my opinion :)

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monareadsbooks's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

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crystal_e_fall's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.5

Loved the character work, just wish there was more plot to balance it out! And more friendship moments!

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hollandward's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

I loved the first book, and was disappointed by the second book. This book was very much in the middle! Went into this with lower expectations because of my experience with the second book, and I think that really helped me enjoy it.

Some thoughts:

Happy with where Simon and Baz landed. Will put this into spoiler brackets, just in case someone wants to go into this completely cold.

I appreciated that Simon and Baz don't stay mad at each other for long. I actually really appreciated that the book broke them up and then got them back together quickly, within the space of only a few chapters. We didn't linger in the heartbreak for too long, nor was it over too quickly. I appreciated that they didn't go from rocky to perfect in the space of a heartbeat, and that a big part of their resolution is their promising to always <i>try</i> with one another. I think that realistically and honestly speaks to what relationships in your 20s look like, and was a great change from the usual path of YA relationships. Found some of their more explicit scenes to be cringe-y, just in how they were written, but overall content.

One of my biggest complaints with book 2 was Penny. I found her absolutely unbearable. She demonstrated a lot of growth in this book, which was appreciated.

Shepard continues to be the best. Loved his characterization in this book. And the conclusion of his demon curse arc was really clever and honestly quite fun.

The plot? I don't know her. There wasn't much of one in this book, and what little there was completely ignored what had been built up in book 2. A legitimate line in this book was something along the lines of "there are too many problems in the world that we can't solve, so whatever happens in America is irrelevant to us and we should only focus on England". This would be fine, if an entire book hadn't just taken place in America, AND if there weren't clear ways in which the plot of Wayward Son could have tied to the plot of AWTWB. I spent most of the book seeing those connections and thinking "yes, this is the moment when the NowNext connects to the Chosen Ones!" and then....nope. Again, the plot of book 2 is basically canonically thrown out in this book. Seemed like a waste.

There were plenty of threads that could have been tied together, but nothing was every connected.

The Watford Goats as the harbingers of the end of Watford; The Chosen One cult; Shepard's pact with a demon; Simon's family....4 entirely separate plotlines that had plenty of opportunity to be tied together but were left instead to languish on their own.

It made the ending of this book feel empty and hollow. The climax happened with (in the audiobook version) 2 hrs left in the book....and then it was just sort of limping along to the finish. For the ending of a series, it went out with a feeble noise instead of the triumphant, thunderous roar one might expect, especially after the second book set up so much internal and interpersonal conflict.

Overall, this really did balance the scales of the series for me. I'm glad I read it, and glad for the resolution it brought to the characters and their relationships.

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ririreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny mysterious sad medium-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

5.0

Finales always hit me so hard. 🥺
No part of me was ready to say goodbye to Simon and Baz and wrap up the Carry On series. But what a finale!!
I cant say I hated Wayward Son, but i definitely didn’t love it. Buy Any Way the Wind Blows fixed all the problems I had with it. It even made me care about Agatha! Simon and Baz resolved things so early on in the book I was worried they would face more problems down the road but I didn’t even need to be. All of their scenes were perfect and I adore them both. I wish we could have gotten more scenes of Penny and Shepherd but I’m happy with what we got, they’re hilarious together. Agatha…I still dreaded her chapters but significantly less in this book! Really loved the addition of Niamh to the cast and definitely saw their ending coming. Simon & Agatha rlly said Queer✨but take the long way around.

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violetdelights's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

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mairallen1114's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

the perfect ending to the perfect series, truly shows the steps of healing from a trauma, and how changing doesn't mean the end of all old things. i definitely cried when i finished it

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