Reviews with content warning for Violence - Wayward Son

I adore these foolhardy characters so damn much. I feel like I never quite understand the plot of book 1, so I appreciate going on an entirely new adventure in America, with new spells, new magical beings, new emotional turbulence, and the same old inability to effectively communicate one's inner thoughts (this applies to Baz, Simon, and Penelope). And Shepard was a welcome addition to the crew.

Note: This was a reread before starting book 3. I listened to the audiobook and, at times, it was hard to distinguish who was speaking or whether certain thoughts were internal or spoken aloud. When I first read it, I'm glad I read the book rather than listening to it.

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libbyhb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Again, did a re-read of the first two Simon Snow books ahead of the release of Any Way the Wind Blows, and this time I read them by audiobook! Euan Morton is just as wonderful of a narrator on this as he was for Carry On. This was my first re-read of Wayward Son, and it was nice to refresh my memory on it since I read it really quickly when it first came out. I liked this one, but definitely less than Carry On. What I did enjoy in Wayward Son: SHEPARD, more depth to Agatha, and the exploration of the vampire world.

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toberomanced's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Not as great as the other two books. Love Shepard though!

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allygator's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.25

Unpopular opinion: I think this is better than Carry On.
I think I love this so much because it feels like a much more grounded story. Not everything is happy and nice, but not everything should be. Every single character is traumatized from the first book, and that makes so much sense. They went through an insane amount of trauma.
I am, as always, frustrated by miscommunication (even though I understand exactly why it happens in this). All I want is for Simon and Baz to sit down and talk about their feelings and what's hurting them so that they can be happy together again.
Anyways, this book also succeeds in introducing a new character whom I absolutely adore. Shoutout to Shepard, I love him so much. He's so stupid and so smart -- he's a perfect contradiction. I love his curiosity and enthusiasm and how much he loves magic. He feels so real in a story full of incredibly real, incredibly painful characters and feelings.
I do think that this is paced slower than the first book, but also that the pacing is more consistent. There's not a 150 page stretch in the beginning that drags on as you wait for a character to show up.
This isn't a perfect book, by any means, but it is an excellent, surprisingly grounded sequel. It does a great job of doing exactly what it is meant to do -- tell the story of a Chosen One after his story "ended".

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mmlowj's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

This book perfectly touches upon the aftermath of the first book, how Simon feels after losing his powers and having only a by-proxy access to the magical world he could call his home. It feels like the 2 weeks in between Christmas and New Year's when you're not exactly sure where life is going to go and who's coming along for the ride. Except you're on holiday in America, and actually with a wizard-vampire, a witch and a human with wings and a tail, who just defeated a magical overlord and left magic high school for college.

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manarnia's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

I enjoyed revisiting these characters again and meeting some fun, new ones as well.

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starlessnights's review against another edition

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3.0

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amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

3.0

The pacing varied a lot, slow at the beginning and too fast at the end. I most enjoyed learning about magical America. I also liked getting to know Penelope better. I had lots of second hand anxiety about losing things while traveling. I also fixated on the messes the trio left behind them all over the country. Not looking forward to that catching up with them.

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