Reviews

I was skeptical (still am a bit), this book pleasantly surprised me. 3.5/5 stars.

The first half was so boring, but the way the second half took off had me hooked in and I was reading fifty pages a sitting. That alone earned it the four stars.

First off, the plot: the plot took forever to get into but I was hooked enough into the series to drop it. It took me forever to care about Jamie and then Penelope and Shepard's demon hunting and I was mainly looking forward to Baz and Simon's interactions. Which, I was starved of in the beginning.

There was a lot of conflict between them, especially internal conflict on Simon's part, so much to the point where I began to hate him. But Baz kept their relationship afloat as well as my interest. Which still, I don't understand how they broke up and got back together like twenty pages later with Simon saying he didn't try? Baz, please, I know you've been crushing on this boy for most your life but have some self respect? Ditch him for a bit, make him sleep on the couch!

Then, the second half. I was only a slightly bit confused with certain parts (Agatha's roommate? Have we heard of her before? I literally can't remember) but I was entranced (especially since Baz and Simon's fights that seemed to do nothing to the plot were finally over).

Spoiler

The twist of Simon being the Mage's son SHOULD'VE BEEN SO OBVIOUS FOR ME HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT COMING. Random old man saves random orphan and claims he's the chosen one? Despite all the records in the first book talking about the Mage's love life? How was that NOT OBVIOUS AHHH??? I also think the way the story handled Simon's just. Shock to it. It wasn't just a stranger now who manipulated him, it was his father. Damn. This is gonna be fun to explain to his therapist.

And then, Agatha and Niamh's romance. I just. It was so sweet, the both of them opening up to each other. I would adore a spinoff in this world, just about the two of them herding animals, because they didn't get enough spotlight in this story.

But. I still hated Penny and Shepard's romance. It felt like Shepard had no place in this world.

A solid story, a huge improvement compared to the second book, but... Not a really good farewell to the universe. It feels like there's a lot unanswered? Cough, all the events of the second book? Is it just gonna be left alone?

earth_to_dani's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

pommcaramel_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

I am... conflicted about this book. In the one hand, I loooooove the development in Simon and Baz's relationship, I looove the intimate moments, the deep conversation, the kisses, so many kisses! It's exactly what I wanted from this book! I love Agatha and the goats, I love Penelope and Shepard and their adventure with the demon, it was fun.

But I think the author missed so many points, so many things they should have deep dive into. Like Simon and his healing process because he is traumatized. We don't really know how he makes peace with the fact that he lost his magic (maybe it's the point?). We don't have a cathartic moment when he could talk about his guilt about the death of his mentor/abuser. All we have are anxiety attacks when he tries to have sex with Baz (which is not bad and not unrealistic, but he doesn't really talk and process his emotions at other times.) And there is no development with Baz either. He discovers that vampires can drink human blood and don't turn them in the last book and he does NOTHING with this information. Overall, the precedent book absolutely brings NOTHING to the story because all the info about vampires that we learned is just put in the back of the character's mind. And it is so frustrating!! I wanted Baz to drink Simon's blood! Or new legislation about vampires to be brought up because the world of mages actually realizes that it is discrimination that makes vampires bad and not just their nature.

But I had what I wanted, which is cute romantic scene between two broken boys, and I still was obsessed with it while reading it, so it's still a 4 stars for me.

basketkaceee's review against another edition

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5.0

book of the century book of the century don't even play with me rn
ate it upppppppp

moonsunsof's review against another edition

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4.0

i really enjoyed this book and i'm so happy with this ending. i could totally see this being a miss for a lot of people but idk it just did everything i expected from it as a finale of the trilogy. I love every character with all my heart (especially agatha) and i loved all of their endings (especially agatha's). i'm sad to see this trilogy go but yeah i loved it

kmfluegel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense slow-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

bhnmt61's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved Carry On, the first book in this trilogy, and Wayward Son was good enough to keep me interested. But this one is probably my favorite of the three. Halfway into it, I found myself grinning like an idiot at my kindle and thinking how the hell did Rowell get this so exactly right?

But the second half gets a little muddled, and I can’t say I was all that happy about the ending - it was one of those where I tapped the last page on my kindle without realizing it was the end. Wait, that’s it? It’s tied up well enough, but there are enough things left hanging (at least one of them fairly major) that I wonder if she’s leaving herself the option of a fourth book a few years from now. I can’t decide if I’m seriously irritated about the lack of closure or just happy that maybe we’ll get another Simon and Baz book someday. Highly recommended, but don’t try it without reading the first two, I don’t think it would work as a standalone.

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