Reviews with content warning for Murder - Wayward Son

Wayward son is kind of a shit sequal.

The bigges issue is that the original appeal of this series is a) the fun magical world that doesn't take itself too seriously and b) Baz' and Simon's relationship. This sequel doesn't give us enough of either.

Instead, Wayward Son feels like patting between book one and book three. I enjoy the discussion of the fallout on everyone's (mental) health and the relationship troubles of Simon and Baz, but Rainbow: where's the plot, love? There isn't any! And the book takes forever to get to the sliver of plot it has. It's very unsatisfying and makes that I don't really want to read the third book (even if I'll probably try because 'in for a penny, in for a pound').

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jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated

2.5

Like the last one this is an intriguing series, but also one I would’ve enjoyed when I was younger and didn’t know how problematic rainbow was.

This book follows Simon without his magic after the last book with Penelope and Baz as they decide to do a road trip across America.
Initially intending to be tourists their plans end up transitioning into a rescue mission for their friend from school Agatha (who happens to be Simon’s ex).

Americas magical world order is very different to the UK in the fact it has little order and a small cult of vampires known as next bloods are trying to take magic from magicians for themselves to “level up”. It’s like a weird fucked up cult MLM and feels kinda silly but overall I did enjoy the trip they all went on and their success in saving their friend so I cannot wait to see where the final book takes me.

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the_chocolate_bookshelf's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Oh my god, this book was insane! The story, the characters, the setting, everything. I fell in love all over again with these characters when I read this book.

'You were the sun, and I was crashing into you.' I love how we were able to explore Baz and Simon's relationship more deeply in this book and this quote sums it up for me.

Overall, a masterpiece and I cannot wait to read the last book.

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daffodilcherry's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny tense 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

5.0

This book was such a fun sequel to Carry On. Simon has defeated the great evil, he's gotten his vampire boyfriend, but he's lost his magical powers, his mentor, and his sense of purpose. I love the "so what?" continuation of this book from the typical "chosen one" narrative. Simon's and Baz's relationship is so fragmented and torturous, they both love each other but they are falling apart... It made me want to bite somebody. I enjoyed the fun take on the American magic society, and the creatures who were introduced. A++
Wheelhouses: so you saved the world, now what; roadtrip, roadtrip to rediscover yourselves, extension of the magical world, silicone valley vampires.
Favourite quotes:

[[ I touch Simon Snow like he's made of glass. Like he'll explode if I cross the wrong wires.

He touches me like he can't decide whether to push or pull me, and he's settled on both. I go where he wants. I take what I can get.

"Can I?" he asks.

Can you what, Simon? Kiss me? Kill me? Break my heart? I touch him like he's made of butterfly wings. ]]

[[And I resist demanding an explanation.

Why now, what's the key? How do I get back here tomorrow? Promise to let me back in.

Sometimes Simon kisses me like it's the end of the world, and I worry he might believe that it is.]]

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leonormsousa's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

4.0

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emilyg0663's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Complicated
Loveable characters? Complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated

3.75

This book is dark! Be prepared to be at the edge of your seat the whole time, and be desperate for the third book afterwards.

Wayward Son shows Simon, Baz and Penelope in a new light, and a completely different world! If the first book, Simon and Penelope have magic and can hold their own in a fight, Baz too. But here, they are completely unmatched but extremely lucky!! Every situation, every fight, they are either completely defeated or won but beaten up to exhaustion. They are broken and depressed and dragging their feet as they travel through this book, which made me feel helpless.

Even the finale was crazy because they completely got lucked out with the Talkers just randomly showing up. It wasn’t completely random as it’s all Agatha was talking about in the book, but damn! They are all bleeding and in pain at the end, which doesn’t make it feel like a victory at all!!
This makes me extremely nervous for the characters, as they are not good heroes anymore. They can’t do anything right, and even Penelope has no plan which is completely a left field! I actually don’t feel as strongly attached to the characters anymore compared with the first book. <Spoilers> Penelope is an arrogant ‘know it all’ who actually is just a child who knows nothing, Simon is a broken human who has lost his reason for life but is brash and jumps into trouble every second he can. I was absolutely furious with Simon for this, wanted to smack him and tell him ‘sit down!’ And Baz did the most growth as to finding about more about himself, but he’d tided down to my most hated troupe; strained relationships over miscommunication……..

Other thing that stressed me out was the fact that every group hates eachother for biases that they created. Everyone is doing wrong things and blaming the other groups for their misfortunes. It made me realised that there is no good guy in these books, that I don’t root for the vampires, the mages orange creatures. I don’t even root for Simon!

I can’t wait for book 3

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francestea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Great second books are few, and this one makes a valiant effort. I really enjoyed catching up with our characters again. The plot is pushed forward by a road trip which I often find a little boring (and then this happened, and then this happened, etc.), but Wayward Son was pretty good. Simon is a lot like Harry Potter in book 5- angsty/traumatized - but Baz, Penelope, and their new buddy Shepard more than make up for it. Definitely worth a read if you enjoyed the first.

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

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