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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I love that enough time had past since first reading this that I sincerely did not remember anything at all during this reread. I did not have enough appreciation for the fact that Rainbow Rowell, an American, was writing first impressions of America through the eyes of Brits. Incredible. Outstanding. In my copy, she has a small passage where it has her notes and she says "and you thought I'd never get these kids to Nebraska!!!" and that really just sums up my adoration for her.
One of my favorite aspects of this story (that I had resented when I was still a teenager reading this back in 2019) was how rocky Baz and Simon's relationship is. They've both gone through insurmountable trauma and they're coming off eight years of hating each other where the only words they shared were insults and threats. Of course they don't know how to communicate with each other.
I love how Baz is dealing with coming to terms that while he may be a great magician, he doesn't know anything about being a vampire. It makes me so, so sad to see him struggling in a community filled with vampires who have been taught how to survive, while Baz has had to live in an environment who hated his kind- something he never chose for himself. (the symbolism goes crazy)
I love how Simon is dealing with not being the Chosen One anymore. He doesn't know who he is without the Mage whispering in his ear and reinforcing the idea that he's only useful as a weapon. The scenes where Simon is fighting are the scenes where he's happiest, the moments where he shines the best. But then the adrenaline goes away and he's left with resentment and emptiness. I love how his depression is written, and I really respect that it isn't pushed away. It impacts his relationship with everyone, but especially with Baz.
I didn't highlight the quote (which I now regret because I can't for the life of me find it) but the parallel between Baz saying how he doesn't understand not to drain something full of blood until they're empty and dead, and Simon not knowing how to do magic without putting everything into it is really interesting. They're both unprecedented. Baz is a vampire but also a magician. Simon was the insidious humdrum. They make me go crazy, I swear to god.
I love Penny's arc so much. She's used to fighting for her life with Simon. She's used to knowing what she wants and how exactly how to get it. But Simon isn't the most powerful mage anymore, and America doesn't work the same way as England. There's a moment in the book where she's finally coming to terms with this, and she thinks it's the end of her, but it's really only just the beginning. I am so, so excited for her story in the next book.
Agatha! My beloved! Best girl! Her entire life she never really cared about magic all that much. Still in this book she doesn't really care. But that ending. Oh, I can't wait for her story as well.
Shepherd! The only thing I remembered from this book was that I adore him so, so much and that stays true. Him and his little golden John Lennon glasses <3 When he was trying to talk his way out of danger with the vampire it had me rolling. Love him to pieces.
I devoured this book. Once again it was so hard to put down. I haven't read the third book (like at all) and I am so nervous and also so excited. Rainbow Rowell knows how to devastate her readers. But she also knows how to lift them up. But that only makes me more nervous.
Quotes! Spoilers beware!
"Was Simon supposed to see it coming? He doesn't see anything coming! He's taken aback by Tuesdays!"
"It was like she'd pulled the feeling right out of my heart. I could have kissed her. (I still wish sometimes that I wanted to.) (That would feel like an answer to... the question of me. Then I could say, 'Oh, that's who I am. That's why I've been so confused.')"
"Penny. You don't eat beef."
"Oh. Then I'll have the... I'll have whatever people have."
"Baz's sunglasses are as big as his head. And that scarf. It should make him look like a mad old bat, but I'll be damned if he doesn't look half glamorous. Like a boy Marilyn Monroe...
My brain gets kind of stuck on 'boy Marilyn Monroe' for a while."
"Penelope Bunce has decapitated one vampire and set two more on fire. She's my mother's daughter."
"Crowley, if this is what it takes to keep Simon in my arms- gunshots and Quiet Zones and high-speed chases- I'm here for it. I'll swear to it. I've found my vocation."
"Margaret shrugs. 'Believe you are malformed outcast tourist trash.'
She's not wrong there."
"Lamb showed Baz fountains and lights. They went up in a Ferris wheel. They had burgers and milkshakes.
'If nothing else,' Shepherd said, 'this is a great first date.'
Penny kicked him in the side."
"Apparently the Next Blood's headquarters... are in San Diego." I wonder where it would be. North Park? La Jolla? I think Agatha was supposed to be living in La Jolla. Oh! I bet it's near the airport. Yeah, the docks would be perfect for vampires.
I wonder if Rainbow Rowell with have Simon find out about his parents the circumstances surrounding his birth. I had really wanted him to find out years ago, but now I don't really see the urgency in it. I don't think it would turn out the way I had wanted it to.
One of my favorite aspects of this story (that I had resented when I was still a teenager reading this back in 2019) was how rocky Baz and Simon's relationship is. They've both gone through insurmountable trauma and they're coming off eight years of hating each other where the only words they shared were insults and threats. Of course they don't know how to communicate with each other.
I love how Baz is dealing with coming to terms that while he may be a great magician, he doesn't know anything about being a vampire. It makes me so, so sad to see him struggling in a community filled with vampires who have been taught how to survive, while Baz has had to live in an environment who hated his kind- something he never chose for himself. (the symbolism goes crazy)
I love how Simon is dealing with not being the Chosen One anymore. He doesn't know who he is without the Mage whispering in his ear and reinforcing the idea that he's only useful as a weapon. The scenes where Simon is fighting are the scenes where he's happiest, the moments where he shines the best. But then the adrenaline goes away and he's left with resentment and emptiness. I love how his depression is written, and I really respect that it isn't pushed away. It impacts his relationship with everyone, but especially with Baz.
I didn't highlight the quote (which I now regret because I can't for the life of me find it) but the parallel between Baz saying how he doesn't understand not to drain something full of blood until they're empty and dead, and Simon not knowing how to do magic without putting everything into it is really interesting. They're both unprecedented. Baz is a vampire but also a magician. Simon was the insidious humdrum. They make me go crazy, I swear to god.
I love Penny's arc so much. She's used to fighting for her life with Simon. She's used to knowing what she wants and how exactly how to get it. But Simon isn't the most powerful mage anymore, and America doesn't work the same way as England. There's a moment in the book where she's finally coming to terms with this, and she thinks it's the end of her, but it's really only just the beginning. I am so, so excited for her story in the next book.
Agatha! My beloved! Best girl! Her entire life she never really cared about magic all that much. Still in this book she doesn't really care. But that ending. Oh, I can't wait for her story as well.
Shepherd! The only thing I remembered from this book was that I adore him so, so much and that stays true. Him and his little golden John Lennon glasses <3 When he was trying to talk his way out of danger with the vampire it had me rolling. Love him to pieces.
I devoured this book. Once again it was so hard to put down. I haven't read the third book (like at all) and I am so nervous and also so excited. Rainbow Rowell knows how to devastate her readers. But she also knows how to lift them up. But that only makes me more nervous.
Quotes! Spoilers beware!
"Was Simon supposed to see it coming? He doesn't see anything coming! He's taken aback by Tuesdays!"
"It was like she'd pulled the feeling right out of my heart. I could have kissed her. (I still wish sometimes that I wanted to.) (That would feel like an answer to... the question of me. Then I could say, 'Oh, that's who I am. That's why I've been so confused.')"
"Penny. You don't eat beef."
"Oh. Then I'll have the... I'll have whatever people have."
"Baz's sunglasses are as big as his head. And that scarf. It should make him look like a mad old bat, but I'll be damned if he doesn't look half glamorous. Like a boy Marilyn Monroe...
My brain gets kind of stuck on 'boy Marilyn Monroe' for a while."
"Penelope Bunce has decapitated one vampire and set two more on fire. She's my mother's daughter."
"Crowley, if this is what it takes to keep Simon in my arms- gunshots and Quiet Zones and high-speed chases- I'm here for it. I'll swear to it. I've found my vocation."
"Margaret shrugs. 'Believe you are malformed outcast tourist trash.'
She's not wrong there."
"Lamb showed Baz fountains and lights. They went up in a Ferris wheel. They had burgers and milkshakes.
'If nothing else,' Shepherd said, 'this is a great first date.'
Penny kicked him in the side."
"Apparently the Next Blood's headquarters... are in San Diego." I wonder where it would be. North Park? La Jolla? I think Agatha was supposed to be living in La Jolla. Oh! I bet it's near the airport. Yeah, the docks would be perfect for vampires.
I wonder if Rainbow Rowell with have Simon find out about his parents the circumstances surrounding his birth. I had really wanted him to find out years ago, but now I don't really see the urgency in it. I don't think it would turn out the way I had wanted it to.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Everything was a story. And Simon was the hero. He saved the day. That's when stories end - with everyone looking ahead to "happily ever after.”
This is what happens if you try to hang on after the end. When your time has come and passed. When you've done the thing you were meant to do.
I loved [b:Carry On|32768522|Carry On (Simon Snow, #1)|Rainbow Rowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481729252l/32768522._SX50_.jpg|43346673], even if not everyone did. It totally worked for me...every campy, angsty moment of it. This one took a little while to grow on me. It starts with Simon lying on the sofa. Not metaphorically. Literally.
Simon Snow is lying on the sofa.
Simon Snow is pretty much always lying on the sofa these days. With his leathery red wings tucked up behind him like a pillow and a can of cheap cider hanging off his hand.
It's been a year since the events of Carry On and Simon is severely depressed. He has no magic and no direction. His relationship with Baz has fizzled to almost nothing. Penelope and Baz worry about him, but don't know what to do, until Penelope comes up with the idea of a road trip across America, to see first her boyfriend in Chicago and then Agatha in California.
“Ha! Does Agatha know we're coming?"
"It'll be a surprise!" Penny says.
"Surprise!" Baz singsongs. "It's your ex-boyfriend and his boyfriend and that girl you never liked very much!"
What could possibly go wrong? Besides everything?
America is a land of unorganized magic, loosely governed by treaties amongst the magical creatures: "Speakers" (AKA Mages) who function without any formal structure or educational system, vampires, half-animal creatures, chaos demons, dragons, and others who have fled the persecution of the old world for the lawlessness of the new. Throw in two brilliant magicians (one of whom is also a vampire) and a depressed former magician with a giant pair of wings, none of whom understand the culture of 'Murica, let alone the sheer size, and nothing is going to go right. Oh, and Agatha has somehow gotten herself involved with a sinister new-age cult.
The more things fall apart, the more entertaining they become. Sometimes all the angst becomes too much (fueled by the alternating 1st person POV chapters), but I adore Baz and there are a few new characters that I very much enjoy. The ending is a cliff-hanger and I can't wait for [b:Any Way the Wind Blows|52190991|Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3)|Rainbow Rowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610744543l/52190991._SY75_.jpg|73610676]!
This is what happens if you try to hang on after the end. When your time has come and passed. When you've done the thing you were meant to do.
I loved [b:Carry On|32768522|Carry On (Simon Snow, #1)|Rainbow Rowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481729252l/32768522._SX50_.jpg|43346673], even if not everyone did. It totally worked for me...every campy, angsty moment of it. This one took a little while to grow on me. It starts with Simon lying on the sofa. Not metaphorically. Literally.
Simon Snow is lying on the sofa.
Simon Snow is pretty much always lying on the sofa these days. With his leathery red wings tucked up behind him like a pillow and a can of cheap cider hanging off his hand.
It's been a year since the events of Carry On and Simon is severely depressed. He has no magic and no direction. His relationship with Baz has fizzled to almost nothing. Penelope and Baz worry about him, but don't know what to do, until Penelope comes up with the idea of a road trip across America, to see first her boyfriend in Chicago and then Agatha in California.
“Ha! Does Agatha know we're coming?"
"It'll be a surprise!" Penny says.
"Surprise!" Baz singsongs. "It's your ex-boyfriend and his boyfriend and that girl you never liked very much!"
What could possibly go wrong? Besides everything?
America is a land of unorganized magic, loosely governed by treaties amongst the magical creatures: "Speakers" (AKA Mages) who function without any formal structure or educational system, vampires, half-animal creatures, chaos demons, dragons, and others who have fled the persecution of the old world for the lawlessness of the new. Throw in two brilliant magicians (one of whom is also a vampire) and a depressed former magician with a giant pair of wings, none of whom understand the culture of 'Murica, let alone the sheer size, and nothing is going to go right. Oh, and Agatha has somehow gotten herself involved with a sinister new-age cult.
The more things fall apart, the more entertaining they become. Sometimes all the angst becomes too much (fueled by the alternating 1st person POV chapters), but I adore Baz and there are a few new characters
Spoiler
Shepherd, the normal, who should play into book 3, and Lamb, the ancient Vampire King, who really needs his own book
Just like the first Simon Snow book, I found the beginning to be a bit slow. Once I was able to get into it I read the last 70% in one sitting. I can not wait until the third book comes out.
I thoroughly enjoyed and loved this! Dare I say it, but it might be better than Carry On. Either way, this is fantastic and I highly recommend the series (cause now it'll be a trilogy!!)!
The narrator did a fantastic job and I cannot wait for the third book!