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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
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
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
adventurous
emotional
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
Ok so… this was better than “Wayward Son” but only a little bit. I loved “Carry On” and still stand by it being an excellent book, but “Wayward Son” was a complete disappointment and honestly just bad. I was so let down by it that I went into this expecting to dislike it as well and while I didn’t love it, I guess I didn’t hate everything about it like the sequel. It wasn’t a disappointment so I guess I’m alright with it.
My main complaint with “Wayward Son” was the shoddy character work and complete lack of development. While it definitely was not that bad here, it still didn’t feel like the first book with the characters I loved so much.
Everything that happened in “Wayward Son” is completely irrelevant and never mentioned in this book, which is fine by me honestly. The only thing you would maybe need to know is the introduction of new character Shepard, whom I don’t care about at all, despite Rainbow’s best attempts. His story in this book was just another distraction from what was the “main” plot with Simon and Baz and clearly an attempt to create tension between them and Penny. I saw his romance with her coming from a mile away and did not care at all. I found it contrived, unconvincing, and unnecessary. Am I the only one who was excited to get to meet Micah in the last book and hated his and Penny’s out of the blue breakup?
Penny had probably undergone the least dramatic character shift in the last book and so still felt like herself in this. I appreciated some of her introspection but did not like how she got so wrapped up with Shepard so fast and therefore got so little time with Baz and especially Simon (seriously, her and Simon are best friends and attached at the hip but they spend the majority of this book avoiding each other. I loved their dynamic in “Carry On” so it’s a big no thanks from me).
So let’s get into Baz and Simon. Baz felt more like his old self here. There were several of his one-liners that genuinely made me laugh but it still didn’t feel quite like the first book, with his sharp wit and attitude. As much as it hurts to say, I didn’t love him and Simon together here either. Granted, it was still better than the complete lack of communication from the last book, but the spark wasn’t there for me, especially at the beginning, and Simon’s breaking up with him just to beg forgiveness 10 pages later really put a damper. Still, I appreciated that they were actually talking here and supporting one another (mostly. It gets weird sometimes). I actually appreciated Simon’s character here though. Aside from his whole Baz thing at the beginning, this felt like the natural continuance of his character arc and everything he went through in the first book. I found his struggles realistic, convincing and mostly well-handled.
Which brings me to my real point. This is not a bad book. With some more work, I think it could actually be a good book. If it was tightened up some more, this works better as a sequel to “Carry On” than “Wayward Son” ever could. The character arcs and plot have a more natural continuance in here and, while they’re not great, they make more sense and are significantly less disjointed. What I’m saying is “Wayward Son” didn’t need to happen. It was such a letdown and doesn’t fit in with the rest of the series, especially since its events are not relevant here at all. Rainbow could have just taken more time to really write this thing well and forgot about “Wayward Son” entirely. Or made it a novella. Or did something good with the plot there. Or literally anything else.
This has kinda been all over the place but before I wrap it up, I do want to talk about the main plot with the new chosen one here. Yes, it’s just a less good rehash of the first book (power hungry mysterious mage who wants to take over etc). Yes, it does create some inconsistencies with Simon’s character (in my opinion). Yes I think Smith Smith-Richards is a terrible name and his parents must have hated him. But you know what, it’s serviceable. It gets the job done.
I found the sub-plot with Shepard somewhat entertaining, if only a distraction from the Simon/Baz thing. There were some good jokes there, but I don’t think they were used to their full potential. And the whole “engagement” thing was clearly just a tactic to conjure up romantic tension between Penny and Shepard, where I really didn’t feel any. Remember, she’d just gotten out of a years long relationship that she was supposed to be devastated over and has only known Shepard a week. Penny, who doesn’t trust more than 3 people at any one time got swept away with him? Sure.
Agatha’s storyline was fine. I guess it mostly made sense for her character and she’s living our cottagecore dreams now so good for her. And anything is better than what happened to her in the last book so if she’s happy, I’m happy. That’s all I got really.
If you’re interested in reading “Carry On” at all (which I do encourage), I’d really recommend stopping after the first book. But if you want to get into the series, just skip right to this book. You could jump into this from the first book with very little confusion really, except for Shepard.
My main complaint with “Wayward Son” was the shoddy character work and complete lack of development. While it definitely was not that bad here, it still didn’t feel like the first book with the characters I loved so much.
Everything that happened in “Wayward Son” is completely irrelevant and never mentioned in this book, which is fine by me honestly. The only thing you would maybe need to know is the introduction of new character Shepard, whom I don’t care about at all, despite Rainbow’s best attempts. His story in this book was just another distraction from what was the “main” plot with Simon and Baz and clearly an attempt to create tension between them and Penny. I saw his romance with her coming from a mile away and did not care at all. I found it contrived, unconvincing, and unnecessary. Am I the only one who was excited to get to meet Micah in the last book and hated his and Penny’s out of the blue breakup?
Penny had probably undergone the least dramatic character shift in the last book and so still felt like herself in this. I appreciated some of her introspection but did not like how she got so wrapped up with Shepard so fast and therefore got so little time with Baz and especially Simon (seriously, her and Simon are best friends and attached at the hip but they spend the majority of this book avoiding each other. I loved their dynamic in “Carry On” so it’s a big no thanks from me).
So let’s get into Baz and Simon. Baz felt more like his old self here. There were several of his one-liners that genuinely made me laugh but it still didn’t feel quite like the first book, with his sharp wit and attitude. As much as it hurts to say, I didn’t love him and Simon together here either. Granted, it was still better than the complete lack of communication from the last book, but the spark wasn’t there for me, especially at the beginning, and Simon’s breaking up with him just to beg forgiveness 10 pages later really put a damper. Still, I appreciated that they were actually talking here and supporting one another (mostly. It gets weird sometimes). I actually appreciated Simon’s character here though. Aside from his whole Baz thing at the beginning, this felt like the natural continuance of his character arc and everything he went through in the first book. I found his struggles realistic, convincing and mostly well-handled.
Which brings me to my real point. This is not a bad book. With some more work, I think it could actually be a good book. If it was tightened up some more, this works better as a sequel to “Carry On” than “Wayward Son” ever could. The character arcs and plot have a more natural continuance in here and, while they’re not great, they make more sense and are significantly less disjointed. What I’m saying is “Wayward Son” didn’t need to happen. It was such a letdown and doesn’t fit in with the rest of the series, especially since its events are not relevant here at all. Rainbow could have just taken more time to really write this thing well and forgot about “Wayward Son” entirely. Or made it a novella. Or did something good with the plot there. Or literally anything else.
This has kinda been all over the place but before I wrap it up, I do want to talk about the main plot with the new chosen one here. Yes, it’s just a less good rehash of the first book (power hungry mysterious mage who wants to take over etc). Yes, it does create some inconsistencies with Simon’s character (in my opinion). Yes I think Smith Smith-Richards is a terrible name and his parents must have hated him. But you know what, it’s serviceable. It gets the job done.
I found the sub-plot with Shepard somewhat entertaining, if only a distraction from the Simon/Baz thing. There were some good jokes there, but I don’t think they were used to their full potential. And the whole “engagement” thing was clearly just a tactic to conjure up romantic tension between Penny and Shepard, where I really didn’t feel any. Remember, she’d just gotten out of a years long relationship that she was supposed to be devastated over and has only known Shepard a week. Penny, who doesn’t trust more than 3 people at any one time got swept away with him? Sure.
Agatha’s storyline was fine. I guess it mostly made sense for her character and she’s living our cottagecore dreams now so good for her. And anything is better than what happened to her in the last book so if she’s happy, I’m happy. That’s all I got really.
If you’re interested in reading “Carry On” at all (which I do encourage), I’d really recommend stopping after the first book. But if you want to get into the series, just skip right to this book. You could jump into this from the first book with very little confusion really, except for Shepard.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5 stars. Not everybody needs to be in a relationship in the end. People can have pleasing ends to their story without needing a boyfriend or a girlfriend... just.. stop it. And when did Simon and Baz turn into horny teenagers that can't leave each other alone. It just surprises me after the break through of the last book, and what simon went through.
Having read the first two books years ago, I finally got around to reading "Any Way the Wind Blows." And so I wouldn't miss a beat, I reread the first two again to refresh my memory of the story. I am so glad I did because I forgot how much I loved Simon, Baz and the whole gang. It was a lot of fun to revisit Watford and go on the journeys with the main characters. While this series has been described as "Harry Potter-esque", I found it to be more mature and one that really dives into the magical world it is set in. The romance is realistic, angsty, and has excellent representation. My favorite book in this trilogy was definitely "Wayward Son" because who doesn't love a good road trip book. Plus, the storyline in Las Vegas appealed to me as I live in Sin City and I can totally see it being run by vampires. This third book did feel a bit odd to me, with multiple storylines that didn't feel cohesive to me, but I satisfied with it overall, and I wouldn't be mad if we got another novel in this series.