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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
That third star is just for nostalgia's sake. This book feels very much like it started with a list of things to sort out for the protagonists and everything else was then built around it. I love a good satisfying ending, but unfortunately that surrounding plot felt both disjointed and predictable . Even that I'd be happy to overlook, but not the fact that I couldn't recognise several of the characters I loved so much in Carry On . There were genuinely sweet moments and others that made me laugh, but I can't help but wish these glimpses into Baz and Simon's future were instead turned into vignettes or novellas - or really just left to the reader's imagination.
Spoiler
(Simon and Baz snogging in the catacombs? check. Get Simon a new sword and a long lost granny who loves feeding him? check. No inconveniently incompatible lifespans? check. Pair everyone up neatly? check, I was half expecting Jamie and Pippa to announce their engagement.)Spoiler
(I knew it was coming but I still had to stop reading and just stare into the distance for a while when that melodrama with Excalibur started to actually unfold, like the weirdest homage to Oliver Twist and other improbable Dickensian reunions)Spoiler
(Look I'm as delighted as the next person about a butch lesbian love interest, but nothing about the characterisation of Agatha in CO persuaded me that she could find her happiness as a hermit goatherd at Watford. And Penny - PENNY - ignoring Simon when he's asking her for help for A WEEK so that she can conveniently deal with her demonically engaged boyfriend? Please. I even felt sorry for Daphne and what the story did to her.)
I loved the romance that we got & I also thought there were some fun and thrilling moments in this book. However, idk if it was just because it was so long or because it felt disconnected from the other two books in my opinion, but I just couldn't shake this weird feeling that it ended abruptly and didn't feel the same as reading Carry On & Wayward Son.
Ja nawet nie wiem jak to ocenić. Zaczęłam czytać te serie lata temu, kiedy jeszcze takie rzeczy mnie jarały, albo chociaż przynosiły odprężenie. Z drugim tomem męczyłam się rok temu, a teraz postanowiłam zamknąć temat.
Koniec z tą seria i niech dostanie te 3 gwiazdki, bo jest świetnie napisana, ma genialnych bohaterów, a autorka opisuje wiele ważnych tematów i dobrze o nich mówi. To wszystko nie prześcignie jednak faktu, że mnie to nie jara. Nie byłam zaangażowana i nie widziałam potrzeby zaczynania kolejnego rozdziału. Trochę mi się wyrosło.
Ach te dzieci, tak szybko dorastają.
Koniec z tą seria i niech dostanie te 3 gwiazdki, bo jest świetnie napisana, ma genialnych bohaterów, a autorka opisuje wiele ważnych tematów i dobrze o nich mówi. To wszystko nie prześcignie jednak faktu, że mnie to nie jara. Nie byłam zaangażowana i nie widziałam potrzeby zaczynania kolejnego rozdziału. Trochę mi się wyrosło.
Ach te dzieci, tak szybko dorastają.
3.5/5
I read some reviews on this book before I sat down to write my own. I always do that. I read mostly the critical ones, because it helps me reflect and remember what I just read and how I felt about it in the moment. And I fell SO conflicted. Why?
For me this series was never really about the action. Even by first book, for me, there was a reason we don't get to see all the cools stuff they did when they were younger and why we only hear about it. We are not there to witness all the dangers of being the main character in the world of mages. We are there to witness a person who is all of the sudden lost in it. We were dropped at the end of Chosen One story and we saw his fall thought the second book and how difficult it is to get up after that in the third book. Simon was thrown into being the Chosen One without his consent, just a child.
I didn't like Agatha in first books for how much she wanted to run away from their magic world, but I never thought she was badly written. Further in the books it became more clear why she wanted to escape.
The focus for me was not on ending the plots or having the biggest show down possible, because I wanted to just make sure our main cast can end up happy. I wanted the relationships to bloom and to see how they will move forward. I wanted the happy ending that Simon was strapped from even though he ended the war. Seeing Simon and Baz struggle with their our trauma, finding each other in this whole mess and partly healing (in their weird, messy way) - that's what took my full attention.
Instead book gave him closure on who he is, instead of who were his parents, felt like a right choice too. Because that was the point, right? For Simon to figure out who he was this whole time. Normal or Mage. Chosen One or a fake. And coming to the conclusion that in the end, it didn't matter, because all he had to do is just be and keep trying.
That was enough was all people who truly loved him and it will become enough for him too. One day.
The more I think about it the more I feel like the book for me was about them figuring out how to put themselves together after all the years of trauma and keeping on living. About what happens after this "happy ending" and how the story has to carry on. About how tiring it was and ugly. About how being a "sidekick" of the chosen one can leave you feeling on the edge of danger at all times. How the idea of being alone is crushing. About how you never know what is going on in someone else's life. How the pressure and expectation can crush you from the inside. And so on, and so on.
This book was not great. There is a lot to be questioned. The “big bad guy” in the this book was so unnecessary. But it also was a read that I had fun with. This book felt like a treat just outside of my reach, the treat being Simon and Baz being happy together, Penelope finding love beyond magic, Agatha being at peace. I read the first half within one sitting and the second part within the next (with a break for some sleep). So it definitely dragged me in by the collar and wouldn't let go. I'm not even sure if it was better or worse than the second book, while the first book of the series was still the best. I still haven't decided on that. But damn I know I enjoyed it.
Spoiler
"As if I wouldn't make the world spin backwards if I thought he'd like it better that way."
I read some reviews on this book before I sat down to write my own. I always do that. I read mostly the critical ones, because it helps me reflect and remember what I just read and how I felt about it in the moment. And I fell SO conflicted. Why?
For me this series was never really about the action. Even by first book, for me, there was a reason we don't get to see all the cools stuff they did when they were younger and why we only hear about it. We are not there to witness all the dangers of being the main character in the world of mages. We are there to witness a person who is all of the sudden lost in it. We were dropped at the end of Chosen One story and we saw his fall thought the second book and how difficult it is to get up after that in the third book. Simon was thrown into being the Chosen One without his consent, just a child.
I didn't like Agatha in first books for how much she wanted to run away from their magic world, but I never thought she was badly written. Further in the books it became more clear why she wanted to escape.
The focus for me was not on ending the plots or having the biggest show down possible, because I wanted to just make sure our main cast can end up happy. I wanted the relationships to bloom and to see how they will move forward. I wanted the happy ending that Simon was strapped from even though he ended the war. Seeing Simon and Baz struggle with their our trauma, finding each other in this whole mess and partly healing (in their weird, messy way) - that's what took my full attention.
Spoiler
I understand the point that the plot could have been better and the author could have done more with Simon's family plotline (Lucy etc) instead of the fake chosen one story. I understand that it might have been more interesting and would led Simon to unravel his pain more. I would love to see how they would work it out, Simon being crashed by new revelation of killing his own father and finding out his mother left him with this new family.Instead book gave him closure on who he is, instead of who were his parents, felt like a right choice too. Because that was the point, right? For Simon to figure out who he was this whole time. Normal or Mage. Chosen One or a fake. And coming to the conclusion that in the end, it didn't matter, because all he had to do is just be and keep trying.
That was enough was all people who truly loved him and it will become enough for him too. One day.
The more I think about it the more I feel like the book for me was about them figuring out how to put themselves together after all the years of trauma and keeping on living. About what happens after this "happy ending" and how the story has to carry on. About how tiring it was and ugly. About how being a "sidekick" of the chosen one can leave you feeling on the edge of danger at all times. How the idea of being alone is crushing. About how you never know what is going on in someone else's life. How the pressure and expectation can crush you from the inside. And so on, and so on.
This book was not great. There is a lot to be questioned. The “big bad guy” in the this book was so unnecessary. But it also was a read that I had fun with. This book felt like a treat just outside of my reach, the treat being Simon and Baz being happy together, Penelope finding love beyond magic, Agatha being at peace. I read the first half within one sitting and the second part within the next (with a break for some sleep). So it definitely dragged me in by the collar and wouldn't let go. I'm not even sure if it was better or worse than the second book, while the first book of the series was still the best. I still haven't decided on that. But damn I know I enjoyed it.
Spoiler
"I can touch you less gently, but I won't love you less kindly."
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
The emotional finale
I just realized I never posted a review for this book here, maybe because it's hard to even find words for it. There is so much happening in this volume, and it was still too short cause I can never have enough of them.
This volume was way more focused on Baz and Simons relationship, which I loved but also took me on an emotional roller-coaster. They love each other so much but struggle so hard to express that, and sometimes I just wanted to shake them and be like, "Why is this so difficult? Just kiss each other and be happy!" But of course, it's not that easy, and I also life for the drama.
I also really enjoyed Penelopes' storyline and, surprisingly, Agathas, as well. I never hated her character and actually could understand why she wanted to distance herself from magic in the second volume, but her storylines were just kinda boring to read. Not in this one, though, and I liked where it got her.
All in all, a great volume and amazing series in general. I still wanted to know more at the end, though. It wasn't really that open, but there were still some unanswered questions, and I am a very curious person. Maybe we will see the characters again (well, there is a great short story about them in Scattered Showers).
I just realized I never posted a review for this book here, maybe because it's hard to even find words for it. There is so much happening in this volume, and it was still too short cause I can never have enough of them.
This volume was way more focused on Baz and Simons relationship, which I loved but also took me on an emotional roller-coaster. They love each other so much but struggle so hard to express that, and sometimes I just wanted to shake them and be like, "Why is this so difficult? Just kiss each other and be happy!" But of course, it's not that easy, and I also life for the drama.
I also really enjoyed Penelopes' storyline and, surprisingly, Agathas, as well. I never hated her character and actually could understand why she wanted to distance herself from magic in the second volume, but her storylines were just kinda boring to read. Not in this one, though, and I liked where it got her.
All in all, a great volume and amazing series in general. I still wanted to know more at the end, though. It wasn't really that open, but there were still some unanswered questions, and I am a very curious person. Maybe we will see the characters again (well, there is a great short story about them in Scattered Showers).
I cannot believe I've finished the Simon Snow trilogy.. what a wild ride!
I'm happy all of the characters got what they deserved! although the third one wasn't majorly plot driven, I still enjoyed just reading about them, their struggles, and their relationship. a good end, I'd say!
I'm happy all of the characters got what they deserved! although the third one wasn't majorly plot driven, I still enjoyed just reading about them, their struggles, and their relationship. a good end, I'd say!
Summation:
SnowBaz 5✨
Pynch 0✨
But also, is this really a trilogy? Because I would not be mad if there was more SnowBaz (with less Penelope - though she was more tolerable in this installment), and some cool questy-type vampire-fantasy adventures!
Just putting it out there.
Anyway, loved this!
SnowBaz 5✨
Pynch 0✨
But also, is this really a trilogy? Because I would not be mad if there was more SnowBaz (with less Penelope - though she was more tolerable in this installment), and some cool questy-type vampire-fantasy adventures!
Just putting it out there.
Anyway, loved this!