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elijah00's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gaslighting
There are characters who are unreliable narrators and hide important information that is not revealed in this book.daffodilcherry's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was not expecting myself to become emotionally compromised by Simon Snow and Baz Pitch-Grim.
I went into this book expecting it to be an interesting take on a wizard boarding school with a teen chosen one, and ended up reading the Simon Snow trilogy within a week.
I loved the enemies to lovers twist, and how well Rowell wrote the switch between the two. This book is a perfect standalone, but an even better set up for the following two books, which I read immediately after.
Absolutely loved the narration of this audiobook, it definitely helped me cement voices for the characters going forward.
Wheelhouses: magical boarding school, the chosen one, but the chosen one isn't really that good at his job, bitch cracker syndrome, enemies to lovers, oh wait maybe I'm into him, hopeless queer pining, highly competent best friend, the way to saving the world was within you all along, the evil was me all along.
I went into this book expecting it to be an interesting take on a wizard boarding school with a teen chosen one, and ended up reading the Simon Snow trilogy within a week.
I loved the enemies to lovers twist, and how well Rowell wrote the switch between the two. This book is a perfect standalone, but an even better set up for the following two books, which I read immediately after.
Absolutely loved the narration of this audiobook, it definitely helped me cement voices for the characters going forward.
Wheelhouses: magical boarding school, the chosen one, but the chosen one isn't really that good at his job, bitch cracker syndrome, enemies to lovers, oh wait maybe I'm into him, hopeless queer pining, highly competent best friend, the way to saving the world was within you all along,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
nonidude's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
I had high expectations, and unfortunately was less than obsessed. I think I'm just not a fan of Rainbow Rowell's writing both her style and choices.
First thing that made me actually upset? That I started this book and felt lost, like I was thrown into the middle of the the story with less than enough information to make sense. I had so many questions! At one point the book happened to flop open and I saw the Author's Note at the end of the book where it starts out, "If you've read my book Fan Girl, you know that Simon Snow began as a fictional character in that novel...." WHAT? I looked it up and it said they were independent of each other, but I wondered... Luckily I had that one in my TBR stack and so paused this reading to read that, and sure enough through the excerpts in that book, it shed light on some of the world of Simon Snow to help me not feel as lost which is frustrating since this is supposed to be an independent read.
I've heard this book described at Harry Potter but gay. Eh I see A LOT of similarities, but idk. I'd love to hear what someone who enjoyed the HP series thinks of this. Imo it's less scary than HP but the kids are ironically more normal (they kiss and cuss).
I was really confused with the romance. It seemed random and all of a sudden, but this is also a book that apparently had many books before it in this fictional series, so I'm sure you don't get the whole picture here.
It was a lot of nothing. The last 150 pages or so were probably my favorite.
Overall, not a bad book, but didn't leave me feeling WOW.
First thing that made me actually upset? That I started this book and felt lost, like I was thrown into the middle of the the story with less than enough information to make sense. I had so many questions! At one point the book happened to flop open and I saw the Author's Note at the end of the book where it starts out, "If you've read my book Fan Girl, you know that Simon Snow began as a fictional character in that novel...." WHAT? I looked it up and it said they were independent of each other, but I wondered... Luckily I had that one in my TBR stack and so paused this reading to read that, and sure enough through the excerpts in that book, it shed light on some of the world of Simon Snow to help me not feel as lost which is frustrating since this is supposed to be an independent read.
I've heard this book described at Harry Potter but gay. Eh I see A LOT of similarities, but idk. I'd love to hear what someone who enjoyed the HP series thinks of this. Imo it's less scary than HP but the kids are ironically more normal (they kiss and cuss).
I was really confused with the romance. It seemed random and all of a sudden, but this is also a book that apparently had many books before it in this fictional series, so I'm sure you don't get the whole picture here.
It was a lot of nothing. The last 150 pages or so were probably my favorite.
Overall, not a bad book, but didn't leave me feeling WOW.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia and War
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent
elizlizabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
4.5
Loved the world building for this, and would definitely like to know more about it. I like how the enemies to lovers developed because hilarious. Plus all the characters are so well rounded I fell in love with most by page 20.
Only disliked that the pacing was weird at times, esp when it halted everything to focus on Simon et Baz which were sweet scenes but maybe a better fit as annexes (or dare I say... fanfiction?)
Only disliked that the pacing was weird at times, esp when it halted everything to focus on Simon et Baz which were sweet scenes but maybe a better fit as annexes (or dare I say... fanfiction?)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
solarpoweredmelodrama's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
It took me 8 years, but I finally finished the book and I'm so glad I did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Classism
bornachoker's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This was a cute read. I felt like the pacing was a little off, but I enjoyed the characters and the humorous tone. Also, is bisexuality not a concept in this book at all haha.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Biphobia and Eating disorder
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book reads at first like an excellent Harry Potter parody, lightheartedly poking fun at the plot holes and loose worldbuilding moments of the HP series as the main character, Simon Snow, recounts his misadventures (a humorously self-aware reskinning of many HP plot points) at his magical school during years 1-7.
I was ready for this book to be a Harry Potter parody and nothing more the entire way through (and would have loved every minute of it), but I was very pleasantly surprised to find an actual, original plot that played very well with the humorous setting and premise. The plot and the surprisingly complex characters took this book from parody to a genuinely gripping Harry Potter rewrite that successfully delivered a more complex (and plausible) plot, alongside characters that were more flawed yet more understandable at the same time.
I felt like this book was wholly satisfying as a standalone. I don't really feel any need to read the sequels, though I'm sure I'll get to them someday. For now, I'm left with that same soul-satisfied feeling that I get when I've just finished a 100k word fanfic with no tags and I can't remember what it was like to have ever not known about something so wonderful.
4.5 stars because of complete bi erasure and minor racism (not the inclusion of it in the world but rather minorly problematic descriptions/inconsistent descriptions of poc by the author)
I was ready for this book to be a Harry Potter parody and nothing more the entire way through (and would have loved every minute of it), but I was very pleasantly surprised to find an actual, original plot that played very well with the humorous setting and premise. The plot and the surprisingly complex characters took this book from parody to a genuinely gripping Harry Potter rewrite that successfully delivered a more complex (and plausible) plot, alongside characters that were more flawed yet more understandable at the same time.
I felt like this book was wholly satisfying as a standalone. I don't really feel any need to read the sequels, though I'm sure I'll get to them someday. For now, I'm left with that same soul-satisfied feeling that I get when I've just finished a 100k word fanfic with no tags and I can't remember what it was like to have ever not known about something so wonderful.
4.5 stars because of complete bi erasure and minor racism (not the inclusion of it in the world but rather minorly problematic descriptions/inconsistent descriptions of poc by the author)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Minor: Ableism, Infidelity, Racism, and Abandonment
Bi erasure details:erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a title that I heard of through Lighthouse Library Bookclub (it was a previous fiction read from Sept, 2021). I found this book a little hard to get into at first. It felt a little like reading a later work of Rick Riordan's in the way that it referred to previous adventures of the characters from time to time, and left me wondering what I had missed. I went back to listen to the first hour of the audiobook on 125% and then I felt a bit more grounded. This was not a title that I could make the most of if I wasn't concentrating on it.
++edit to add++ After writing this review I stumbled upon an article that describes how this book fits in with its previous books.. which don't exist. Rowell writes "a book that was inspired by fictional fanfiction of a fictional series".
https://lithub.com/how-rainbow-rowell-weaponized-fandom-for-good/
++
The story deals with a couple of lads at a Magic-School, who are roommates, constantly paranoid about each other and secretly-notsosecretly plotting to kill each other. Their relationships is utterly dysfunctional, which is possibly one of the weirdest and truest part of the story. Mostly teen stories come across as a bit simple and based in pointless misunderstandings, but this enemies to lovers plotline felt a lot more like my memories of highschool, which were a twisted mess of love and hate. Don't call me emo.
I think the stand-out bit of Simon Snow's world is the way that the magic works. It is triggered not necessarily by ancient dead languages but by living ones. Concentration and intent is coupled with incantations that come from clichés, catch phrases, idioms, and commonly known poems and songs. You can literally throw up a wall to protect yourself with "Can't Touch This!"... though it may only be powerful against people who are familiar with the song. It feels a lot like "Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board" only with common memes and quotes. They actually use "These aren't the droids you're looking for" to hide things from people's perception... and as phrases pass out of common use, so do their potency for weaving magic.
The evil baddy in the story is a mysterious force that swallows magic, and leaves the world mundane in its wake. Simon and his best friend Penelope, work with their friends (and enemies) and for much of the time nobody knows who is allied with whom... And at the equinox, ghosts come back to tell people the things that they think are most important to pass on to their still-living loved ones, which spices things up a bit with revelations, spilled secrets and quests. The Principal of the school is in a simmering conflict with the aristocracy of the magical world, as he wants to provide magical training regardless of lineage, to anyone with the talent.
As far as the story is concerned, the characters are a hot mess. The kids rely on the guidance of teachers, who are about as messed up as they are themselves, which means that adult support is not all it cracked up to be, though it's cool if you have a kickarse punk-rock Aunty who can bust you out of trouble when you are in too deep. The characters are a diverse ethnic mix, and the depiction of how Penny copes with her best friend's casual Racism about her looks and South Asian background rings true.
Ghosts, Vampires, Pixies, Numpties, Worsegers (like Badgers..only...) populate this world replete with silly wordplay and a main character who didn't find out that any of this existed until he was 11. This is a very queer love story, and I like the characters, even if they are jerks.
Well worth the read if you have the patience for being dropped in at the deep end.
++edit to add++ After writing this review I stumbled upon an article that describes how this book fits in with its previous books.. which don't exist. Rowell writes "a book that was inspired by fictional fanfiction of a fictional series".
https://lithub.com/how-rainbow-rowell-weaponized-fandom-for-good/
++
The story deals with a couple of lads at a Magic-School, who are roommates, constantly paranoid about each other and secretly-notsosecretly plotting to kill each other. Their relationships is utterly dysfunctional, which is possibly one of the weirdest and truest part of the story. Mostly teen stories come across as a bit simple and based in pointless misunderstandings, but this enemies to lovers plotline felt a lot more like my memories of highschool, which were a twisted mess of love and hate. Don't call me emo.
I think the stand-out bit of Simon Snow's world is the way that the magic works. It is triggered not necessarily by ancient dead languages but by living ones. Concentration and intent is coupled with incantations that come from clichés, catch phrases, idioms, and commonly known poems and songs. You can literally throw up a wall to protect yourself with "Can't Touch This!"... though it may only be powerful against people who are familiar with the song. It feels a lot like "Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board" only with common memes and quotes. They actually use "These aren't the droids you're looking for" to hide things from people's perception... and as phrases pass out of common use, so do their potency for weaving magic.
The evil baddy in the story is a mysterious force that swallows magic, and leaves the world mundane in its wake. Simon and his best friend Penelope, work with their friends (and enemies) and for much of the time nobody knows who is allied with whom... And at the equinox, ghosts come back to tell people the things that they think are most important to pass on to their still-living loved ones, which spices things up a bit with revelations, spilled secrets and quests. The Principal of the school is in a simmering conflict with the aristocracy of the magical world, as he wants to provide magical training regardless of lineage, to anyone with the talent.
As far as the story is concerned, the characters are a hot mess. The kids rely on the guidance of teachers, who are about as messed up as they are themselves, which means that adult support is not all it cracked up to be, though it's cool if you have a kickarse punk-rock Aunty who can bust you out of trouble when you are in too deep. The characters are a diverse ethnic mix, and the depiction of how Penny copes with her best friend's casual Racism about her looks and South Asian background rings true.
Ghosts, Vampires, Pixies, Numpties, Worsegers (like Badgers..only...) populate this world replete with silly wordplay and a main character who didn't find out that any of this existed until he was 11. This is a very queer love story, and I like the characters, even if they are jerks.
Well worth the read if you have the patience for being dropped in at the deep end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Eating disorder and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Medical content, and Deportation
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
eetishmeh's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
[This review was written after finishing the whole Simon Snow trilogy. It does not contain spoilers for the other books.]
This book was awesome! I love the trope subversion and this take on the Chosen One trope. (I also love golden retriever and wet cat dynamics so you've got me there. Also, I love Penny as well, so really I just love basically everything about this book.)
I accidentally sped through the entire trilogy—200+ chapters!—within 4 days, a feat which I'm pretty sure I haven't achieved before.
Some thoughts I had while reading this book, to sate your curiosity if you're like me and can't resist clicking all the spoiler tags in the review section:
Baz stop simping for Simon for two seconds challenge (impossible)
Glad they portray the manipulative mentor as a manipulative mentor, unlike some people *cough*JKRfailingtowriteDumbledore*cough*
I have a soft spot for sarcastic gay vampires with dark hair and magic
I still don't know if I'm pronouncing the name Bunce properly.
Anyway, 10/10 would recommend. If you want a humorous Romeo-and-Juliet, enemies-to-lovers story (with less tragedy for the lovers) paired with fantasy happenings, banter between friends, a super epic magic system and much better representation than Harry Potter, this is the book for you!
This book was awesome! I love the trope subversion and this take on the Chosen One trope. (I also love golden retriever and wet cat dynamics so you've got me there. Also, I love Penny as well, so really I just love basically everything about this book.)
I accidentally sped through the entire trilogy—200+ chapters!—within 4 days, a feat which I'm pretty sure I haven't achieved before.
Baz stop simping for Simon for two seconds challenge (impossible)
Glad they portray the manipulative mentor as a manipulative mentor, unlike some people *cough*JKRfailingtowriteDumbledore*cough*
I have a soft spot for sarcastic gay vampires with dark hair and magic
I still don't know if I'm pronouncing the name Bunce properly.
Anyway, 10/10 would recommend. If you want a humorous Romeo-and-Juliet, enemies-to-lovers story (with less tragedy for the lovers) paired with fantasy happenings, banter between friends, a super epic magic system and much better representation than Harry Potter, this is the book for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Please look further into what warnings come with this book if necessary! I likely forgot a few things