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magical_sof's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
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? Yes
4.5
This was a very great book. If you're looking for a fantasy book with all the tropes, this is it. It was very world heavy and I wish it focused more on the relationships between characters specifically Simon and Baz's romantic relationship. The epilogue left me disappointed I think because I was searching for a longer, drawn out, enemies to lovers storyline. However, their relationship is very cute and Baz's personality really shines in this book. You get the kind of person he is during his first chapter. .
Despite that, all the characters are loveable. Penelope is quite the foil to Simon and their friendship is great, she provides a lot of insight and chuckles in this book. The whole cast of characters really grow and you learn their secrets as you go along which kept me engaged throughout the whole story (lots of twists and turns and surprises). Something else I loved about this book was the chapters being written from different characters' perspectives. I think this makes books more interesting and I loved the different view points. It made especially tense scenes more exciting and fast paced! I loved that.
If you're looking for a queer magical school fantasy world with LITERALLY every AO3 trope, this is the book for you. It looks hefty, but its a fast read.
Despite that, all the characters are loveable. Penelope is quite the foil to Simon and their friendship is great, she provides a lot of insight and chuckles in this book. The whole cast of characters really grow and you learn their secrets as you go along which kept me engaged throughout the whole story (lots of twists and turns and surprises). Something else I loved about this book was the chapters being written from different characters' perspectives. I think this makes books more interesting and I loved the different view points. It made especially tense scenes more exciting and fast paced! I loved that.
If you're looking for a queer magical school fantasy world with LITERALLY every AO3 trope, this is the book for you. It looks hefty, but its a fast read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood
marciafelis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Someone recommended this book to me as (in short) "Harry Potter but better", and it did not disappoint. I love the way magic works in this book, and the characters were vibrant and most of them were very relatable. As some other reviewers have pointed out, the story does feel like very elaborate (and well-written) fanfiction at times. For me, that's more of a feature than a bug, but some people might be a bit exasperated by the tropes employed.
One minor gripe is that apparently none of the characters know bisexuality is a thing. It would be fine if it was just thatSimon hasn't thought of it (with emphasis on how he often "doesn't think") or doesn't want to define him self/use that label (yet), but someone (at the very least the psychologist Simon starts seeing in the epilogue ) could have brought it up. I'll see how it's going to turn out in the next book, though, as I'm going to Carry On reading!
One minor gripe is that apparently none of the characters know bisexuality is a thing. It would be fine if it was just that
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
ameliaj_adams's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
I love this book! The characters are so loveable and the story is really well written. It’s basically a grown up Harry Potter. The world building is really well done and the plot is twisty and well paced. Would recommend to any fans of HP, or light hearted fantasy (plus a bit of romance)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death
brynn_books's review against another edition
4.0
It was a little slow at first. It was a little hard to get into the story and very confusing. I was just like, “What is going on??” But then the story picks up and I was just thrown into this whirlwind of emotions.
The magic system was also kind of confusing, it took me basically the whole book to understand it and I still don’t get it.
Towards the end of the book, there was just plot twist after plot twist after plot twist that was so beautifully executed and I loved everything about. It was like I was getting whiplash.
I loved the dynamic between Penny and Simon. I loved their friendship and just seeing a great friendship represented in this book was awesome and I love how it was a platonic friendship and how nothing romantic was going on between them.
I do have to say that Agatha annoyed me several times throughout this book and she was probably my least favorite character but I didn’t care as much because I was just focused on Penny, Simon and Baz.
I try not to take this too seriously. It kind of reads like poorly written fanfiction. But I love Baz and Simon (especially Baz). The worst part of this book was the first 100 or so pages before Baz showed up. That part was so frustrating to read. Overall, this was a pretty average read.
The magic system was also kind of confusing, it took me basically the whole book to understand it and I still don’t get it.
Towards the end of the book, there was just plot twist after plot twist after plot twist that was so beautifully executed and I loved everything about. It was like I was getting whiplash.
I loved the dynamic between Penny and Simon. I loved their friendship and just seeing a great friendship represented in this book was awesome and I love how it was a platonic friendship and how nothing romantic was going on between them.
I do have to say that Agatha annoyed me several times throughout this book and she was probably my least favorite character but I didn’t care as much because I was just focused on Penny, Simon and Baz.
I try not to take this too seriously. It kind of reads like poorly written fanfiction. But I love Baz and Simon (especially Baz). The worst part of this book was the first 100 or so pages before Baz showed up. That part was so frustrating to read. Overall, this was a pretty average read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
ajsterkel's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
This book was my most-anticipated release of 2015, but I was still nervous about it because the Simon Snow parts of Fangirl seemed so over-the-top ridiculous.
It turns out that Carry On is ridiculous, but it’s ridiculous in the most epic way possible. Seriously, this book is over 500 pages, and I blew through it in two days because I loved it so much. I want to talk about everything in this review, but I can’t because of spoilers. (And the review would be ten pages long.)
So, Carry On is the final book in the “fictional” Simon Snow series from Fangirl. Simon is a wizard in his final year of magic school, and he has a lot of problems. He’s struggling in his classes, being ignored by his mentor, arguing with his girlfriend, and being harassed by his evil vampire roommate, Baz. To make things worse, Simon is the Chosen One who is supposed to save the magical world.
This book is a standalone, so you can read it without reading Fangirl. However, if you haven’t read Harry Potter, you might miss a lot of the humor. This book feels like a Harry Potter parody. That’s why I love it so much. I’m a fan of anything related to Harry Potter, even parodies.
Rainbow Rowell does amazing things with fantasy tropes. This book really lets you see how ridiculous and overused some of them are. Rainbow Rowell flips the tropes on their heads. Simon is an incompetent Chosen One. Baz is a loveable villain. The magic system is silly. The witches and wizards drive cars, own laptops, accidently forget their wands at home, rely on Google to solve their problems, and talk like modern teenagers. This book is full of literal laugh-out-loud moments. Like all of Rainbow Rowell’s books, the dialogue and characters are on-point.
Other than Simon and Baz, my favorite character is Agatha. I like that she doesn’t want to be Simon’s sidekick or his happily ever after. She knows herself, and she knows what she wants in life. I also really like Baz. This story is told from multiple points-of-view, and his was my favorite. He’s hilariously sarcastic.
There is a love story in this novel. I’m not the biggest fan of romance in books, but this one didn’t bother me. The book has enough politics and mystery to keep the love story from being the only focus of the plot. I also care about the characters enough that I didn’t mind seeing them fall in love.
I can’t find too much to criticize. If this book doesn’t mesh with your sense of humor, you might have a hard time “getting” it. I wish the ending had been a little clearer. I wanted more explanation about a few things. Also, some of the first-person POV voices sounded very similar, so I sometimes had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to remember whose POV I was in. None of those issues are big problems for me. I enjoyed this book.
If you’re a fan of Rainbow Rowell, fantasy fiction, or Harry Potter, you need to read Carry On.
It turns out that Carry On is ridiculous, but it’s ridiculous in the most epic way possible. Seriously, this book is over 500 pages, and I blew through it in two days because I loved it so much. I want to talk about everything in this review, but I can’t because of spoilers. (And the review would be ten pages long.)
So, Carry On is the final book in the “fictional” Simon Snow series from Fangirl. Simon is a wizard in his final year of magic school, and he has a lot of problems. He’s struggling in his classes, being ignored by his mentor, arguing with his girlfriend, and being harassed by his evil vampire roommate, Baz. To make things worse, Simon is the Chosen One who is supposed to save the magical world.
This book is a standalone, so you can read it without reading Fangirl. However, if you haven’t read Harry Potter, you might miss a lot of the humor. This book feels like a Harry Potter parody. That’s why I love it so much. I’m a fan of anything related to Harry Potter, even parodies.
Rainbow Rowell does amazing things with fantasy tropes. This book really lets you see how ridiculous and overused some of them are. Rainbow Rowell flips the tropes on their heads. Simon is an incompetent Chosen One. Baz is a loveable villain. The magic system is silly. The witches and wizards drive cars, own laptops, accidently forget their wands at home, rely on Google to solve their problems, and talk like modern teenagers. This book is full of literal laugh-out-loud moments. Like all of Rainbow Rowell’s books, the dialogue and characters are on-point.
Other than Simon and Baz, my favorite character is Agatha. I like that she doesn’t want to be Simon’s sidekick or his happily ever after. She knows herself, and she knows what she wants in life. I also really like Baz. This story is told from multiple points-of-view, and his was my favorite. He’s hilariously sarcastic.
There is a love story in this novel. I’m not the biggest fan of romance in books, but this one didn’t bother me. The book has enough politics and mystery to keep the love story from being the only focus of the plot. I also care about the characters enough that I didn’t mind seeing them fall in love.
I can’t find too much to criticize. If this book doesn’t mesh with your sense of humor, you might have a hard time “getting” it. I wish the ending had been a little clearer. I wanted more explanation about a few things. Also, some of the first-person POV voices sounded very similar, so I sometimes had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to remember whose POV I was in. None of those issues are big problems for me. I enjoyed this book.
If you’re a fan of Rainbow Rowell, fantasy fiction, or Harry Potter, you need to read Carry On.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Abandonment
maevemil's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Blood
Minor: War
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
frannyd's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Vomit, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
vinsynt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.5
A sweep-you-off-your-feet magical escape that makes clever use of hero & villain tropes. If you grew up with reading Harry Potter, or ever had a Twilight phase, or read Fangirl as a teen, or are looking for some LGBTQ+ friendly fantasy (or all of the above, like me), you need this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Gaslighting