A review by no_prince_here
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Rainbow Rowell managed to create a truly beautiful world and a very cool magic system. The story is quite typical and not really that original, but then again, that’s the point. It’s supposed to parody the most famous fantasy Chosen One stories. However, it still manages to be very interesting. The characters are all great, each one with different, unique voices. The one character I really didn’t like was Agatha, since her role in the book doesn’t add much to the story, besides delay for the inevitable relationship between the leads. Most of the time she comes off as annoying or irrational, yet her chapters were easy enough to get through. I’m truly hoping that ‘Wayward Son’, the second book in the series, that gives Agatha a lot more time from what I’ve heard takes care of these problems. The last thing I’d like to point out is that the book is very, very slow. There’s different ongoing mysteries, and it’s apparent that they drag slightly at some places. However after making through books 1 and 2, 3 and 4 really pick up the pace, without feeling rushed. All in all, while there are certain problems, the lovable characters (for the most part), help this series stand out as a world I am really going to enjoy revisiting in the future.