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A review by impeachnixon
Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell
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
3.0
I'm torn, which is why I suppose 3 stars is an appropriate rating. I read this entire series in about a week, and I loved it so much. That being said, there were some issues that kept popping up for me throughout the entire series, which were especially prominent in this book specifically.
I love the changing perspectives, I always love it when books shift perspectives. That being said, it often felt unnecessary to the point where it took me out of the story. Lady Ruth's chapters, for instance, often just repeated what had already happened in the chapter before, or provided really basic observations like "Oh, Baz and Simon are together. Good for them." This really started to bug me. There were so many times when there would be an entire chapter to describe some random side character's feelings which could have been communicated through dialogue or body language. There was one scene where, in the middle of the climax (?) of the book, we get a random passage from Penelope's mom's perspective that basically amounts to "ugh". It really disrupts these scenes and rarely provides much insight. However, in the places that are especially interesting (namely: the fact that Simon is the son of the Mage), these switching perspectives really gave away the big reveal.
This book often felt rambling, but I still loved reading about Simon and Baz, and I loved the other couples in this book (although I do feel that Agatha has never been explored thoroughly enough for me to really connect to her plotlines. Her and Niamh were really cute together though). It was a fun read, and a quick read. It wrapped up the trilogy nicely in my opinion, although there were some things (such as Baz realizing that he is negatively affected by drinking only animal blood) that were never resolved, which begs the question: why was it brought up at nearly every turn? Still, it was a fun read!!
I love the changing perspectives, I always love it when books shift perspectives. That being said, it often felt unnecessary to the point where it took me out of the story. Lady Ruth's chapters, for instance, often just repeated what had already happened in the chapter before, or provided really basic observations like "Oh, Baz and Simon are together. Good for them." This really started to bug me. There were so many times when there would be an entire chapter to describe some random side character's feelings which could have been communicated through dialogue or body language. There was one scene where, in the middle of the climax (?) of the book, we get a random passage from Penelope's mom's perspective that basically amounts to "ugh". It really disrupts these scenes and rarely provides much insight. However, in the places that are especially interesting (namely: the fact that Simon is the son of the Mage), these switching perspectives really gave away the big reveal.
This book often felt rambling, but I still loved reading about Simon and Baz, and I loved the other couples in this book (although I do feel that Agatha has never been explored thoroughly enough for me to really connect to her plotlines. Her and Niamh were really cute together though). It was a fun read, and a quick read. It wrapped up the trilogy nicely in my opinion, although there were some things (such as Baz realizing that he is negatively affected by drinking only animal blood) that were never resolved, which begs the question: why was it brought up at nearly every turn? Still, it was a fun read!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content