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A review by tomsproat
Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Unfortunately this book was just eh.
I loved the original book in this series, and knowing it was a standalone sucked a bit. so when sequels were announced due to its success, I was very excited.
I preordered this book as I was very excited, even after I thought the second book felt a bit random.
The split storylines had no weight to them and they felt so forced. Penelope and Shepard summoned a demon, and it just all worked out and was only ever mentioned once after. Then their storyline was just over. Agatha was herding goats and it was stated it was extremely important to the magickal community. All she did was help deliver a goat's kid, and then everything was right again - however not once in the book were there any real consequences for the goats walking away from Watford.
Lastly Simon's story felt as if it was building to something, and then just ended. Who is the Chosen One? What state is the magickal community left in? why did Simon become immune to magic if he was actually a mage after all?
As a side note, Simon being the lost son of Lucy was so incredibly obvious throughout the series that having that as the final reveal in a trilogy was extremely lackluster.
That said, the book wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't a good book. I unfortunately wish this had been left as a standalone novel and not made into a trilogy.
I loved the original book in this series, and knowing it was a standalone sucked a bit. so when sequels were announced due to its success, I was very excited.
I preordered this book as I was very excited, even after I thought the second book felt a bit random.
The split storylines had no weight to them and they felt so forced. Penelope and Shepard summoned a demon, and it just all worked out and was only ever mentioned once after. Then their storyline was just over. Agatha was herding goats and it was stated it was extremely important to the magickal community. All she did was help deliver a goat's kid, and then everything was right again - however not once in the book were there any real consequences for the goats walking away from Watford.
Lastly Simon's story felt as if it was building to something, and then just ended. Who is the Chosen One? What state is the magickal community left in? why did Simon become immune to magic if he was actually a mage after all?
As a side note, Simon being the lost son of Lucy was so incredibly obvious throughout the series that having that as the final reveal in a trilogy was extremely lackluster.
That said, the book wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't a good book. I unfortunately wish this had been left as a standalone novel and not made into a trilogy.