Carry On

Disappointed. Not interested in reading fan-ish fiction about characters I have no relationship with.

3.5/5 stars

This was fun! But I do have thoughts.

Overall, I really loved the romance—Baz and Simon were soooo fun to read about, and Baz was great, and Baz and Simon together was just so great to read. I found myself smiling a lot. They were so great.

However! There was a major issue I noticed throughout: massive bi-erasure. Simon doesn't once consider that he might be bi, even though he'd had a girlfriend. He repeatedly wonders if liking Baz means he's gay, and when he discusses it with Baz, Baz never suggests (or even considers, for that matter) Simon might be bi, either. We get through the entire romance without the possibility of Simon's being bi mentioned once—which, I mean, I'd be okay with Simon deciding he's gay (not bi) because that's totally legitimate, but he should have at least considered the possibility that he might be bi.

On a totally unrelated note, I also found the first 100 pages or so kind of slow, so it took me longer than usual to get into it. I also thought two of the POVs (one used frequently, one not) was mostly unnecessary, which didn't help the pacing issue.

That said, I really enjoyed the magic system set up (it was so different from anything I'd read before!), the world building was fun, and I really, really liked reading an m/m narrative in a fantasy setting. I definitely enjoyed it overall despite the stuff I noticed above, and I thought the ending fit really well.

Cute romance. Fun world building. Totally perfect-for-the-book magic system. It was totally worth getting through the slow-ish opening, to me. :)

I am overwhelmed by emotions after finishing this. I can't stop thinking about it. Rainbow Rowell is one of my all time favorite authors and in a long list of incredible works, this is one of her most moving. I feel like the book filled me completely full, and I'm just bursting to anyone near me about how amazing it was. It was impossible to stop reading, especially the last 100 or so pages (really, it was very hard to get any homework done until I finished this)! It made me react out loud. Quite genuinely. I laughed out loud, I cried, I gasped. The twists were amazing.
The entire set of characters were amazing. I felt like I really knew all of them. There was no character I felt lukewarm toward. I either really hated or really loved each!
Then the ending. One of the best endings in fantasy out there.
I really can't overstate how much I want everyone to run out and get this one, right now, stop your lives and read it.

Rowell's writing itself is as fun as ever (some great one-liners!), but the story and characters fell flat for me. First, I did not realize it was an actual story with the characters from the fanfic in Fangirl (I know. I didn't re-read the cover copy before I just dove in, okay?!). Though I don't think it would have been a much better book even if I had realized this before reading. Not only because the story should be able to stand on it's own, but also because not much really happens for the first half of the book. I didn't feel invested in the characters, whose whole backstory happened somewhere else, and the romance didn't feel earned. It also felt uncomfortably fetishized, which is a shame, because I think we need way more LGBTQA representation in literature, especially YA.

Finished reading 7/11/15.
Crying in tears of happiness

“I let myself slip away... Just to stay sane. Just to get through it. And when I felt myself slipping too far, I held on to the one thing I'm always sure of - Blue eyes. Bronze curls. The fact that Simon Snow is the most powerful magician alive. That nothing can hurt him, not even me. That Simon Snow is alive. And I'm hopelessly in love with him.”

Actual review 7/12/15.
This is for sure one of the best books I've read this year and it's up there with Jane Eyre, Mistborn and A Thousand Splendid Suns. This is the second best book by her I've read, having read Fangirl, Landline and Eleanor&Park-i think I liked E&P a little more- and it was just so beautiful.

I don't know how she can make me feel so many emotions with just words but she does. You have made me fall in love again with you beatiful writing, Rainbow.

The magic system was just fascinating:“Magic words are tricky. Sometimes to reveal something hidden, you have to use the language of the time it was stashed away. And sometimes an old phrase stops working when the reat of the world is sick os saying it” “And they become more powerful the more that they're said and read and written, in specific, consistent combinations” By the way the magic works, the spells are always evolving with the language and it's just so freaking cool!

Characters I loved: BAZ BAZ BAZ BAZ BAZ FREAKING BAZ:
He was all that I wanted in a character, and I would marry him if I could.
Penelope: she's totally a character of her own, not just a Hermione's copy. Her skills are out of this world and when she cast her spells I was just cracking up xD

I hated Agatha, the Mage and Simon so much, like I REALLY DESPISE them. No kidding.


Such a beautiful book. Thank you Rowell.

THIS BOOK IS ALREADY FUCKING FIVE HUNDRED PAGES LONG AND I WANTED SO. MUCH. MORE. I WANTED MORE OF EVERYTHING. THE WORLD. THE CHARACTERS - OH MY GOD, THE CHARACTERS.
SIMON=AMAZING
PENNY=AMAZING
BAZ=THE MOST WONDROUS BEING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD/GALAXY/UNIVERSE/IDK.
I LOVED IT ALL. IT'S NOT EVEN POSSIBLE FOR ME TO WRITE DOWN MY FEELINGS BECAUSE I'M FEELING EVERYTHING AND IT'S 1:30AM BECAUSE I DO DUMB THINGS LIKE READING INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BUT IT WAS JUST SO GOOD.
THE SPELLS WERE FUCKING SONG LYRICS! FOR GOD'S SAKE THEY SANG QUEEN, IT JUST DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT.
My feelings. Are everywhere.

OMG THIS IS SUCH A GOOD BOOK!!
ADDING IT TO MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME!! ___
Everything was amazing: the story, the world building and of course the characters!

Wow! I don't even know where to start with this book. This was definitely one of my most anticipated books (especially in terms of standalones and not continuing a series). I feel in love with the characters in Fangirl. I obviously loved Cath and Levi, but I also loved the bits we got of Simon and Baz. So a whole 500+ page book about Simon and Baz was super exciting.

I loved that this book starts during their last year at Watford where they have already faced many challenges and overcome them. Instead we get as much information as we need as the story goes instead of a crazy summary of the previous years. Rainbow Rowell did a fantastic job of weaving in the past experiences. I also loved the pace of this book. We got straight to the point without a bunch of world building and explanations.

As soon as I started the book, I already felt like I knew the world. I do not think this was because I was already introduced to the world in Fangirl, I think it was just written well enough to not have a learning curve. There are many similarities to HP but I think that is part of The Chosen One trope and the fan fiction meta aspect of this book.

I will admit my one concern going into this book was the fact that this was a book about fanfiction of a fictional book from a different fictional book (and yes it is that complex). So I was worried it was going to be too much meta but I did not feel that way at all. There was really nothing relating to the original fanfiction from Fangirl other than character names.

I already want to reread this book and I really want to read Fangirl now. Both will probably happen by the end of the year so I can revisit these characters. This book is very different than Rainbow Rowell's other contemporary books, but she did a great job with this fantasy story!

Well. I still liked lots of it, and see the allure of the characters. But the narrative was annoying, with all the allusions to episodes we never hear about, and the ending, after all the build up, felt rushed.

sometimes it's nice to feel pandered to.

—

I re-read this in anticipation of Wayward Son and honestly stand by my original review.