Review: Carry On
20:51
By Rainbow Rowell
Source: Personal purchase, hardback
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT+
Goodreads Synopsis:
Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.
I loved this book so, so much. I went in having such high expectations, because I’ve read all of Rowell’s other books, and really enjoyed them all. Fantasy is one of my favourite genres too, so when I heard Rainbow Rowell was writing a gay fantasy, I knew I had to read this one straight away. It was amazing the whole way through, and has instantly become one of my favourite books ever.
The start was slow. I wondered if it was ever going to pick up, because for the first 150 pages (which is a lot, in my opinion) nothing had really happened. The style is the same, so I was enjoying all of the quirky features that I love in all of Rainbow’s books. There were so many unique touches which made the story truly magical.
It started to pick up once I was fully into the story. I know some people have accused the book of being boring, and that there was no plot, but I didn’t find that at all. Once the book had properly started, things were happening all the time, and I was constantly so engaged. There was mystery and suspense, combined with a really good fantasy. In my opinion, it was a match made in heaven!
My favourite aspect was the romance. There wasn’t much, and only began to fully develop towards the end half of the book, but every romantic scene was heartbreakingly beautiful. This book is not a love story and isn’t centered around romance; I enjoyed the kissing scenes so much that I was wishing for more. Tears of joy actually brimmed in my eyes because of how happy I was for the characters involved.
Like all of Rainbow Rowell’s books, the characters were so likeable. It was easy to be so invested in everyone - they were so complex, yet flawed, so felt so real. I adored everyone in different ways; I think Baz is my favourite character because of how many layers he has, and how we got to see so many different sides to him.
The multiple POVs in this book really worked. Usually I’m really against multiple narrators, but I liked it in this because it never got confusing. Everyone sounded so different, so it wasn’t hard to remember who was speaking. It is written in first person present tense too, which I’m normally so against, but Rowell made it work in this book, and it worked so well.
If you’re a fan of Rainbow Rowell, I’d definitely recommend this book. It has everything that you’d hope for in a book by her - the writing style is the same, so has the same whimsical feel as all of her other books have. It has quickly become one of my favourite books of all time, so I’d advise everyone to read it. There’s nothing at all to dislike.
Rating:
Hello! I'm D - a dog-loving feminist from the UK. You'll probably find me with my nose in a book or playing my clarinet
2 comments
Aww, I agree with you so much! Carry On had such a frustrating beginning for me... I ws thinking of DNF'ing it so many times! But I trusted Rowell (as I always do), stuck with it, and ended up enjoying it sooo much. <3 Glad you liked this one.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree, the beginning was a bit frustrating but IT WAS SO GOOD IN THE END! I'll always trust Rowell to deliver a great story - she always does! I'm so glad you ended up really enjoying it. Thanks for the comment! ♥
DeleteThanks for commenting! I read and respond to every comment, so make sure to check back to see my reply. Have a nice day! ☺♥