Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3)
Rainbow Rowell
In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong. In Any Way the Wind Blows, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha have to decide how to move forward. For Simon, that means deciding whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages -- and if he doesn't, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she's smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn't sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough. Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet. This book is a finale. It tells secrets and answers questions and lays ghosts to rest. Carry On was conceived as a book about Chosen One stories; Any Way the Wind Blows is an ending about endings. About catharsis and closure, and how we choose to move on from the traumas and triumphs that try to define us.
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Thank god! Rainbow Rowell is back!
I am so f*cking glad. I am so so glad to see her back and in shape. Was this the perfect novel? By no means, no, it was rough around the edges with some weird plots and lose ends. But it was good to see Simon and Baz together again working as a team and good to see a healthy(ish) relationship between the two of them and a story really that topped off both of their character arcs with a nice neat bow.
Will it every beat the original? Absolutely not! But do I think it did justice to the trilogy? Yes. It missed a lot of stuff I would’ve love to know the answer too, but it also answered a lot of my questions while also giving me some good butterflies in the tummy type content.
So, yeah, skip the second one and read the first and third. You definitely won’t regret it and this is still a good book. It does the series justice and I am glad I get to read an ending for two of my favourite queer boys.
0I LOVED IT
(because it's very emotional-based, relationship and character development heavy; the plot is so-so)
(also, as an overall trilogy, this book essentially ignores the plot of book 2 completely? So I don't think the books as a set work well together, it pains me to say)
(UGH reading people giving it poor ratings because it was 'way too smutty, how gross' that doesn't mean it's a BAD book, those elements just aren't for you...)
Loved coming back to this cast, especially now they're 20-21, so there's a smidge more adult/NA scenes
The strongest, BEST part of this book is Simon and Baz being all emotional, vulnerable, communicative and really trying to be a couple and be what the other NEEDS. This may have dragged on a bit, but I absolutely loved reading every moment of it. I do wish we'd have gotten more on Simon's... issues? I mean, I felt like there was something with all the chewing and 'I need you closer' part--I thought that maybe was going to be a call back to the dragon elements as presented in book 2 and hinted at throughout 3?
Penny and Shepard were interesting, I liked their plot and cleverness was pleased with the demon problem resolution and their attraction
Agatha and Neive was the weakest element, the goats were cool, but it felt like this got edited down too much? I wanted to better understand WHY Agatha felt the goat kinship, and her desire to help--what did she "get" from that role? Maybe just a bit of self-reflection or something.
Loved Simon's family element, was glad that came back from book one. Also good on Baz re: Pippa!
Felt like things ended okay for the series, but there are still open-ended questions, and I'd for sure read more if the series were to continue!
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