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halthemonarch's review against another edition
5.0
My goodness, I was expecting a reconciliation but jeez louise!!! Rowell does it again. This baby reads like a fanfic and follows around our magical darlings, just like the last two. Book two was shorter and angstier than book one, so I was expecting a rough and tumble start, but it was smooth sailing, earnest conversations, and fluff for the entire first half. When the plot got rolling, I found myself invested but more invested in the couples, Shep and Penny, Naimh and Agatha, and Baz and Simon. The Smith Richards B plot (that tried really hard to be the A plot, but with all the cuteness and domesticity, it's clearly failed) kept me along for the last chapters. Deadass I forget what happens at the end, just that our gay dummies are happy and safe at the end. I love when los gibities get a win!
butterfliesonmybookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alexy_lynx's review against another edition
3.0
2.5
Definitivamente mi menos favorito, siento que no tuvo pies ni cabeza, todo se resolvía de manera tan sin sentido y rápido. Lo de Lucy y que Simon era familia de Lady Ruth y Jamie? Pareciera que se le olvidó a mitad del libro y lo puso como algo sin chiste en las últimas páginas
El segundo y tercer libro fueron innecesarios, crearon problemas de relación entre Simon y Baz cómo para qué? Si la final solo era que no cogían por problemas de Simon que nomás no, siento que la Rainbow aquí si no me pareció que supiera sobrellevar este tema.
Y todavía mete otros romances sin chiste, Shepard y Penelope se sabía pero el de Agatha qué, todavía el epílogo más aburrido de la historia se trató de ella. Y hacernos creer que ella salvó Watford, lo peor de todos, lo más irrelevante
Definitivamente mi menos favorito, siento que no tuvo pies ni cabeza, todo se resolvía de manera tan sin sentido y rápido. Lo de Lucy y que Simon era familia de Lady Ruth y Jamie? Pareciera que se le olvidó a mitad del libro y lo puso como algo sin chiste en las últimas páginas
El segundo y tercer libro fueron innecesarios, crearon problemas de relación entre Simon y Baz cómo para qué? Si la final solo era que no cogían por problemas de Simon que nomás no, siento que la Rainbow aquí si no me pareció que supiera sobrellevar este tema.
Y todavía mete otros romances sin chiste, Shepard y Penelope se sabía pero el de Agatha qué, todavía el epílogo más aburrido de la historia se trató de ella. Y hacernos creer que ella salvó Watford, lo peor de todos, lo más irrelevante
steph_weigle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Fatphobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Homophobia
Minor: Child abuse, Stalking, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Kidnapping
bentheoverlordsbooks's review against another edition
4.5
4.5/5
Really good conclusion that was a little oddly paced at points but overall still a fantastic conclusion ! Really wanted a little more of Agatha's arc, and the gang together more, although I did really enjoy the separate plot threads (although one did end very easily, however it was a great conclusion and funny)
Simon and Baz continue from where book 2 ends and I did enjoy the turmoil, but also that the book book didn't drag it out, this book was as much about communication and healing as it was about the magical world drama.
I also loved the "Evangelical" style magic cult, that promises miracle cures, and how it can kinda warp normal peoples minds. I really loved that aspect.
Really good conclusion that was a little oddly paced at points but overall still a fantastic conclusion ! Really wanted a little more of Agatha's arc, and the gang together more, although I did really enjoy the separate plot threads (although one did end very easily, however it was a great conclusion and funny)
Simon and Baz continue from where book 2 ends and I did enjoy the turmoil, but also that the book book didn't drag it out, this book was as much about communication and healing as it was about the magical world drama.
I also loved the "Evangelical" style magic cult, that promises miracle cures, and how it can kinda warp normal peoples minds. I really loved that aspect.
rororollinginthedeep's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
cassidyserhienko's review against another edition
5.0
"I can touch you less gently, but I won't love you less kindly.”
I’m not gonna lie, after Wayward Son I was a little nervous for this book. I’m the kind of person who would happily read an 800 page book of my favourite characters just being happy, and this is especially true of characters like Simon and Baz, who have spent a lot of time being decidedly unhappy.
I am pleased to say that even though Simon and Baz are certainly going through it in Any Way the Wind Blows, they spend a lot more time communicating and working through their issues together. Baz is one of my favourite characters of all time (some might say I relate to him a little too much), and so I was really happy to see him and Simon working together as a team and navigating their new realities together. Even though Wayward Son doesn’t have the romance of Carry On or AWTWB, it marked an important stage in their relationship. Rowell did a great job of bringing some of those struggles into this book without dragging them out, and it was really fantastic to see both Simon and Baz go all in for each other.
Rowell even managed to make me give af about Agatha, which I would have told you was impossible. I don’t know if I just appreciate the character archetype that Agatha represents more now then I did when I read the first two books, but it was nice to see her give less of a shit and go for what she wants.
I always liked Penelope, but I’ve always cared infinitely more about Simon and Baz. This is still true, but I found myself actually looking forward to Penelope and Shepherd’s chapters instead of just working through it to get back to Snaz (I’m trademarking this, idc). Shepherd was an absolutely perfect love interest for someone like Penelope, and I loved how he challenged her preconceptions and somewhat rigid and outdated beliefs about magic.
Overall I thought that the book was laid out really well and had a good balance between action/questing and character growth. The final climax was maybe a little rushed, but in my opinion it really wasn’t the main plot of the story so I didn’t have an issue with that. I think that the book was a lot more about these characters actually confronting the fallout of their childhoods and navigating their new realities and relationships. A lot of that is obviously going to mean a lot of talking and introspection, but Rowell has never had any trouble making this feel interesting or high-stakes. Her style in the Carry On series is a little different, especially in this book, but I think that it fits so well with the characters and the narrative (she loves to do an aside in parentheses even more than me) (and that’s saying something). I think it resulted in some really beautiful passages.
I had always been dreading the ending of this book for a lot of reasons. I’m the kind of reader who wants things to be wrapped up, and quite frankly I hate unhappy endings. I want to know that the characters, particularly ones who I love so much, are happy or are going to be happy. Obviously, Rainbow and I do not see eye to eye on this - the woman loves an ambiguous ending. This felt like a happy compromise. There are certainly shades of ambiguity, but I think that the characters are left in a good place emotionally, and where we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but we have a pretty good idea.
All in all, I think that this was a fantastic conclusion to a trilogy that I’ve always loved.
I’m not gonna lie, after Wayward Son I was a little nervous for this book. I’m the kind of person who would happily read an 800 page book of my favourite characters just being happy, and this is especially true of characters like Simon and Baz, who have spent a lot of time being decidedly unhappy.
I am pleased to say that even though Simon and Baz are certainly going through it in Any Way the Wind Blows, they spend a lot more time communicating and working through their issues together. Baz is one of my favourite characters of all time (some might say I relate to him a little too much), and so I was really happy to see him and Simon working together as a team and navigating their new realities together. Even though Wayward Son doesn’t have the romance of Carry On or AWTWB, it marked an important stage in their relationship. Rowell did a great job of bringing some of those struggles into this book without dragging them out, and it was really fantastic to see both Simon and Baz go all in for each other.
Rowell even managed to make me give af about Agatha, which I would have told you was impossible. I don’t know if I just appreciate the character archetype that Agatha represents more now then I did when I read the first two books, but it was nice to see her give less of a shit and go for what she wants.
I always liked Penelope, but I’ve always cared infinitely more about Simon and Baz. This is still true, but I found myself actually looking forward to Penelope and Shepherd’s chapters instead of just working through it to get back to Snaz (I’m trademarking this, idc). Shepherd was an absolutely perfect love interest for someone like Penelope, and I loved how he challenged her preconceptions and somewhat rigid and outdated beliefs about magic.
Overall I thought that the book was laid out really well and had a good balance between action/questing and character growth. The final climax was maybe a little rushed, but in my opinion it really wasn’t the main plot of the story so I didn’t have an issue with that. I think that the book was a lot more about these characters actually confronting the fallout of their childhoods and navigating their new realities and relationships. A lot of that is obviously going to mean a lot of talking and introspection, but Rowell has never had any trouble making this feel interesting or high-stakes. Her style in the Carry On series is a little different, especially in this book, but I think that it fits so well with the characters and the narrative (she loves to do an aside in parentheses even more than me) (and that’s saying something). I think it resulted in some really beautiful passages.
I had always been dreading the ending of this book for a lot of reasons. I’m the kind of reader who wants things to be wrapped up, and quite frankly I hate unhappy endings. I want to know that the characters, particularly ones who I love so much, are happy or are going to be happy. Obviously, Rainbow and I do not see eye to eye on this - the woman loves an ambiguous ending. This felt like a happy compromise. There are certainly shades of ambiguity, but I think that the characters are left in a good place emotionally, and where we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but we have a pretty good idea.
All in all, I think that this was a fantastic conclusion to a trilogy that I’ve always loved.
sharposhampoo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
7/7/21: Okay, I've been sitting with my thoughts for the last 12+ hours on this because I have SO MANY FEELINGS about Simon Snow and this trilogy, and I had so many hopes and ponderings on how it could all end. But regardless of what I wanted, I think Rainbow Rowell wrote the perfect ending for the story she told - one that's realistic but cautiously optimistic that somewhere, someday, things will get better. One that finds Simon finally settling into life post-Chosen One, fighting for himself, and beginning to hope.
But more on that in a bit. Spoilers ahead because I can't talk about this book or the series without just word vomiting across this review! Sorry! Also this is going to be an all but researched paper and I'm SORRY but I just have all the feelings about this series.
For those trying to remember where we left off, Wayward Son leaves us after yet another huge battle for Simon, Baz, and the rest of the gang. (They really do feel like the Scooby Doo gang sometimes, and it cracks me up.) Simon is on a beach, contemplating his mental health - the crux of that entire novel - and realizing that maybe the American road trip didn't solve his problems since he's basically right back where he started. When Baz shows up, they start arguing about how Baz couldn't possibly want to date Simon as he is - traumatized, grieving, trying to deal with the aftermath of what next that's completely overwhelming him - while Baz remains steadfast that he just loves Simon and wants to be there for him however he can, and be with whatever version of Simon there is to have. And then just as you think hey, maybe they're going to work this out, Penny comes yelling about Watford being on fire, and that's it. Fade to black. Until now!
(Everything below this point is spoilers so click further at your own risk.)
To me, the book feels like it's set up in three acts: break-up, second chances, and what comes next. The first act is another attempt from Simon - much like we see in the beginning of Wayward Son - to break off from the world of Mages and try to live a normal, non-magic life. Simon unexpectedly finds out the Mage left him his fortune, and after a lot of noncommunicative plotting, he essentially breaks up with both Penny and Baz.
"I don’t know who I am. Fuck, I’m nothing at the moment. I’m between Simons."
Penny gets a conversation, but Baz gets a NOTE with just THREE WORDS ON IT (anyone else a Sex and the City fan? Remember when Carrie gets DUMPED by a POST-IT? Yeah, it's like that.) Baz is, obviously, furious (AS HE SHOULD BE! COME ON, SIMON!) and ends up hunting Simon down in his new, furniture-less apartment. They have a confrontation that ultimately becomes a real break-up, leaving them both devastated. Please have some gut-wrenching quotes from this scene that made me cry at the public service desk of my job!
"I can’t do this with him. I can’t say this. It will slit my throat to say it, it will slice its way out, and then he’ll cut me down—I won’t survive it. (I was never going to survive this. Everything I am is nearly gone. Finish me off, Baz.)
“Use your words,” he sneers. (That’s right, that’s my boy.)"
"His throat is mine. There are scars beneath his hairline. I’ve fit my teeth over them."
"All I see is what I’ve lost—who I was. His match. Someone who might someday deserve him."
"And then he told me I was all he had left to lose. I thought that meant that he wouldn’t let me go. But maybe Snow was trying to tell me his plans: You’re all I have left to lose, and eventually I will."
"When Baz gets like this with me … When he hands me his heart, I don’t know how to hold it. I want to scream. I want to run. Maybe it’s part of what the Mage did to me. He said he got me wrong, that I was a cracked vessel. I can’t hold on to anything good."
"How can I convince him that we’re a good thing if he doesn’t believe in good things?"
Do you HEAR me screeching in the distance? DO YOU? Anyway, fun reminders here that Simon is ultimately just overwhelmed not only by the trauma of his past, but also seized by an uncontrollable fear of what next and what else he can handle. This is a kid who literally has said so many times he never stopped to think, to feel, to do anything but fight. Who always expected to go out in a blaze of glory doing whatever it is the Chosen One was supposed to do. Ultimately, Simon is a person who won the big fight, survived, and just... doesn't know what else to fight for. Including himself, and including Baz. Eventually, Simon's words feel true enough for Baz to accept that Simon has given up on them completely (featuring a line I failed to highlight talking about how Baz is the one thing Simon never fought for, which was DEVASTATINGLY accurate), and Baz stalks off to his apartment to replay one emo song for a good twenty-four hours. Which honestly? Same.
After this, Simon goes to get his wings surgically removed - something he keeps trying to convince himself he needs to feel normal - but his wings (which are kind of sentient but also really just extensions of Simon) keep fighting Niamh, the veterinary tech in charge, and eventually Simon leaves because he becomes consumed with Baz's words about him not trying to fight for Baz or in that relationship. In a complete role reversal - especially from Wayward Son, where Baz is always trying to chase after Simon - Simon is the one doing the chasing, and he shows up at Baz's door.
I think these scenes, as painful as they were, might have been my favorites? For the first time in arguably the whole series, we REALLY see Simon express himself and his thoughts out loud. Simon explains to Baz that he's right about Simon's hand in the relationship, and tries to help him understand why he's been so unavailable and paralyzed.
"It was like I walked right out of the story everyone had been telling about me. I started losing, and I didn’t stop. You felt like something I grabbed on my way down—but I never believed I’d get to keep you. I didn’t get to keep anything … What did I get to keep, Baz?”
And then Simon and Baz ultimately make up, and Simon tells him that he loves him for the first time in the funniest, sweetest, most bizarrely SnowBaz scene you could read. I won't spoil that; you deserve to read it for yourself. It was so perfectly handled and I think that chapter is your chapter 61 in this book. From that point on, Simon and Baz are all about second chances and really, really trying to give each other what they need. Both are more vocal, more communicative, and it isn't EASY at all but they do their best and things begin to work for them. There's a lot of interesting conversations between them, some funny and heartwarming, others kind of devastating. They struggle with intimacy at first; Simon keeps trying to figure out how to pace himself now that things aren't always chaotic. He makes a point later in the novel about how if he could live his life from one catastrophe to the next, he would (which, HELP, please get him therapy again), and it really just emphasizes that internal struggle he's been dealing with since the end of Carry On.
I think that was my favorite thing about this book, and perhaps the most rewarding aspect of AWTWB for me. Though we all love Baz, because of course we do, Simon is my favorite (and I personally relate to him a lot, which is a mixed bag we don't have time to unpack!) and my biggest hope for AWTWB is that Simon could find some peace and some closure. And while I don't think the ending completely accomplishes the happier ending I wanted, I think it's the ending that these books needed. Simon is not completely healed, maybe never going to be over his trauma, but he's trying and working through it and I think that's the most honest ending Simon could have.
On a lighter note: yes, Simon Snow's chin makes many appearances. It's practically a secondary character all on its own!
The third act of the book follows an interesting plot! The World of Mages has clung to other false prophet "Chosen Ones," one in particular who becomes integral to the plot. Smith Smith-Richards supposedly can heal weaker mages and give them full magic. In a classic cult story, many of our characters' friends and families get involved in this mess, including Jamie Salisbury, Lady Ruth's son (and Simon's Uncle), and Daphne Grimm, Baz's stepmother. Together, Baz and Simon work through the mystery and uncover the truth behind Smith-Richards' magic (spoiler alert: he's not healing the mages.)
Along the way, Simon himself is spelled by Smith-Richards and it doesn't work but it DOES make him immune to magic? Which I don't think ever gets resolved? So I don't know if Simon is just...... immune to magic now??? Maybe I missed it but I don't think that gets fixed and I don't know what to do with that. It also means Simon can't hide his wings and tail and he doesn't get them removed so I also don't know what to do with that. I don't think Simon really wanted them gone honestly, but it was part of his development and kept getting referred to, so that felt like a ball dropped.
Regarding our other characters, who I'm not going to focus on quite as much:
- Penelope and Shephard: Penelope tries to get her mom to help Shepherd out with his demon curse; it doesn't go like she'd hoped, since Shephard is a Normal and Professor Bunce is squarely anti-Normals (mostly because of the ~protecting the Mages~ excuse.) Penelope kind of gives up on Shephard for a hot second after Simon friend dumps her. She and Simon are estranged for over half of the book, by the way. But eventually Penelope realizes she can't NOT help Shephard - it's just not in her nature - and they band together to try and transcribe the curse tattooed on Shephard's skin. Along the way we find out Shephard has made a lot of unsavory deals with other magical folks and creatures! Because of course he has! And yes, Penelope and Shephard finally put aside the romantic tension to make out and date. It turns out that Shepard is engaged to a demon, and of course Penelope finds a clever way to break that deal and get Shephard out of it.
- Agatha (and Niamh!): Agatha is also in a state of what next after her near brush with a different cult out in California. Her dad ends up having her work at his veterinary practice, with Niamh, who Agatha eventually realizes was one of the girls on her lacrosse team at Watford. (Side note: I'm not neurodivergent, but it did seem like Niamh is coded to be neurodivergent. But I'm not at liberty to specify anything specific.) Agatha winds up having to help Niamh herd the MAGICAL FLYING GOATS of Watford (did we know they had wings before this? I don't think so? Maybe this is a remnant of the Simon Snow fanfics/universe we first see in Fangirl...) which, apparently, has to be done to help keep the school from being located and seen by Normals. We actually have no idea if this ends up coming to fruition; at a point later in the novel, the gang do see Watford from the road for like the first time EVER but we never get clarification on whether that problem gets resolved either. (Now that I'm thinking about it, the ending feels a little rushed. Hmm.) Agatha gets the Epilogue of this book, which is a CONTROVERSIAL CHOICE TO ME, that confirms what I suspected early in this goat storyline: Agatha becomes the new Ebb for Watford, and it seems like she'll be staying there herding the goats for the rest of her life. Also, she and Niamh do kiss thanks to a gay panic somewhere in the midst of all of this. I know a lot of readers put Agatha in the aro-ace category, so I'm not sure where that puts her now. Maybe still ace but not aro? Possibly demiromantic? Who knows! No answers there either. But thank god we know Agatha is herding the goats!
Also, if you're wondering, Aunt Fiona is engaged to Nicodemus from Carry On. Weird and bizarre, but it works.
So. Let's talk about the ending. Which... felt a bit rushed, and I'm not LOVING the final chapter being Agatha. I feel like there's just nothing to say about that except what a bold choice for a book that's literally not about Agatha. And I like Agatha, I do! But why is that the only epilogue? Just Agatha, one year later? WHAT ABOUT SIMON SNOW! That really threw me off, and I wasn't a huge fan. I cared about Agatha, but that ending was pretty obvious and it didn't feel necessary to give her that one page.
I also felt like Simon's last chapter ended a bit abruptly, and I wasn't thrilled that Simon finally discovered his family in the last few chapters of the book with literally no time to process the fact that he murdered his own father. Like, call me crazy, but I think that would set anyone back on progress they'd made on their mental health? Just a thought? So. Not a fan of that either, though I was ultimately relieved he found out that he has family. Especially because he and Lady Ruth were bonding, she makes great cakes, and Lady Ruth is not homophobic! Go Lady Ruth!
The hardest pill for me to swallow in this book is Simon and his lack of magic. I'm not going to lie to you; there was a part of me that wanted him to find his way back into the world of Mages. I'm still a little iffy on what happened with the Smith-Richards' spell and Simon suddenly being immune? And of course, he could have been born a Normal to two Mages, even though it's unlikely. But I always kind of imagined that maybe Simon had just been too full, and that he would find some magic left in him - the magic he had when he was born, before the spells the Mage did? But I guess I was super wrong on that lol. Also, the sword Simon had in the early release art was a TRAP because having now read the book, I don't think it's meant to represent his Watford sword at all.
But at the same time, I'm happy having a Normal Simon! I'm just not certain enough development went into exploring that aspect of his personality, and he also doesn't... really talk about it? Directly? Ever? Even the fact that he lets Smith-Richards spell him is kind of brushed under the rug as they race to go save the day again. I think that conversation - something between him and Baz, or Simon and the therapist he probably needs to go back to - just working through the not having magic bit would have been a nice addition. We get hints of Simon and his issues with magic throughout, but it never seems to evolve into anything concrete and I do feel that was an important part of his trauma and problems I would have appreciated seeing spoken about on the page.
Even though I was dissatisfied with some pacing towards the end, a couple plot holes I'm now realizing as I write this review, and the entire Agatha epilogue, Rainbow still does a great job reassuring readers (both for Simon and in real life) that while healing takes time and you won't fully escape that trauma, there's hope on the horizon. Lighter days ahead. And it seems like Simon is going to be okay.
'This is what people do. They get close and try to stay there. They stay. They keep trying to hold on to each other, even though it’s not really possible, I don’t think. Because people are always moving, aren’t they. But this is what they do. They keep trying.
Ultimately, Any Way the Wind Blows was a perfect ending to the series Rainbow crafted. When I first read Carry On nearly SIX YEARS ago, I enjoyed it. But as I read it more, and as the series continued, I grew to love these books not just for the world and the characters, but for the way that this fantasy series tackles mental health and growing up and trauma in ways that fantasy often doesn't. I love these characters dearly, and I'm always going to be fond (and ridiculously emotional) about this series and their world. AWTWB is the imperfectly perfect ending to a series that I've loved for years, and I believe that Simon, Baz, and the rest of the gang will keep on trying no matter what comes next. And that's enough for me.
“Simon, I believe in you.”
7/6/21: rating to come: i think i need to sit with it and probably, finally, read the series back to back
But more on that in a bit. Spoilers ahead because I can't talk about this book or the series without just word vomiting across this review! Sorry! Also this is going to be an all but researched paper and I'm SORRY but I just have all the feelings about this series.
For those trying to remember where we left off, Wayward Son leaves us after yet another huge battle for Simon, Baz, and the rest of the gang. (They really do feel like the Scooby Doo gang sometimes, and it cracks me up.) Simon is on a beach, contemplating his mental health - the crux of that entire novel - and realizing that maybe the American road trip didn't solve his problems since he's basically right back where he started. When Baz shows up, they start arguing about how Baz couldn't possibly want to date Simon as he is - traumatized, grieving, trying to deal with the aftermath of what next that's completely overwhelming him - while Baz remains steadfast that he just loves Simon and wants to be there for him however he can, and be with whatever version of Simon there is to have. And then just as you think hey, maybe they're going to work this out, Penny comes yelling about Watford being on fire, and that's it. Fade to black. Until now!
(Everything below this point is spoilers so click further at your own risk.)
Spoiler
When we begin the novel, we start with an unexpected but exciting perspective: Lady Ruth Salisbury, A.K.A. Lucy's mom, who is SIMON'S MOM. Simon doesn't know any of this, but the reader does, and this immediately reassured me that the one thing I really, really wanted to happen probably would: that Simon meets his family (and learns the truth about the Mage being his real father... big yikes there, folks.) Lady Ruth continues to pop up in other ways; we'll get into that further on.To me, the book feels like it's set up in three acts: break-up, second chances, and what comes next. The first act is another attempt from Simon - much like we see in the beginning of Wayward Son - to break off from the world of Mages and try to live a normal, non-magic life. Simon unexpectedly finds out the Mage left him his fortune, and after a lot of noncommunicative plotting, he essentially breaks up with both Penny and Baz.
"I don’t know who I am. Fuck, I’m nothing at the moment. I’m between Simons."
Penny gets a conversation, but Baz gets a NOTE with just THREE WORDS ON IT (anyone else a Sex and the City fan? Remember when Carrie gets DUMPED by a POST-IT? Yeah, it's like that.) Baz is, obviously, furious (AS HE SHOULD BE! COME ON, SIMON!) and ends up hunting Simon down in his new, furniture-less apartment. They have a confrontation that ultimately becomes a real break-up, leaving them both devastated. Please have some gut-wrenching quotes from this scene that made me cry at the public service desk of my job!
"I can’t do this with him. I can’t say this. It will slit my throat to say it, it will slice its way out, and then he’ll cut me down—I won’t survive it. (I was never going to survive this. Everything I am is nearly gone. Finish me off, Baz.)
“Use your words,” he sneers. (That’s right, that’s my boy.)"
"His throat is mine. There are scars beneath his hairline. I’ve fit my teeth over them."
"All I see is what I’ve lost—who I was. His match. Someone who might someday deserve him."
"And then he told me I was all he had left to lose. I thought that meant that he wouldn’t let me go. But maybe Snow was trying to tell me his plans: You’re all I have left to lose, and eventually I will."
"When Baz gets like this with me … When he hands me his heart, I don’t know how to hold it. I want to scream. I want to run. Maybe it’s part of what the Mage did to me. He said he got me wrong, that I was a cracked vessel. I can’t hold on to anything good."
"How can I convince him that we’re a good thing if he doesn’t believe in good things?"
Do you HEAR me screeching in the distance? DO YOU? Anyway, fun reminders here that Simon is ultimately just overwhelmed not only by the trauma of his past, but also seized by an uncontrollable fear of what next and what else he can handle. This is a kid who literally has said so many times he never stopped to think, to feel, to do anything but fight. Who always expected to go out in a blaze of glory doing whatever it is the Chosen One was supposed to do. Ultimately, Simon is a person who won the big fight, survived, and just... doesn't know what else to fight for. Including himself, and including Baz. Eventually, Simon's words feel true enough for Baz to accept that Simon has given up on them completely (featuring a line I failed to highlight talking about how Baz is the one thing Simon never fought for, which was DEVASTATINGLY accurate), and Baz stalks off to his apartment to replay one emo song for a good twenty-four hours. Which honestly? Same.
After this, Simon goes to get his wings surgically removed - something he keeps trying to convince himself he needs to feel normal - but his wings (which are kind of sentient but also really just extensions of Simon) keep fighting Niamh, the veterinary tech in charge, and eventually Simon leaves because he becomes consumed with Baz's words about him not trying to fight for Baz or in that relationship. In a complete role reversal - especially from Wayward Son, where Baz is always trying to chase after Simon - Simon is the one doing the chasing, and he shows up at Baz's door.
I think these scenes, as painful as they were, might have been my favorites? For the first time in arguably the whole series, we REALLY see Simon express himself and his thoughts out loud. Simon explains to Baz that he's right about Simon's hand in the relationship, and tries to help him understand why he's been so unavailable and paralyzed.
"It was like I walked right out of the story everyone had been telling about me. I started losing, and I didn’t stop. You felt like something I grabbed on my way down—but I never believed I’d get to keep you. I didn’t get to keep anything … What did I get to keep, Baz?”
And then Simon and Baz ultimately make up, and Simon tells him that he loves him for the first time in the funniest, sweetest, most bizarrely SnowBaz scene you could read. I won't spoil that; you deserve to read it for yourself. It was so perfectly handled and I think that chapter is your chapter 61 in this book. From that point on, Simon and Baz are all about second chances and really, really trying to give each other what they need. Both are more vocal, more communicative, and it isn't EASY at all but they do their best and things begin to work for them. There's a lot of interesting conversations between them, some funny and heartwarming, others kind of devastating. They struggle with intimacy at first; Simon keeps trying to figure out how to pace himself now that things aren't always chaotic. He makes a point later in the novel about how if he could live his life from one catastrophe to the next, he would (which, HELP, please get him therapy again), and it really just emphasizes that internal struggle he's been dealing with since the end of Carry On.
I think that was my favorite thing about this book, and perhaps the most rewarding aspect of AWTWB for me. Though we all love Baz, because of course we do, Simon is my favorite (and I personally relate to him a lot, which is a mixed bag we don't have time to unpack!) and my biggest hope for AWTWB is that Simon could find some peace and some closure. And while I don't think the ending completely accomplishes the happier ending I wanted, I think it's the ending that these books needed. Simon is not completely healed, maybe never going to be over his trauma, but he's trying and working through it and I think that's the most honest ending Simon could have.
On a lighter note: yes, Simon Snow's chin makes many appearances. It's practically a secondary character all on its own!
The third act of the book follows an interesting plot! The World of Mages has clung to other false prophet "Chosen Ones," one in particular who becomes integral to the plot. Smith Smith-Richards supposedly can heal weaker mages and give them full magic. In a classic cult story, many of our characters' friends and families get involved in this mess, including Jamie Salisbury, Lady Ruth's son (and Simon's Uncle), and Daphne Grimm, Baz's stepmother. Together, Baz and Simon work through the mystery and uncover the truth behind Smith-Richards' magic (spoiler alert: he's not healing the mages.)
Along the way, Simon himself is spelled by Smith-Richards and it doesn't work but it DOES make him immune to magic? Which I don't think ever gets resolved? So I don't know if Simon is just...... immune to magic now??? Maybe I missed it but I don't think that gets fixed and I don't know what to do with that. It also means Simon can't hide his wings and tail and he doesn't get them removed so I also don't know what to do with that. I don't think Simon really wanted them gone honestly, but it was part of his development and kept getting referred to, so that felt like a ball dropped.
Regarding our other characters, who I'm not going to focus on quite as much:
- Penelope and Shephard: Penelope tries to get her mom to help Shepherd out with his demon curse; it doesn't go like she'd hoped, since Shephard is a Normal and Professor Bunce is squarely anti-Normals (mostly because of the ~protecting the Mages~ excuse.) Penelope kind of gives up on Shephard for a hot second after Simon friend dumps her. She and Simon are estranged for over half of the book, by the way. But eventually Penelope realizes she can't NOT help Shephard - it's just not in her nature - and they band together to try and transcribe the curse tattooed on Shephard's skin. Along the way we find out Shephard has made a lot of unsavory deals with other magical folks and creatures! Because of course he has! And yes, Penelope and Shephard finally put aside the romantic tension to make out and date. It turns out that Shepard is engaged to a demon, and of course Penelope finds a clever way to break that deal and get Shephard out of it.
- Agatha (and Niamh!): Agatha is also in a state of what next after her near brush with a different cult out in California. Her dad ends up having her work at his veterinary practice, with Niamh, who Agatha eventually realizes was one of the girls on her lacrosse team at Watford. (Side note: I'm not neurodivergent, but it did seem like Niamh is coded to be neurodivergent. But I'm not at liberty to specify anything specific.) Agatha winds up having to help Niamh herd the MAGICAL FLYING GOATS of Watford (did we know they had wings before this? I don't think so? Maybe this is a remnant of the Simon Snow fanfics/universe we first see in Fangirl...) which, apparently, has to be done to help keep the school from being located and seen by Normals. We actually have no idea if this ends up coming to fruition; at a point later in the novel, the gang do see Watford from the road for like the first time EVER but we never get clarification on whether that problem gets resolved either. (Now that I'm thinking about it, the ending feels a little rushed. Hmm.) Agatha gets the Epilogue of this book, which is a CONTROVERSIAL CHOICE TO ME, that confirms what I suspected early in this goat storyline: Agatha becomes the new Ebb for Watford, and it seems like she'll be staying there herding the goats for the rest of her life. Also, she and Niamh do kiss thanks to a gay panic somewhere in the midst of all of this. I know a lot of readers put Agatha in the aro-ace category, so I'm not sure where that puts her now. Maybe still ace but not aro? Possibly demiromantic? Who knows! No answers there either. But thank god we know Agatha is herding the goats!
Also, if you're wondering, Aunt Fiona is engaged to Nicodemus from Carry On. Weird and bizarre, but it works.
So. Let's talk about the ending. Which... felt a bit rushed, and I'm not LOVING the final chapter being Agatha. I feel like there's just nothing to say about that except what a bold choice for a book that's literally not about Agatha. And I like Agatha, I do! But why is that the only epilogue? Just Agatha, one year later? WHAT ABOUT SIMON SNOW! That really threw me off, and I wasn't a huge fan. I cared about Agatha, but that ending was pretty obvious and it didn't feel necessary to give her that one page.
I also felt like Simon's last chapter ended a bit abruptly, and I wasn't thrilled that Simon finally discovered his family in the last few chapters of the book with literally no time to process the fact that he murdered his own father. Like, call me crazy, but I think that would set anyone back on progress they'd made on their mental health? Just a thought? So. Not a fan of that either, though I was ultimately relieved he found out that he has family. Especially because he and Lady Ruth were bonding, she makes great cakes, and Lady Ruth is not homophobic! Go Lady Ruth!
The hardest pill for me to swallow in this book is Simon and his lack of magic. I'm not going to lie to you; there was a part of me that wanted him to find his way back into the world of Mages. I'm still a little iffy on what happened with the Smith-Richards' spell and Simon suddenly being immune? And of course, he could have been born a Normal to two Mages, even though it's unlikely. But I always kind of imagined that maybe Simon had just been too full, and that he would find some magic left in him - the magic he had when he was born, before the spells the Mage did? But I guess I was super wrong on that lol. Also, the sword Simon had in the early release art was a TRAP because having now read the book, I don't think it's meant to represent his Watford sword at all.
But at the same time, I'm happy having a Normal Simon! I'm just not certain enough development went into exploring that aspect of his personality, and he also doesn't... really talk about it? Directly? Ever? Even the fact that he lets Smith-Richards spell him is kind of brushed under the rug as they race to go save the day again. I think that conversation - something between him and Baz, or Simon and the therapist he probably needs to go back to - just working through the not having magic bit would have been a nice addition. We get hints of Simon and his issues with magic throughout, but it never seems to evolve into anything concrete and I do feel that was an important part of his trauma and problems I would have appreciated seeing spoken about on the page.
Even though I was dissatisfied with some pacing towards the end, a couple plot holes I'm now realizing as I write this review, and the entire Agatha epilogue, Rainbow still does a great job reassuring readers (both for Simon and in real life) that while healing takes time and you won't fully escape that trauma, there's hope on the horizon. Lighter days ahead. And it seems like Simon is going to be okay.
'This is what people do. They get close and try to stay there. They stay. They keep trying to hold on to each other, even though it’s not really possible, I don’t think. Because people are always moving, aren’t they. But this is what they do. They keep trying.
Ultimately, Any Way the Wind Blows was a perfect ending to the series Rainbow crafted. When I first read Carry On nearly SIX YEARS ago, I enjoyed it. But as I read it more, and as the series continued, I grew to love these books not just for the world and the characters, but for the way that this fantasy series tackles mental health and growing up and trauma in ways that fantasy often doesn't. I love these characters dearly, and I'm always going to be fond (and ridiculously emotional) about this series and their world. AWTWB is the imperfectly perfect ending to a series that I've loved for years, and I believe that Simon, Baz, and the rest of the gang will keep on trying no matter what comes next. And that's enough for me.
“Simon, I believe in you.”
7/6/21: rating to come: i think i need to sit with it and probably, finally, read the series back to back
jzoominie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.5