Carry On

I was excited to read this for several reasons: (a) an author I follow tweeted excitedly about the release of Book 2, (b) the reviews are overwhelmingly positive and (c) Baz looks glorious on the cover.

However, this was a quick read for me (confession: I skimmed most of the book) because YA and magic aren't really my thing, and I prefer third-person, past-tense writing with way fewer POVs than this book had.

Heading back to the world of adult M/M. :) ( )

I could not get into this book. I never caught on. That is not to say others would not like it! ( )

Really good. A lot better than I expected.
-An interesting dissection of 'chosen one' tropes
-The way magic works through language is so interesting! The way magic and spells evolve the same way language does over time! Super interesting to read & think about.
--Plus the descriptions of what magic feels like, as if it's an extra sense like sight or smell.
-Simon and Baz's relationship, from antagonistic to awkwardly in love, is beautifully written, particularly the references to fire/being flammable. That whole love/hate thing. I love it.
-Bittersweet ending, certain people make big sacrifices that leave them permanently changed.
HOWEVER
Bad stuff
-Starts pretty slowly. Takes a while to get to the plot.
-Written in first person narrative, switching between different characters' points of view. It's pretty annoying, especially later in the novel when the POV switches every few paragraphs.
Other than that, though, I really (unexpectedly) liked this book.
This is a good one if you like fanfiction, or novels that play with YA fantasy cliches. ( )

I'm really weak for gay wizards, so of course I had to read this. I read [b:Fangirl|16068905|Fangirl|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355886270s/16068905.jpg|21861351] last year so I already knew that this was based on Cath's fanfiction of the fictional series based on Harry Potter (I don't think it gets more meta than this).

It took about 150 pages for me to get really into the book. It picked up once Baz was introduced. Baz and Penelope were my favorite characters; a few of their lines made me laugh out loud (and it's pretty hard to get me to do that with a book). I read another review on here that said Agatha was kind of a pointless character, and I kind of disagree with that. It's true that she doesn't really do much but I thought it was important to show that she got OUT of the magical community, a community that was kind of messed up and where she felt like she didn't really belong.

The ending was a little messy, though. I thought it was really cool that Simon gave all of his magic to the Humdrum and "filled the hole" and made it disappear, but there was no resolution for him. He doesn't know who his parents are, he doesn't know about Lucy, he doesn't know any of the backstory that the reader knows from Lucy and the Mage's chapters. That felt a little sloppy to me. ( )

What a bittersweet ending. Everything wrapped up wonderfully except one knowledge point that I wish Simon knew. The characters were amazing. Bas and Simon were amazing. I loved Penelope. The way the story turned was amazing. Loved this book! ( )