Book Review: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

*Possible spoilers for Carry On*

Publication Date: September 24th 2019

Series: Simon Snow #2

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The story is supposed to be over. Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…

So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?

What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light… That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.

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My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I feel like I have a unique experience with the Simon Snow series because while others waited years for even the hint of a sequel (and ended up mildly disappointed from what I’ve seen), I barely had to wait a week for shipping and ended up loving it even more then Carry On!

What I loved about Wayward Son is that is asks the question of: What comes after the happy ever after? What happens when the heroes of the story have to find a new meaning in life? How does it effect our endgame OTPs? This book asks and answers all of these questions and it’s amazing and heart-breaking at the same time. I loved it.

While I knew about and was looking forward to this look at the characters life after the Humdrum, what I wasn’t expecting to be part of this book was:

• Simon, Baz & Penny attending a Renaissance Fair – (yes this really happened and I loved every second).
• An actual cult.

Wayward Son is set in America and that was 100% the perfect backdrop to this story. I thought the magic-system was super unique and clever in Carry On but we get even more development of that here with the mages magic going haywire due to their spells not being common American phrases. It’s the little things like this that makes these books feel so funny, witty and creative.

As well as a new magical culture we’re also introduced to a new character called Shepard who is now part of my “characters I would die to protect” group.

Overall I really, really loved this book more then I was expecting which is becoming a theme with this series. I can’t wait to read the sequel, I hope it’s just as crazy and gives me all the feels (preferably the good kind although I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up in tears).