Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell || Where my feelings turned into a mushy gushy mess!

Title: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Standalone
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Page count and format: 517 pages, Paperback
Published: October 8th, 2015 by Macmillan
Source: Purchased
My Rating: 

Blurb (from Goodreads):

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 Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a love letter to love stories and the power of words – to every ‘chosen one’ who ever had more on their mind than saving the world…

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This book was my 3rd Rainbow Rowell read and I looooved it so freaking much!! Though I wish I would have bought this book a little later because the new cover is sooo amazing and beautiful!! You would already know this if you have read Fangirl, Carry On originally started as fanfiction by the protagonist Cath in Fangirl and I enjoyed the snippets of the story so much while reading that book and I was so freaking excited when this came out as whole story instead (not anyway related to Fangirl). Anyhooo, this book was really a ride I won’t ever forget!

Simon Snow has to deal with a lot being the chosen one and everything becomes more chaotic in his life with his girlfriend breaks up with him and he realises he has feelings for his enemy, Baz! And then there’s the Humdrum who has been after Simon since forever and his mentor has been keen on avoiding him for the last few months. With everything going on, how will Simon face the ultimate challenge when he comes face to face with the truth?

Credit: Source

This book was a blast! I think I decided to pick it up later because of the similarities with Harry Potter. And I could see why other reviewers were saying so but I only felt that only felt during the beginning of the book because a whole new story develops as the plot proceeds. Though I definitely have to say it’s a book heaven for Drarry shippers! Anyway, let’s come back to the plot! Simon Snow is the chosen one, destined to be the greatest mage of all times and the one to be able to defeat the Humdrum. But his life isn’t that simple, although he is the chosen one he is not able to control his magic and he sometimes just “blows off” when things become too hard to handle. This book definitely started off strong and managed to keep my interest throughout the book.

Simon is just an adorable mushy character and I loved him to death! Although Baz, his roommate who he doubted was a vampire and he was his mortal enemy, still Simon was worried sick when he didn’t show up when the term started. I was so giddy with excitement, I could see how much he cared for Baz with realising it himself. The only complaint I have is that I really wished Baz would have shown up much earlier, it would have been awesome to see more of their bantering it was really hilarious at times and laced with humour. 

#Basicallythewholebook XD Credit: Source

Carry On was divided into multiple POVs, though it mostly consisted of Simon’s voice, it was pretty interesting to read other POVs too, especially Baz’s though I really didn’t understand the need to include Agatha’s POV because her chapters were bland and boring just like her personality. Her sudden crush on Baz and then suddenly realising he was bad and childish, I didn’t quite understand her change of feelings. Simon’s obsession, well not quite obsession but the thing he had with Agatha was quite weird too because it was so clear they didn’t have any true feelings for each other but were just together because it was perfect in everybody’s eyes and Simon’s urge to have Agatha back in her life was extremely weird. Again. That’s the only time I wanted to shake him hard enough until those thoughts flew out of his pretty brain. Though I think it was because he saw things the same way as everybody else and did not realise his true need until he got out of that relationship and began to see things differently with the help of a certain someone. *Ahem!*

Credit: Source

On the other hand, Penelope was a great character. She reminded me of Hermione and she was quite fun to read about, I loved the friendship she shared with Simon and from the very start, you get the feeling that it’s a kind of friendship that lasts a lifetime, maybe even more. Anyway, Baz’s chapter were the ones I loved the most! He had a wicked sense of humour and for the first time, I didn’t feel irritated when he was doing the exact opposite of what he was feeling because I understood where he was coming from and gosh ALL THE FEELS!! I was silently cheering when they finally started working together to solve a particular case and thus, the actual journey between them started. The chemistry between them was GAAAH!!! Too much, too good! And when they finally kissed, my feelings were everywhere, I had to re-read that particular page a couple to times to make sure it was really happening because it caught me off-guard, I definitely hadn’t expected that to happen but OMG, it was just sooo good!

The plot twist was another thing which caught me off-caught and it was definitely was one of the wow factors of this book because yep, did not see that coming either! I really loved how the entire thing with the Humdrum was executed, it definitely made things more intriguing. Also, the thing with the mage and Lucy’s POV were interesting enough to keep me glued to the pages. But the spells stuff was quite silly though, I would have enjoyed that part more if there was a different yet a unique aspect to that part. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed how the things were tied in the end, although it was a little bitter sweet, I was completely satisfied with the ending!

Overall, Carry On was a freaking fantastic read! The plot was executed neatly and I fell in love with the characters. I soooo loved the romance between Simon and Baz which left me wanting for more. The writing was quirky and fun to read and the pace was even throughout the book. I really needed this book in my life, I seriously didn’t think I would enjoy it this much but it was so worth it!

Recommend it?

YES!

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So guys, have you read this book yet? What did you think? Did you love it or was it just meh for you? Or is it still waiting in your tbr?

• 4 stars
• 4 stars out of 5
• Baz
• Carry On
• Chosen one
• Fantasy
• LGBT
• Macmillan Children's Books
• October release
• paperback
• Purchased
• Rainbow Rowell
• romance
• Simon Snow
• standalone
• YA
• Young-Adult