Goodreads Summary– 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 starts 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 the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
Carry On – The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.
- Simon & Baz– I liked Simon as a character, but it was Baz who really stole my heart! Their relationship was exactly the kind of relationship that I love to read about. I know it is cliche but I can not get enough of the enemies to lovers trope!
- Quirky– I really appreciated the quirkiness of this novel. It is almost hard for me to put in to words! The way spells were cast was just so hilarious to me and I loved it!
- Writing- Rainbow Rowell is a great writer. She knows how to write realistic dialogue, which is something that I believe is hard to accomplish!
- World-building– I have to wonder if this book could exist without Harry Potter. There was not much world building and the magic system was not really explained very well. I couldn’t help but just picture Watford as being Hogwarts!
- Agatha- I truly did not understand her role or what she added to the story!
“You were the sun, and I was crashing into you. I’d wake up every morning and think, ‘This will end in flames.”
“He smiles, and he’s made of trouble.”
“He’s a book full of footnotes brought to life. He’s a jacket made of elbow patches.”
I enjoyed Carry On but I wouldn’t say I loved it! I know a lot of people absolutely adore this book and I can see why, but it really did read like fan-fiction to me! If that is something you are interested in reading than I recommend this one! I just wish there was more world building and the whole magic system was more fleshed out!
Everytime I see someone review this, it reminds me of how much I’ve been wanting to read it but know I really don’t need to buy more books 😭. Great review!
It is a surprisingly quick read! I think it’s cute but not a must read! Thank you!
I generally love Rainbow Rowell, but this was my least favorite book of hers. Baz showing up definitely made the book better, though.
Yes Baz was truly the best part! All the pages before that were quite dull!
I just ordered this last week! Glad you liked it but understand the parts you disliked. I’ll probably just be thinking of the world as Hogwarts too if the world building isn’t so good.
I’m still not sure if that is even a bad thing! I just think its really for Harry Potter fans!
Honestly I think it’s all the hype surrounding this book that has kept me from picking it up. Perhaps I’ll just have to borrow it from the library sometime. Sometimes Harry Potter fanfiction-esque tales can make for a fun reading experience.
It was definitely fun to read and I love having this pretty cover on my shelf but it isn’t one I would recommend to everybody! The library is probably the way to go!
I mean, I enjoyed Fangirl, and Carry On was mentioned multiple times in it, so really I should read it at some point. I just don’t have the time for it right now or in the near future.
So please clarify this for me, do Simon and Baz become an item or not?? (I REALLY want them to).
They do!!
Then I will actually read this 😛