Any Way the Wind Blows - Book Review

This review contains spoilers for the whole Simon Snow trilogy.
Oh my goodness, I think I'm in shock. I don't think my brain has realised that this series is over. I'm going to miss it so much. 

I'm literally sitting here hugging all three of the books from this series with one arm and typing this post with the other hand. I really feel like crying over this trilogy, and I did earlier today (before I even finished it). Oh, Afterlife by Arcade Fire is playing. This will make me cry. This is really cringey, but I really feel a sense of loss after finishing this trilogy. It meant so much to me, and I don't even know why. I mean, I rarely cry over books (despite the fact that they are quite possibly the things that give me the most emotions) so the fact that these books made me cry at all is a good sign. But, like, I don't know where to start with this book review because right now I'm somehow feeling nothing and everything at the same time. 

The characters in this trilogy were so amazing, and in my opinion just so well written. I am enamoured with all of them (like especially the main ones). If I could read a book about Simon, Baz, Penny, Shepard and Agatha's whole rest of their lives, I would. I've said this before, and I will now confirm even more confidently that Simon and Baz are my OTP -- my favourite fictional couple. This is even more cringey, but I feel as though their relationship helped me to further understand the concept of love and I think they restored my faith in love, just a little bit. Unfortunately they are fictional, but still.

I knew Shepard and Penny would end up together! Within a few chapters of Shepard's introduction in Wayward Son I kinda half knew that he and Penny would end up together. That's not a bad thing, by the way. Penny is literally so amazing though. The demon. Oh my gosh.

There was also the thing between Agatha and Niamh. I think the tension between them was written really well, and it was a kinda nice plot twist when Agatha was revealed to be not straight. Honestly she gave off straight girl vibes in the first book, but I really liked the development in Agatha's character. Also I was slightly surprised when the epilogue was from Agatha's perspective. But I'm happy for her (because she's totally real) because I think she ended up somewhere she wanted to be.

The character development of all the characters in this trilogy was really great, actually. Usually I don't really notice/mention character development in books, but it was just so nice to see in this trilogy for some reason. Like, the characters going against the expectations that the World of Mages held for them was very empowering I guess. 

Similarly, I think the thing where Simon found out who his parents were was pretty cool. If I remember correctly, the readers found out all the way back in Carry On, so it was a long wait to see Simon find out himself. Like, I kept forgetting about it then being like "wait, when is Simon going to learn who his parents are?" and I think that really added underlying tension? I kinda do want to see Simon slowly coming to terms with it, and I kinda do half-wish that he'd found out earlier. But I think that having it right at the end was ultimately a good choice. And I really did like how the last Snazzle™ scene was like... ummmm I dunno how to explain it. But I liked it. Also! Baz's violin!

Oh my goodness though, it's so nice to realise how far Simon and Baz's relationship has come. I just really like them so much. I don't really have the words to express it. But yeah. They're my OTP.

Something else I really liked about this trilogy was how it was realistic despite being fantasy. Of course, to our knowledge, the World of Mages (sadly) does not exist. But things like depression, trauma and anxiety (etc.) do, and mages aren't immune to those things. Even the smallest things, like the colloquial language and swearing used just somehow make the characters a bit more believable. 

Smith was interesting, and I kinda don't know how I feel about him. Thank you, Smith Smith-Richards, for further confirming the fact that prophecies are always chaotic and cause drama. I do think that Smith did help Simon to come to terms with how messed up the concept of the Chosen One was.

Also, was the title of this book a reference to Bohemian Rhapsody? Like, I thought that since the song was referenced/used in Carry On it probably was? But who knows. I also found out that there's a song out there called Carry On Wayward Son (I just listened to it and it isn't too bad but it's somehow hard to take it seriously) and I do not see that as a coincidence. These books are so cool.

The weird-ish thing about this trilogy is that I don't really know why I liked it so much. I mean, I believe it's because of the characters. I guess my strange brain just finds it weird that this trilogy meant so much to me without me really relating too much to it, I guess? Like, it didn't have representation of any groups I'm in (if that makes sense) but it still meant so much. I think my brain is just telling me I need a sad reason to like something, but really, I just liked the Simon Snow trilogy because I liked it. It was just really entertaining, and that should be enough. I can like stuff. It is enough. 

I think I'm going to be claiming the Simon Snow trilogy as my new favourite trilogy. It was so charming and heartwarming and joyful. It wasn't really one of those series that was tragic, but it still left a massive emotional impact on me. I'm so sad to have to leave it (for now) because the characters feel like friends and the world feels like a home. I might even come back to it someday and reread it. We'll see.

I'll probably come back to this post to continue ranting soon, but I think that's all I can really come up with at the moment. The summary of this post is that I really really really really really liked the Simon Snow trilogy. I am aware that it's often compared to Harry Potter, and to that I say that it was much better than Harry Potter (please don't send me death threats).

Update: apparently the ship name for Simon and Baz is actually Snazzleton. I was close! Hehehe that's so cute though I wasn't expecting Snazzle™ to actually be a thing.

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell, 14+* ★★★★★

*This age recommendation is only my opinion. Some younger people might feel comfortable reading this book, and some older people might not. That's fine, either way. Warning for medium-level violence, gore, sexual references and themes, weird kissing stuff, lots of swearing, and potentially upsetting themes.