Reviews with content warning for Blood - Wayward Son

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

81 reviews

crusoe's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Wayward son is kind of a shit sequal.

The bigges issue is that the original appeal of this series is a) the fun magical world that doesn't take itself too seriously and b) Baz' and Simon's relationship. This sequel doesn't give us enough of either.

Instead, Wayward Son feels like patting between book one and book three. I enjoy the discussion of the fallout on everyone's (mental) health and the relationship troubles of Simon and Baz, but Rainbow: where's the plot, love? There isn't any! And the book takes forever to get to the sliver of plot it has. It's very unsatisfying and makes that I don't really want to read the third book (even if I'll probably try because 'in for a penny, in for a pound').

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okragarden's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very different vibe than the first book. It starts off as kind of a moody contemporary novel focused on the main character's emotional issues and relationship problems. They have left the magical English boarding school setting and gone on a roadtrip in America. If you love Simon and Baz, it may hold your interest. If the appeal of Carry On was mostly about the Harry Potter-eqsue setting, plot, and tone, it may not.

About halfway through, magic and action start showing up again and there is some interesting world building and a likeable new character. Similar to the first book, the ending resolution feels like it came and went too fast. Unfortunately, the relationship drama from the first half doesn't really get resolved at all. I got the sense that it's meant to carry over into the third book.

Over all, I'm glad I read it because Baz and Simon are characters I love and who have lived in my head for years and I'm always going to want to hear more about them. But this novel feels like a somewhat weak bridge to get to the third one which is reviewed more highly.

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lindseyhall44's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I absolutely loved Carry On, so I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t vibe with Wayward Son. It definitely feels like the classic second book fantasy filler, yet the actions of the characters were so out of place that it felt wrong

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jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Like the last one this is an intriguing series, but also one I would’ve enjoyed when I was younger and didn’t know how problematic rainbow was.

This book follows Simon without his magic after the last book with Penelope and Baz as they decide to do a road trip across America.
Initially intending to be tourists their plans end up transitioning into a rescue mission for their friend from school Agatha (who happens to be Simon’s ex).

Americas magical world order is very different to the UK in the fact it has little order and a small cult of vampires known as next bloods are trying to take magic from magicians for themselves to “level up”. It’s like a weird fucked up cult MLM and feels kinda silly but overall I did enjoy the trip they all went on and their success in saving their friend so I cannot wait to see where the final book takes me.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't think this is my favorite book of the trilogy, but I love getting to see these characters in the US. It's so fun to see how their magic changes, and see the hijinks they get into in America. We also get to see how the trauma is informing their actions moving forward, which we get to see unpacked even more in the next book.

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