Any Way The Wind Blows - Rainbow Rowell

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⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

Simon, Baz, Penny, Agatha, and Shepard are back from the States, but nothing is really fixed. Simon is ignoring Baz, and Penny has no idea how to fix Shepard's curse. But eventually they find out that there are new Chosen Ones popping up, and they want to investigate.

The strength in this book is really the characters and relationships. I just love them. Simon and Baz still have a whole lot to figure out, and they have lots of conversations to work through things in their relationship. Simon is still dealing with a lot of trauma, and I love how they work on it and through it together, and it's not glossed over as if it's easy. The book has some pacing issues, and it's a bit self-indulgent, but I still didn't really mind. And there were still some loose threads and unanswered questions at the end, so it's not a perfect book, and I know Rowell wasn't originally planning a series when she wrote the first one and it shows. Regardless, I still love the whole trilogy despite its flaws. It's funny and fun and interesting, and has a lot to say about trauma, mental health, friendship, and family underneath its exterior of being a fun, romantic trilogy about a failed Chosen One and his vampire boyfriend.

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