Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

The story was supposed to be over… Simon won the war. He got the man (vampire) of his heart. Now it’s time for the big Happy Ever After. It’s time for his life to start for real. Only problem is that Simon is depressed and spend his days on the couch starring into the wall… Wayward Son is the sequel to Carry On, which followed the Chosen One Simon Snow and his witchery friends and (to be) boyfriend, Penny and Baz, as they fought the evil Humdrum, and which was one of my favorite books ever. When Rainbow Rowell decided to give us this sequel I was over the moon, but also a little bit anxious that the sequel wouldn’t to the first book justice. But I’m so relieved and happy that it did and that Rainbow Rowell gave us another wonderful story with my favorite OTP SnowBaz!

I loved how we got to see what life looks like for a hero after everything has been fulfilled, after every mission has been carried out and the evil enemy has been defeated.

“This is what happens when you try to hang on after the end. When your time has come and passed. When you’ve done the things you were meant to do.”

Simon believes that his only purpose in life was magic, to be the chosen one that everyone needed. Now that it’s over, he fears that Baz and Penny don’t love him, that they only ever did because of his power. So, while Baz is at university, thriving, and Penny is… well, Penny, Simon is spending his day sulking on the couch. To cheer him up, Penny comes up with the idea to go on a road trip through America to visit their friend Agatha, who has not been hear of for weeks, and her boyfriend Micah. After that, this book then turns into a magical adventure following our friends on their wild and crazy road trip.

I love Rainbow Rowell’s writing style with all the different POVs and the fast pace, the characters and their dialogues. The light banter between Penny, Simon and Baz was hilarious, I didn’t realize just how much I missed Baz’s snarky retorts. This series is not the traditional fantasy one, it’s more of a magical adventure written in a contemporary, quirky style with amazing characters and relationship. It was the characters and their feelings and the dialogues that lead the story in such an amazing and addictive way, not the fantasy plot.

It was also such an unusual take to follow ex-heros and show what happens after the epic battle has been won. Not to mention how it shows mental illness and takes a pretty serious look at depression and PTSD. While yet managing to make it a fun read! Not an easy task! I love how Rainbow Rowell adds so much depth and dimensions to the characters by displaying their shortcomings and problems. And how she managed to make Simon and Baz’s relationship just as heart-wrenching and dramatic as in Carry On, even though they were supposed to be in an easy relationship and enjoying their new quiet life together. I did however miss their 
relationship really going somewhere in this book though, but I have my hopes up for some more relationship growth in the final installment of this series.

All in all, this book captured my heart and I cannot wait for the next book and, hopefully, more glorious SnowBaz moments!

Rating:
4.5 magical stars rounding up to 5

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​Author info:
Rainbow Rowell