Carry On
by Rainbow Rowell
Published on October 6th 2015
by St. Martin's Press
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Amazon | B&N | Goodreads
Also by this author: Eleanor & Park, Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.
Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.
Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.
Aahw, I really enjoyed this one! Fun characters, interesting story & world and a sweet & adorable romance. Honestly, what do you want more? I’m not sure if I have enough to say for a long review though.
First off, those who are worried this might be too similar to Harry Potter or even seem like a HP fan-fiction, it’s not. Yes, there are a few things both have in common, but Carry On is still very much its own story. One that I liked very much. It never felt like I fell into the middle of a series. There weren’t any questions that were left unanswered to me. It’s a complete story, which is almost sad because I wouldn’t mind reading more about Simon and Baz.
Of course, this wasn’t perfect. At times it felt a bit too long, especially in the first half. That could be because I was eager to get the romance to the next level and that didn’t happen until the second half. So it’s probably just me being impatient. Also, at some points the POV switched a lot in a short time and that took me out of it a bit. Though for certain parts it was nice from both Simon and Baz’s POV at the same time.
I really did love the characters. Especially Simon, Baz and Penelope. I liked Agatha, but not as much. Penelope was a great friend to Simon and she’s so smart and awesome. I loved her! Baz was, of course, fantastic and I loved it whenever we were in his POV. However, I loved reading from Simon’s POV the most. I just really liked his voice and I loved him as the main character. His romance with Baz is very well-paced and so very, very sweet and utterly adorable at times.
I almost wish this wasn’t a standalone because I would love to read more about Simon and Baz and their future, but as it is, Carry On is very much a standalone. You don’t need to read Fangirl before reading this. Though I do recommend it, because I loved that book. If you’re not a contemporary fan though, you should just read this because it’s really great. There aren’t enough non-contemporary books with an LGBT romance, really. I want more! Now go read this book. Even if you’re not a fan of Rainbow’s other books, this one felt very different, so please give it a try!
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I wasn’t really a fan of the Carry On snippets in Fangirl :/ I was gifted Carry On a couple of days ago and I’m definitely going to read it, but I’M just veery skeptical. It’s great that you say it’s not a blatant copy of HP; that was basically my biggest fear. I just hope the m/m is done well. We’ll see. I’m nervous about this one.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
I get that! I do hope you end up enjoying it nonetheless. If only for the great romance. 🙂
Twitter: Liza
I STILL haven’t read a book by Rowell 🙁 I have this one in audio, so I will do my best to read it in the next few months. For some reason it didn’t realized this is fantasy! Glad you loved it 🙂
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Hope you love it when you get to it! 😀
Twitter: Jeann Wong
I completely agree, this was definitely different to HP and oh gosh they were so sweet!
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
YESS <3
The characters do sound pretty dang cool. I like the cover too.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
😀 Hope you give it a try then!
Twitter: The Infinite Limits of Love
I need to read this soon! The characters sound very loveable! 🙂 I hope I’ll love it too!
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Hope so too!
A STANDALONE FANTASY WITH AN LGBT ROMANCE?! The book gods are basically answering my prayers. I’ve never felt any urge to read any of Rowell’s contemporary books, but this one… YES YES YES!
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
RIGHT? And yeah, you should definitely give it a try!
Wonderful review^^ Fangirl was easily my favorite RR book and I’ve been looking forward to Carry On ever since I first heard about it! I have a feeling that I’ll feel more or less like you did about this one – it sounds fun and light but nothing that would completely blow me away. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one Bieke 🙂
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I’m on hold for this one at my library, so I’m not sure how long whomever is reading it will be. I’ve been dying to read it forever, so I’m loving all the positive, and not so positive, reviews coming in. Thanks for sharing!
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
You’re welcome! 😀