Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Summary from Goodreads:

The story is supposed to be over.

Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…

So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?

What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light…

That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.

They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place…

With Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell has written a book for everyone who ever wondered what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day. And a book for everyone who was ever more curious about the second kiss than the first. It’s another helping of sour cherry scones with an absolutely decadent amount of butter.

Come on, Simon Snow. Your hero’s journey might be over – but your life has just begun.

Review:

Rainbow Rowell, I love you. Seriously. Carry On and Wayward Son are so brilliant. Just the concept for these stories are amazing. Then add in fantastic characters, slow burning romance, magic, and battles, and well, what else can you possibly want in a book?

As I mentioned on Goodreads: This was fun. It’s kinda what I wanted Cursed Child to be like. I wanted the story directly after stuff finished with the trio. This book was directly after the end of the last Simon Snow story. And it’s a road trip across America! And it’s more Simon and Baz! And it’s magic ren fairs! And rescue missions in Las Vegas. And vampire cults. Weirdly, it didn’t grab me immediately, but it eventually made up for that. I cannot wait for more.

This book had a slow beginning. I kept putting it down. To be fair, Simon is depressed in the beginning. He has no magic. He has wings and a tail. And he never leaves the couch. He’s also kind of messing things up with Baz, and I could not tolerate that happening.

But, then it picks up when they travel to America. They go from Chicago to California via convertible (or at least mostly by convertible…eventually they have to switch vehicles). There’s new magical creatures, vampire cults that are experimenting with magic, kidnappings, gunfights, epic adventures and battles, and so much rebelliousness, it’s just un-put-down-able. They magic money, and bottomless gas tanks, and disappearing wings. And they make friends with a new character, who is a Normal. He kind of reminded me of Jacob Kowalski from Fantastic Beasts mixed with James Dean….Weird combo, I know.

I liked the point of view shifts because it allowed for amazing character development, what Rowell excels at. And I didn’t love the new character at first, but of course I grew to love him. I’m excited to see where he goes in book 3. I’m not going to lie; the reason I most loved this book was the romance between Simon and Baz. I wish there was more. I wish they were less afraid to be in love with each other. But, I loved their moments in the back of the truck, at the beach, and surviving terrible things together. I need more.

It was also cool to learn more about vampires in this world. Baz, and everyone else didn’t know much, so it was nice to get more of a feel for how they work. Also, it totally explains how shady Las Vegas can seem! All in all, I ended up loving this. It kept me happy during a week of immobile ankle pain and crazy migraines. It’s just what I needed. And I’m so excited to learn that there will be another one too. I give this a 9/10.