*warning, I am not sure how coherent this review is going to be. I have had a hard time articulating my thoughts lately (hence the lack of review). Please forgive me!
I read Carry On as an audiobook, and I really enjoyed it. It’s narrated by Euan Morton, and I thought he did a wonderful job!
Carry On was an interesting one to pin point my thoughts on, though. On one hand, I really enjoyed the story, but it wasn’t absolutely amazing.
I really, really love Rainbow Rowell as an author. She has an amazing ability to write believably complex, realistic characters. My favorite part of Carry On was no surprise to me- the characters really stood out here.
The “chosen one” story was an interesting backdrop for the story, but I thought it was just that- a setting. It didn’t play a big part in the story for me, it was simply just a place for a story to be going on, with the focus on the characters themselves. It did feel a little like jumping into harry potter on book 7, which was weird. But like I said, it let me kind of tune out the magic and focus on the story and characters and romance and friendships.
In that way, I think the characters of Simon, Baz, Agatha, Penelope, and all the others really were given space to explore their relationships with one another and I loved it.
AND the romance. was. so. damn. shippable. like, honestly. It was great, I guess i’m a sucker for the whole enemies-turned-lover kind of romance. <3
I loved the map of Watford on the front endpapers was really beautiful. I mean, who doesn’t love a good map? I liked Watford a lot, although the whole magical system felt a little silly. Then again, maybe that was the point. Who knows. But the nursery rhymes as spells got a bit tiring by the end.
So, despite a somewhat silly magic system and a unoriginal setting, I really loved the story and the characters! And the romance. Oh yes, my fan girl heart was so happy. I loved the LGBTQ representation, and diversity of characters. I thought it read more like a contemporary with a fantasy setting, which doesn’t quite make sense but I don’t know how else to explain it. In the end it was a great read (er, listen?), and I would definitely recommend it to other people! Especially if fantasy isn’t really your thing. This is a safe, accessible story to pick up regardless of reading taste where the characters really are given the chance to shine.
