Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell is the third book in the Simon Snow trilogy.
Follow Simon and Baz in the aftermath of their epic American adventure. Back in England, the group of friends settle into their lives and roles including Simon struggling to figure out where he fits into the magical community, how he fits into his relationship with Baz, and who he is as a person. Baz is determined to prove to Simon that he isn’t going anywhere, Penelope finds herself on an epic “side quest” to break Shepard’s curse, and Agatha recovers from her time in California by finding comfort working near Watford.
More about Any Way the Wind Blows
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I thought this third book was a great addition to the trilogy. It was nice to have another installment of adventures with Simon and Baz, especially since the status of their relationship in Wayward Son was very much up in the air. What I loved most about this book was the way we got to see Simon and Baz learn how to actually communicate with each other. The bulk of their troubles have been due to a lack of communication, and tin this book we got to see that Simon struggles with communicating and see how Baz learns to understand Simon in new ways and help him communicate what he wants was really nice.
Following each of the characters on their adventures was fun. We didn’t need them all to be together in every scene, and following along on their size quests was a great way to build the world and open up the world of mages a bit more. And, when they all do intersect toward the end at Watford, the felt very satisfying.
While Any Way the Wind Blows didn’t quite answer every plot point brought up the the previous two installments, I felt that it was effective in wrapping up the story of Simon and Baz. Sure, it would have been nice to see more about the Vampires, but in reality — what are a small group of English mages going to do about it. If there were to be another book I would LOVE for Rainbow Rowell to go more in-depth on that but I can see why it wasn’t part of this book.
Finally, it was very satisfying to experience the conclusion of Simon’s family history with him. He definitely felt very lost in this book – trying to understand his relationship with Baz, fighting for any possible connection to magic that may still be within him, and then also struggling with being an orphan on top of that… I could just feel his abandonment issues. But, I am so glad that each of those things were heavily addressed in this book!
What I loved:
- Simon and Baz learning how to communicate with each other
- Simon and Baz at Watford scenes! (ITS WHAT WE DESERVE)
- Penelope/Shepard was v. cute. i love themmm.
- Simon learning the truth about his parents and FINDING HIS FAMILY <3
- Excalibur!