Penelope was pushy, and she always thought she was right until she finally realized she wasn’t. Simon was kind of a disaster who barreled headfirst into everything and never knew what he was doing, and he was stubborn to the point that he was constantly ruining clothing with his wings or cutting himself out of shirts because he refused to ask for help. It’s just that everything kind of pales in comparison to the cuteness that is Simon & Baz.Īs I said, I also love how the characters in this series are good and lovable but have imperfections and flaws and things that aren’t necessarily flaws but aren’t stereotypically attractive either because it makes them feel so much more real and all the more lovable. There were other relationships explored as well, including other romances, as well as some familial ones, and those were also sweet. I mean, hell, Simon wanted to go hunting for rats with Baz every night and even caught one himself the first time to help out. I don’t think anyone else could’ve handled them the way they handled each other. Honestly, I would’ve read a whole book just about them being together. (I’m not complaining that it took them long though, I think Simon’s difficulty communicating was realistic.) All their problems weren’t solved overnight, but they were finally working on them together. And then finally, finally Simon started using his words, and the two started opening up more and discussing things more and ahhh I could enjoy how adorable they were again! Because they really were.

*melts* They were still having their relationship struggles, and in my head I just kept saying, “Oh, Simon,” and telling him that he was wrong about himself not being good enough, and telling Baz to fight for him. And I want to acknowledge all of that because the rest of my review is mostly about sweet and adorable things, but this is such an important element of the story too.īut oh, Simon and Baz. After all that happened, he didn’t think Baz or Penny or anyone in the mage world would want him anymore, now that he wasn’t useful. He didn’t know what to do with himself anymore. Simon didn’t think he’d live past his purpose of saving the world of mages. This book-this whole series, really-explores the heavy topics of depression and trauma and the affect that being abused/used/mistreated as a child can have on a person. Simon was struggling even more with his depression, and then it affected Penny and Baz even more, and I felt for all of them. The beginning of this book was heartbreaking. Honestly, I just want to gush about how adorable Simon and Baz are together and talk about how much I love all the little character details that make them all flawed and imperfect and realistic and all the more lovable for it.

Rainbow rowell anyway the wind blows