Parris
This was a very fluffy, easy read. I enjoyed my time with Simon, and so much of it resonated with my own high school experience. While pleasant, the book never really gripped me, and maybe that's okay? Nice to curl up and read through, but not much more. Highly recommended for a gay romance with relatively little angst or turmoil!
This book was not a pleasant read, it was actually quite painful. Teens dealing with love, grief, anger, and outlines of how sometimes it takes everything just to feel okay again. One more surprising theme: everyone in your life is worth your time, not just some side character to fill up space. I learned a lot, and find myself wanting to be as strong as Griffin becomes.
I'm going to give this 4 stars. It took me a while to get used to the jumping around between characters, memories, little bits of world building, but then I went ahead and finished the book in 3 days. I really fell in love with Penelope, Simon, and Baz. I gasped at the end of that early chapter (you know which one.) There were moments that had me grinning to myself. I will say, the ending felt a bit too rushed, and left me with a lot of questions. I hope some more is explained in the following books. I recommend Carry On to anyone who wants a cozy, quick read!
I enjoyed every page of this book. I really got sucked into the world that is the Tower, and I kept wondering about the next ringdom, and whether or not Senlin would make his way up to it. Strong female characters, and a plot that moves quickly as if you're advancing levels in a video game. Can't wait to start the next book!
This book had me messed up at certain points. I do agree with some other readers who've said “the author has a point that he wants you to understand, and he's going to keep reminding you about it, over and over.” However, it was interesting to see some of the paths Jason hadn't taken, and the last few chapters really had me wondering how it would conclude. -0.5 stars for that ending.
Talk about hitting the ground running. I continuously got more and more obsessed as I made my way through each chapter, and soon enough each character felt like a friend you just wanted to root for. Really loved the world, and all the risks and stakes felt weighted and dire. Can't wait to start the second book!
dnf @ 50%. This book was not for me. I get what it's trying to do, I'm aware of the different levels, but it was just boring. The only dread I felt was when I flipped to a page packed to the brim with run-on sentences.
dnf @ 15%. Don't think i'll be visiting any other books by this author, it's just really dry dialogue between characters with no stakes or anything particularly moving the story forward.
Dnf @8%. Really annoying dialogue, especially lines from the mom and dad. Also the “my dad would never hurt my mom but i scanned her arm for bruises” line was a huge wtf.
