Publication date: July 2021
LGBTQ+ author? Unknown
Series: Simon Snow Book #3 (must read in order)
Setting: Modern day London

This final chapter of the Simon Snow trilogy was published in 2021 and you can tell. It is seeped in the introspection and isolation of lock down. The story is primarily about relationships, much more so than the previous two books. Not just Simon and Baz, but Penelope and Agatha get their own story lines.

Rainbow Rowell shares with Vanity Fair what it was like to write book three:

 I think this book was radically transformed by me writing it during the pandemic. I wrote it completely cut off from the world in a way… It made me much more fearless about where I could go with the characters and how deep I could go with them. What if I let them deal with the things that really scare me?

I loved the Simon Snow stories from the beginning, but they were not my favourite of all time until I read Any Way the Wind Blows. In this book, Simon decides he will stop running away from Baz’s love and the intimacy that comes with it. Baz also decides to stop being a wet noodle and express some of his own needs. It’s a mess, but a beautiful mess.

This fan art so perfectly captures these two tender beings inching towards shared vulnerability and love:

When I found this fan art, I cried. It took me a long time to really understand why, since neither the specific things they’ve gone through nor their relationship dynamic applies to me at all. I reflected on how the Rainbow Rowell said Baz and Simon were parts of her, and it opened it up a bit for me.

There is a type of trauma therapy called Internal Family Systems (IFS) that believes all people have different “parts” that can sometimes be in conflict with each other or even exiled if we can’t stand what they represent. A silly example is that “part” of you wants a second slice of cake because it tastes good. Another “part” does not because you want to watch your weight. In therapy, parts work is usually about finding, listening to and taking care of your parts that are in pain, shame, or fear. These parts were created during a very stressful time, usually in childhood, to protect you. But the protection, like Simon’s shutdown and withdrawal, isn’t working anymore. So you slowly learn how to be with the pain. Baz and Simon’s love each other in this book is a beautiful metaphor for the self-love and self-acceptance you can cultivate for yourself.

Ok, back to the actual book.

Did I mention I am obsessed with Baz? I want to be Baz. In this last book, his taste in fashion shines with colourful three piece suits, floral patterns and longer than ever wavy, black hair. He could kill anyone and survive almost anything. He does not worry about appearing tough or masculine. He just is. And this opens him up to also be caring, gentle and dare we say a bit feminine. He drinks rat’s blood instead of people (“going vegan”), takes care of his little siblings, and is ever patient with Simon.

It was a bit jarring to have Penelope and Simon separated for most of the book, but necessary for her to have her own story line. Her mom even jokes to Penelope, asking her if she had Simon surgically removed. But Penelope’s wit really gets to shine as she tries to help Shepard fix one of his many magical problems.

I love watching Agatha figure out what she wants to do next, as she works at her father’s medical clinic and learns more about the magical goats of Watford. The only thing I don’t love about this book is her romantic plot line. Did anyone see that coming? This is the fourth time I’m reading the book and I am like … really?? I’m not buying it.

In terms of plot, basically not very much happens at all. Simon and Baz buy a couch at IKEA. Penelope and Shepard read a lot of books. Goats wander away from the magical school and then come back. And there is a Bad Guy and they deal with him. But the stakes were so much lower than in other books. And they dealt with him pretty quickly. I honestly see this as a perk. Rainbow Rowell shines in slow moving, relationship-focused books. And this is my favourite of hers. I’ve already read it three times and looking forward to the next.