Carry On

By: Rainbow Rowell

Narrated by: Euan Morton

Number one New York Times best-selling author!

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen.

That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.

Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.

©2015 Rainbow Rowell (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

I was a little hesitant to read this at first...

I read Fangirl, and when my friend told me that this book was out and that it was a continuation of it, I was beyond excited to have the story continue. It didn't register that Carry On was the name of Cath's fan fiction story. Then I realized that the main character or characters would most likely be male (I'm a little biased about the gender of my narrators). But I loved it all :-) and it definitely helped that the reader and setting played into my Anglophilic tendencies. And that though there were multiple viewpoints, they were all in first person (another bias of mine).

The writing was good, each person's voice was distinct. Definitely worth five stars and your reading time.

I would recommend this to fans of both fantasy, and Rainbow Rowel.

The narrator's performance is spectacular!

If you could sum up Carry On in three words, what would they be?

Fun, imaginative, romantic.

Which character – as performed by Euan Morton – was your favorite?

Actor-narrator Euan Morton gives each character a richly nuanced voice and life. It's a draw between Simon and Baz.

Any additional comments?

Although there are definite points of similarity to other well-known 'Chosen One' stories, the author is successful in building a new and different world, with fully-realized characters that are quite different from any that might have initially inspired them. The narration is so well-acted that it's really more of an audioplay than an audiobook. Even if one has read the book, it's worth hearing this performance. It's delightful!

Fantastic

It’s like a weird, grown up version of Harry Potter. Where Ron is the chosen one and Harry is a yummy rich boy villain who's hot for Ron. But they don't get along very well. And Hermione is way funnier with the confidence she deserves and not so pretentious. The ghosts are better, the villain isn't so transparent, and the mystery is just as fun. Oh and Harry is a Vampire and cross about not being the chosen one, though I think that isn’t the real reason he’s cross. There's a lot that is similar as far as the magical structure to hogwarts, but it is very much a wonderful story in its own right. I won’t say that those that loved the Potter books will love this as it is not for children, or written so universally for all audiences. There's quite a bit of cursing and snogging. I can’t imagine a kind of person that wouldn’t enjoy it, unless you’re homophobic and in that case, get over yourself.
The narrator was just amazing, completely on point. He has a deep voice so the female characters were not perfect but honestly he did such a good with the acting that it wasn’t much noticeable.
I loved how much it was brought up that being normal is worth doing, and being special isn’t for everyone. It was across the board a wonderful listen.

One of the best voice performances I've heard

I loved this story and the characters were so well written. The narrator was amazing at creating perfectly distinct voices for each character. I haven't heard anyone do it better and it added so much to the experience.

An awkward fantasy

Enthralling. Interesting. Mysterious.
Fantastical. A beautifully written story about a time bomb who doesn't want to be

Absolutely Astonishing

I don’t believe I’ve ever had a book literally leave me almost suffocating with both feelings of joy and exasperation. Every chapter seems to have a new cliff hanger, and with every word Rainbow Rowell writes, I feel a story visualize itself in my head. I don’t think any other love story I’ve read has come close to effecting me the way this one did. I laughed, cried, and flailed. I recommend this title to anyone and everyone who is looking for a juicy read. This book is now going to make it very hard for me to (pun intended) Carry On with my life. I’m sad it’s over, but glad that all of the stories loose ends were finally tied together, and I will be sure to read many more titles by Rainbow Rowell. Thank you for this “magikal” experience. 😂👍😄😁

A charming read

I'm giving this 5 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I listened to it while working and it certainly kept me entertained. I will say that, if you're here for the romance; it takes a while to even start to be a glimmer in Simon's eye, so to speak.
I quite enjoyed all the characters, save for some frustrations with a few, but I think it was kind of the point.
Also I quite liked the romance when it got underway. mostly cuz it definitely reminded me of one of my past romances. if you want an easy listening with queer characters and an overall plot that doesnt revolve around the romance I definitely recommend this book. the Narrator was quite nice, too. he did a great job at giving everyone their own voice and I adored his voice for Baz.

LOVE all things Rainbow Rowell!

Where does Carry On rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

TOP! I love Rainbow Rowell and her choice for readers of her novels. I have listened to all of her books. I love the way she writes and I love the way her words come to life when listening. This book was awesome! I love that it plays off of Fangirl and the characters she created in that novel. I love the world of magic and wizards that she has created. It almost seems borderline Harry Potter fan fiction but she has taken it in a new direction so that I loved her characters for who they were.

How I wish there was a book two!

I loved fan girl and loved getting to explore Simon and Baz's world as well: the story is completely self contained and doesn't need a sequel, but I'm so obsessed with this pairing, I would like one anyways.

I couldn't stop listening!

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I wasn't as interested in the Simon/Baz fanfic portions of Fangirl. But it's Rainbow Rowell, and so I decided to give it a chance. And when I listened to the sample chapter I knew I just had to keep going. The narrator does a wonderful job. His voice is the perfect fit for the novel. And the story, I so enjoyed it.