Carry On (by Rainbow Rowell)

If the words Drarry, Johnlock, and slashfic mean nothing to you, you may want to skip this review.

This is a Fangirl spinoff -- it's basically the story that Cath was writing fic about in Fangirl, Rowell's novel about fanfiction -- very meta.  And at the time I read Fangirl, Cath's fic read like Potterlock, aka John/Sherlock fanfic set in the world of Harry Potter.  Carry On still feels very much like Potterlock, except the world is fleshed out more, and so is the relationship between Harry and Draco John and Sherlock Simon and Baz.

The world is still a blatant Harry Potter ripoff, except with some twists on the rules of magic.  Plus, the identity of the bad guy is super obvious, lacking the classic Rowling twist where it's always the person you least suspect! And yet, I enjoyed reading about this world and these characters, especially Penelope and Baz.  Plus, the central relationship and romance was done well.

As a standalone, it works less well. It's like jumping into Harry Potter in book seven, where Rowell kind of handwaves a whole bunch of backstory that would have made this far more satisfying to actually read.  (I feel like actual fanfic writers need to get on this, since they could probably write books 1-6 pretty satisfyingly. And what's a few more extra layers of meta.)

So, I think this is pretty specifically for people who love Harry Potter and don't mind that this is basically a reimagining, but also with slashy versions of John and Sherlock plunked into it somehow.  This is a niche audience, for sure, but I'm definitely one of those people!

(Oh, and in case you think I'm reading too much into this with the Johnlock thing, I present Exhibit A, the cover. Also Exhibit B, Rowell reads both Drarry and Johnlock fic, as she has confirmed on Twitter. I rest my case.)