Tag: Fiction

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

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Happy Wednesday readers! I’m back with another book review today. I’ve been taking the time to review the Harry Potter books after my re-read of the series in 2021/2022. Today’s review is for the final, and my favourite book of the of series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

If you want to read up on my reviews of the earlier books in the series, you can find links to those posts below.

 

Now, let’s get stuck in to my review of the final book!

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J. K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 759

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 21 Jul 2007

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him…

In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited.

 

My Thoughts

 

Plot

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is by far my favourite book in the series. We get to see al the plot threads that have been unveiled and unraveling for some time finally come together. I also enjoy hope this book follows on nicely from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in that its content is more mature than the previous books. There isn’t a happy ending for everybody! I think the plot, through either the books or films, is well enough known that I’m not really spoiling anything here…

I also enjoy how this final book deviates from the typical structure we have seen throughout the rest of the series. The rest of the books are written with the narrative starting in the summer holidays, progressing through the school terms, and then wrapping up at the end of the school year. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we almost completely break away from that.

There are some twists in the plot that I didn’t necessarily expect the first time I read the books. Naturally, with this being a re-read of the series, nothing surprised me the second time. However, I was able to more appreciate the set up and execution of them. There are some plot threads that begin in the very early books in the series. It will have taken some planning in order to incorporate these elements throughout the series and finally bring them to a close towards the end. I really appreciated those this time around. 

 

Narrative Style

Throughout the series, the Harry Potter books have been easy to read. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is no exception to that rule. In this final book, the narrative deals with a lot of plot threads that initially float around before coming together throughout the book. Even though there are quite a lot of unresolved conflicts and such to juggle and wrap up, this isn’t overwhelming. There are gradual revelations and resolutions throughout the book. It’s almost gives a sense of gratification that the ending isn’t being rushed and helps to pace the novel nicely.

As I mentioned briefly above, the structure of this book changes quite significantly to that we have experienced earlier. That has to happen in order for the story to progress as it does. That could be a challenge if you are expecting the same format. However, not only did I find it easy to follow, but I actually preferred that it broke away from that. It was getting slightly repetitive; had it gone on for much longer then I would start to get bored with it. Moving away from the structure means that instead of working towards an epic conclusion at the end, the author was able to intersperse more throughout the novel in a more paced way. Don’t worry, there is still an epic conclusion as well!

 

Characters

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we finally see the battle lines drawn, and we know who sides with who.

In terms of active characters throughout the plot line, this is very similar to the penultimate book of the series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. There are a good number of individuals that stand out in these books and we have grown to love them throughout the series. There aren’t really any surprises as to who stands out from the crowd, and we finally get to see these people shine.

As with all good writers, the author hasn’t pulled her punches in this book. Although I knew what to expect reading this for the second time, reading the events, and the impact on characters lives, still hit me just as hard as it did the first time.

 

Summary

I would recommend the Harry Potter series to pretty much anybody. They are the perfect mix of fantasy and magic that are approachable to anybody, regardless of your experience of the genre. They are books to grow with over time. The early series is relatively juvenile in size and complexity, but not in such a way that it feels oversimplified to an adult reader. This series progresses and we get more complexity and darker themes as the story expands into the later novels.

I grew up reading this series and appreciated these books even when I read them the first time. Going back and picking them up for a second time was just as enjoyable an experience as the first. I’m pretty sure I will go back and read them again at some point later in my life. I have a friend who could read these books on loop and not get bored!

Have you read any books from the Harry Potter series? Let me know in the comments.

 

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Sunday Summary – 26th March 2023

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Evening all and welcome to another weekly catch up in today’s Sunday Summary post! I hope you’ve had a good week?

This week, I decided to stick with posting just three blog posts instead of four. I have to say, it’s really agreeing with me! Keeping up with a four post per week schedule is quite tricky. I have been doing it for a little while now, but I have appreciated cutting that back down to three in the last couple of weeks. If I’m honest, I think that change is here to stay.

So, what have I been sharing this week? My first blog post of the week was a discussion post on how I decide what books to unhaul when clearing down my shelves. In that post, I also talk about the types of books that I tend to buy in physical copy, as well as the decision-making process behind making space for more. As always, you can find a link to that post above.

My second blog post of the week was shared on Friday. I recently took the decision to move my Well, I Didn’t Know That! series to a Friday and rotate it with my other regular Friday features. This was the way I figured would be easiest to go back down into a three posts a week schedule. It also makes it a little bit easier for me to read up on content for each of these posts. The point of the series is to feature media other than books. I’m obviously reading a lot already, so this is extra work!

For this week’s post, I found an interesting article in the BBC History magazine about the role of debtor’s prisons in 18th and 19th century Britain. If you think we have money worries now, check out that post and things may seem a little easier!

 

Books Read

I didn’t get off to the best of starts this week. However, that wasn’t really unexpected.

 

The Book Eaters

I left off from last week’s Sunday Summary update with just 70 pages left of The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. If I’m being frank, I wasn’t overly enjoying the book, but there was enough intrigue in the plot to keep me going to the conclusion. It was also a relatively short book, which made it easier for me to just suck it up and get on with it.

I finished it. As expected, I didn’t really enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, the book has interesting elements in it, like the oppression of women and the lengths they will go to to protect their children. However, the way the book is sold doesn’t necessarily reflect the story you get. If I’m honest, I don’t think the character development has much bearing on the story. It is sold as a book about Book Eaters, devourers of stories. But, that didn’t really have any major significance to the story line. It could have been substituted with ‘any other minority group isolated from society’ and a ‘different child’ within that community, and it would’ve been the same book.

It is a little disappointing, but these things happen. In the end, the book did achieve a rare, two star rating from me. Looking back at my history, there are very few books that I actually gave a two star rating to. The only reason it got higher than a one star rating is because there was enough in the plotline to compel me to continue with it and figure out what the heck was going on. In any other circumstance, I’d have DNF’d it. 

 

Feet of Clay

After my experience of The Book Eaters, I wanted to try and go for a book that would completely turn around my experience. With that in mind, I decided to fall back on an old favourite of mine – Terry Pratchett and his next instalment of the Discworld series, Feet of Clay.

Whilst perfectly readable, I don’t think this is one of the better works of the series I’ve read. I quite like the city watch series in general, but this book was pretty average. It was interesting enough to read, and I did quite quickly. But, this book only got a marginally better rating of three stars.

It was nice to go back to an already familiar world and setting. It has been a bit too long since I last picked up the series. I enjoyed going back to it and getting myself back into the humour and writing style that I’ve come to enjoy over the series so far. Now that I’m back into it, I definitely need to make sure I continue with it!

 

Soul Identity

Next, I started another relatively short read – Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder. My experience of this book is proving better than the last two.

I like the concept and premise behind the book. In essence, Soul Identity combines science and, to a degree, spirituality, to explore the concept of the soul and reincarnation. It’s not quite the way I expected the story was going to go, but in my opinion, it’s better. I like the scientific angle of the book, and that it has a little less emphasis on religion than I was expecting.

The way the narrative is written, we get to explore this wider concept in the midst of a mystery that our protagonist, as a skeptic, is trying to solve.

As with the previously discussed books, there are little things that I don’t necessarily feel are required in the storyline. Unless it becomes relevant later, I am not really a fan of the Scott/Val relationship dynamic. I’m also not really keen on the authors introduction of female characters to be based on their description, with other attributes and personality coming later. But, it’s not enough to put me off reading further.

As of this Sunday Summary update, I am 71% through the book. My kindle suggests that I have just over an hour of reading time left. My plan is to try and squeeze a much is that in tonight before I go to bed.

 

Books Discovered

I’ve finally broken the record run I’ve had of reporting no new books to the reading list in my Sunday Summary posts, all thanks to my decision to finally spend birthday book vouchers. And of course, you know I’m going to do it in style. I treated myself to four new books on Friday. They are written in mixed media just like Illuminae, so definitely best experienced in print. 

The first two are additional books in a series I started fairly recently (Gemina and Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – the second and third book in The Illuminae Files).

I also treated myself to two stand-alone books that I wanted to pick up (The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and Elektra by Jennifer Saint). The former was on my radar and the latter already on my TBR. They also happened to be buy one get one half price. Shame, right?

 

Coming Up…

Once again, I’m continuing with a three post schedule. It’s definitely a lot easier for me to fit my reading in and enjoy free time for other hobbies. As much as I enjoy my reading and blog, if I overcommit myself, it can become like a second job!

It has been a few weeks since I last shared a book review with you guys. Given that I have reviewed almost all of the Harry Potter series now, I think it makes sense to conclude that set of reviews. So, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows next week. If you want to find out what my thoughts are on re-reading this book as an adult, check out that post.

On Friday, I’m back with a Shelf Control post. In this Friday feature, I review books on my TBR and talk about why I’m excited to pick them up. This week’s feature is another classic novel written by a Russian novelist, of which I have a copy ready to pick up!

As always, my last post of the week will be my Sunday Summary update.

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary. I made a lot of reading progress this week, and I’m off to make more before turning in!

What are you reading?

 

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Sunday Summary – 19th March 2023

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Welcome back to another Sunday Summary catch up post. We have plenty to talk about, but before we get there, I just want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all you fantastic people out there! I’ve been lucky to be able to spend Mother’s Day with my whole family today, and I couldn’t ask for anything more!

This week I have taken a wee step back in that I’ve only shared two blog posts with you so far. I have reclaimed my Wednesday nights; maintaining a schedule of four posts a week is quite a lot. You may not have noticed the difference, but I certainly have! That will show in my reading as well, but more on that later.

My first post of the week was a Top Ten Tuesday post. In that post, I took a look at 10 books I’m looking to include on my spring TBR. If you read that post, or check out my Instagram, you will know that there are quite a few chunky ones on the list. Would you expect anything less from me?

On Friday, I returned with a First Lines Friday post. For that post, I featured the book I will be reading next month along with Ezeekat’s book club. It is a fairly new release from Harper Voyager, and from an author that I have looked at reading from before. I’ve decided that I’m going to prioritise reading this book with the club, so then I can either pick up her other books if I enjoy it, or set them aside if I don’t. If I were to start with the trilogy I’m already familiar with, I would feel compelled to read them all, even if I wasn’t sure about it. This book gives me the perfect chance to try her writing without too much commitment.

 

Books Read

This week’s reading progress is in stark contrast to last. As of last week’s Sunday summary update, I was approximately 380 pages into A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.

Last week, I only managed 300 pages between my update posts. This week, I read the remaining 400 pages of A Game of Thrones, and then some more! More on that below. I really enjoyed this re-read, as I knew I would. This series is one I could go back to again and again. I could read it on loop and not get bored.

In case you aren’t aware, I have picked up this book series again as the next book is due to be published later this year. At least, that’s the last update I read. Naturally, I want to get myself ready to pick that up as soon as it drops. I’m looking forward to continuing with the series over the course of the year.

Next, I picked up The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean, and I have very mixed feelings about the book.

In total, The Book Eaters is only 298 pages. Were it any longer, I probably would have DNF’d it at around the 100 page mark. I can safely say that it is one of the weirdest things I have ever read. It has some interesting themes and messages, but there are also elements of the story that are jarring for me.

Do I find it compelling enough to read because I want to find out what the heck is going on? Yes – I’m invested enough to see where the story is going and how all the craziness resolves itself. Would I say I like the book? At the moment, the answer is not really. I’ve only got around 70 pages left to read, so I am going to finish the book tonight. Unless it picks up with a good ending, I think this is going to be a rare two star read. 

 

Books Discovered

Once again, I have no news to report this week. No news is good news – the reading list still isn’t growing. For now…

 

Coming Up…

Next week I’m continuing with a three post schedule, because it made the world of difference to me this week.

The first of those posts will be a discussion post. It’s been a little while since I’ve done one of these, and I’m keen to keep these as a periodic feature on my blog. For this weeks discussion, I’m going to be talking about some of the books I’m unhauling and donating to charity. I have quite a few to donate. So, in that post, I’m going to talk about why I’m unhauling some of them specifically, and why it’s good to have a general clear out now and then!

Later in the week, I will share my next instalment of Well, I Didn’t Know That! I have moved this feature to a Friday in order to free up my Wednesday once again. It also means that I have a good length of time between each post, so I can bring you better quality content than churning one of these out every week.

You know what’s coming last. I’ll be back with my next Sunday Summary update at the time next week!

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary. Hopefully I can make it through The Book Eaters before the end of the night.

What are you reading?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – 2023 Spring TBR

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Good evening and welcome to today’s Top Ten Tuesday post! In today’s post, I’m taking a look at a few books I’m hoping to read throughout spring. There is a diverse range of books on today’s list. The list is reflective of my aims to continue reading book series, as well as picking up more non-fiction.

Let’s take a look at the books on my Spring TBR!

 

Spring TBR

 

Starsight

I started the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson last year, and I’m looking to continue with reading these books.

Scarily, Starsight is one of the smaller fiction books that make up this Spring TBR. Given that these books are written for a slightly younger audience than most of Sanderson’s others, the narrative isn’t intimidating. It’s really easy to read, and our angsty and headstrong protagonist keeps things moving along nicely.

I’m looking forward to seeing where the story takes us in the second instalment.

 

The Waste Lands

I couldn’t tell you when I last picked up a novel from this series. It has been sat on my shelf for some time, and it’s about time I got back to it. Aside from reading The Green Mile, The Dark Tower is what got me into Stephen King in the first place. As a predominant fantasy reader, this overlap into the genre I’m familiar with was the gateway into trying some of his other books.

I’ll have to refresh myself on the events of the first couple of books before I pick this one up. That being said, I don’t anticipate that it will be difficult to get into in the slightest.

 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

I confess that I am a little bit intimidated by this read.

At just over 600 pages, this isn’t for the faint-hearted. I was inspired to add the book to my reading list after going to watch a local production last year. They did an excellent job of performing and I wanted to go back to the book that inspired it all.

It also feels apt to be picking up this book in spring, as the addition of the book I have is part of a spring collection.

I do have some small confidence in that I have picked up heftier classics like this one before. War and Peace – I’m looking at you.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is not my usual casual read. But, it’s one that I have been wanting to pick up for the last year or so. It’s finally time to bite the bullet.

 

A Clash of Kings

I have just started my re-read of A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. This is ahead of the upcoming release of the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter. Inevitably, in order to make my way through the series before the release of the next book, I’m going to have to schedule in some time for A Clash of Kings in my Spring TBR.

Much like most of the books in the series of, this is not a slim volume. However, this book series is one of my favourites of all time. Although they are chunky and dense, they are books I could go back to again and again with ease.

 

Children of Dune

I have enjoyed the first two books of the Dune series by Frank Herbert. As it is quite a lengthy series, this is one I want to keep momentum with whilst I’ve still got the events of the previous book fresh in my mind.

Whilst this series does ‘suffer’ from showing its age (in its attitudes towards society and certain individuals in that society), it is still perfectly reasonable to read. Children of Dune and the rest of the series are very much classic science-fiction. Yet at the same time, they also balance plenty of action and political intrigue to keep the readers interest.

 

Eagle of Mercia

A little later into spring, I am taking part in a blog tour for Eagle of Mercia – the fourth book in the series by the same name. I have had the pleasure of taking part in the blog tours for the three books prior to this one. It is only fitting that I also take part and review this next book in the series.

What I really like about these books is the unique perspective they have. The main character is a young man who does not relish his role as a warrior. If given the choice, he would much rather heal than harm. Through a lot of the narrative, we see these two sides warring within him, and the emphasis of Icel working towards the greater good at all times is a refreshing perspective from which to view a turbulent and warlike part of history.

 

Thanks for Sharing

In the not too distant future, I am also taking part in the blog tour for Thanks For Sharing by Eleanor Tucker.

The book caught my eye as it offers an extreme perspective on going out of your way to avoid consumerism. There is no way I would have the dedication to go down this route myself. However, I think there are insights that this book could offer in terms of areas in which I could spend less and borrow more.

If nothing else, it’s not the sort of thing you read every day. I’m interested to see how the author went down this route for a whole year!

 

Ship of Destiny

A little later this month, I am hoping to start The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb. This is the second book in The Liveship Trader trilogy, and the fifth book of the wider series. This wider series is 16 books long. Needless to say, this is another series I want to keep up momentum with. There are a lot of elements going on in these books, and like other epic fantasy I like to pick up, they are chunky!

I wouldn’t quite go so far as to say I am intimidated by these books, but they are not to be underestimated. They often take me longer than I expect to read… if only because I want to make sure I read them properly and take everything in!

 

Surrounded by Idiots

If I ever have to explain reading this book in public, I’m going to go in with the premise of the book before the title!

Until I read the book, I can’t say if the title is particularly appropriate to the subject matter. From an outside perspective, I’m not 100% sure it fits right now. I’m sure it will tie in somehow. But, I need to make sure I don’t upset people.

If you are unaware, the book has its foundations in psychology, and how different types of people can better communicate with each other. This is one of my non-fiction reads that I’ve been recommended a few times now. It’s about time I picked it up and continued with my goal of reading more.

 

Stolen Focus

The next non-fiction book on my Spring TBR is Stolen Focus by Johann Hari.

I added this book to my reading list just over a year ago, having heard about it on a podcast. If some of the facts that come out of this book are really true, then we have no hope!

I know for myself that some days I can be quite easily distracted. I’m interested to see if our modern lifestyle has had an impact on our focus, and if there are ways in which I can improve mine, I’m going to work on it!

 

Those are the books coming up on my Spring TBR.

Have you read any of the books on this list? Have any of them caught your attention? Let me know in the comments.

 

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Sunday Summary – 12th March 2023

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Good evening friends! It‘s Sunday night once again, so it can only be time for my Sunday Summary update post!

Before we get stuck in with the book I’ve been reading this week, let’s recap the blog posts I shared earlier this week. On Tuesday, I shared my next book review for the Harry Potter series – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I enjoyed re-reading this series from a more mature perspective. In that review, I take a look at my thoughts on the book from this new perspective.

On Wednesday, I brought you the next instalment in my series, Well, I Didn’t Know That! In that post, I featured the Understanding Habits magazine that I was meant to feature last week. This is a ‘bookazine’ and so I had to feature the whole 128 pages rather than picking an element out of it. That would’ve been very difficult to do as it’s one cohesive topic.

On Friday, I shared the next instalment in my Shelf Control series. For this week’s post, I featured a science fiction novel written in collaboration between two authors. The first of the two is an author I love, whilst the second is one I have a limited experience of. That being said, I’m excited to give it a go!

 

Books Read

This week, I’ve found myself doing a number of things as well as reading. I have gone back to a cross-stitch project that I started working on again recently; I’ve also been doing some more knitting… and watched more TV than usual.

As a result, I have only made about 300 pages worth of progress into A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin as of writing this post. That’s not to be sniffed at by any means. At just under 800 pages, this is a chunky book. If I was reading anything else, that reading progress would equate to a book, or most of one. Not only that, but there there’s a lot going on in this book. Whilst I’m very familiar with the storyline and can recognise events that are going to happen at the start of a chapter (because I’m sad like that), it’s still a decent amount to read.

I’ve enjoyed doing some of these other things, so I’ve been having a long hard think about my current blogging schedule. If I want to keep up with the reading progress I want to make and also enjoy my other hobbies, then I probably have to cut down the blogging schedule from four posts a week to three. That’s something I’m going to experiment with and I’ll keep you updated on in due course.

 

Books Discovered

It’s been nearly a month since I added any books to my reading list. That has to be a record, right?

 

Coming Up…

Next week I will be featuring a Top Ten Tuesday post. The topic is ‘books on my spring TBR’. I’ll be taking a look at the books I intend to read over the next few months and why I want to pick them up.

As I mentioned above, I am going to experiment with reducing my blogging schedule back to 3 posts a week. In order to do so, I’m going to add my recently added feature, Well, I Didn’t Know That! series, into my regular Friday feature cycle. As I shared one of these posts on Wednesday last week, followed by a Shelf Control post on Friday, that puts a First Lines Friday next in line.

And of course, I’ll be back with my next Sunday Summary update this time next week!

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary post. My plan for the evening is to settle in, take a cup of tea to bed and make more progress with A Game of Thrones.

What are you reading?

 

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Shelf Control #62 – 10/03/2023

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Happy Friday and welcome to today’s Shelf Control post! I don’t know about you, but it has been a very snowy 24 hours here! I hope you’re keeping safe and warm if you’re in a similar situation!

Today I feature a novel written in collaboration between two authors. One author, I have read before extensively; the other I have merely sampled. However, I am excited to give this book and potential series a try.

Before we jump into the post in earnest, here is a recap of what Shelf Control is all about.

Shelf Control is a regular feature – a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a celebration of the unread books on our shelves! The idea is to pick a book you own but haven’t read and write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

If you want to read more about the Shelf Control feature, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

 

The Long Earth – Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Genre: Science fiction / fantasy

Pages: 336

Audience: Adult

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: 21 Jun 2012

 

 

Goodreads – The Long Earth

1916: the Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves in the trees. Where have the mud, blood and blasted landscape of No Man’s Land gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive – some said mad, others dangerous – scientist when she finds a curious gadget – a box containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a… potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way Mankind views his world forever.

And that is an understatement if ever there was one…

 

My Thoughts

I have read a book that Terry Pratchett has co-authored previously. That book was co-authored with Neil Gaiman, and unfortunately, that didn’t end up being a hit! I’d had a hit and miss experience with Neil Gaiman’s writing before. Take my reviews of Stardust and American Gods, for example. In hindsight, it wasn’t really a surprise.

On the other hand, I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett. I am nearly halfway through his Discworld series, which I’m picking up again very soon. I love his serious content matter, entwined with the satirical tone of which he is a master. I don’t know if this will come to play in The Long Earth, as this is very different from his Discworld novels. That is why I want to give it a try!

I have less experience with Stephen Baxter’s writing, so I’ll be going into The Long Earth without any especial bias. I have sampled one of his books before – one that my dad has loaned me. In truth, I have multiple books that I’ve been loaned that I REALLY need to get around to. Sorry dad! I’m looking forward to giving The Long Earth a try. It could be the perfect opportunity to Segway into his solo books. 

Science fiction is a genre that I have been picking up more of in recent years. It is one I enjoy going back to and exploring different themes in. I’m looking forward to seeing how these two authors broach this genre together.

Have you read The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, or any other books by these authors?

 

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – J. K. Rowling

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I’m back with another book review and I’m picking up where I left off in the Harry Potter series. Today’s review is for the penultimate book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling!

I first read the Harry Potter books as a teenager, into early adulthood. I wanted to see how reading the books again from a more mature perspective affected the overall experience. Obviously, I hoped to enjoy them just as much second time, and I did!

If you want to catch up with my reviews of the earlier books in the series, you can find links to those posts below.

 

Now, let’s get stuck in to my review of the next book!

 

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – J. K. Rowling

 

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 607

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 16 Jul 2005

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys’ house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can’t quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursleys’ of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks’ time? Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of Muggle and magic start to intertwine…

 

My Thoughts

 

Plot

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the book in the series from where I would suggest the series transitions from children’s to young adult. Technically, I think the books are classified as young adult, however, the previous books in the series are definitely readable by children to young teens. The themes in it are generally more mature, and as the storyline takes a more sinister turn, there are characters and events that take place that I wouldn’t recommend to a younger teenager. I read this book at around the mid to late teenage. I wouldn’t have read it any sooner.

In a way, I think the formatting and the length of the previous book in the series helps with the timing of picking this up. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a very large book. Whilst not as dark as this one, the length and the political machinations within require a bit more thought and concentration in the reading of it. As a result, I think naturally readers will progress with the series at a more mature age.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows are by far my favourite books in the series. I enjoy how some of the very early plot threads (which are largely unknown at the time) start to come together and make sense at last. Others are resolved or at least explained in full. The magic involved has a degree of complication that the earlier books lack, and I really enjoyed exploring that aspect. It almost feels as if we have graduated with the characters in mastering the basics to be able to take on the more complex.

 

Narrative Style

As with all of the Harry Potter books in the series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince remains easy to read. There are lots of webs and elements of the storyline in which there is complexity, but the writing style is kept simple. This works as it doesn’t detract from the storyline as the main focus.

The pacing of the book is perfect to the events that are taking place. Whereas in previous books, we have had the structure of Harry spending summer with the Dursley’s current followed by the school year. That is switched up a little bit in this book. Instead, we are thrown into the action quite quickly. This previous structure was familiar, but a little bit formulaic and repetitive if I had to make one criticism. I was glad to see things pan out a little differently in this book.

 

Characters

The character pool in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is thinned a little in comparison to the previous book. However, there are a lot more players on the board compared to the opening books in the series. By now, a lot of them are old friends. Readers of fantasy won’t struggle with this at all. I wouldn’t even say I struggled with this as a late teenager. If there was any book I had difficulty with following what was going on, it was the previous book. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince reins it back in to a manageable level.

At this stage of the series, we have a wide range of characters that we love, and those we hate in equal measure. In a book and series like this, you need the broad spectrum of characters; J. K. Rowling does not disappoint in providing these. The events in this book line us up for the final showdown. The lines are drawn. Good and evil will come together to do battle, and by the end of the book, we know who is on which side.

 

Summary

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is an exciting read. It was satisfying to see some of the opening plotlines start to come towards a resolution. I also enjoyed the dark side of the narrative and exploring the dark side of magic that we get to in this book, as well as the last.

Have you read any books from the Harry Potter series? Have you re-read it? Let me know in the comments.

 

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Sunday Summary – 5th March 2023

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Good evening everyone and welcome to my Sunday Summary update for this week. It has been a busy one for me as I have been juggling a busy work week, as well as sharing my usual monthly update posts.

On Tuesday, I shared my monthly wrap-up for February 2023. I didn’t quite get through my ambitious TBR for the month. However, I read some fantastic books and pushed myself a little harder than I have done of late. If you want to check out the books I’ve been reading recently, there is a link to that post above.

As a result of my work commitments, I didn’t finish the Understanding Habits magazine ready for my Wednesday regular feature post. If this magazine had been a collation of multiple articles, but about different topics, then I still could’ve picked one and run with it. However, the magazine is very focused on a specific topic. It wouldn’t have been very easy to split down and talk about any specific element; to be honest, I don’t think I’d be doing it justice if I did that either. It is best read and featured as a whole. With that in mind, I decided to postpone this feature post until next week. Then, I should have had the chance to read it in its entirety.

The last post to go out earlier this week was my monthly TBR for March. This month, I have set a slightly shorter list, which results in a daily reading average of about 70 pages. Compared to last month, that’s a difference of about 40 pages a day. This smaller goal is a lot more achievable. I have also set myself a little bit of a stretch goal – to start one more book before the end of the month. If you’re interested in the books, I’m picking up throughout the month of March, you know what to do.

 

Books Read

Africa Risen

As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I was about 40% through Africa Risen.

I enjoyed the change of pace in reading an anthology of shorter stories as opposed to a longer novel. As in all things, there are elements of this book that I enjoyed more than others. There are stories in the book that I enjoyed more than others. Whilst I’m not overly precious or squeamish, there was one story in this book that I decided to skim through, because I wasn’t enjoying the graphic violence in it.

Overall, though, this was a solid read and an opportunity to branch out into fiction that I wouldn’t necessarily choose to pick up at any other time.

 

A Game of Thrones

After working my way through Africa Risen, I started my first book from my March TBR – A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I have already read this book a number of times. The next instalment in the series due out later this year, so I have decided to start a re-read of the series so I’m ready to pick that up when it finally drops.

I confess that I am not that far through the book at the moment. I have made a start and got through the first 80 pages of the book. That’s about 10%. This week, my usual habits and schedules have been a little bit off with being busy at work and having friends visiting yesterday. I’ve been having a good time doing some other things, but I’m looking forward to really diving into this book. I think this book is the perfect introduction to the wider series, as there’s enough going on to keep you interested, but also not to overwhelm. It is a book I enjoy reading and love going back to. 

Fingers crossed I’ll have more of an update from you in next week Sunday Summary post!

 

Books Discovered

Still keeping it quiet here with no acquisitions or additions to the TBR of late!

 

Coming Up…

It’s been a few weeks since I last shared a book review with you, so that is the plan for next week. I’ve recently been reviewing my re-read of the Harry Potter series. I will be continuing with those by reviewing the penultimate book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

As I stated above, I will be back with my regular Wednesday feature, Well, I Didn’t Know That! and featuring the Understanding Habits magazine in full.

On Friday, I will share my next Shelf Control post. The book I will feature this week is the first of a series written as a collaboration between two authors – Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. I’m interested to give this a go, even though the last book I read that Terry Pratchett collaborated on wasn’t a hit. For that particular book, I didn’t particularly enjoy the other authors writing style and that was prevalent in the book. I don’t have those same feelings about Stephen Baxter, so I’m hopeful that I will enjoy this one.

Finally, I’ll be back with my next Sunday Summary update this time next week. For now, that is all from me. Have a fabulous week and I’ll catch you in the next post!

 

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Monthly Wrap-Up – February 2023

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Good evening and welcome to my wrap-up post for February 2023! I set myself a lofty goal for February, which equated to attempting to read around 107 pages a day.

This was ambitious and I’m not surprised that I haven’t achieved it. However, I am really happy with the reading progress I’ve made. I’ve picked up the majority of the books I set out to, and I have read books from a diverse range of authors in line with it being Black History Month!

Let’s take a look at the books I picked up throughout the month!

 

Books Read

 

The Chimp Paradox

When I drafted my monthly wrap-up post for January, I was 72% into The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters. If you want to know my feelings on the book, then it’s probably best to go and check out that post. In short, I decided to whip through to the end of this book relatively quickly. This last little push on progress didn’t take too long and I swiftly moved on to my February TBR!

 

The House of Fortune

Next, I picked up the last book I had hoped to read in January. I picked up a copy of The House of Fortune from my local library.

Having read mixed reviews on the book, I didn’t want to commit to buying a copy if I didn’t enjoy it all that much. As it happens, this was a fairly decent read. I didn’t enjoy all of the characters individually, but the overall story comes together really well. I managed to read and return my copy to the library in just over a week. Not bad going really!

 

Illuminae

For my next read, I decided to change pace and genre completely.

Illuminae is written in a mixed media format. The story is told through messaging exchanges between characters, as well as interviews, logs, and other mixed written accounts. If you are a fan of books written in this style, such as The Appeal by Janice Hallett, then this will definitely suit you. I enjoyed the sci-fi setting in combination with this writing style. The different ways in which events are recounted really fit in with the storyline and the events that take place.

Although Illuminae is one of the longer books on my February TBR, it didn’t take that long to read. It being written in the style it was made it really easy to digest, and, in some cases, the word count per page is a lot less than you’d expect if you were reading traditional prose.

 

Becoming

In my next read, I change genre and pace yet again. Going back to a more traditional written format, I picked up a memoir by Michelle Obama – her first book called Becoming.

Becoming was the perfect book to read in fitting with this month’s theme of black history month, and also ticking a box towards my goal of reading more non-fiction. It also turned out to be a brilliant read. Although I’m not overly invested or interested in politics, I felt that Becoming struck the right balance of incorporating the struggles Michelle and Barack experienced in the early chapters of their life, up until their days in the White House. This book is not really political and doesn’t push too much of an agenda.

I expected to enjoy it, but I thought it was going to be more political. I’m glad that it wasn’t as it suited me perfectly.

 

The Rise of the Dragon

I went back to a favourite world in picking up The Rise of the Dragon by George R.R. Martin. I was very lucky to receive a copy of this book as an early birthday present, and it was only fitting I read it this month. The Rise of the Dragon covers the early history of the Targaryens, but in a way that is approachable to all readers. I have read Fire and Blood, the first detailed book of the Targaryen history. This is written more like a chronicle, with a lot of information, analysis and opinion.

That’s absolutely fine if you enjoy that style and are a big fan of the series. However, if you want an overview of the history and the events that run up to the main series (or the history featured in the TV spin off – House of the Dragon), then The Rise of the Dragon is better suited. It is also full of beautiful and detailed illustrations. I really enjoyed going through these as I was reading the stories and enjoying the varied artistry styles.

 

Africa Risen

My last read of the month is my current read, Africa Risen. This is a short story anthology, featuring speculative fiction written by black authors. This book is my book club read with Ezeekat’s book club. Whilst I haven’t completed the book in time for the end of the month, I can still offer some feedback on what I’ve read so far.

I am enjoying this collection of short stories. There are similar themes throughout these tales which are from a completely different perspective I never thought of before. There are some more obvious themes, including identity, racism, slavery, and mistreatment. But there are plenty others. For example, water features repeatedly in the stories in a completely different way to western novels. Whereas in the latter, it is a very basic, mundane and uninteresting element, that is not the case in the stories. Water is revered as life-giving, revitalising, and something special.

To a society that has an abundance of it, there is definitely a completely different attitude to it. And that’s something I’ve never thought of before, even though it is obvious in hindsight.

As of this monthly wrap-up post, I am 68% through Africa Risen. I’m hoping to finish this book very soon; my intention is to finish it within the next day or two, so then I can move onto my March TBR!

 

DNF’s

None to report this month!

 

Unread

I had hoped to pick up another couple of books throughout the month.

The first of these two as a relatively short book at just under 300 pages – The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. I’ve been looking to pick up this book for a couple of months, and I was hoping it was going to be a good and short palate cleanser to help keep momentum going. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite get to this one. However, I would like to try and pick it up soon.

The second book on my list is a fairly recent acquisition – In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akinmade Aketstrom. I would have been extremely happy if I’d made it to the end of the month having started the book. It’s obviously not quite panned out the way I had hoped, but never mind! I have still read plenty throughout the month and pushed myself to do so, whilst still balancing my time. That was what I set out to do.

 

That’s *all* for today’s monthly wrap-up post for February.

Have you read any of the books featured in this post? What have you been reading?

 

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Sunday Summary – 26th February 2023

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Good evening and welcome to today’s weekly Sunday Summary update! As always, I hope you’ve had a good week? What have you been up to?

In addition to reading and blogging, I picked up an ongoing cross-stitch project and played Stardew Valley on my switch. I’ve also watched most, if not all, episodes of Wednesday on Netflix. It’s been a good week of doing some different things.

Onto the blogging front, my first blog post was a Top Ten Tuesday post. This week’s theme was sharing our favourite heroines. A lot of the heroines on my list have a lot in common. They are women who stand up in the face of adversity, and do not shy away from who they are. They are also brave, smart, and these are all things that I strive to be. If you want to find out who made the list, you can check out my top ten tuesday post.

My next post was my next instalment of Well, I Didn’t Know That! In this week’s post, I decided to take a look at functionality on Goodreads that I don’t currently use, but may well do so in future. I mainly use the site as a book database and to log what I’m reading. However, there are a lot of news articles, book recommendations, and community elements to the site that I don’t make the most of. If you want to check out what those are, again, there is a link above.

On Friday’s First Lines Friday post, I featured the final book of a trilogy that I read last year. My challenge for this post was to feature a book I read in last year. In the end, this was quite an easy choice. I featured one of the earlier books of the trilogy in this series before. They have engaging opening lines to suck the reader in, and the storylines themselves are fantastic. As I mentioned in that post, this is a series I have now read twice, and also purchased for two friends. Curious as to what Friday’s feature was? You know the drill – it’s linked up.

 

Books Read

The Rise of The Dragon

As of last week’s Sunday Summary post, I had two current reads on the go. The first of those books was The Rise of the Dragon by George R.R. Martin. I also had a second book on the go for practical reasons; The Rise of the Dragon is a large and heavy illustrated history of the Targaryen’s. It’s not a practical book to take to work and read in your lunch hour!

So, in order to keep up momentum with reading, I also started Africa Risen. This particular book is Ezeekat’s current book club read, but more importantly, it’s on my kindle. Infinitely more transportable!

I was just over 150 pages through The Rise of the Dragon as of my last Sunday Summary post. Even though I wasn’t taking it to work to make progress with, I still flew through it. As I knew I would. I am a huge fan of the Game of Thrones and the universe the series is set in. I have already read some of the history before in Fire and Blood. However, The Rise of the Dragon is far more approachable. Fire and Blood is written as if it is a detailed chronicle of events that have happened in history. The Rise of the Dragon is more like a reference book. It still tells the story, but with a lot less detail, analysis and opinion.

If you want to take a look at the Targaryen history and you’re intimidated by the size of Fire and Blood, then I would strongly recommend The Rise of the Dragon. The illustrations in this book are fantastic and complement the story nicely!

 

Africa Risen

As of last week’s Sunday Summary update, I had only made a token start on my second read, Africa Risen. After finishing The Rise of the Dragon, I moved on to reading this book in earnest, (rather than on the side). As of today’s Sunday Summary post, I am now nearly 40% through this anthology collection.

I am enjoying the narrative being broken up into lots of more stories. It makes it an approachable read as it is very easy to pick up and put down as and when required. As with all of these things, there are varied storylines and narrative voices; some are easier to read than others. What all stories have in common is that they spotlight minority voices in speculative fiction. That’s a combination I haven’t really read before and I am enjoying. Sometimes it is good to change pace and reach out to read something new. Africa Risen certainly takes that box.

 

Books Discovered

Having recently received a deluge of books for my birthday, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I have been laying off adding anything to my reading list right now. I have more than enough to be getting on with!

 

Coming Up…

As we are coming up to the end of the month, next week I will be updating you on my reading progress in February via my usual monthly wrap-up post.

You may recall that last month I squeezed my wrap-up post out in the late evening of the last day of the month. This is because I have a regular feature post that I share on a Wednesday. As there are 28 days in February, we are back in the same boat this month. As that post turned out okay in terms of timing, I am going to do the same thing this month. I will prepare the majority of my post tomorrow, and I’ll get the last updates together on my current reads on Tuesday, so the post can go live!

On Wednesday, I will be back with my regular feature, Well, I Didn’t Know That. This week, I will read through a magazine called Understanding Habits. As somebody who enjoyed studying psychology at school, I’m looking forward to going through this. I also still think I have plenty to learn; anything interesting I read will be shared in that post!

On Friday, I will share my reading list for March 2023. I have a provisional list in mind and I’m excited for the books that are on it. One slight deviation is that I’m not going to be taking part in the book club read this month. If I’m entirely honest, I’m just not fussed about the subject! Yes, I am trying to broaden my horizons with my reading a bit, but I’m not going to force myself to read something that I have no interest in whatsoever either.

So, the world is my oyster when it comes to my reading list this month. I hope you can check out my post on Friday to find out what I plan to read throughout March.

Lastly, I will be back with my next Sunday Summary update post at the same time as usual. Until then, I hope you have a fabulous week and I look forward to seeing you around soon!

 

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