vhenderson93's reviews
512 reviews

Warning. Nothing, literally NOTHING is as it seems. The longer I read, the more I was convinced that the title would randomly decide to change or something crazy like that.

I read Howl's Moving Castle at the beginning of this year and had no idea that there was a series. The cover of my copy says that it's a companion to Howl's moving castle so I didn't expect a whole lot of connections and inter-world weaving. (Just made that word up unless it's already a thing) Anyway...at first, Castle in the Air is literally it's own book and has nothing to do with book 1. Completely different characters, setting and plot that I found very enchanting and engrossing. I automatically fell in love with the main character, Abdullah. I found his character, with his constant day dreaming, very relatable. Couldn't get enough of his flattering/Over-the-top sayings.

But then things started to change. Locations started to sound familiar, as did some names. (Remember that it's been almost a year since I read book 1) Then out of nowhere *BOOM* I was back in book 1. There were so many twists and unexpected surprises that they made my head spin. In fact it was so dizzying that I missed the easy going style in the earlier parts of the book.

Overall it was enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I love twist and turns, but in my opinion I think the author takes too much joy in deceiving the reader. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just a bit overwhelming at times.

I highly, HIGHLY, suggest that you read the entire series one after another. Don't take an extended break like I did. I had to Google names to refresh my memory about familiar characters.

If I had only one word to describe this book it would be, raw. And by raw I mean in emotion. This book made me feel things that very few books do. It brought me to tears, made me angry and frustrated. The characters felt so much that it overflowed from the pages. That's all I think I can say except for, why Johnny? Of all people, why Johnny?

I think this is my favorite book of the entire series. It was very easy to relate to the main character's need to read in order to wind down and relax. The moment any problem arose, she went to her books. Unfortunately, it was rare when she actually got to sit down and read. I really appreciated her character growth throughout the book.

All through this crazy series I've come to the mindset that nothing is really what it seems. The previous book, Castle in the Air, really left my mind boggling at all the plot twists so I was ready for the unexpected. However, I was surprised that there weren't hardly any twists. Basically everything was straight forward for the most part.

Overall a fantastic end to a fun and magical series. Highly recommend giving it a try.

As a rule I love Haddix's books. Among my favorites of her's are: the Shadow Children series, Running out of Time and Uprising. I picked this one up on a whim and had no expectations, good or bad. Not even half way through, I decided I didn't like the characters. The dad was weak and gave in to his spoiled bratty daughter. Kayla's character was slightly less annoying, but not by much.

As for the plot, I thought it was kind of obvious. I knew the dad was either facing bankruptcy or getting a divorce. All in all, it was depressing and I found all the drama stressful. I couldn't wait for the "vacation" to end. I guess in a way I did have slight expectations because when I closed the book for the last time, I was disappointed.

I was surprised at how long it took me to finish this. Normally I can devour these books within a matter of days, but I had trouble getting into this one. I blame that on that fact that I was reading four other books at the same time and was having trouble balancing my time.

Other than that, this was a very exciting and emotional read. The Herons had a close scrape this time, too close, in fact. I don't want to wreck the ending for you, but it was on point and left readers with anticipation for the next installment.

Let me just say, if you can make it through the prologue, this book is a great read full of adventure and action. The writing style reminded me very much of Robin Hood. Sometimes I had to reread a sentence to make sense of it, but for the most part it was clear. There were parts of this book that kept my attention completely but some of it was a bit boring. I really liked the illustrations.

My favorite character was Alicia Risingham. I liked her spunk and the way she called Richard lion driver. I really felt for the poor old sea captain. He was a victim of circumstance and it didn't seem fair to me.

So...I've been trying to finish this book for almost a year. It's not because It's a hard or boring read. To be honest, I've been reading a lot of books that I'd rather be reading than this one. Does that sound mean? It wasn't meant to be.

Anyway, I enjoyed this book. The mystery was intriguing and kept me guessing. One thing I didn't like was that no one wanted to listen to Priscilla, even though she clearly knew what was going on, more than the police. Even more frustrating, was the fact that they didn't apologize for not listening.

I'm late posting this review, but that doesn't dampen how much I enjoyed this story.

I grew up watching Disney's, The Black Cauldron. It's one of those underrated, overlooked movies but I always loved it. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the movie is based off a 5 book series! I started it right away, eager to revisit a classic in a new way.

Comparing the movie to the book- I loved both of them in their own way. The plot is slightly different and there's a few new characters but overall, it's fantastic! Disney did a great job of sticking with the main character's attitudes and personalities. Gurgi! A teddy bear/child's version of Gollum, he is my favorite character, closely followed by Gwydion.

Everything about this book was wonderful. I was drawn to the characters' mission, their victories and failures. As I write this, I have the sequel, The Black Cauldron, sitting beside me.

After much deliberation and careful consideration, I've decided to do the merciful thing and put this book and all my ambition of ever finishing it, out of its mercy. This is the second time I've tried to read this and I've lost interest both times. The first time I only made it past the first chapter. This time I made it through 38% of the book but I had to practically make myself get that far. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this is a good book. What I read of it was interesting. I didn't care for Meggie. At all. Inkheart was a great and fun read and it looks as though that's as far as I'll be getting through the trilogy.

While this isn't my favorite of the series so far, I still enjoyed tagging along for the adventure. I especially liked the part when Glew, or king Glew, came in. I felt bad for him. I thought the story moved too fast and it didn't hold my attention like the first two books did. I really missed Elinowy. There should have been at least a couple chapters in her POV. It was HER story after all...

The ending left me puzzled and I had to go back and reread the last page to make sense of it. Still not sure what to think of the prince and as for Queen Achren...who knows what's going to happen with her. I'm excited to see what unfolds in book 4.