Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)
"Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl-and herself-than first meets the eye."
How I read this book: Audiobook
So the reason I wanted to read "Howl's Moving Castle" was obviously because I wanted to read the book that the movie was based on and see what was different! This book wasn't at all what I expected! Yes, there are so many similarities in the book and the movie but the differences within were exponential as well! There were just so many things I wasn't expecting (for example, did you know Howl is Welsh of all things?!) The one thing I will say in regards to that is this book can be difficult to listen to at times (with the woman reading it trying to put on a Welsh accent) so I would definitely read this as an eBook or physically instead. The book was just as magical (if not more) than the movie and I really enjoyed diving into the world that Diana Wynne Jones puts us into. I feel like we got to learn so much about Howl within this book and I adored finding out more about him. There's also so many differences when it comes to Sophie and it made joining both the characters on their journey so much better. This is, however, one book that I feel the movie really did it justice even though there was some things that were missed out. This book is also the first in the series so I think I will definitely be reading the rest of the series also (however, I will not be listening as I tried to with the second already and the accents that are put on are horrific).
My Favourite Characters
- Michael Fisher - Michael was also a lot more flushed out in the book than he was in the movie. I really enjoyed the scenes that he was in and found him to be adorable throughout.
- Annabel Fairfax - Annabel really gives us much more of an insight to Howl's and Sophie's personal lives before they met each other and I wish we got more of her
- Lettie Hatter: Lettie was such an interesting and smart character in the book, but was once again another character I wish we got more of.
My Least Favourite Characters
- King Of Ingary: As much as I understand why he was part of this book I just found him rude and annoying at times? He's very much an important part to play but I just wish there was a bit more character development with him
- Lily Angorian: I cannot say much about Lily without giving away most of the book, she's very much written for you to love her and then to hate her and the author did a good job of portraying how we should feel about her at which times.
I gave this book a 5/5 star rating on goodreads.
What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!
Have a wonderful day!
Love, Doe
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