Howl's Moving Castle?

I have seen the anime movie and liked it so I thought, sure, I know the story is good, why not give the book a go? I might get more detail and Mabey some more explanation. Instead, I discovered a treasure. I read it through in one day! I cannot wait to read this book to my kids. It is such a wealth of imagination. It's wonderful and I can see why the film was as successful as it was.

The first few chapter are almost the twin of the film, the mousy and shy Sophie is not living life, but existing. Until a spell from the Witch of The Waste turns her into a 90 yr old woman that reflects on the outside, who she is inside and she sets off for her own adventure. I love old lady Sophie. She is more adventurous and doesn't care what people think and frets less. She just does, like a real old lady who is really too old to care. She joins Howl and agrees to help Calcifer break the contract they have, but that's really where the similarities end. The book is definitely more full of magic, color, mystery, and delicious story.

One can't help but fall in love with Howl and Sophie as they find each other, and who doesn't love Calcifer? I love Michael and hells bells, I even grow to love Sophie's family. I love most of all the spin the story had on dimensional traveling. Howl is from Wales in our world and that's where his sisters family still lives. It took me a few minutes to understand because that was something I was really not expecting.

I don't know if I would like to read the next book, I kind of like letting it end here in my head, with the happily ever after they promised me. Recommend it to anyone who liked the movie, anyone who likes fantasy and magic, and anyone who wants a good story. I wonder why it took me so long to find this great story.


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Kiss of Shadows...Merry Gentry and a trip down memory lane w LKH

Meredith is niece to the queen of the unseelie fey. Always the weakest, too much a lesser fey and too human to be full sidhe. After her father was assassinated and her consort leaves her, her life is more in danger than ever and having no strong power, decides to disappear. She moves to Los Angeles and lives as a detective until one day a case lands at her door that leaves her right back to the queen herself and the mercy of the unseelie court. Kind of. Aunt Andais does not want to kill her, her insane cousin Cel still does of corse, but the queen offers Merry the possibility of the throne. She will name Meredith co-heir, along with Cel. The first to produce a child in the span of 3 years will get the throne.

She may not want the throne, but she can't lie to herself. She misses the fey. And she values her life. Unfortunately, it also paints a great big target on her back for Cel, for his supporters, and for anyone who does not want human pollution and weaker blood. So she must take sidhe guards and lovers in a race to be queen.

This is my absolute favorite LKH book series. I started with Anita Blake, and like Anita, Merry is stubborn, independent and a strange mix of strong and weak. Being a typical LKH book at the height of her popularity, it's quite graphic. Not as much as her Anita series, at least not this book. There is more plot and story and it made up for it. As I read it, I look back and wonder at the intelligence of reading it when I was younger and more impressionable. Probably not a recommended read when your...ahem...less experience. Lol!

Each of her guard has their own personality. Frost's vulnerability, Galen's sweetness, Rys' humor, Nicca's innocence, and Doyle. Doyle, the queens Darkness. Reverse harem at its best. Doyle sagged my heart from the very beginning, but that's just me. There's something to be said for strong, silent, and powerful.


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Fair Game...Alpha and Omega 3

This moved a lot slower than almost any Briggs book I've ever read...in any series. It isn't until you get to the actual solving of the kidnap/murder case that u get into the story. Even then, its not till the very, very end that i was hooked to where I disregarded need for sleep to find out what happened. Once you get there, its good ol Briggs that you are used to. Its exciting, its comforting, and its a nice tagled little web that was weaved, so Im glad I stuck with it. I just wish it hadn't taken so long to get there. Even the prologue is a little long winded and random...it kinda fits the story and provides some history and insight, but It could have been done another quicker, more efficient way.

The ending is SO worth it, tho. It is a game changer for not only the Alpha Omega series, but to the Mercy Thompson universe. Im looking forward to the next Mercy book! My jaw literaly dropped. Cant wait to see what happens to the fae now and what it means for Bran and his wolves including Mercedes and my favorite pack in the basin.(less)

HP POA

this book was just about to get published when i got the Harry Potter bug. It will always hold a special place in my heart. This is also the first book to have some of my all-time favorite characters, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. That being said, as a grown up, now I have some SERIOUS issues with time travel. It just doesn't make sense, even if it IS a magic/fantasy book. it creates such a paradox and as a literary device gets a little to Deus est machina. Its such an easy out without having real answers.

so Harry goes back in time to save Sirius and Buckbeak and he saves himself and everybody with that patronas, but how could it have happened the first time. Its WAY too chicken and egg for me. Also, there is a huge emphasis on not being seen, but obviously Hermione was when she would go back in time to go to her classes? probably the most obvious issue is....if you could go back in time, why not go back and stop voldermort before he was. Wouldn't that be disrupting reality the same way the kids did by saving beaky and sirius? see?....too many questions. Maybe Im just thinking about it all too much and taking a childrens book way too serious..(pun intended! lol!).

Either way, I still really like this book because I think its the first one that really starts the ball rolling for potter-lore and the whole potter universe. This is also, coincidentally, my favorite movie of the HP franchise. Alfonso Cuaron is awesome and I wished they had used him for some of the later films. its dark but still funny and has its own specially flavor.


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Chamber of Secrets...

Of course I love Harry Potter and have read the books from GOF and up at least 10 times each, but these earlier ones, I think I have only read once or twice. It's not that I don't CoS, but rather it's too young and moves a little slow when u know there is meatier stuff comin. I still do enjoy getting to the point where I forget enough that it makes the book a page turner, but I'm going to admit, it took like 2 weeks to finish CoS just because I always found something better to do. Listened along to Jim Dale and I LOVE his voice. On to the next one.

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Mermaid

That crushing, smushing, riptide.
My heart feels swollen, like a bee has stung it.
Breathing under water.
Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.

20,000 fathoms under the sea.
Soon it will stop and in its place will be a shell.
A conch with lovely echoes and memories of the ocean that once filled it.
Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.

You looked warm playing in the sun
Splashes and crashes to catch your eye
Slack water time is past
Bubbles, bubbles bubbles

I hope you find my conch
Hear my song
And think of me when you see the
Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.

I was the mermaid.

Boys over flowers and Playful Kiss

Why do such banal things make my heart go pitter-patter? Ugh! Am I like one of these heroines where when u throw me a small bone, I forgive and forget all my wonderfully delicious cynicism and turn into a doe-eyed romantic?

Yes.

It's like Yi Jueng said, "I bet I can tell. If you had to choose between good news and bad news first, you want the bad news."

Gaul's answer is, "how did you know I would want the bad news first?"

His cool response? "Because good girls always want a happy ending"

Eeeeek!! Insert fan-girl squeal!

It also reminds me of Saving Francesca. When Christobal does something to break Frenchie's heart and the chicks kidnap her for a girl day consisting of junk food, Boy-hating music like Alanis Morsette, doing each other nail and hair, and tops off with good-ol-fashioned Pride&Prrjudice.

And it hits her. Right at that part when Darcy shows his feelings for Elizabeth, when he is coming out of the lake (of course)! And Frankie can't help but still be hopeful about love. And she stops watching the movie, instead to watch her friends, and she sees it in their faces too. Each one of them, from quiet Josie, bitchy Sihoban, and even jaded Tara.....they are not all as tough as they seem..."we are all fools, in love"

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