Howl’s Moving Castle (World of Howl, #1)

by Diana Wynne Jones

[nitzan_schwarz]

To read more reviews and fun things go to my blog; Drugs Called Books!

Read on 2012, didn't have a Goodreads account yet so I don't know the exact date
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I saw the movie, years ago, and I liked it. By some turn of events, I found out last year that it was based on a book—so how could I resist the temptation of reading it?
I couldn't put the book down. In one day, I gulped the entire story, moving on to the next installment of the series. I must say that the book and the movie are so entirely different that I treat them as two separate things which happen to have the same name. I mean, aside for Howl, Sophie and Calcifer, everything else is different. Even Sophie's family situation and the villains are different! But this just might be as well, because it allows me to love both the movie and the book, though the book is better (in my opinion, anyways).

SO

I fell in love with the characters (C'mon, Howl's sexy and you know it) and all their flaws to the point of forcing anyone who would listen to read the book (I literally shoved it into their hands and didn't accept no for an answer). The world Diana Wynne created is incredible. The fact it was entangled with our own world just added to its beauty.
Now, let me tell you, I'm a sucker for romance. Honestly. So I was very surprised at how much I loved the romance in this book, which is anything but traditional and obvious. It was there, don't get me wrong, but most of the time it was subtle and behind the scenes. There weren't any big love scenes. But that just added to the revelation at the end. You don't understand just how much Howl loves Sophie until the last chapters, and suddenly - everything makes sense. Every action he took, every time you were pissed with him... you suddenly understand it was all for her. All for Sophie. It was amazing, for me. When the two finally profess their love for one another, it isn't done in a normal way either, and yet it is just so sweet in its own way… Ahh, just thinking about it and I get all giddy and mushy… I just love those two too much.
The book is magical. The story talks about magic, but that's not it. The book itself, the story written in it… it's magic, and I enjoyed every second of it!