《 Reread 》

There are few feelings as amazing as rereading books that you adored as a kid

n  ❝I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you. ❞ n

I could revisit this world over and over!!

Mel

n  “It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”n

Voldemort is out in the open. No longer trying to hide his return, he and his Death Eaters are committing atrocities left, right and centre. Once again the magical community is under threat from his tyranny and so they have to unite if there is any hope of defeating him.

Harry wants to fight as well, but as he is still a student he is limited in what he can do. But with the help of Professor Dumbledore he can learn all about the man who now calls himself Lord Voldemort. Learning about his past means learning his weaknesses.

A rumour has been circulating through the masses. That Harry will be the one to kill Voldemort in the end. Well, the rumours aren't wrong.

n  Neither can live while the other survivesn




This story is much slower paced than the others but I still enjoyed every moment. Even though they are in danger now that Voldemort and Co. are killing openly — we get to see normal life at Hogwarts for Harry. And honestly I could read another 600 page book about normal everyday Hogwarts life.

The atmosphere of this book is very different from Order of the Phoenix. Harry is more at ease now that the wizarding community believes him.

I mean yes, there were still some terrible things going on, but things are now sort of calm at Hogwarts.

The humour in this book is so great. From Slughorn, Lavender Brown and Cormac Mclaggen — this book is seriously entertaining every time.

n  “Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”n

Harry's lessons with Dumbledore were from my favourite scenes. And I think that's what makes the last few chapters completely GUT WRENCHING.

Fun fact: this book is the first one that ever made me cry. I vividly remember 13 year old me crying into my pillow at 2 AM.

Magical Creature Scandal! Giant Spider Expires on School Grounds!: "I'm pretty sure the potions master was implicated. He had an extensive supply of acromantula venom after this dreadful incident!" - Hogwart's Herald

"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."

Well said, and the story progresses as it must, into grief and heartfelt purpose. Harry loses his greatest mentor and turns to face the terrifying evil of Lord Voldemort...

But not alone, for there are those of great heart who will stand with him to the very end, whatever end that may be.

Five stars (4.75 rounded up) well earned, despite the occasional lapse of pace, and the tropey 'gloat speech,' of Malfoy's that was used to illuminate what had been happening throughout the story. I get the last, Malfoy had to display his hesitation, and the speech provided him time to do that... but gloat speeches just don't sit well with me.

As always, let's see if the main man himself would like a quick word, what follows might be a bit contentious - so read it at your own risk.

Dumbledore: "Yes, well, my contract with Hogwarts has expired, and I have to move on. But, I'm not quite ready for retirement, I'm starting a new class in 'Incredible Wizarding Heroics,' all are of course most welcome to join."

And there you have it 5 'Beware the Tragic Potion,' stars.

Reread this in April/May 2023 with the fine folk over at Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

Harry Potter is sweet 16. We sure see his growth. He’s definitely all-teenager with girl crushes & spats....but his anger has dropped away since the last book. He’s matured -spreading his wiseness-wings into an inspiring mensch-wizard-teenager.
He’s the only wizard to have survived the killing curse - defying Voldemort’s rage & revenge. As “the chosen one”, Harry prepares to face his destiny with more insight, and shrewdness than we’ve seen from him until now.

This is one of my favorites in the series - ( book 3 is my VERY FAVORITE)...There is still lots of thrilling adventure but getting the backstory on Voldemort’s past was interesting as well....( which filled in holes while creating new questions).

The last few chapters were intense .....the ending surprising & very sad. It’s ‘this’ book that made me wonder — did J.K. Rowling have all 7 books pre-planned ‘before’ she wrote her first book? Hm???

***Please note that this review may contain spoilers for the overall series, not just this book.***

I listened to the bulk of this book while I did some spring cleaning. It kept me company while I sorted through piles of books, moved furniture around, wiped down walls and shelves and vacuumed behind the heavy items that I only move twice a year. It took most of the day and by evening I was putting things back in their places, arms and back sore, crying quietly to myself as Dumbledore drank that potion. I'm sure it would have looked rather ridiculous if anyone had seen me!

Once again I was blown away by Stephen Fry's reading. I've reached a point now where I feel like his voice is more familiar to me than those of people I actually know. I'm quite sad that there is only one left, but I also can't wait to start it. There was a particular sense of sadness to this one, knowing that it is the last year where they are students at Hogwarts, though the trio themselves don't know it yet. I drank in every detail of day-to-day student life --- lessons, Quidditch, Peeves, the Fat Lady.
The first time I read the book I was completely floored by Harry's decision to not come back. There is something so heartbreaking about him having to leave behind the place he considers home a year early. The thought of Harry Potter without Hogwarts was incomprehensible. I had so been looking forward to their final year, and suddenly things had veered off completely. I still think it was brilliant of J.K. Rowling to do that.

The Felix Felicis chapter remains one of my favourites. I thought they did a great job with this in the film too, with Daniel Radcliffe demonstrating a talent for comedy that I hadn't anticipated, but as ever, in the book there is just so much more time to expand on things. Although I have always remembered that so much was cut away for the films, it's sometimes surprising to be reminded of just how much was left out. Ginny in the movies is... fine, and I think the actress did a good job with a small amount of screen time. But book Ginny is dynamic, smart, funny, talented -- a much better match for Harry, and I think their relationship works better in the books, makes more sense.
Also, while Ron still treats Hermione pretty poorly here, there is more nuance to it. In the films it's like a lot of his redeeming qualities have been stripped away, and he is dumbed down a lot too. He's smarter and more complex in the books and I do wish more of that had been kept on screen.

It's really Dumbledore though who feels so much more real in the books. I don't really know how to explain it, but there is just something about book Dumbledore that eclipses movie Dumbledore. I do think however, that his death scene in the film was beautifully shot and I pictured it similarly in my head as it happened in the book.
Sirius's death in the last book and Dumbledore's in this one really hit hard. I find myself genuinely missing them, as if they are actual people I have lost. Dumbledore's death is almost unbearable, and that realisation that I actually had faith in Snape, only for him let me down, is still jarring, even though I now know what is revealed in the final book. Actually, knowing the truth about Snape makes everything he has to do in this book even harder to read. It's all so brutal.

Also every sliver of information about Tom/Voldemort that we are given is almost uncomfortably fascinating. Why are villains so interesting?!

I'm counting down the days until my next Audible credit so I can start Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's going to be strange to not have another one to look forward to and go on with. I felt like that the first time I read the last book. However, the nice thing is I love rereading, and I'm able to do that as many times as I want, whether it's a physical copy or audio.

Updated 2023:
Seventh time listening to the Audible version!

feels. that's all i can say.

Blog Review: https://passthefeels.wordpress.com/20...

The Half Blood Prince is yet another incredible installment in the Harry Potter series, but you all knew that already. It may be my favourite so far, in fact yes I believe it is, even though the emotions are so real right now. (I know I said Order was my favourite so far, but this one has overtaken it)

I once again, loved every minute of reading this. It was perfect, and also had me lol'ing throughout the whole thing..eh, mostly. not the end.

The school and classes scenes were also amazing, that's weirdly one of the things I love most about these books. Hogwarts just being Hogwarts.

If I'm being honest, weirdly again, the Quidditch scenes sometimes become a little tedious to me sometimes, but I even loved those in this book, they were just so funny. Thankyou Liquid Luck. (that was amazing, hahaha)

The Apparition lessons were also a great laugh!

J.K. Rowling is brilliant in everything she does; the humour, suspense, mystery... I mean, she even had me guessing and confused even though I've seen the movies a billion times.

I loved getting to delve deeper into the motives and life of Voldemort, it was just so interesting to learn about his past, and what makes him such a complex character. As well as seeing the relationships, or lack of, with him and other people.

The love aspect of this book, oh the loveeee, was so cute to read about. I mean, between Ron and Hermione, and Harry and Ginny, how could it not be good? You could really see them growing up throughout this novel, which I also enjoyed.

The relationship between Harry and Dumbledore grew even more in this book (which made the ending that much harder) I've always loved reading about the dynamic between those two. Such a bond.

Malfoy, well he was such an interesting character in this one, right from the moment when he stepped on Harry's nose *wince*, that was intense. It was so cool to be able to read about the mystery behind this guy, and try to figure him out a bit more. Draco has always fascinated me, which is probably half to do with Tom Felton, let's be real.

Snape, uhm, I'm still kinda confused where I stand in regards to if I like or don't like him, at the moment it's a bit of both. I guess the Deathly Hallows will help me out, but I do really enjoy reading about Snape, even if he makes some...questionable decisions.

Can't forget to mention Slughorn! He was a great addition to the story, I really enjoyed his character, and all that he brought to the novel.

Once again, the friendship between Ron/Harry/Hermione warmed my little heart, and also tore at it a bit over the course of the novel *cough* thanks Lavender *cough*. But they never fail to make me smile. I feel like even though there was still a bit of it, the angst levels were much lower in this one, haha.

Also, how can you not love Fred and George? I adore those two, they're like me in twin boy form.

All-in-All, this was yet another solid addition to this amazing series, and it's just incredible how much more I'm getting out of the books than the movies, I really didn't expect to learn this much. Admittedly, I didn't even truly know what a Horcrux was until this book...oops.

Can't believe it's time for the final journey...

Do you know what is better than this book (this book being already amazing)? This book narrated by Stephen Fry.
I swear, this was my second attempt EVER to listen to an audiobook and the narration was so good I actually enjoyed it so much. And I hate listening to audiobooks!

For a long time this book had a special place in my freezer with my favorite ice creams and frozen food I was banned to cook (I eventually burn them when I defreeze them. I was born with non-culinary skills!) I repeated what Joey Tribbianni did because after finishing this book I cried so hard,
I cursed nonstop, I screamed till my local cords declare their uselessness and I tried to throw the hardcopy out of the window but I changed my mind because an innocent kid may have found the book at the outside and started to read and cry nonstop! So instead of throwing away or burning the pages( which is so harsh punishment because this book is still a classic and it’s one of the best ones of the series)freezing the book and never forgiving the author for killing one of my favorite characters were the best choices I’ve had.

As my new weekend quarantine habit: I started retro weekend tradition and reread my favorite series. Even though this book broke my heart more than a decade before, at least this time I prepared myself with lots of tissues and golden toilet papers( they’re so precious things and I hang them on the walls with hand sanitizers as if they’re historical artifacts.) and I bottled up my happy memories inside my head to protect my heart tear apart.

This is sweet 16 adventures of Harry: the girl crushes, secret smiles, hormonal and characteristic changes, seeing the world from different aspect! If I didn’t get so sad with the unexpected ending, this might be second favorite HP book because JKR- wizard of the words reflected the emotional and psychical changing as they grow up more and realize the biggest danger out there to steal their best times of their lives.

I never get bored to reread any HP books or anything JKR writes. (instead of shopping list. Lately they made me sleep!) So I had quite great time with my nostalgic journey to the past and realize I will find myself reading these books a decade later and I will still get the great taste of literature and have quality time. That’s the magic of skilled writing and gifted talent!

n  Second Reread Review:n


REVIEW TO COME SOON

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
5 GLOWING MAGICAL STARS!

n  'Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right,' said Hermione. 'I heard him telling your mum, Ron.' n

I'm really enjoying this series so far but this series gets darker and darker. the first three of this series were so funny and cute even though there were sad scenes on them and the fourth, fifth and sixth books contained so much pain and I even shed more tears for these book than I did for the the first three. I have lost a favorite character that always made me laugh and smile. this character is Sirus Black. I even still can't get over his death. but let's admit it that maybe there's a death of character that we will never get over.

*takes deep breath* okay let's talk about this book

・。・゜★・。・。☆・゜・。・゜。・。・゜★・。・。☆・。・゜★・。・。

n  PHLEGMn

I have never liked Fleur Delacour very much since I first saw her on the book four and then I saw her again on the book four as Bill's girlfriend or Fiancee and I also laughed when Ginny called Fleur Phlegm. I also still don't how Bill fell in love with her but yeah, she is pretty but I thought Bill deserved someone better than her. I like Bill so much. he is so cool with his red long hair. maybe I didn't like Phlegm because I was jealous hahahaha okay it is not maybe, I was jealous. but look at this scene :

''E is always so thoughtful,' purred Fleur adoringly, stroking Bill's nose. Ginny mimed vomiting into her cereal behind Fleur. Harry choked over his cornflakes and Ron thumped him on the back.

ugh ... how could I like her if she acted like that?!?



that was really annoying and Ginny also found it disgusting. Hermione and Ginny didn't even like her. but she changed my mind on the the end of this book because when Bill was attacked by ... that werewolf guy who bit Remus when he was a kid. Bill is no longer as handsome as he used to be but Fleur still loves him. she doesn't care about how he looks and I even thought she would leave him after he was attacked but she didn't and that time I changed my mind about her. She is the right girl for Bill, even though I am a little bit jealous hahaha xD

n  Ron and Hermionen

I ship these two so much and I really really like Ron. Ron and Hermione are always funny. they always bicker about something and I think the first time Ron fell in love with Hermione was on the book four because he was so angry when he knew Hermione went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum and in this book Ron hurt me so much. He thought that Hermione kissed Krum and he was so angry and jealous because of this and he kissed Lavender in the common room that was full of people and it also broke Hermione's heart.

Harry looked into the corner she was indicating. There, in full view of the whole room, stood Ron wrapped so closely around Lavender Brown it was hard to tell whose hands were whose.

And I was so angry in that moment



'Er - my - nee,' croaked Ron unexpectedly from between them.

but all my anger was gone when he was poisoned and he said that while he was asleep. I think he was trying to say Hermione, so that meant he dreamt about her and I forgave him that exact time and he also didn't really like Lavender anymore since then. he even pretended to be asleep when Lavender came to visit him in the hospital wing. so that meant he didn't like her anymore and I don't think he actually liked Lavender before he was poisoned. I think he just kissed Lavender because he wanted to make Hermione jealous and feel hurt, which he successfully did.

n  Harry And Ginnyn

have you ever thought why Ginny had relationship with quite many guys? wait ... not many guys because she just dated two boys, Dean and Michael. But she always got a boyfriend as soon as she split up with her ex and my thoughs about this is probably right because Ginny said this to Harry on the end of the book

'I never really gave up on you,' she said. 'Not really. I always hoped ... Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more - myself.'

I think Ginny always dated a guy as soon as she split up with her ex because she always tried to forget Harry, so maybe if she had a boyfriend, she wouldn't love Harry anymore. But according to what she said she never really gave up on Harry so that means she has always loved him.
I was a bit sad when Harry said they can't be together again because Harry was afraid if something would happen to Ginny if they kept seeing each other. he was afraid if Voldemort used Ginny to get him. but I didn't angry with him because this just proved how much Harry loves Ginny and I am sure they will be together again. I hope so ...

n  Dumbledore's deathn

I admit that Dumbledore is not one of my top favorite characters in this series but I always found him funny and a bit weird, in a good way, of course. But his death left me in shock because he was actually pleading to Snape but Snape killed him with The Avada Kedavra curse and I thought Snape was on the good side. What will happen now after Dumbledore died?! He is the only one Voldemort is afraid of.
I have this feeling that I'll to lose my favorite characters again ...

thank you so much for reading and liking my review. hope you all have a great weekend, guys!