Howl’s Moving Castle: Book vs. Movie

Spoiler Alert!! I will be talking some endings and other spoiler-ish elements so just beware.

It’s a rare time for me to notice that I actually enjoyed an adaption over the original novel. Considering how subpar most adaptations are. I don’t talk about this much but my favourite Studio Ghibli film and romance story in general is Howls Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki.

Sophie resonates with me as a character and I love the idea of the basic eldest daughter running away with a wizard who’s friends with a fire demon. So in order to prolong and thicken my excitement for this story, I decided to read the book as well.

The book was good, don’t get me wrong. It’s a beautifully written, casual fantasy that’s very similar to Miyazakis’ form of ‘soft’ worldbuilding. Or ‘frolicking fantasy’ as some reviewers put it. You don’t know everything going on in the created world but in the end, it doesn’t matter. Like how we never really know what happens in the Hufflepuff dormitories. At least not until the Rowling Unnecessary Head canon Era.

Even though I enjoyed the book, it left me feeling quite deprived compared to what I had in the movie.

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Sarah J. Maas and misleading Fantasy.

After reading Crescent City and writing the book review, I simply chalked it up to the fact that this book was a product of too much hype. It was okay but didn’t nearly give what was promised. However, I then had a conversation with my sister who had less than pretty things to say about Court of Thorns and Roses, another bestselling series of the same author. It came to my attention that there is something more to be discussed when it comes to Sarah J. Maas books and the immense support her books get.

The common critiques given during the conversations with my sister was that the fantasy elements were pretty half-hearted, the romance was tepid, characters were silly and most of all, it reads like a fanfiction. Which would be great but the book industry still doesn’t take fanfictions seriously whilst giving Sarah J. Maas a pedestal for writing great “epic fantasy” so… are we looking at a little hypocrisy here?

Speaking of the book industry, we have our main problem. If you told me that Crescent City by Maas was a romance story between a Fae/Human and an Angel after they were thrown together for an investigation on the Fae/Human girls’ dead friends then my review would’ve been far kinder. Except that’s not how Crescent City was marketed. Even in the blurb section, it describes this book as an “epic adult fantasy” when really it should be a “fantasy romance”. Am I only one who thinks that this is an incredibly important distinction? Especially when looking for books to read.

Book Review: Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

While all the chaos brewed by both Mother Nature and her mischievous children who can’t seem to follow simple safety rules, the book industry still continued to soar with some new releases.

One of the most popular and talked about releases was Crescent City by Sarah J. Mass. I spent a good month or four reading this book so today I have compiled my thoughts below.

Note: These book reviews are my own personal observations and experiences so if it does not align with your own views then that’s completely normal. Stories will have different interpretations and the beauty of it is that no view is the same. Friendly debates are welcome but please keep it civil.

Content Warning: mentions of murder and sexual content.

Book Information:

• Author: Sarah J. Maas
• Year Published: 2020
• Page Count: 800
• Genre: Fantasy
• Pacing: Drawling | Slow | Suspenseful Build | Fluctuating | Steady | Fast | Vague
• Type: Fantasy | Mix | Realism

Book Review: Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

This week we have another book review coming for you so it can help you decide whether to add something new to your list or maybe even dive into a unexplored theme! Sword of Shannara has definitely for a long time so some of you might be already familiar with the whole series but this is a first for me and I’ve compiled my thoughts under the read-more. I hope it helps in expanding your reading list!

Book Information:

• Author: Terry Brooks
• Year Published: 1977
• Page Count: 664
• Genre: High Fantasy
• Pacing: Drawling | Slow | Suspenseful Build | Fluctuating | Steady | Fast | Vague
• Type: Fantasy | Mix | Realism

#StayHome Book Recs

For this week, I have collated my Top Five favourite books ranging from fantasy to fashion. If you’re ever looking at your bookshelf and there’s nothing to read, give these selections a go!

Book Review: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.

As most of us are now sitting at home and finding ourselves with more free time, books are usually a good way to occupy our minds for a few hours. Maybe even calm us down when the atmosphere gets too stuffy or the thoughts get too troubling. I managed to binge-read the last hundred or so pages for this book because it was hard to put down and honestly there was not much else to do so I hope this review gives good enough insight for you to add it to your reading list!

Book Information:

• Author: Dan Brown
• Year Published: 2000
• Page Count: 615
• Genre: Mystery / Thriller
• Warnings: Blood & Violence, Disturbing Themes, Attempted Sexual Assault (brief).
• Pacing: Drawling | Slow | Suspenseful Build | Fluctuating | Steady | Fast | Vague
• Type: Fantasy | Mix | Realism