Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harry Potter is Harry Potter, but I struggled to like this final book for several reasons. They're the same things that bothered me the first time I read it, but the final confrontation and brilliant revelations and reversals of certain characters wiped them from my memory back then. Now the second time, I find that these reasons linger.

1. So many deaths. Right from the beginning, starting with (view spoiler)[Hedwig (hide spoiler)]. Somehow that really got to me this time!
2. So much speculation about Dumbledore and his true motivations and shortcomings. I do like how this was resolved in the end, but didn't enjoy the maligning of Dumbledore, or Harry's doubts about him.
3. So much time spent with only Harry, Ron and Hermione running around the forest. I miss their interactions with other characters and the wizarding world.
4. No Hogwarts until 75%. This is kind of the same as the previous point except that Hogwarts simply deserves its own line. I've realized that the setting is a huge part of my enjoyment of this series, and I was impatient with the book until the story returned there. I missed all of the extra characters - teachers, ghosts, portrait-dwellers, fellow students - as well as the magic of the castle itself.

I still love the series. There's nothing else like it. It's darker than I would have liked, even knowing where it was going the second time around, but like I said, I just wanted to live at Hogwarts and not watch the whole world being destroyed, along with so many people that Harry could possibly consider family.

The ending is really great. It's one of those endings that is actually epic, and some of the minor characters have great moments in the battle at Hogwarts. But I found this finale bitter enough that I might avoid any future re-reads and stick to the earlier books for the nostalgia of simply hanging out at Hogwarts.

Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first heard about Guy Gavriel Kay shortly after joining Goodreads, and have just finally managed to get around to reading my first book. It won't be the last!

Tigana was a wonderful reading experience. Complex, nuanced characters captured my heart and I hoped against hope that everyone could somehow be saved in the end. It was beautiful and tragic, full of loss, hope and redemption. I wanted to spend more time in the aftermath and follow them all home. It finished too soon.

Owl and the Japanese Circus - Kristi Charish

Owl and the Japanese Circus by Kristi Charish
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was refreshing to read an Urban Fantasy that wasn't a mystery, but rather an archeological adventure. Even more refreshing was a heroine who, although not inclined to think before acting or speaking, does learn from mistakes and begins listening when her friends ask her not to rush in without a plan. There's also a vampire-hunting cat that offers some comic relief, and a bit of romance where the two involved actually speak to each other like mature adults when they're upset... so all around refreshing.