I enjoyed this a reasonable amount! I'm not a fairy-tale person and I have a hard time suspending my disbelief when it comes to books for younger audiences - in general, I like my fantasy dark and gritty and harsh. However, I made an exception for this book since the Ghibli adaptations is an all time favorite of me and my partner and we had history with the film and the themes. He gifted me the book earlier this year and I jumped on the opportunity of reading this along with the audio-book.
I have to say the writing is really refreshing and the narration honestly made this read for me, but the story felt rushed, lacking or overly simplified at parts. I understand a fairy-tale isn't supposed to be exposed in hundreds of pages of lore and magic systems, but maybe the plot wasn't for me. I enjoyed certain parts of the original more than the movie, Howl's life (and origin?) in Wales, and how a lot was left to the imagination, but I missed the Witch of the Waste's redemption arc from the movie and the deeper themes of found family (I won't spoil the Ghibli film for anyone. The accents and overall narration on this audio-book made this a worthwhile read for me, but I wonder if I had read this in print alone. I really enjoyed how this version of Howl was truly the depiction of a selfish, cowardly man who was insanely gifted, yet lacking in character and heart (heh). I also liked how he didn't change once he recovered his heart, giving us some insight on his true nature.
It was just a shame that some of the plot was so underdeveloped - I mixed a lot of characters up, specifically the ones from Wales (which I regretted not reading more of) and Sophie's family. The prince and the wizard and the dog... the last 20% of the book felt pretty much like a hit and miss for me. I didn't enjoy it as much.
A solid 3 sars for me.
