Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

An absolutely fabulous book with deep character development and a beautifully realized world built carefully by Diana Wynne Jones (DWJ).

Sophie is the oldest of three girls. As the oldest, she knows that she is not going to become successful in life. That's just the way it is. And when the Witch of the Waste puts a spell on her, making Sophie appear as an old woman to everyone (even herself), Sophie knows it's time to just give up and go to the castle of the evil Wizard Howl. It's rumored that he eats young girls. But Sophie's not a young girl anymore, so what can it hurt?

Inside the moving castle, Sophie makes herself at home (against the wishes of everyone there). We meet characters like Michael Fisher, Howl's apprentice and Calcifer, the demon who seems to be linked to Howl (though neither seems to want to be linked still). We also find out what happened to Sophie's sisters as well as her (evil?) stepmother.

A fantastic book that just gets better every time I read it. A strong female character whose main flaw in life is that she can't imagine any other way than what "has to be" and comes to realize that she has her own strengths and might just be able to make her own way in the world. And maybe even rescue her handsome prince...

Five stars

This book came out April 1986

Followed by Castle in the Air

Borrowed as audiobook from Cloud Library

Opinions are my own

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews

Not my favorite in the series but still entertaining.

Meg and Michael have finally gotten to move into their home. Too bad Meg's father is so hell-bent on saving the animals of the Caerphilly zoo since it seems like the owner, Patrick Lanahan, is nowhere to be found. Well, until he turns up in Meg's basement. When her father starts digging a pond for the penguins, he finds the body.

If that's not bad enough, he has told everyone that Meg would be happy to take any animals that they are tired of fostering. Soon her house and barn are filled with wolves, hyenas, lemurs, and more. And Michael seems strangely endeared by the llamas. Add to all of that, Dr. Montgomery is lurking about. He is a big name animal activist who supposedly is in town to help with the zoo or maybe take it over... but it seems like his motives might be a little shadier than what it looks like at first glance.

Three and a half stars

Meg Langslow #8

This book came out August 7, 2007

Follows No Nest for the Wicket

Followed by Cockatiels at Seven

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Reread January 2023,  September 2024 as Audible book

No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews

This series continues its greatness.  I love that this book centers around extreme croquet.  I know I've played that way (putting wickets up all over and playing around whatever is in the way) but I didn't know anyone else did.

In this book, Meg has to figure out who killed a little-liked historian whose body she stumbles across as they're playing croquet. The lady's head is bashed in and, though the players all deny knowing her, she finds out that more than one is hiding the truth. Michael, Meg's fiance is not one of the people hiding the truth. He readily tells Meg that the woman, Lindsay, was someone he dated before they got together. Meg is incredibly pragmatic and not at all jealous that Michael dated before they met which I adore about her.

The how is fairly obvious but the who and the why have to be deciphered. Once Meg finds out that Lindsay once worked in the local college and was incredibly vindictive about perceived slights, she realizes that motives range from blackmail to revenge in the killing. 

Four stars

This book came out May 8, 2006

Meg Langslow #7

Follows Owls Well that Ends Well

Followed by The Penguin who Knew too Much

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Reread September 2022 as audiobook, Reread January 2023, September 2024 as Audible book

Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey

Theodore "Teddy" Phillips is excited. She knows that her boyfriend is about to propose. but... he doesn't. In fact, he asks her to move out. Immediately. She moves in with two of her friends who she seems to have dumped in favor of said boyfriend. Now her only joy in life is watching Everett St. James and his puppet show. Yes, it's meant for children but it's uplifting. And he's hot.

Everett is at a crossroads. His show is about to take off but he's feeling like his life might be missing something. A letter from a not-so young audience member changes his life. And when he sees her singing karaoke one night, he is smitten (even not knowing who she is.)

I wish we had seen some more growth from Teddy who is a doormat. I also wish the chapters had been longer as the very short chapters sometimes made for choppy reading. And the last bump in their road is gotten over too quickly. However, this is a charming read with unexpected characters.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out June 15th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews

Derek Gaunt is trying to figure out his life. He was The Face for the Pack but then his good looks and resonant voice were ruined by silver. He is a werewolf and silver is the one thing that can kill his kind. He's already had a hard life (his father went crazy and basically killed the family so Derek had to kill him) and this doesn't help.

Julie Lennart-Olsen hasn't exactly had an easy life either. Her crush on Derek wasn't changed because his face was ruined. But she's got more important things going on like learning from her adopted grandfather (who is more or less a god) and protecting her adopted mother. And yes, that might mean that she crosses paths with Derek when a madman starts searching for a fallen star, even killing people to get to it.

This was an interesting interstitial but I didn't think it was that great an addition to the Kate Daniels or Aurelia Ryder series.

Three stars

This novella came out December 8th, 2015

Ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews

I learned more about owls than I think I ever wanted to know.  However, setting up a murder in the midst of a yard sale? I can see it happening.  People are crazy.

Meg and Michael are organizing all of the junk in the house they recently bought. The Sprocket family let it go for a song because the aunt was a hoarder. But the Sprockets are sticking around to make sure they get their cut of the profit (10% of anything that they sell from the house goes back to the family). Then add the family members who have moved in so they can sell their own materials, or buy anything that's available, and the scads of early birds who can't understand why they can't go in early and you've got more people than Meg is really wanting around. She's just glad that two months of cleaning out the house is about to culminate in no more junk. Dreaming of a life of minimalism, she's not excited to find the body of a particularly nasty antiques dealer in a trunk. 

A fun mystery, very typical of the Andrews series. Meg is an incredibly competent, though reluctant sleuth. She is hesitant in this book to share with the police chief the things she learns though that changes in later books.

Four stars

This book came out March 7th, 2006

Follows We'll Always Have Parrots

Followed by No Nest for the Wicket

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread December 2022; September 2024 as Audible book

We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews

This is of my favorites in the Meg Langslow series. There is the right amount of crazy antics and we get out of Caerphilly for a bit. We also get to see more about Michael and especially the cult show that he is currently a character on, "Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle."

In this book, Meg is heading off to a convention based around her boyfriend's television series. During the convention, someone lets loose a bunch of parrots and monkeys ('cause the show is set in the jungle) and the QB (Queen, um, Bee) is murdered. Meg has to figure out who, in a seemingly unending list of characters, wanted to kill this aging B-list star since Michael seems like he could be one of the top suspects.

Four stars

Meg Langslow #5

This book came out September 6th, 2002

Follows Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon

Followed by Owls Well that Ends Well

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread December 2022; September 2024 as Audible book