I would like to preface this review by saying that I do not support J.K. Rowling and her views. I want everyone to feel welcomed on this blog, especially those who identify as LGBTQ+. My family bought these books as they were released and I have not bought anything directly since she made her views clear. I don't plan to read anything else by her or support her in any way. I am 20 years old and until this past year I had never read the Harry Potter series. I had seen the movies and fallen in love with the world. I went on pottermore and found out I was a hufflepuff and I took deep pride in that fact. I had always wanted to read the books but things never lined up. I was too busy with school or theatre or reading other things that I never got around to it. The few times that I did try I would read the first book and either stop or get a few chapters into the second book and get bored. Every single year I said I would read them and then I didn't. Then this year I started college. At my school there is a class that every freshman has to take that teaches you, basically, how to do college. We learned how to write essays, take notes, read textbooks, study, make friends, and more. The fun part about these classes was that they had themes so one class you learned how to do college while watching movies or by learning about religion or in my case, by reading Harry Potter. That's right I took a Harry Potter class and it was called Muggle Studies. Now I knew nothing about this class and about a month before it started I had the terrified thought that maybe they would expect everyone to have read the books by the time class began. So in an anxiety ridden terror I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and I got to work. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneWhen the class started I learned that we would actually be reading the first two books for class and doing reading reflections. By that point though I was already on Order of the Phoenix so in other words I read this book twice this year as well as the second and third one. So to start off, I am so sick of this book. Everytime I have tried to read Harry Potter I always read this book. I may have only read the series once but I have read this book probably like ten times in my life. I am so tired of reading this book. Now thats not because it is bad. I think it is a really cute book with some fairly well done world building. It helps you to fall in love with Harry and Ron and begin to take a look at the overall story. The ending of this book is a lot of fun to read and it helps set an adventurous tone for the series that will make the audience excited to read the series. While I think this is a good book it has so many downsides. Firstly it made me question my love for Hermione. I have always loved Hermione but she is so god damn annoying in this first book that I kind of hated her. Secondly, the book doesn't add a lot to the series. It simply is a world building book. If you took this book out of the series it wouldn't make much of a difference. Finally, this book is where I started to hate Snape and Dumbledore. These thoughts will be explored more in the final part of this review. Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsOof. I did not like this one. Not one bit. Now let me tell you, I wanted to like this one. The second movie is one of my favorite movies. I love the movie. I really was looking forward to this book. I thought I was going to like it but it was such a disappointment. I mean absolutely nothing happens. I mean look at it. Look at this book and tell me with your full heart that it matters. I mean the only thing that happens is the diary gets destroyed. What else happens? NOTHING!!!! Okay so the only thing from this book that I like are the new characters. I mean we got Ginny who isn't completely new but we get to meet her character really for the first time. Let me tell you that I am so so so gay for book Ginny. She stole my heart in these books so I love that she is here in this book but even though she is basically the villain, you never see her and it drove me crazy. Second character we meet is Dobby who I love but god Rowling makes him so god damn annoying in this book. I think that Rowling needs to learn that you can make loveable characters without making them insufferable a-holes first. Dobby is just stupid and annoying and most of Harry's problems are caused by him. I could not stand Dobby and I didn't understand the love he got because he sucks in this book. And the last character you meet this book is Gilderoy Lockhart who is honestly horrible but I really love his character after he obliviates himself because it is hilarious. I will talk more about my love for him in book five. Look this book is just bad. It was my least favorite of the series and I completely understand why I never got through it ever before. It is just not good literature. I know that the Basilisk is based on other myths and stuff but it just seemed easy and the whole rooster thing is stupid. I also hate this book because in the first book Hufflepuff is already put in a bad light and then this book makes them look even worse. I just don't like this book and it is not worth it. To anyone who may be reading this review who is stuck on this book, skip it. Spoiler Alert all you need to know is Moaning Myrtle was killed by the Basilisk who is controlled by Tom Riddle aka Voldemort. Tom put part of his soul in a diary which was given to Ginny by Lucius Malfoy, she got possesed, petrified students, killed some roosters, and wrote the messages on the wall threatening mudbloods. Gilderoy lockhart erases all of his memories, Harry kills the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor, which you can pull out of the sorting hat, stabs the diary and destroys that part of Tom Riddle's soul, saves Ginny, and gets Lucius Malfoy to accidentally set Dobby free. "Master has given Dobby a sock. Dobby is free." That's it. Move on to 3 I promise it is much better. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanThis book is the first one where I think J.K. Rowling actually started to plan out the rest of the series. We get introduced to some of our key side characters and the story really begins to develop. This book perfectly balances the story telling with the action and adventure we expect to see in this series. I imagine that someone who read this story and had no clue about anything in the series would get whiplash from the amount of plot twists in this book. This book introduces the reader to lots of magical things that are important throughout the rest of the series. Prisoner of Azkaban is definitely in my top three books from the series. Hermione has finally lost her annoying edge and is now just a sassy queen. Harry is only at the beginning of his dramatic phase and Ron is hilarious. The amount of times I laughed at this book was amazing. Like other books Prisoner of Azkaban does have its flaws. The majority of the book does focus on classes and Harry becoming angsty over Sirius Black. The end of the book is what most people remember but with that ending comes the glaring flaw that upset fans for years. J.K. Rowling wrote in time turners and never realized the true consequences that came with making such a device. She finally decided to get rid of it and then made the same mistake in The Cursed Child. While Prisoner of Azkaban is a good book it is the book that many fans complain about. Prisoner of Azkaban begins to take the reader on this journey that will eventually turn dark but it draws them in with joy and laughter as well as suspense and adventure. Prisoner of Azkaban was the book that made me want to finish the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireAh yes the sports book. If you know me then you would know that I do not play nor watch the sports ball. It is not my thing and I do not find enjoyment in watching other participate in sports activities. That being said, this is a really really good book in the Harry Potter series. This book is just a lot of fun to read and is a real mystery. Throughout the entire novel J.k. Rowling will have you asking question after question and she will leave you with answers but a desire for more. This book also brings many laughs but it can also bring a few tears as well. The entire triwizard championship is exciting to read as you watch Harry try to get through these obstacles that he is no where near ready to face. The book gets exciting very fast, spending significantly less time at the Dursleys and just getting into the action. This is one of my most favorite books in the series and it has so much information that is not in the movies that changes the story significantly. This was also a great book to read while following along with Potterless as that made me theorize even more and I had a lot of fun throughout the whole book. This is when the series begins to get dark and is definitely the book that takes the series out of middle grade reading and into teen reading or young adult. Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the darker books in this series. This is when we see these children realize that they can't be children anymore. This is when we see the pure chaos and damage that voldemort can cause and why he is so feared and deadly. This is the book where we realize that the government isn't on our side either and that Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix is truly alone in this fight. Lets start with the new characters. We firstly meet Luna Lovegood who is one of my favorite characters in the series. She is adorable but clever and witty and fearless. She lives her life how she wants and doesn't care about what others think of her. She is a strong female character and I admire her deeply. Then on the opposite side of the spectrum is Umbridge. She is the most hated character in Harry Potter for a reason. She is not only stuck up and annoying but abusive as well, punishing students in archaic ways for even the smallest infractions. This is also the book where we see Harry teach the whole school defense against the dark arts which is an extremely fun part of the book and shows his sheer power but that it can be learned by anyone, giving us hope. One of the best parts of this book is getting to see Gilderoy again. That is an amazing part that made me laugh my head off and then immediately made me cry. What an amazing scene to leave out of the movies. This book is dark but it is super fun to read. Is there about 50-100 pages of extra material that could be dumper completely and it would still basically be the same book? Absolutely but it is still fun and entertaining. This book is typically a hit or miss in the series, people either love it or hate it so keep an open mind and enjoy the journey. This book deserves your attention and interest and if you give it that it will give you so much back in return. Harry Potter and the Half Blood PrinceNow i'm not going to lie, this is my favorite book in the series but probably the worst movie, so you really have to put your trust into this book if you have watched the movies. This book was just overall really fun to read. It may be the new potions professor, the mystery behind the half blood prince, Ron getting love, Hermione avoiding relationships like the plague, or Draco being a sneaky boy but this book just feels fun but still keeps the dark themes we have built up in the last few books. There is so much in this book that just never makes it into the movies including a vast majority of Tom Riddle's past and backstory. So much happens in this book that there is never a dull moment. There is also something for every type of reader. Do you want romance? It's got it. Do you want mystery? It's got that too. Thriller? Comedy? Weird Sci Fi creatures? Murder? Potions that are way too OP? This book has really got it all. When I started this book I knew it was a fan favorite and that the movie apparently was nothing like the book but I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this book like it was an Adam Silvera book or something. Overall I don't think this series is a comfort series for me as I just read it too late in life and had seen the movies already but this book might be a comfort book because it was just that good and just so much fun to read. I hope you guys love this book as much as I did. Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsThis is it. The ending. Honestly getting to this book is firstly, terrifying but also a little bitter-sweet. This book is pretty intimidating in size but you go into it excited to finally know the whole story and be part of the "I read the books" club. Now lets be honest, the first half of this book kinda sucks. I mean we get the ministry scene which is pretty epic but the first half of this book is just camping and angst. So much angst and anger and frustration from both the characters and me while I was reading. This book will drive you a little crazy because Harry really shows off his lack of critical thinking skills a few times and then everyone is angry about everything. It is during the second half where things pick up and get exciting. This book is clearly the darkest in the series and it will break your heart again and again and it will come at times you didn't expect. This book is one of the best in the series, if you can get to the second half. This is the finale you want in a book series and it is incredible. This is the best way to say goodbye to your favorite characters and to a series that changed the entire world of writing. This series will be considered a classic book series if it isnt already. This series changed the world, I know that it changed mine. SPOILERS AND FINAL THOUGHTSI have wanted to read this book series my whole life and now that I have it feels so good. I know all of the inside jokes and stuff that are only in the book. I know how amazing Ginny is as a character in the books and the characters that were left out of the movies.
Now here is a ranking of the best to worst books in the series in my opinion. 1) Half Blood Prince 2) Prisoner of Azkaban 3) Order of the Phoenix 4) Goblet of Fire 5) Deathly Hallows 6) Sorcerer's Stone 7) Chamber of Secrets And finally who is my favorite and least favorite character in the series? For my favorite character that is a difficult choice I love pretty much all the girls but I also had a deep love for Neville and Fred and George but in the end I have to say my favorite character is Hermione Granger followed up closely by Ginny. I loved Hermione because I related to her. She was kind and funny and smart and creative and I just absolutely adore her. Now for my least favorite character I know i'm supposed to say Umbridge or Voldemort but I know that deep down the character I despise the most is Severus Snape. Throughout the whole series he is unnecessarily cruel to student and other faculty members. He also is extremely creepy, treating Harry like James but also lusting over his eyes because they remind him of Lily. Snape represents the men in the world who when they get rejected they murder the girl who rejected them. No amount of spying on the Nazi organization can redeem you from being an asshole and a creep, especially not when you still play an active role in the Nazi organization. So yeah I enjoyed this series. Is it one of my all time favorites? No. I read these books too late in my life for them to become comforting to me. I think it is a great storyline but overall the writing is mediocre. I do enjoy this series though and I am glad to have read it and enjoyed it.
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AuthorReagan is a 20 year old girl who loves to read and then share her thoughts with others Do you want a review?I would love to hear about your book and talk to you about reviewing it. Just email me
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