House of Many Ways

Goodreads Synopsis:    Charmain Baker is in over her head. Looking after Great-Uncle William's tiny cottage while he's ill should have been easy. But Great-Uncle William is better known as the Royal Wizard Norland, and his house bends space and time. Its single door leads to any number of places--the bedrooms, the kitchen, the caves under the mountains, the past, and the Royal Mansion, to name just a few.

By opening that door, Charmain has become responsible for not only the house, but for an extremely magical stray dog, a muddled young apprentice wizard, and a box of the king's most treasured documents. She has encountered a terrifying beast called a lubbock, irritated a clan of small blue creatures, and wound up smack in the middle of an urgent search. The king and his daughter are desperate to find the lost, fabled Elfgift--so desperate that they've even called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, can the Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer be far behind?

Of course, with that magical family involved, there's bound to be chaos--and unexpected revelations.

No one will be more surprised than Charmain by what Howl and Sophie discover.

My Thoughts:

-    I enjoyed this book, but Howl's Moving Castle was my favorite in the trilogy.

-    Charmain is kind of stupid and a bit lazy.

-    Opening Uncle William's suitcase would have been the first thing I did.  Charmain is not a very curious person.

-    I think I would have liked the book a lot better if I had liked Charmain better.  It is hard to love a book when the main character bugs me.

-    I loved Waif!  I want a dog like her.

-    Twinkle's dialogue was a little hard to read and understand.

-    Peter was kind of a git.  I don't understand why he was needed in the story.

-    I loved the banter between Sophie and Howl.  They are so funny.

-    Calcifer is awesome!!  I loved that we got to see some of his power in this one.

-    This book is a bit slow, but I was still interested.

-    I really didn't understand Sophie and Howl's mission, but I think I got the gist of it.

-    Overall, I thought this book was charming, but there were certain elements that weren't to my liking. 

-    I think this is one of those books that I'd have to read a few times before I could really appreciate it.