Hell to the yes.
I finished Deathly Hallows at 2:00 this morning (even though I had to be up at 7 to go to work...God, that sucked.) So, without further adieu, here's my slightly incoherent addition to the ten billion TDH reviews already on the internets:
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. It doesn't beat my favorite, Order of the Phoenix, but it was much, much better than Half-Blood Prince. HBP was all right when I originally read it in 2005, but considering that I haven't been able to pick it up again since, I think it's safe to say that the book was kind of disappointing. Perhaps it was due to the fact that OotP was, in my opinion, so awesome, that my expectations for HBP were really high. After HBP, my expectations for TDH were, well, a lot lower, so I was definitely impressed with how it turned out.
The plot was engaging, albeit somewhat confusing at times. To be honest, I set out last night to just read a few more pages before bed, and the next thing I knew, I was done. I just couldn't put it down. The whole scene with Harry and Voldemort talking towards the end and the whole business with the wands took a couple of re-reads to try to figure out just what the hell they were talking about, and I'll probably have to read it yet again (or beg someone to explain to me how Harry ended up controlling the Elder wand. It was late, I was tired, and I had no idea what the hell was going on at this point.) Loved, loved, LOVED the relationship of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, though I wanted to punch Ron in the face when he left.
Strangely enough, I had always disliked Dobby, because he seemed too much like Jar-Jar Binks, but his was the death that shocked me the most. Actually, his was the only death that shocked me, because I had known about all the others. Ahh, spoilers, how I love you.
I would also like to say that I almost screamed out, "OMG YES!" at Snape and Lily, because I've been shipping them since OotP. Pfft, I don't care if Snape's love was unrequited. They were best friends, and that is AWESOME. They actually had some sort of relationship! Who cares if it's totally cliche? Bring it on, I say!
And speaking of ships: I never thought I'd admit this to my f-list, because I know a lot of you HATE H/G with a passion (and considering that I used to as well)...I kind of ship H/G like whoa these days. It just...kind of happened several months after HBP was released. Granted, I still think the romance in HBP was god-awful, but it was handled much better in TDH. And considering I've always liked R/Hr, I thought they were adorable together. While the epilogue was somewhat lacking, and the names of the kids were ridiculous (Albus Severus is totally my favorite, yo), the final ships weren't upsetting. However, when the movie comes around, they better not cut out the kiss between Riddle-Harry and Riddle-Hermione, because, admit it, that will be pretty damn hot. I still do have some love for H/Hr, although it's not my main ship anymore.
So, overall, I'd have to place this book tied for second place with Prisoner of Azkaban in terms of my favorite book of the series. When it comes down to it, I think I'd rank the books as follows:
1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Prisoner of Azkaban and The Deathly Hallows
4. Sorcerer's Stone
5. Chamber of Secrets and Half-Blood Prince
7. Goblet of Fire
Must be something about those odd-numbered books; they always seemed better to me than the even-numbered ones.
All right, so that does it for my poorly thought-out review. If you managed to last this long, thanks! If you've finished the book already and would like to discuss it, feel free to comment! I'd really like to talk about it with someone other than my mom (whom I love and all, but she'll get sick of discussing it soon).
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. It doesn't beat my favorite, Order of the Phoenix, but it was much, much better than Half-Blood Prince. HBP was all right when I originally read it in 2005, but considering that I haven't been able to pick it up again since, I think it's safe to say that the book was kind of disappointing. Perhaps it was due to the fact that OotP was, in my opinion, so awesome, that my expectations for HBP were really high. After HBP, my expectations for TDH were, well, a lot lower, so I was definitely impressed with how it turned out.
The plot was engaging, albeit somewhat confusing at times. To be honest, I set out last night to just read a few more pages before bed, and the next thing I knew, I was done. I just couldn't put it down. The whole scene with Harry and Voldemort talking towards the end and the whole business with the wands took a couple of re-reads to try to figure out just what the hell they were talking about, and I'll probably have to read it yet again (or beg someone to explain to me how Harry ended up controlling the Elder wand. It was late, I was tired, and I had no idea what the hell was going on at this point.) Loved, loved, LOVED the relationship of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, though I wanted to punch Ron in the face when he left.
Strangely enough, I had always disliked Dobby, because he seemed too much like Jar-Jar Binks, but his was the death that shocked me the most. Actually, his was the only death that shocked me, because I had known about all the others. Ahh, spoilers, how I love you.
I would also like to say that I almost screamed out, "OMG YES!" at Snape and Lily, because I've been shipping them since OotP. Pfft, I don't care if Snape's love was unrequited. They were best friends, and that is AWESOME. They actually had some sort of relationship! Who cares if it's totally cliche? Bring it on, I say!
And speaking of ships: I never thought I'd admit this to my f-list, because I know a lot of you HATE H/G with a passion (and considering that I used to as well)...I kind of ship H/G like whoa these days. It just...kind of happened several months after HBP was released. Granted, I still think the romance in HBP was god-awful, but it was handled much better in TDH. And considering I've always liked R/Hr, I thought they were adorable together. While the epilogue was somewhat lacking, and the names of the kids were ridiculous (Albus Severus is totally my favorite, yo), the final ships weren't upsetting. However, when the movie comes around, they better not cut out the kiss between Riddle-Harry and Riddle-Hermione, because, admit it, that will be pretty damn hot. I still do have some love for H/Hr, although it's not my main ship anymore.
So, overall, I'd have to place this book tied for second place with Prisoner of Azkaban in terms of my favorite book of the series. When it comes down to it, I think I'd rank the books as follows:
1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Prisoner of Azkaban and The Deathly Hallows
4. Sorcerer's Stone
5. Chamber of Secrets and Half-Blood Prince
7. Goblet of Fire
Must be something about those odd-numbered books; they always seemed better to me than the even-numbered ones.
All right, so that does it for my poorly thought-out review. If you managed to last this long, thanks! If you've finished the book already and would like to discuss it, feel free to comment! I'd really like to talk about it with someone other than my mom (whom I love and all, but she'll get sick of discussing it soon).