Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

*****

5 Stars/5

Warning, this review has spoilers for this book and the entire series.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the penultimate book and one of my favourite in the series. This book has more romance than any the rest of the Harry Potter series and has a teenage soap opera feel to it. When I first read this book I never guessed that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince and he had such a big role in this book and the next book.

Hermione says that love potions are not that dangerous but in the wrong hands it can be used very unethically and even as a date rape drug. I really liked learning more about Voldemort’s past and how young Tom Riddle became Voldemort. I love the Weasley family as they are kind and warm and the family that Harry had never had.

I did find it odd that Harry mourned more for Cedric, an acquaintance and kind of friend, than Sirius, his Godfather and someone he saw as a father figure. But I did like how Harry and Hermione’s friendship grows closer in this book as it always felt Harry was closer to Ron than Hermione. This is the one book which you can tell it was written by a woman, this is because the way Rowling wrote Hermione’s action and reactions to Ron fit perfectly to how most girls would act.

One thing is that Harry likes dull chicks, as while Ginny is described as being fun and feisty I just never saw it, and it felt I was told this, not shown it. Also Dumbledore is such a liar as he said he had told Harry everything about Voldemort and Harry, but he really didn’t, and it shows that even after all those years he still believes in The Greater Good (“The Greater Good”). Is it just me or does Professor Slughorn with his bald head and walrus moustache remind you of Jamie from Mythbusters?

I love Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and I would recommend it to anyone who likes this series.