Synopsis

When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle’s house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn’t realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard.

Now, somehow, she’s been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king’s urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he’s called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won’t be far behind.

How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it?

(per Amazon)

Review

Being the final book in the Howls’ Castle series, this review is quite bittersweet to make. It feels a bit somber to be done with the quirky and loveable characters and the fantastical world I have grown to love.

To begin, I enjoyed this book more than Castle in the Air. This one felt more closely related to the original Howl’s Moving Castle, as it is set in a similar town with the original characters making longer and more crucial appearances this time around. You get even more lore of the kingdom particularly with the history of the monarchy and how it all ties itself together amongst the three books. The manifestation of the magic in this book was my favorite of the series as well. I will say, there were parts where the pacing felt a bit slow, with the climax feeling a tad rushed. It is a single POV story through the eyes of Charmaine and could be described as a coming-of-age magical fantasy story.

As mentioned above, I greatly enjoyed the magic. The house alone was fascinating. The fact you could have countless pathways in which you would have to make specific turns in specific directions to even find is crazy. For example, in order for the characters to make it to rooms and bathroom in the house, they had to immediately turn to the left when they enter the kitchen. Some areas could only be reached if you took half clockwise turns while being in other areas, it is insanity. There were also shortcuts hidden in the house to places including the royal mansion where the King lives, a stable and a meadow area and even a store front. I could not help but feel the similarities to Howl’s Castle in which the dial on the door, changed where one ended up. There is yet another magical dog in this book, which I enjoyed. Its name is Waif, and she added to the overall camaraderie and humor to the book with her ridiculous antics as well. I enjoyed the spells Charmaine and Peter both attempted while looking through these old spell books they found in the house. Some of them being successful, others not so much but enjoyable and whimsical, nonetheless.

Charmaine is the main protagonist of this story. She is a very sheltered young lady who is sent off to look after her great-uncle’s house. She has been taught, through her mother that magic was unsightly and should be avoided, which causes her to be even more surprised when magical events begin to happen shortly thereafter revolving around the house and her great-uncle. Her personality could be described as spoiled and ignorant when it comes to basic things such as cooking, cleaning, etc. She wants nothing more than to sit and curl up in a good book, instantly getting a bad mood when she cannot do just that. Even with her shortcomings, she shows great bravery throughout the book. Particularly when it comes to the very magic she was told to avoid, and the dangerous monster who threatens the wellbeing of any who is unfortunate enough to come across it. As the book goes on and things begin to become clearer, she ends up realizing she has a bit of magic of her own which reminded me of Sophie in the first book.

Peter is Charmaine’s great-uncle’s apprentice. He was sent by his overbearing mother to be kept under the watchful eyes of a master wizard. He is passionate about magic even though he struggles to get his spells to turn out correctly. In fact, some of the more humorous moments in the story involve the mess up of some of his magic. Chaos seems to quickly arise when he does anything magical lol He is quick to call out Charmaine’s lack of domestic skills even though he is not too much better as it seems like his mother prioritized his magic over him learning how to take care of himself as well. Directionally challenged is a great way of describing Peter. He repeatedly gets lost in the house, causing him to tie colored strings to his fingers. He is a resourceful and brave individual as well, using the time Charmaine is out of the house to attempt to figure out how to solve their problems. There was one event where he almost gets himself killed by his blind bravery, so he does have a tendency to be irrational.

Howl, Sophie and Calcifer all make reappearances, along with their son Morgan. They are in this book longer than the second one, with more direct interactions within the main plot. Howl is his usual eccentric self, relying on a disguise the majority of the book. Sophie is unfortunately having to deal with Howl’s ridiculousness, on top of their two-year-old highly energetic child. She is as usual, the one who is dealing with everybody else’s decisions while protecting her family. Calcifer is the most active his has ever been in the series. He is able to fly around and even protect the kingdom from the monstrous Lubbock and Lubbockin. He is one of the first ones to notice how special Charmain really is and immediately believes and takes her concerns seriously which was refreshing.

All in all, I am sad to see this series go, but I am glad it now has a place in my heart. I do wish they would have made movies for the second and third books as well, but these books are well written enough to play off your imaginations. I HIGHLY recommend this series for those who enjoy fantasy, magical, wholesome and fun books. Hopefully, you will not be disappointed!