After reviewing Howl’s Moving Castle, I began to research the author. It said there was a sequel to HMC, and I just had to grab it! The book is called Castle in The Air. It’s POV is not Sophie, Howl, Calcifer, or any of the cast you read in the first book. It’s of a boy named Abdullah who lives South of Kingsbury. He sells rugs and always daydreams about being a prince and meeting a beautiful woman in a garden. One day, a man sold him a magic flying carpet. While sleeping on it, the carpet takes him to a wonderful garden. He meets a beautiful girl and thinks it a dream based on his daily daydream. The princess calls herself Flower-in-the-Night (seriously, that’s the love interests name. I know right?) Abdullah figures out it’s reality, and they plan to elope together. Once she’s almost to the carpet, WHOOP! A Djinn picks her up in his big claws and carries her to an unknown place. He embarks on a journey featuring a cranky genie, black cat with her kitten, stubborn carpet, and a dishonest (yet) honest soldier.
Where is Sophie, her husband Howl, and everyone else you ask? They’re all stuck in the plot as secondary characters. Lettie (Sophies sister) and her husband Ben Suliman are also shown and they help the journey move forward. Michael is sadly not mentioned. (I really like him, darn it!). Howl and Sophie also present their little newborn Morgan. Such a happy/dysfunctional family. *sigh*
The first critique I have to give is how slow the plot moves. It’s not extremely “oh my god just get on with it”, but you can definitely skip a few pages and still know what’s going on. It isn’t has humorous as HMC, but it still has the adventure aspect. The love between Flower-in-the-Night and Abdullah is magical. It’s one of those books where you sigh and say, “I want this type of love”. The writing style was different, which was interesting. It’s not a book that will stick out in your mind in the future, but it’s a cute read.
I give this book four stars. It lost one point for how slow the plot progressed. Otherwise it’s very nice and I recommend it.
Four Stars
*Reviewed by Rachel*
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Thanks so much for the review! I loved Howl's Moving Castle and had no idea there was a sequel! I love how these books take us to magical far away places:) Thanks for giving me a new read to look forward to!