"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" || Book Review & Book to Movie Comparison

The "Prisoner of Azkaban" hooked me and the "Goblet of Fire" grabbed me tight and took me for a wild ride!

If you'd  like to read what I thought of the "Prisoner of Azkaban", before reading my review of "The Goblet of Fire" you can find my full review here.

I've finally read the fourth book in the series and I have to admit that it feels like a little bit of an accomplishment to finally be able to finish such a big book again. This was the largest book I have read in a while and it feels nice to finally be back and it makes me feel happy and proud of myself! Getting into this series I did not fully realize how much of a commitment it is to get into a big series like this and how much time it would take, but I realize it every day more and more. However, I have also discovered how much of an enjoyable and entertaining process it is to merge into this magical world and be able to experience it for a long time. The story itself is more engaging than I imagined and it improves with time. It is a great journey a fascinating world and I really want to get on with it.

So, anyway, to the book itself now... You've heard this phrase from me about the previous books as well, but I'm going to say it once more because it's true; this book is my favorite one from the series so far. I absolutely loved it and I'm having a tough time thinking of details and little things I didn't like about it or I did not enjoy as much. It was a great read and I liked it more than the previous books. 

Having seen the movies I already knew what this book was about and I knew that it has one of my favorite premises in the series and definitely my favorite premise so far compared to the previous books. Reading it I discovered that I indeed loved the story as much as I expected, but I also discovered that the book does a great work unraveling the story and it handles it perfectly. The pacing is perfect the rhythm of the story is great it never stops, it never gets boring, it never ties you, it keeps you turning the pages not wanting to stop. The writing is superb great as it always has been and even better.

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD***

First of all, this book has the best beginning! The opening scenes were all funny and crazy and generally so very much fun to read. I loved reading about Dudley's diet, about the Weasleys coming to get Harry, about the twins' pranks, and about the time they all spent together and their interactions with each other. I kept laughing and it made me eager to get into the book and read it with even more appetite! At the same time, as much as these moments were funny they were also sweet and wholesome.

Still, even though the majority of the beginning of the book was funny, playful, and keeps a generally more positive and happy tone, the actual opening scene, the very first scene is one of great suspense and mystery! The book immediately sets the tone for the whole story perfectly! You know that this is going to be a mysterious, suspenseful, and dark story. Then the lighter chapters are in their turn followed by others that are darker and this continuous alternation of scenes not only manages to change the mood accordingly but it also enhances the whole experience. 

My favorite new character in this book most definitely has to be Moody - even though it was not really him, it's actually Barty Crouch, so in the end, I'm not really sure which one of them I actually like - either way it was I still really enjoyed his existence in the story and every moment he appeared into! His lessons seemed intimidating but also epic, like I really wanted to attend them, I loved reading about his lessons, his eccentric style, and overall impressive skills but also about his general agenda and whole perspective on the other characters in the story and his overall morals. As a matter of fact, him not being Moody made him better and more interesting, if anything because it added so much depth and layer. I did feel bad though about the real Moody in the end.

I loved how they try wizard tournament was described everything was so much better in the book than in the movies and everything made more sense. The only thing I liked better in the movie was that Neville gave Harry the gillyweed, while in the book it was Dody. In my opinion, Neville giving it to Harry made more sense, since he had the book that Moody gave him and he would easily and very willingly help him. This detail also gave a little more detail to a character who later on becomes much more interesting and vital to the plot. It was a nice change in the movie. 

The part that had to do with the Yule ball I loved much more in the book than in the movie, it included more scenes, and all these scenes that lead to the actual bowl were very interesting what with all the teenage angst and love interests! I loved them and the actual bowl was also very good and very well described and I preferred the book version. It was funny, sweet, and exasperating all at the same time.

This book was the first one in the series to make me cry. Sure there were touching moments in the previous books as well, but I can't remember myself actually tearing up like I did in this one on multiple occasions. One of the scenes that shook me more than I expected was Cedric's death, it was a heart-wrenching scene and it was written perfectly. I found myself in need to pause reading because I just couldn't go on after it. Even though I knew what was coming, I was still overcome with feelings when it actually happened and in the way that it happened. It was a very powerful scene! There were many more moments that touched me both positively and negatively as well. I also cried afterward when Mrs. Weasley tried to comfort Harry, I thought it was so touching... I cried when Dumbledore spoke to Harry telling him he is brave and all that... I cried again when Dumbledore spoke in front of the school about Cedric... Starting to learn more about Neville's life was sad too... Generally, there were many scenes full of emotions that touched me in different ways, and the book as a whole had more of a sentimental impact on me than the other three before it.

I really enjoyed the scene of Voldemort coming back to life! It was creepy, scary, mysterious and it was described so vividly that it made my hair stand on edge. It was a very powerful and suspenseful scene. I also found that it was very precisely and carefully in the movie. It had to be one of my favorite scenes both in the book and the movie!

My least favorite parts of the book were Hermione with the S.P.E.W. thing; I had zero interest in it but, thankfully, overall it didn't take much time or space in the story so I could get over it and it didn't bother me really it was still one of my least favorite parts and I'm happy it wasn't included in the movie as it was unnecessary and boring. I also didn't like the character of Winky as she really annoyed me the whole time and again I was glad she wasn't included in the movie. Rita Skeeter was so much nastier in the book! In the movie, she is just there being annoying, but in the book, she is straight-up horrible! I have to admit I like seeing less of her in the movie, even though I have to admit her book version makes more sense plot-wise.

*** END OF SPOILER SECTION***

The "Goblet of Fire" is my favorite book in the series so far and I liked it even better than the third one that I already liked quite a lot. I am certain that this book deserves 5* and I'm going to give it this rating, but because I feel that the previous were not as good as this one, even if they were good individually, I will have to go back and change my rating of the previous books. I'll give the third book 4* and then the first and second books 3*, because even though I feel that they all deserve between 4* and 5* ratings I still want to rate them in correlation to each other as well as individually because this makes sense for me. When rating I want to take into account each book, but also the story as a whole, since this is a series.

So, these are my thoughts... I hope you liked my huge review!

Thanks for reading!