Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Written by J. K. Rowling, Narrated by Jim Dale
Reason for Reading: Re-reading the Harry Potter series in audio format.
Review
(Contains spoilers from earlier books in series)
The Ministry of Magic has finally admitted that Voldemort has returned, and Dumbledore has returned as Hogwarts Headmaster. Furthermore, Dumbledore has realized that it was a huge mistake to leave Harry in the dark for so long. He and Harry become much closer in Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts, as Dumbledore reveals much of what he knows of Voldemort’s history and motivations to Harry. Harry is also kept busy with his new obsession that Draco Malfoy is up to new levels of “no good.” Ron and Hermione poo-poo his suspicions and keep themselves busy with escalating romantic tension.
Altogether, this book has a LOT going on, yet it’s more compact than the previous two books. Overall, I think this is Rowling’s best written book in the series, even if my favorites are the first four. I really enjoyed this re-read of the 6th book in the Harry Potter series – it’s only my second time reading this book, and I had forgotten a lot of it. The romantic tension between Ron and Hermione is my favorite part of the book, since it’d been building for SO long and was finally let loose terrifically. 🙂
Jim Dale’s reading, as usual, is excellent. It took some getting used to, but after the first or second book it really grew on me. I know all his voices for the characters, and that really ads to my enjoyment of the story.
Hibernator's Library 
Great review. Though not a fan of the audio book myself I have heard that Jim Dale does a wonderful job narrating this.
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I must sheepishly confess that I have not yet read Harry Potter. I really have no reason not to have. I lo e the films and it is really is something that is up my ally. Though I shy away from the popular this series seems not to exhibit any of the reasons that I do shy away from such. Soon I will start!
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I love the whole series, but agree with you that Half-Blood Prince is tighter than Order of the Phoenix. I revisited the entire series before the last movie came out, going straight through all the audiobooks. I love Jim Dale's voices; he's brilliant. Stephen Fry, who did the British version, is very good too, but I don't think his female voices are quite as effective as Dale's.
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Great review! Half Blood Prince has always been one of my favorites too, even after so many re-reads 🙂 I was quite fond of the audiobook narration too!! You're making me itch for another round of re-reading haha! Thanks for sharing!
Old follower,
Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows
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If I didn't listen to audiobooks I'd get SO few books read a year! I just simply don't have the time! Thank God for audio, I say! 🙂
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haha. You really should read them if they're your type of book. They are a bit overhyped…but they also deserve a lot of the hype they get. I think they're worth the time. 🙂
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Really? Dale did better than Fry? And I'd heard Fry's version was amazing. I can't get hold of it, myself, so I guess I will never know. 😉
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Haha. Well, never hurts to scratch that itch! 🙂
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I re-read the whole series once and really enjoyed it. Maybe I'll do the audio books next. Great idea! Thanks.
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You should. I'm really enjoying myself. 🙂
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