I can't quite decide if I overall enjoyed (3 stars) or didn't enjoy (2 stars) this gem that I would only recommend to specific people.

The writing is beautiful and really fun. I definitely found myself laughing a lot, especially during the scene where Howl has a cold (which I later learned is DWJs favourite scene). The book had a lot of flair and was a very cozy escape from the world. All that said, I didn't find myself compelled to keep reading. This was largely due to there being very little dramatic tension (which was a case in the movie as well) which is both a strength and a weakness of the story and turns this into a "not for everyone" book.

I do recommend picking it up if you enjoyed the movie (even if only to see all the bits that are different, and there's a lot of them!), if you like funny and intelligent children's fiction (this reminded me a lot of Gaiman's Stardust), or just want to cozy up with a not-too-serious fairytale.