3.5 stars but not rounded up because I honestly could not understand any of the bad guys' motivations. Even after everything is wrapped up and the narration tries to explain it I just didn't get it. Maybe I'm dense, I don't know. That aside, the secondary cast of characters keeps growing and developing in interesting ways, and it's a very pleasant far cry from the first few books. Harry has grown immensely, and he's now a great pleasure to read.