This book was a lot more enjoyable than I remembered and, surprisingly to me, I enjoyed it more than the first one. I think it's because the first one is slower and more of an introductory/"let's set everything up" novel.

I used to call out Chamber of Secrets as my least favourite one, but I think being older and knowing the whole story makes it shine more. Also, I was surprised by how much I laughed out loud at this one.

Fun fact: When I originally read the HP novels, I read Chamber of Secrets first! It was the only one in the library after I'd heard about them and my dad told me it didn't matter. "Read that one for now and we'll get you the rest after." So I read book 2, then book 1, before getting onto book 3. Older me (complete with a whole bunch of reading preferences and a high sensitivity to spoilers) is horrified that this happened, and maybe this did affect my enjoyment of this book back then. So yeah, this is the very first time I'm reading the books in their intended reading order. 😅