Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré
I'm not going to go into a play by play of my every thought, because I have so freaking many about this book. (Check my updates)
But wow oh wow. The tension just kept building throughout this whole book. Right from the start when they arrived at the World Cup and there was excitement and magic and it was wonderful. It's what I would imagine the Super Bowl would be like if you could camp out there.
Then the Dark Mark appeared and everything became so dark for the rest of the book.
Even during the challenges for the Tournament, I just imagined this dark cloud hanging over everything thing. Even the Yule Ball felt heavy. Goblet of Fire just lacked the light, airy humor that the previous books had.
The end was spectacular. I mean, it was just so intense. The way that all those people came out of Volemort's wand and helped Harry made me want to cry.
Some of the brighter spots for me were Hermione's little romance with Krum (it was so sweet and I never really think of her as caring about boys) and George and Fred's constant shenanigans. Those two always make whatever is happening more fun.