I think I'm addicted. I've waited long to get part 4 of Harry's adventures, then read it within the space of two days, and now I can't wait for the fifth one. The Goblet of Fire is darker and definitely more violent than the previous books. That's not exactly a disadvantage in my opinion, but I wonder how kids think about it. Voldemort's murders (one right in chapter 1) seem troubling enough to me, and I'm an adult.
Rowling beautifully parodies our Muggle world, starting with the Quiddich World Cup and the ever-horrible Dursleys. Then the actual plot starts: There are other wizarding schools apart from Hogwarts, and each of them sends a representative to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry is chosen as the Hogwarts Champion, except that he didn't even enter, so someone with bad intentions has to be behind this. Who? He Who Must Not Be Named, of course.
As in the previous books, Rowling presents us with a twisted and changing story and lots of strange behaviour from everyone that only makes sense right at the end. The only thing I really want to complain about is the House-Elves subplot, which goes nowhere and forces us to endure Dobby's presence, which is very annoying. But apart from that, Rowling certainly has a knack for moving the story along while at the same time giving us new insights into a number of characters, such as Neville Longbottom and my absolute favourite, Snape. In this book, Snape is getting a more intriguing character than ever, and I'm hoping to hear a lot more about him in the fifth part, which is bound to be at least as dark and interesting as the fourth one.