This is a lovely story which is told in a way which makes you think about the classic stories you heard as a child. It's quite whimsical how it's written. There's heartache, loss, magic... and moments of humour too. Great for children.

Thank you to NetGalley and Walker Books for this arc.

This was a great read. With wonderful chapter illustrations.

Great for a reluctant reader full of humour and great characters.

I cannot give a review of this title because I got a problem with my Kindle when I downloaded it and then I could not download the title again.

Such a fun middle grade book
The characters are so loveable.
A great book for children and adults alike

This is a middle grade book so reads fairly immature, but the storyline almost had me in tears!
Nine was abandoned as a child and lives with a gang of child thieves who are “in the care of” (and I use this term VERY loosely) a man named pockets.
After stealing an ornament from a ladies pocket one day nine is thrown into a crazy adventure with a group of misfits in a magical house.
Whimsical, magical and a little bit heart breaking 💕
Loved this

This book has everything you ever need in a kids book! Magic, family, drama and adventure that makes it the perfect story to get lost in! Can't wait until I read the second one

Oh, how I love the cover!
So pretty.
And it got me hooked, a little fooled even.
The read was not bad, but not as nice as I hoped it would be. Good for younger teens with not many books of this type read.

A superb children's book for fans of Diana Wynne Jones. Sometimes a whimsical tale will come along that manages to keep this air of whimsy throughout - I found myself recalling all of the classic children's tales of my youth written with a modern flair with a ton of imagination. The characters were well-drawn. This is a tale where the protagonists are all dealing with certain losses, they've been dealt raw deals in life and despite being a piece of middle-grade fiction, we still see these issues dealt with, we get to see characters overcome their obstacles and begin to realise that they can trust other people, they can build relationships. It is allegorical, and imaginative and awesome.

Omg......... this book was amazing I flew threw the pages with Olympic speed I was hooked from the very first page. I found it full of twists and turns threw out and it kept me on the edge of my seat all the way threw  I would defiantly recommend this book if you like a good book to keep you reading threw the night hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did

This was a fun, adventure packed story. A very fast read with an awesome main character and a weird but fantastic house and it's inhabitants. Looking forward to the sequel.

Nine was taken in by Pockets when she was very small and he thinks she owes him her life. While this may be true, she still doesn't like the life she is trapped in and having to steal to keep him happy. When a pickpocketing goes wrong, she finds a magic house and finds that she is the only one who can save it's inhabitants from the curse they have been living under for years.
Nine is a great character. She tries to be tough and doesn't want to care about other people but she can't help getting drawn in. The other characters in the house are lots of fun and I love the house and all the tricks that the curse does to it and the characters.

Zauberhaft, süß und so schön. Wunderbares Kinderbuch voller Magie und ein tolles Geschenk. Schnell gelesen.

Lady.. lady..
What an enjoyable read! I absolutely fell in love with this story from the very beginning. Being able to completely fall into the environment and into the house of magic, I could not put this down.

My heart was completely with the characters and I listened along to the audiobook at the same time which brought it to life even more!

This was my first venture into the imagination of Amy Sparkes and what a gloriously fun and quirky place it was to be.

Orphaned pickpocket Nine has led a difficult life and is forced to steal for a living by ruthless gang-master Pockets in exchange for a roof over her head. When she steals a small trinket out of necessity to keep Pockets off her case, she could not have predicted the events that would follow. Knocking the tiny knocker on the front door causes the tiny trinket to grow to an impossibly large higgledy-piggledy house. This magical house is under a terrible curse and so are the inhabitants that are prisoners inside its walls. Nine would rather have nothing to do with any of it but if she can be the one to break the curse then untold riches and a new life of freedom could be her’s…

The House at the Edge of Magic is all kinds of magical fun and all manner of surprises, mischief and mayhem await those who step inside. Amy Sparkes lets her imagination run wild in a story filled with magic, humour and a race time against time to break a curse (failing to do so will result in the house and all its inhabitants being shrunk into oblivion and vanishing forever). It all makes for the most enjoyable of fantasy adventure’s that is perfect for new readers of longer chapter books.

The house is the kind of place that readers will want to be running through themselves. Opening the tea cupboard could turn you into anything, a very aggressive library prefers to use books for pain rather than pleasure, dragons, goblins, bats and a void await in the back garden - depending on which day you enter it, an actual skeleton lurks in a closet, a cellar is the home for ‘The Sometimes Dead’ and there’s a toilet that is impossible to find as it has a habit of moving from room to room. This really is the most wacky of magical houses.

The imaginative characters include a troll with a close attachment to a feather duster, a blade-wielding spoon who was become separated from its dish, a wizard with a talent for hopscotch and a cackling witch bearing a grudge. Nine is a very likeable heroine. She is fierce, feisty and knows how to take care of herself. Hardened by a cruel world, she is determined not to become attached to the house or any of the characters that reside within it but will she be able to walk away when the time comes? (You’ll have to read for yourself to find out).

Recommended for 8+.

What a wonderfully imaginative and magical book! I love the idea that the house can go anywhere, and I look forward to visiting and meeting the characters again in future adventures - and finding out what other magical secrets the house holds!

This was a such a fun quick read! Read it all almost in 1 sitting. Nine is an orphan pickpocket determined to escape her life in the Nest of a Thousand Treasures. When she steals a house-shaped ornament she knocks on its tiny door & watches it grow into a huge, higgledy-piggeldy house. Inside she finds a host of magical & brilliantly funny characters, including Flabberghast – a young wizard who’s particularly competitive at hopscotch – & a hideous troll housekeeper(Eric)who’s emotionally attached to his feather duster. They’ve all been placed under a curse, & they’re desperate for Nine to break it. If she can, maybe they can offer her something in return. This was such an interesting idea for a story, & I loved the concept & I adored the quirky eccentric characters-but Eric has my heart. Nine annoyed me so much being so mean to him, & hurting his feelings too! Lol I understand why she is the way she is after everything she’s been through at such a young age, but she still makes it hard to like her lol I think I’ll like her more in the next book though! I think the book could have also benefited from being a little longer to help develop the characters & story a bit more. But many of the details really made this so fun-like parts of the curse that are just too horrible for them to bear is not being able to open the tea cabinet w/o being zapped & turned into ridiculous things, so they haven’t had tea for 3 years! Lol I laughed so hard at this, & really enjoyed my time reading it. Will be on the lookout for book 2! STUNNING cover by Ben Mantle too! So amazing!

I didn't really have any expectations for this book as I had not seen anyone really talking about it, but this was a really quick read which I devoured in a couple of hours during a 24hr readathon.

This book had a really fun cast of characters, however (and I know this was a short middle grade) I would have liked a bit more background on the characters. We didn't really get to learn much about them and I think this would have possible got a higher rating from me if it was a bit longer with a bit more about the individual characters. The curse on the house was really fun, although not so much for the people living there; with toilets that move, a locked tea cupboard and lots more wonderfully inconvenient things. This book was fun, whimsical and fast paced and I would definitely read a sequel if there ever was one.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t resist picking this book up based on the cover alone but the plot intrigued me too. A magical house, an orphan girl and a group of unusual friends. I absolutely loved the cast of side characters; a wizard, a Scottish talking spoon scientist and a troll housekeeper. They were imaginative and developed well in a small number of words.

As this is for a much younger audience, I forgave the plot for being a bit predictable and I loved the ending. However, the protagonist, Nine, was realistic but almost to the detriment of the book. I liked how her character progressed by the end of the novel but I was irritated by her stubbornness throughout.

Overall, if you are a fan of middlegrade fantasy or want to purchase a book for a younger reader, I would recommend this. Personally, I think that I would enjoy this more once there are more books in the series and more character development.

3 out of 5 stars!

I was lucky to receive a Netgalley Arc of The House At The Edge of Magic written by Amy Sparkes and published by Walker Books. Even though I was excited to read this book I wasn't looking forward to reading it on my mobile as the print is too small for me. That was until my Tales By Mail Book Box came and guess what book was in there? Yep you guessed right The House At The Edge of Magic but due to a massive TBR I only picked it up in April and boy I was not disappointed. Our main character is Nine who is an orphan and supports herself by being a pickpocket. There will be no spoilers as you really really really need to read this book for yourself. Once you start reading you will be introduced to the most amazing characters and enjoy their antics during this book. For these reasons I will give this 4 stars

Thank You to Netgalley and Walker Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this with my 8 year old who absolutely loved it. He’s not a keen reader so I figured that he would get bored and I’d be left to finish it alone. But No! He loved this book and it became something he quickly devoured.

He loved the magic and and the descriptions and has asked whether there will be another book about Nine?

This was a short read for us but a fun one! Looking forward to other books from this author and hopefully more stories of Nine.