THE BOOKSHOP AT THE BACK OF BEYOND is another tale of magic and mayhem. The travelling house has arrived at Beyond to look for Professor Dish (Dr Spoon's partner in alchemy), but unfortunately there are witches and a wizard with grudges after them.

Beyond is probably the worst shopping experience you can imagine. You have to shop in every shop, buying something, which would be horrible enough on its own, but you don't really get good customer service. There are candle shops where the candles talk and flash on and off. There are grumpy shop keepers and books that attack you to make you buy them. Not to mention that not all the bookshops are open...

It's is also a story about secrets and lies, Nine and Flabberghast and the witches holding secrets of their own, withholding information they know others would like to know and making plans that will hurt others. And at it all, the plans of the worst witch of them all are slowly becoming clear...

I love love love the names people get in this world. "The Unpredictable", "The Indubitably Dubitable". They're not your usual heroic names (no "the Brave" for example) and they just add to the off-kilter feel of the world.

It's fun and quirky and very much a book to gobble down with laughter. It was nice to get the resolution to the Dish and Spoon story line that's played out over the past two books, while introducing another bizarre and wonderful world. Plus there is more set up for an inevitable big show down with Flabberghast's aunt.

I thought this was a fun addition to the House at the Edge of Magic series and I love the characters, especially Nine.

At times the writing can feel a little clunky for younger readers, but the magic definitely keeps things interesting!

Thank you to Walker Books for this book in exchange for an honest review!

It’s hard to review a third in a series without spoiling the first two books. I thoroughly enjoy the story and I liked the writing style.