A young girl discovers a curious London magic shop and begins a peculiar journey to rescue a missing friend.
This book is not what I thought it would be.
It's a paranormal paradox.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

J.D. Grolic brings us into the fun world of magic and unexpected friendships in “The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox.”

When Chloe Ashley stumbles into an eclectic curiosity shop on a rainy afternoon, she’s in for a major shock — seeing magical brownies (creatures she didn’t think existed) working on the business.

Meeting magicians Mr. Ixworth and Mr. Maddox, she develops friendships with the two men. But shortly after, strange things begin happening. An evil looking man begins to follow her. Another not-very-nice man visits the shop looking for unique items. And worse yet, Ixworth goes missing.

As Chloe joins forces with Maddox to find their friend, Chloe must learn to dig deep into herself and find the strength, courage and even a little bit of magic that she possesses.

Grolic develops a fun story filled with mystery, funny moments and suspense, as well as great characters like the feisty Chloe and the enigmatic Maddox and Ixworth. He also fills “The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox” with some good themes, like dealing with the struggle to fit in; having unusual friendships and what we can learn from them; and don’t ever give up and always believe in yourself.

Fans of books like “The International House of Dereliction” by Jacqueline Davies and “The Sinister Secrets of Singe” by Sean Ferrell will love this story.

Five stars out of five.

thissmallplace provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I gave The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox 5 stars.

Chloe Ashley is feeling lonely and dejected. She's estranged from her best friend and ignored by her busy parents. One dreary afternoon, she wanders into a newly refurbished curiosities shop in the heart of London. The shop is owned by Mr. Ixworth and Mr. Maddox, two eccentric gentlemen who are in the business of magic. Real magic.

Chloe becomes a fast friend with the two magicians and discovers the wondrous merchandise the shop has to offer: a magical flying taxi, ghost spectacles, self-fluffing pillows, and crumb-less tables. In short time, Chloe is on her way to becoming a magician's apprentice.

But when Ixworth suddenly disappears, Chloe and Maddox are launched into a shadowy, sinister world of mystery and deception. In their perilous investigation to find their missing friend, the pair uncovers an age-old conspiracy of greed, inheritance, and power. Was Ixworth kidnapped? Murdered? Is he hiding? Or is there something more insidious at play, lurking beneath the streets of London, on a quest to fulfill an ancient and terrible prophecy?

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Oh, I liked this one and know I would have loved it when I was younger. It is beautifully written and has some great characters. Full with magic and adventure, I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. I would love to come back to this world again in another story.

Reminds me of John Bellairs style and the Westing Game. Sketches would be beneficial to create connections between the characters and the reader. A fun idea but just misses the mark. Definitely has potential.

An entertaining and well plotted story that can be appreciated by adults and children. Good storytelling and world building, likeable and well rounded characters
The story is tightly knitted and well plotted
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I’m going through my ARCs to clean out ones that didn’t translate to Kindle well. This sadly was one but I love the sound of this so I’m adding it to my buy list anyway.

This started out quite strong. The 3rd person, fun clever narrator voice was amazing. Once we met all the characters and the main focus was them talking, it sort of lost some of its charm. The pacing could have been more brisk as well. I would still hand this to a 9 year old in a heartbeat and they would love it.

Well worth a read -- it feels unfinished, I would totally read if there's a sequel. Very well written and easy to read.

First of all, thank you Netgaley, for the ARC granted. Well, That wasn't the kind of book that I was expecting and yet it was a great journey worth the reading.

Chloe Ashley is lonely. Her parents are busy, her best friend is distant after changing in an inexplicable fashion, and she is not happy at school. So when she accidentally comes across the curious emporium run by Messrs Ixworth and Maddox, she is happy to be absorbed into their world.

And what a world it is! This is entertaining and creative story telling at its best. I was completely transported by the description of a magical world where really anyone can learn magic, the city of London is divided into magical realms awarded to various magicians on the basis of certain criteria, and a busyness of brownies are hard at work to produce the beautiful magical items designed by Ixworth and his friend Maddox.

When one of her new friends goes missing, Chloe is able to put her nascent magical skills to use, to assist the other one in searching for his business partner and old friend, encountering the nasty Mr Thirsk, dark magic, and a very frightening mask along the way.

This is a fantastic story, and very original in terms of its concept as well. Would unhesitatingly pick up another book by this writer. Highly recommended.

“So these realms, as you call them, keep you young, or do you all live forever?” — Chloe, The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox

Thanks netgalley for giving me an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning is a little slow starting, but once the mystery starts to pile up, it is absolutely worth the wait. I’m typically more of a YA girlie who loves her quick, snappy paced books but I actually found this to be a delightful read.

At first, it’s a little bit slow starting but once the ensemble is put together, all three characters meeting one another—then the intrigue starts to pile on.

I thought it was quite interesting how in this magic system, everyone is capable of choosing to accept and become magical. I thought that was really quite genius, because that’ll appeal to kiddos reading this book that they, too, can be magical—all they have to do is want it.

The way it’s written and conveyed, it reminds me a little of Alice in Wonderland (a good thing) and I found myself becoming more invested in Chloe’s journey (a great thing!)

Pros:
- whimsical atmosphere
- clean, calm reading
- easily digestible magic system
- travelling by coat rack (seriously how cool!)
- A good balance between dialogue and exposition

Cons:
- slow start
- I do wish that the disappearance had happened a little bit sooner than 31%

The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox follows a young girl who is feeling alone because she is being ignored by her parents and her best friends. She wanders into a curiosities shop and quickly befriends the owners. When one of the owners goes missing, Chloe goes on to try and find him. This story has a lot of magic and fun adventure.

This story was good and I think kids will enjoy it! The magic was fun and the adventure was fun to follow along. I liked Chloe as a character and the shop owners were fun characters as well. The adventure took a lot of turns and I liked the magic throughout. I liked London as a setting as well.

I feel like the story took a bit to get into but once it started going it was a lot of fun and a quick read! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!