Monday, July 7, 2025

The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes

The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes
Publisher:  Walker Books
Format Read:  Paperback 
Number of pages:   240 pages
Published:  January 1st, 2021
Source:  Purchased

Opening Lines: "Nine crouched down behind the staked fish crates at the bustling market."

Nine, an orphan pickpocket, has fallen out of favor with Pockets, the cunning gang-master of the Thousand Treasures.  To regain his trust, she needs to bring him a valuable score.  Then she spots the perfect mark, a woman in a scarlet dress, carrying a fancy beaded bag that promises riches.  But what she steals isn't the treasure she expected.  Instead, she swipes a peculiar house-shaped ornament.  The moment she knocks on its tiny door, it expands into a sprawling house, with chimneys twisting and stretching in every direction.  The front door swings opens, revealing a creature in a  frilly white apron, clutching a feather duster, followed by a young wizard in fluffy slippers and a sword wielding spoon. Flabberghast the wizard, wastes no time explaining that Nine has stumbled into a cursed house, and only she can break the spell.  In exchange for her help, he offers her a jewel of immense value.    


The first thing that caught my eye was the cover.  As I've mentioned before, I love stories with old houses, and I was immediately curious, what could possibly be inside a house that expands from an ornament?  And wow, I was not disappointed.  This house is brimming with whimsy, from a toilet that constantly shifts rooms to a cupboard that temporarily magics anyone who dares to open its doors. There's even a skeleton in the closet and some questionably dead people in the basement.  

Nine, our reluctant heroine, is less than thrilled about breaking the curse, and defiantly is not a fan of magic.  All she wants is to escape from the Nest and reclaim her most treasured possession from Pockets.  The plot is wonderfully set up, and the book is packed with a host of delightfully quirky characters.  There's the talking Dr. Spoon, Eric the troll in his frilly apron and of course, Flabberghast, the hopscotch champion wizard who hasn't had a sip of tea in years because no one can get the cupboard to open.  Just thinking about it  makes me smile.  

The magic in the story is unpredictable and unmanageable, which only adds to the fun.  I also loved that Nine visits a library to search for answers on how to break the curse.  The shorter length of The House at the Edge of Magic was appealing, though I would've enjoyed a little more character development. Overall, this was a fun read and I will be looking for the next book in the series, The Tower at the End of Time.  

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