And Nine is the only one who can break this curse. The house is cursed… the inhabitants cannot leave it, the toilets moves around, the toad’s tongue is missing so they cannot move around, and worst of all: they cannot open the tea cupboard. We follow Nine, and orphaned thiefling who finds herself inside a magical house, inhabited by Dr Spoon the alchemist, Eric the troll housekeeper, and Flabberghast, High Wizard, Chair of the Tea Tasters Committee, World Hopscotch Champion 1835. But it was also immensly readable and a whole lot of fun.

And sure, it was a shorter book (240 pages). It isn’t often that I read a book in a single sitting, even middle grade. Will be on the lookout for book 2! STUNNING cover by Ben Mantle too! So amazing!💜 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. 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. This was such an interesting idea for a story, & I loved the concept & I adored the quirky eccentric characters-but Eric has my heart. If she can, maybe they can offer her something in return. They’ve all been placed under a curse, & they’re desperate for Nine to break it.

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. When she steals a house-shaped ornament she knocks on its tiny door & watches it grow into a huge, higgledy-piggeldy house. Nine is an orphan pickpocket determined to escape her life in the Nest of a Thousand Treasures. This was a such a fun quick read! Read it all almost in 1 sitting.

House at the Edge by M.M. Jaye