ARC Review: THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE WORLD’S END by Amy Sparkes (Middle Grade Monday)

I received an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: MG
Star Rating: 4 stars
Series: fourth book

*SPOILER ALERT: contains SPOILERS for THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF MAGIC, THE TOWER AT THE END OF TIME, and THE BOOKSHOP AT THE BACK OF BEYOND*

Blurb:

Nine and her friends are headed to the mortal realm in search of the only thing that will shake a very tricky witch off their a priceless stargold locket. It lies hidden in the Nest of a Thousand Treasures, guarded by Nine’s old foe – the formidable gangmaster of all the thieflings in London.

Even if Nine can get her hands on the locket, the friends must find a way to release its power – and for that they must travel through the World Between Worlds to the lighthouse on the Isle of Illusion, where nothing is quite as it seems…

Blurb taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.

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Review:

THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE WORLD’S END brings this comic, magical series to a great end. Questions are answered, problems complete, and a family somewhat restored.

The found family of the House hurtle into another magical, amusing adventure. There’s all the trademark chaos of the dysfunctional residents, made worse by the addition of Flabberghast’s witch sister who has cursed her brother along with the house. No one trusts her and she brings a lot of smug trickery, that was very fun to watch unfold.

They go rattling through an attack by vicious aunts and then need to survive the lighthouse itself, and that’s before even trying to solve what they need to do at the lighthouse. There’s plenty of action to cap the series off, as well as loss and sacrifice. There’s also plenty of heart warming moments between the residents too as they look out for one another – and maybe the witch has a softer side to herself too.

The great thing about series enders is that all the remaining questions are answered and loose threads tied up. The main mystery at the heart of the series about Nine’s mother and what happened gets answered here, along with the secondary mysteries that’s sprouted along the way. It’s very nice to finally know exactly what happened.

In all, it’s a very satisfying way for the series to wrap up, perfect for lower MG readers looking to test their reading skills.

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Read my reviews of other books by Amy Sparkes:

The House at the Edge of Magic (this series):

• THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF MAGIC (#1)
• THE TOWER AT THE END OF TIME (#2)
• THE BOOKSHOP AT THE BACK OF BEYOND (#3)