I listened to the audio—which was made bearable by the Welsh accents. I do love a Welsh accent. But that’s about all the good I can say for this little novel aimed at 9-12 year old readers.
 
The characters have nothing going for them, do not compel my affection, and are so uncompromisingly accepting of their pathetic situations leaving ‘the internal battle of the self’ outside the realm of possibility. Major events take place without precedent or explanation, and the story moves forward as if nothing has occurred. 
 
I’ve read Roald Dahl, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, and other masters of children’s literature (2 of whom the author sat under in her studies), and I find none of their genius or storytelling gift in these pages. It may seem a harsh criticism, but I was pre-reading this as an option for my 12 year old niece, and my disappointment is palpable. I must express… 
 
Apart from the puerile nonsensical tone of the story, with it’s enchanted house that can’t stay in one place (for no apparent reason) and its womanising co-protagonist, this short novel is jam-packed with blatant atheist undertones (like, more than Philip Pullman, if you can believe it) and peppered with how-tos for practical witchcraft (including descriptions of drawing and manipulating a pentagram)—if all this is what you want to fill your child’s mind with. Personally, it’s not something I’m going to recommend.

The best I can say is that it makes an attempt to be creative and entertaining, though the root motive comes across loud and clear.