Review: Ember Spark and the Unicorn’s Secret

Ember Spark and the Unicorn’s Secret is the third marvellously magical, fizzingly exciting adventure for the apprentice Vets to Magical Beasts.

Ember Spark is spending the start of her Christmas holiday with her Dad, his girlfriend, Sally and Ember’s best friend Arno Whisper in the fishing village of Slumber. When her nibblesqueak, Forty Winks, starts trying to steal Sally’s beauty products, the children discover the initial ‘TB’ on the items. Could they have found a connection to one of the elusive collectors of magical beasts? Could a collector be using magical beasts to create beauty products with almost magical abilities?

Deciding to share their discovery with Rusty Fizzbang, a Vet to Magical Beasts, they visit him in Stonechatter Cave where he is surrounded by magical beasts needing help, including a very determined pygmy dragon, Whirlwind, who is intent on eating his beard! Rusty advises them to visit their teacher, Mrs Rickety-Knees, to undertake some internet research on the company behind the beauty products. But, on their way to visit her, they are kidnapped and find themselves aboard a flight to the Amazon rainforest.

And so begins another terrifically thrilling adventure as Ember and Arno find themselves at the mercy of a cold-hearted, cruel villain intent on causing harm to magical beasts. Can Ember and Arno come up with a plan to foil this villain? Can they escape their clutches and save the magical beasts who are in desperate need of their help?

I absolutely loved joining Ember, Arno and Forty Winks on their daring, action-packed adventure which is brimming with excitement and danger, with old friends and new, with incredible courage and moments of fear as well as plenty of humour and warmth. I was utterly gripped by Ember and Arno’s perilous adventure, their determination to defeat a merciless villain and her minions and their courage and resilience when faced with dangerous and difficult situations.

As always with Abi’s stories, I adored the richly imagined world with its own fantastical creations, the array of magical beasts, the brilliance of the names such as Whirlwind, Tuggetty Vine and Loose Cannon. I never fail to be awestruck by the imaginative delights, the warmth and humour, the wonderful messages and the astounding adventures that greet me in Abi’s books. So, it is no surprise at all that Ember Spark was the first class story I read to my new Year 3 class and they absolutely adored it as they have Ember Spark and the Frost Phoenix. This is a series that the children are eager to continue, and to re-read, with some even telling me that they have pre-ordered the third book. I even had a parent telling me that Ember Spark was the first book her child insisted she bought for him and they’re reading it as a bedtime story. Now, if that’s not magic, I don’t know what is!

I absolutely adore both Ember and Arno who have very different natures with Ember being more feisty and impetuous whereas Arno is more cautious and considered. Their friendship feels really genuine, including the disagreements that they have and how they work through them to put the well-being of the magical beings at the forefront, learning that working as a team is better than working alone.

As always, the illustrations throughout are gorgeous and complement the magic, excitement and warmth of this adventure perfectly.

A mesmerising, magical adventure, brimming with warmth, peril and humour, that will undoubtedly continue to ignite the hearts and imaginations of its readers as they wait eagerly for Ember Spark’s next adventure – just as I am!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion.