Magical cozy mystery: SPELLBREAKER

Hi, book buddies :-) I have been a fan of this author's books since The Paper Magician. It comes as no surprise that this new story is another favourite of mine! 💛

SPELLBREAKER

by Charlie N. Holmberg

WHAT IS THIS BEAUTY ABOUT?

A world of enchanted injustice needs a disenchanting woman in the newest fantasy series by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician.

The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells, and those like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.

Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for--the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation for the rise in the murders of wizards, and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.

For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there’s so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she’s been destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?

MY OPINION

Cozy mystery, magic spells, and quirky romance. Oh, my. This is perfect for fans of The Paper Magician. I am one of them, of course :-D 

With an atmosphere touched by Jane Austen, this Victorian mystery is crafted with wit and charm in equal measure. 

Elsie Camden is a smart, resourceful orphan working for a stonemason while dabbing in espionage and illegal wizardry. Can you imagine an alternative England where magic is almost monopolized by the aristocracy, mainly in male hands and excruciatingly monitored?

Here is this Robin Hood's helper, all prim and proper, using her clandestine magic to disenchant a world full of injustice and poverty. Mysteries abound on all scales, be they a cursed crop or a murderer after master spells. It's utterly engaging. 

I loved the blend of costumbrist society and quaint villages with a woman in pursuit of her roots, social justice and female identity, set in a plutocracy of magic where spells are hoarded for the privileged but are still employed in such practical ways. This world of nineteenth century England echoes with etiquette, chaperones, tea, and carriages, yet is believably woven with a myriad of magic details. I think we are predisposed to believe in an enchanted London, aren’t we?

I adored this tall, talented, vulnerable and brave heroine, so intent on doing the right thing and therefore the ideal character to fall in the middle of this plot of deceit and power. The male counterpart is both arresting on his own and flows beautifully into the events, which may seem scattered at the beginning but emerge as a masterful tapestry in the action-and-magic filled ending.

The resolution is satisfying enough to offer a complex villain and partial enough to open a path towards a broader scope of secrets to be unraveled in the next book. I'm ready for more adventure, more slow-burn yet exciting romance, and a colourful assortment of mysteries to decipher. 

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ABOUT THE MASTERMIND

Charlie N. Holmberg is the author of the Numina series and the Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series, which has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. She is also the author of five stand-alone novels, including Followed by Frost, a 2016 RITA award finalist for Best Young Adult Romance, and The Fifth Doll, winner of the 2018 Whitney for Speculative Fiction.

Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, and owns too many pairs of glasses. She currently lives with her family in Utah.

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Don’t you think it's beautiful?

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