Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg is an exciting and magical adventure that continues the story of the Spellbreaker series. The novel follows Elsie, a talented spellbreaker, as she faces new challenges and uncovers even deeper secrets about magic in her world. After learning about the dangerous side effects of her own abilities, Elsie must find a way to protect those she loves while dealing with powerful enemies.

The world-building is creative. Elsie is a strong and determined protagonist, and her growth throughout the story, both in terms of her powers and her personal relationships, makes her journey engaging. The pacing is quick, with plenty of action, mystery, and romance to keep readers hooked.

Spellmaker was such a cozy and whimsical sequel. I really enjoy reading about these characters and a fantasy novel set in a Victorian setting is almost always an auto-read for me. I would definitely recommend this duology to readers who love a historical fantasy with strong mystery elements and slow-burn romance!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A solid middle book in the trilogy, but definitely not a standalone. The author regularly has books available through Kindle unlimited, which can be a great way to try out her work. While I've enjoyed the work of others more who explore fantastical Victorian settings, a good addition to the subgenre.

An interesting story set in a city of magic, good and bad, lawful and no so much lawful. I have not read the first book, but was able to easily figure out the story. It does take a few twists and turns that left me turning back the pages to see if I missed a clue. A good, but not quite great fantasy series.

This might be my new favorite book by Holmberg! It flowed beautifully, I loved the characters so much! The story moved quickly with just the right amount of romance! I loved this duology.

Charlie Holmerg is hit or miss for me. and this book was better than her paper magic series. The world building of this author is still stellar, and this time there is a plot to match.

A fantasy mystery novel that is part 2 of a duology. I enjoyed this book a lot. Though numerous parts seemed rush and the main characters were always so hot and cold. I think that these two books could have been one lengthy novel instead with a lot of parts removed from the second book that was repetitive.

Solid fantasy book. It felt different to other ones that I have read and I enjoyed the premise/setting. Would recommend to others!

I didn't realise this was a sequel so I had to read that first, but I've enjoyed it. Fast paced, love the magic system, the characters were well developed. I would read more by this author!

Just finished this duology and... sigh, be still my beating heart. Slow burn romance with a marriage of convenience - in the London of the late 19th century BUT WITH MAGIC 💫 What could be better?
Suffice it to say, both parts action and romance were done to perfection in this. Charlie N. Holmberg has done it again 🤩

I did not realize this was the second book of this series. I will come back to edit this once I've had a chance to read and review the 1st book.

This has been a great continuation of this series and I enjoyed this as much as the first one. I love the concept of these books and the plot is extremely well written. A great fantasy series that you can get lost in

I actually ended up buying this duology. I really like the way Holmberg writes her stories and it kept me gripped from page to page. I was completely intrigued by the magic system and even though I’m not much of a historical fiction kind of person I fully enjoyed the time that it was set in. The thought of a magic/spell breaker instead of someone that makes magic is different enough that I wanted to keep going.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Hmm this was an intro book. It is a little bit mystery and sci-fi? But it would be a perfect read for Halloween Month 🎃.

Spellmaker: Spellbreaker Book 2 by Charlie N. Holmberg

301 Pages
Publisher: 47 North
Release Date: September 23, 2021

Fiction, Historic Fiction, General Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Magic

Elsie Camden is an unregistered spellbreaker. Since has finished working off her debt to spellmaker Bacchus Kelsey. The Cowls continue to send her on missions to break spells. The police come to her door and arrest her for using her skills without being registered. Bacchus tells the magistrate that he knows her well, in fact they are engaged to marry. The magistrate agrees to release Elsie under certain conditions.

There is a murderer killing master spellmakers and stealing their opuses, spellbooks with enchantments they learned over their lifetime. The murderer hits close to home which causes Bacchus and Elsie to work together to solve the mystery before one of their own dies. This is the second book in the series. It is fast paced, characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. I loved the Paper Magician series, and this book is just as good.

In Spellmaker, the second book in Charlie Holmberg's Spellbreaker duology, the adventures of Elsie, Bacchus and company continue, and as the group of friends grows, so does the danger and need to stop the mysterious character Elsie has known since her childhood. like The Cowl.
Our protagonist stops at nothing and puts her own life at risk to save her loved ones and stop the series of crimes that have the magical community of London in suspense.
Another excellent story, with a surprising and very satisfying ending.

I really like this series, interesting magic system, well developed characters, set in Victorian England - what's not to like? Elsie has joined the side of the lawful and is under the magical tutelage of Bacchus Kelsey and still trying to thwart Lonfon's most notorious criminal. This book is relatively short c300 pages and is quick, light, enjoyable read. Will definitely be reading more from Charlie N Holmberg.

I read this sequel hoping that this would be a vast improvement to the original novel. However, I really struggled with it and found that it was a very slow moving story with a forced romance. Thus, this book was not for me.

I've read at least six of Charlie N. Holmberg's and I was excited to read Spellmaker. I love a historical fantasy book.

This was a quick read and I actually ended up reading it again on Audible and really enjoyed it. If you like Luanne G. Smith's writing and 1800s London, definitely give this duology a try.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enjoyable book with great world building and history. I do think it will be better enjoyed after reading the first book.