The gripping conclusion to the story of the "Spellbinder". .Having determined the identity of the Cowl-who has been controlling her life for 10 years, Elsie with the aid of Bacchus tries to figure out a way to bring her down. Knowing that Elsie now has evidence against her, the "Cowl" reports Elsie as an unregistered spellbinder and has her arrested.. Pulling in favors, Bacchus meets with the magistrate weaving an almost unbelievable story that gets Elsie released but only with the promise of an upcoming marriage which Elsie knows nothing about. Will Bacchus and Elsie with the help of their friends be able to bring the Cowl to justice before they must marry ?
Spellmaker has it all: love, betrayal, reunions, kidnapping, deceit, and forgiveness.

Due to a problem with send to kindle I was unable to read the title. I realized this problem only now, but it seems there was no sychronization for the past two months.

Spellmaker flows seamlessly from Spellbreaker. Elsie is doing something considered not on the “up and up” for a good cause whilst considering the burden she is to Bacchus, Ogden is still recovery from his life as a spell slave and Emmeline is bringing in another telegram from a pining Bacchus. Ms. Holmberg continues to flesh out this lovely world of magical practices broken into disciplines of physical, rational, spiritual, and temporal. Then there are the spellbreakers like Elsie; while aspectors (those who practiced one of the spell making disciplines) often pay to learn them (and, hence, tend to be limited to the realm of the well-to-do). Spellbreakers, on the other hand, are simply born with the ability and must be honed through study and practice. This world is full of class distinction, xenophobia, and racism (just ask Bacchus); you know, kind of like our world except the magic part. (BTW, I love how some reviewers seem to attribute to Ms. Holmberg all the sins of her literary world.)

While it’s a bit endearing to see Elsie and Bacchus’ humility, it’s equally clear that their lack of confidence in affairs of the heart come from a history of rejection in Elsie’s case and the aforementioned racism in Bacchus’. Now the trio (including Ogden) are loosely banded together to bring down Lily Merton and her serial murders to accumulate opuses. (An Opus is book describing all of an aspector’s spells that was birthed upon their death; anyone could execute a opus spell; you didn’t have to be an aspector to use an opus.)

Bacchus and Elsie courtship dance is usually fun and sometimes frustrating to behold. The relationship between Ogden and Elsie (and even Ogden and Bacchus) is a little more complex since Ogden is as driven by his need to right the wrongs of his enslavement as it is by his relationships. While the character arcs remain relatively flat, they are intriguing characters none-the-less. It is worthwhile watching their story continue to play out. This is a paranormal, historical novel, set in time where Elsie and Bacchus could have exchanged greetings with Darcy and Elizabeth or Edmund and Fanny. It’s one where these disciplines of magic reign with a bit of sleuthing thrown in for fun. Actually, there are quite a few twists and surprises not so much in the direction the story takes but the means by which it arrives. .

One of the things I like to do is think about music by which I would like to read a novel. For this one, it seemed like a marriage between the soundtrack to the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle’s version of “Pride and Prejudice” and “The Prisoner of Azkaban”. While I’m not in love the book and I haven’t seen the movie – the best mix seems to be Ferando Velazquez’s excellent soundtrack to “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”

One complaint I’ve seen is that characters, especially Elsie, too readily took others on face value. They found this especially troubling given that magic, especially mind control, should make people more skeptical. I would say that this was Georgian England was different time, when people over-all were a bit less jaded, more conscious of authority especially of people of certain rank. It’s always easy to step back in these situations because we, the reader, know things are going to run amiss. Within the story and day-to-day interactions of the characters, not so much. Finally, at least in one example given, there was little choice.

I thoroughly enjoyed Spellmaker. There was good development of the story arcs of the characters, the world and its workings remain fascinating, and I love a good Battle Royale. I highly recommend it.

A satisfying conclusion to the Spellmaker Duology - I was guessing, seeing villains behind every smile, wondering at the depths of deception as I turned the last half of the pages, wondering what next might be revealed. Where the mind can be spelled, impossible to be certain of what one thinks they have seen.

In this case, that's blessing and curse - while it kept me on my toes, and kept the pages turning, some of the surprises seemed poorly telegraphed to me, while my brain suggested other avenues to be explored in this magical system. No book will hit every reader perfectly, it wasn't a homerun for me, but it was at least an infield double.

Spellmaker was a delightful sequel to Spellbreaker. I really loved the "magical Bridgerton" sort of vibe that this series has and I can't get enough of it. Holmberg does a very good job at creating a certain atmosphere in her books reminiscent of all that we love about books set in the Victorian (and some Regency vibes, although its set in a different time period) era in England with the propriety, the longing, and different things like that. Much of what I enjoyed about Spellmaker was what I enjoyed about Spellbreaker. Elsie is a very loveable character, and I adored watching her journey again. Bacchus is so very swoony, and he and Elsie together as they find themselves in a forced marriage match was so much fun to behold. I love how this inadvertent twist of fate caused them to really come to grips with the feelings they have for each other even though they try to resist it. Does it get more Austenian than that? The plot itself is filled with intrigue and the pacing was good in that I never really lost focus. Holmberg's writing is the perfect blend of romance and plot shockers that doesn't ever lag and really did a good job maintaining my interest. She's super underrated, in my opinion. Spellmaker is a story about the lines crossed in trying to do the right thing, both good and bad, and how we must be able to keep focus on what matters in that.

Spellmaker is an excellent continuation of Spellbreaker. Charlie Holmberg continues to add depth and growth to the characters while the adventure is just as thrilling and page-turning as the last. This is a must for fantasy lovers.

Another excellent book by Charlie N. Holmberg.
This is the second in a series and I loved it.
Excellent world building and storytelling, interesting characters, a gripping and entertaining plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book was a very enjoyable read and a worthy sequel to the first novel. Thank you so much to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me a sneak peek before the book came out. I would wholeheartedly recommend this duology (and already have, to several people!). This title is perfect for fans of magic, romance, and fantasy. The magical world-building was unique and well done. The characters were warm and loveable. The plot was fun and well-paced. I loved the ending and felt that it had the perfect tone for the rest of the novel. I will look for more books by this author.

England, 1895. The world has magic. Elsie, our main character, is an accomplished albeit unregistered Spellbreaker. As the book opens, she is arrested for illegally practicing spell-breaking, a crime with extremely harsh penalties and one in which she is guilty. Her story is in the compelling action of the first book of this duology, Spellbreaker, and she really doesn't deserve to be punished. Bacchus, her friend (and former foe), a Spellmaker, attempts to secure her release from prison as a character witness. He pleads with the magistrate to consider (the lie) that Elsie has only recently acquired her spell-breaking powers and thus should not be charged. (This is because the law allows a short time for Spellbreakers to legally register themselves after discovering they have the spell-breaking ability.) Bacchus' lie has to be convincing, so he bolsters his false story by asserting that his personal knowledge of Elsie is because he has been courting her. He is then forced to perpetuate that lie by stating that they are in fact, engaged. In this second book of the Spellbreaker duology, the romance thread takes the lead against the backdrop of the crime-solving mystery action. The first book's plot ended with a satisfactory, but partial, wrap-up of events and it was obvious that the story had more places to go. The exploration of unsolved aspects of the the first book, as well as additional twists, were expertly crafted and all of the characters gained new depth. Spellmaker is a well-written and very enjoyable read. I thank NetGalley and 47North for a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Confession time: I made the common mistake of requesting this book without realising there was a book prior to this. Not-so-quick fix: I binged read the first book. Immediately upon finishing the book, I started the eARC of this book and devoured it. I discovered two things: the good and the bad. The good: loved it. The bad: I was so sleep deprived.

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐇:
• love the premise
• MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE TROPE YES! YES!
• loved the characters and their dynamics

Note: this was more focused on the romantic aspect which I enjoyed, so if you're a fan of the characters or romance you may enjoy this

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫: fans of historic fiction, the marriage of convenience trope,


Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠: 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐣𝐨𝐲.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another fun read from Charlie N. Holmberg. She wraps up this story fantastically with a duology. Her stories always have just the right amount of tension for me. The stakes are high, but the story still feels fairly light. The pacing is wonderful and I flew right through my read. It doesn't hurt that her writing is always just right for what I need.

I love her characters. She always manages to give the female characters in her novel a bit of subverted power that gives them a bit of something extra for the day and age they live in. I love that slight bit of feminism that comes across without being overly heavy handed. She also had some diversity in this duology that I felt was handled subtly, but nicely. She presented the topic of racism without making it the primary focus of her work, something I think that can be tricky to do without having it simply feel like an afterthought. The romance element was also nicely handled. Not too much of an instalove and not too much of a heavy-handed enemies-to-lovers trope. It all felt pretty natural

The magic system in this series was also a lot of fun. Her worlds always feel tangible and the atmosphere in this series definitely gives off a feeling of darkness in the Moors. I was totally a sucker for it.

I am sad that there won't be more in this series, but it really did work out well to be a 2-book series. I have said it before and I will say it again. I will read anything Charlie N. Holmberg decides to publish.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher

What a great duopoly. I usually like trilogies better and feel hat a story can't be as well fleshed out in only two books but Charlie Holmberg has written 2 excellent books. If you like murder, mystery, and a fast paced fantasy read this is the book for you1

Holmberg does it again! I'll admit when I saw Spellbreaker on as a Kindle First book, I snatched it right up when I saw it was written by the author of the Paper Magician series. But, with a female protagonist, set in a Victorian time period, with magic as its main focus, would it be too much like The Paper Magician??

It was not, and I eagerly jumped into Spellmaker with open arms. The magic system continued to be interesting, though I will say, I felt this book moved away from magic and more into the mystery. I did not mind it, but we really didn't that much more depth into the world and "science" of the magic.

Bacchus continues tom be dashing, and he and Elsie's romance was sweet and at times, quite swoon-worthy.

A lovely light read, and if you love historical fiction, romance, and magic, this fantasy duology is perfect.

Spellmaker picks up where the events of Spellbreaker left off. I highly recommend reading Spellbreaker first before picking up this book to get the backstory.

Elsie Camden is an unregistered spellbreaker who is in prison for wrongful doings from events in the first book. Bacchus comes to her rescue with a deal - they must be married. While the intent was for this to be a marriage of convenience, the chemistry between the two of them may have other plans. In the meantime, Elsie comes under the tutelage of a registered spellbreaker. Being a self-taught spellbreaker, Elsie finds these lessons to be tedious and spends her time distracting herself with thoughts of how she can catch the evil doer from the first book. The evil doer with their bag of stolen spells hatches a plot to get Elsie to come to the dark side. Through all this conflict, Elsie finds she can unlock new abilities. Overall, this was a reasonably good follow-up to the first book. I always appreciate Ms. Holmberg's creative licensing when it comes to the world building in the complex magic system in a reimagined Victorian England.

Since I've read the first book I just knew I had the read the second. This one was much better. The characters are established and complex. The plot is moving along smoothly and there is a little romance going on. Everything I can ask for.

Spellmaker is the magical second book in the Spellbreaker Duology.

This book continues the mystery of the missing opuses, spellbooks left behind when a spellmaker dies that contains all of the spells they absorbed.

Elsie Camden is a spellbreaker invesigating the thefts with Bacchus Kelsey, the spellmaker who has Elsie daydreaming about their time together.

This story is wonderful focusing as much on the magical world and magic system as the romance, which is refreshing. Sometimes the magic is just a small part to extend the romance. That is not the case here.

You will find yourself rooting for Elsie to get the happy ending she deserves while protecting her strength and determination.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an advanced review copy in exchange of an honest review.

Despite not reading book one, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was a little lost, but once I went and read a detailed review of book one, I felt at home with Spellmaker and am dying to read book one just for the atmosphere. One book I would recommend to those who enjoy fantasy. It flowed beautifully, I loved the characters and the story moved quickly with just the right amount romance!

This story felt very rushed. Like it was missing critical details that would have really developed the story. I didn't feel a connection to the characters, and everything felt off. This one didn't live up to the first one, but it was an okay story. I would still recommend readers grab the first one and read both books, but the second one didn't work as well as the first.

*Thank you to NetGalley for approving my request to read and review Spellmaker".

After the events in the first book, Spellmaker, readers are immediately thrown into action with Elsie and Bacchus. The pacing of this book is just right, raising my anticipation level the notch. Some of the questions that were in the first book are answered in this sequel. More dark secrets are being revealed and to my surprise, new characters are introduced. This made me think if this is a duology or the author is planning to expand it into series or creating a spin-off.

Overall, I recommend this book to those who are fond of Harry Potter. I described this as the wizarding world co-exist with the Muggles (with a set of rules and regulations, of course). If you are looking for a romance between Elsie and Bacchus, well, I have to say that it took a backseat. The author focuses on Elsie's issues in dealing with her untrained powers and people around her (those whom she trust). Her growing feelings towards Bacchus were mentioned but did not play a major role in the story. That is refreshing compared to some of the fantasy books that I have read before.

3.75 out of 5 stars.