Spellbreaker (Spellbreaker Duology, #1)

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 about 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 destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Slow burn romance.
• Forbidden magic and dangerous secrets.
• Historical fantasy with an accurate portrayal of period struggles.
• Adorable banter between characters.
• A cozy mystery with a fantasy bent.

Many thanks to 47North and JeanBookNerd for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour.

I’ve been meaning to check out more of Charlie N. Holmberg’s work since I read (and loved!) The Will and the Wilds earlier this year, so when I saw she had a new duology coming out, I jumped on it! Boy am I glad I did.

Spellbreaker whisks the reader into a magical, historical world that feels on the brink of something major happening, with a slow burn romance that’ll capture the hearts of even non-romance readers.

This book was every bit as fun as the first book of hers I read. I’m not sure what it is about Holmberg’s romances, but even as a non-romance reader, I’m always sucked into her romances, despite my best efforts. I don’t know. It’s probably dark magic, but hey, more power to her.

The second half of this duology will be released early next year, and I’m already looking forward to it!

This is a complex, vast world, where a historical setting is blended with fantasy, so the reader gets the best of both worlds.

I actually love these types of settings, where the world is recognizable in some aspects as our own, but there’s still magic layered on top. There are historical references to things that have happened in history, though they’re sometimes changed slightly. It’s one of my favorite low fantasy things, and Holmberg does it so well. It was easy enough to slip into this world and understand the magic, which is laid out pretty concisely in the very beginning.

What I thought was particularly interesting is that the magic in this book is used in tandem as a way to highlight the drawbacks of life in the historical setting, which Holmberg doesn’t shy away from in the least.

For example, there are still so many restrictions placed on women, such as requiring escorts and not being allowed to participate in certain forms of magic, etc. These little things really bring the setting to life and also ground them in the past. There’s also still class struggles (the rich obviously have more access to magic) and race struggles, and I liked how these added a bit of realism and depth to the story.

There’s some definite found family vibes in this, and it just warmed my heart.

Actually, there’s a whole mystery behind Elsie’s parents, who just vanished one night, leaving Elsie the sole person at the farm they were spending the night at. No one seems to know what happened to them or why they would leave Elsie behind, but that sort of abandonment has left marks on our poor young heroine, as you might expect. Hard to trust people after that.

Yet, Elsie has found her own little family within her job, which is something I relate to so freaking hard, and I loved it. Ogden took her in and gave her work, and she’s got a sister in her coworker. Yet, things aren’t all sunshine and roses, of course, because there’s still that lingering doubt that Elsie is really alone in the world and not needed by others, easily disposable. It made for such a delicious inner conflict, even as the interactions between these characters were utterly adorable.

The romance is a slow burn, sweet romance with just a whiff of enemies to lovers.

One thing I have to say is that Holmberg can write romances that I find irresistible! And they’re not even stabby. How weird is that?!

This romance starts out a little as enemies to lovers, except mostly it’s just misunderstanding, so if you’re expecting flat-out enemies, it’s not really that. More like adversaries borne of a misunderstanding. The snark between the two is fabulous, though, and I really enjoyed their banter.

I actually don’t think there’s too much more I can say about the romance, because watching it blossom is really part of the fun of the book! Needless to say, though, I was here for it.

There’s a compelling mystery about a subversive group Elsie calls the Cowls, which extends into the second book.

But oh my gosh, how I enjoyed this mystery! There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing, most of which I didn’t see coming. Nothing is really “solved” in this book, though there are some pretty big reveals, which has me all the more excited for the second part of this duology!

Elsie describes the Cowls as being like Robin Hood: helping the poor, disenfranchised members of society. The only problem is she doesn’t actually know who’s part of the Cowls or what their overall mission is. Which, as you might imagine, isn’t ideal. Definitely leads to some interesting turns of events!

About Charlie N. Holmberg

Charlie N. Holmberg is the award-winning author of the Numina series, The Fifth Doll, and many others. Her Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series, which includes The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician, has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Charlie’s stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance. 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, owns too many pairs of glasses, and finally adopted a dog. She currently lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

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2 Winners will receive a Copy of SPELLBREAKER by Charlie N. Holmberg (Open International)
Must be 13+ to enter

ENDS: December 7, 2020

You can find the full schedule here.

WEEK ONE – REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS
NOVEMBER 16th Kait Plus Books INTERVIEW
NOVEMBER 17th BookHounds GUEST POST
NOVEMBER 18th A Court of Coffee and Books EXCERPT
NOVEMBER 18th Nay’s Pink Bookshelf REVIEW
NOVEMBER 19th  JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW
NOVEMBER 19th Gwendalyn’s Books REVIEW
NOVEMBER 20th Author Kelly Risser EXCERPT
NOVEMBER 20th Skye’s Scribblings GUEST POST

WEEK TWO – REVIEWS
NOVEMBER 23rd Casia’s Corner REVIEW
NOVEMBER 23rd J.R.’s Book Reviews REVIEW
NOVEMBER 24th Ya It’s Lit REVIEW
NOVEMBER 25th Wishful Endings REVIEW
NOVEMBER 25th The Bookwyrm’s Den REVIEW
NOVEMBER 26th Kalisbookishrambles REVIEW
NOVEMBER 26th PopTheButterfly Reads REVIEW
NOVEMBER 27th Books and Zebras REVIEW
NOVEMBER 27th Reading Adventures of a Book Dragon REVIEW

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