Spellbreaker Series – Charlie N. Holmberg

Titles: Book 1 – Spellbreaker, Book 2 – Spellmaker

Author: Charlie N. Holmberg

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Plot: Book 1 – Elsie Camden is a young woman working for stonemason, Cuthburt Ogden. Elsie is also secretly working for an organization called Cowl as an illegal spellbreaker. In Elsie’s world, if you have magic you’re either a spellmaker, someone who casts spells, or a spellbreaker, someone who undos spells. The magicians are registered with the government to ensure nothing gets out of hand. If a magician isn’t registered, they’ll be punished severely. Cowl sends Elsie to Kent to erase a spell that’s keeping servants locked up. Elsie gets caught by Bacchus Kelsey, a Master Magician and friend of owner of the house she was sneaking around. Mr. Kelsey says he won’t turn Elsie in for being an illegal spellbreaker if she works for him. Elsie agrees. When magicians start dying and their spell books, called opuses, disappearing, Mr. Kelsey and Elsie start investigating. But the world becomes more dangerous the closer they get. Can they find out who’s behind the murders? Or will they end up in the same situation?

Book 2 – Bacchus and Elsie have found out who’s behind the murders, but they’ve disappeared. Now everyone’s searching for the murderer. But she’s disappeared and left no trace. To make matter’s worse, Elsie’s illegal magical activities have been reported to the police. Bacchus tries everything to get her out of jail, even if it means rushing his plans to court and marry her. The chief officer agrees to release her, though he’s suspicious of Bacchus’ evidence. Not long after, they get word that the magician murderer is dead. But is that true? Is she really dead? Or did she fake her death? Can Bacchus and Elsie figure out the truth and stop it all before it’s too late?

Rating: 4.0 – a great fantasy with a well built magic system

Opinion: This was a great book. I really enjoyed the magic system. It was really well built. There was no information overload about the magic system, either. This book was a good balance between sappy romance, fantasy, and action. This was a good kind of sappy romance that doesn’t seem forced. It was a slow build that I prefer in books with romance. The series had a steady amount of action. There was also good planning on the character’s part. No one goes off the hinges with their emotions. While I don’t mind that once in a while, I’m glad none of these characters do. These characters do show their emotions, but they don’t let their emotions get the better of them. I’m glad I got to read both books straight through, too. The ending of the first book ended on a cliffhanger. It would have been agony for me to wait. The author ended the first book very well. This series is a great one for those who love fantasy and sappy romance.