Spellbreaker: Spellbreaker, Book 1

Great book! An easy, but interesting, and so satisfying read! This lady is great at coming up with systems for magic. I thought it might be a similar to her other books, but it is truly unique though also Victorian in setting. The romance is sweet but adult. Though adult in its maturity, it is not R or even pg-13 rated. Clean, but there is a true sense of passion and intimacy. Well done.Read this book and then also read the second book.So you may be asking why not five stars... for me personally I really reserve 5 stars for the books that I truly feel are masterpieces. Books that stick with you for the rest of your life. I can only think of 10ish. This was not at that level, but I am certainly glad I read it!

This is a new author for me and she did not disappoint. There’s magic, mystery, intrigue, attraction. A young woman, abandoned as a little girl, discovers she has the ability to break the spells of others and is recruited by a secret society for what she has been told is for the good of society. But unregistered magic is illegal and if found out she would be arrested, or worse, executed. Along the way a young magician who is in the process of becoming a master magician accidentally discovers her ability and recruits her himself. By the end she makes some devastating discoveries about just who and what this secret society is and has been making her do. Everyone she knows is in danger and she must act quickly to save those who are important to her. This is the first of two books. And the ending leaves the reader wanting to get right to the second book.

I read this in one sitting. Elsie is an interesting blend of fear and courage, and though she feels abandoned and unloved, cares for the people around her. Bacchus, the Barbados magician, is the perfect love interest. Be prepared for a surprising twist at the end.

This is an amazing book. If magic was normal and practiced all the time. But there are those that do magic but since they are unregistered they could get in trouble. Elise is one of those. While others can do spells she can undo the spells and the spells that she has undone may has caused more harm than good. Can she fix it without getting in trouble?

It’s good. I got a little confused at times but that was most likely my own fault and it the author’s.

I found this to be an amazing read, though I wished for a little more magic. It seems like there should be more magic around for everyday use, but it did not detract from the book.I found Elsie a tad more naive than I would like, but I suppose it was a necessity. I had guessed the major plot points, though the cliffhanger ending means we didn’t get any answers. This too was a bit abrupt.I enjoyed the love story. I love they took time to get to know each other first. It makes me wonder about Barbados.Will definitely read the next book.

Spellbreaker is the second series I've read by this author, and again I'm torn between wanting to gobble it up as quickly as possible, or taking it. as slow. as I possibly. can so as. to savor. every morsel.The author's use of language completely enchants me. I love our female protagonist from the start and while our primary male protagonist is rather unsavory at the start (he's a brute!), he manages to come around nicely. Great plot. Nicely done twists. Characters you care about. I'm in for book #2!

I love Charlie Holmberg stories, so I've been looking forward to this duology for a while. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed after the wait! Spellbreaker had all the classic elements of a unique magic system, hate-to-love relationship, and realistic period setting of a historical fantasy that she excels at, but somehow they're never the same story and always exciting and wonderful.I enjoyed the magic in this world, but I want to know so much more! We get a good idea of how spellbreaking works from Elsie's point of view as an untrained and unregistered spellbreaker. (Fascinating that spells are like different knots to her that she loosens and unravels!) But what about how the different types of spellmaking work? I hope I get to learn more about that in the second book to satisfy my curiosity! It's also interesting that they can use more than one type of spellmaking, though they can only master one and don't usually have spells from anything other than that one focus. Imagine an Avatar-like character who could use all the spellmaking spells! And maybe we'll see that Elsie can do more than just spellbreak in book 2??The magic in this series is often used as a way to separate the classes of society, since it requires a good deal of money to attend an academy and purchase the materials necessary to learn new spells. Even if poor people showed the potential for it, they rarely have the opportunity to receive training unless a wealthy person deems them talented and powerful enough to sponsor them. Even when becoming a Master Spellmaker, the academy leaders are extremely prejudiced and hoard the best spells. This social inequality plays a huge role in the story and in Elsie's justification for her unregistered spellbreaking assignments from the rebel group she calls The Cowls. Elsie sees them as rebellious heroes of the underprivileged, and herself as a modern Robin Hood, but the entire time they seemed to me to be shady at best...I really liked Bacchus, how respectful, honorable, and gentlemanly he was, despite not being treated the same way because of his ancestry. That made me appreciate his behavior even more, taking the higher ground and not succumbing to the prejudices of others. I also liked the way he treated Elsie. Despite them being from different social statuses and the suspicious way they met, he still treated her like a respectable lady. Bacchus is a classy guy.I liked Elsie, though she was a bit annoying at first with her self-righteous behavior and secret defiance of the upper class just because they were upper class. I think this was part of her character progression though, to change her views as she learns more about her benefactors, her spellbreaking abilities, and the targets she is assigned to. When she gets off her high horse to actually get to know others and consider their circumstances, she gets better.Love the twist at the end! Whoa! Don't worry, no spoilers - just read it! Thank goodness there's a second book to track down the whole story, fill in the details of what's really going on, who the bad guys really are, and how Elsie is involved. With that, let's start book 2 in the duology, Spellmaker...

I have been a fan of Charlie's books since her debut novel, and this one doesn't disappoint. The characters were charming, the plot was engaging and the story was incredibly unique.If the book had ended properly, this would be a five star review.Unfortunately, the way this book ends really ruins it. I shan't spoil it, but the main issue is that - unlike with most other books in a series - this one doesn't end. It just stops. There is no emotional payoff for the plot or characters you have become invested in. It's not that it ends on a cliffhanger which is a problem; many books do that. It's that there are zero questions answered, no resolutions even to the mini arcs introduced, and you are left at the end of the book wondering if there was a printing error because it really does just stop.Frustrated, sad, and a waste of emotional investment in an otherwise fabulous book. Readers beware!

I have very mixed feelings now I've finished Spellbreaker.Having seen this come up as a choice on October's Amazon First Reads, it sounded right up my street. Elsie is a illegal spellbreaker, she knows of magic but cannot perform spells, only break them. How does she know she is a spellbreaker, well she frequently receives letters from a mystery organisation she refers to as the Cowls that ask her to break spells that keep the rich and poor separate. Elsie therefore considers herself a Robin Hood type character and enjoys the under cover work she does.Bacchus has come to London from Barbados; his aim to become a master aspector. Aspectors are those that can perform magic and whose spells Elsie can break. One day Bacchus catches Elsie breaking a spell and to prevent being caught by anyone else, they strike a bargain. Elsie will help Bacchus fix spells around the Seven Oaks estate where he is currently residing.It soon becomes clear that something mysterious is going on, murders of aspectors are becoming more frequent and the robbery of their opuses also. An opus is the object an aspector leaves behind when they die and it contains all of their spells, hence it is a valuable item. Elsie and Bacchus find themselves closer to the mystery than they realised and we join them as they try to uncover the secrets of the aspector and spellbreaker world.How good does that sound?A unique concept based in Victorian England, I felt sure I'd love it. Sadly I didn't, in fact for about 70% of the book I was willing it to end and almost dnf - I'm so sorry to say that.I expected to love Elsie, she just wants to do what's right and help those in need. As soon as we met Bacchus, I thought he'd be a potential love interest and that I'd enjoy their chemistry throughout. Yet, I didn't warm to any characters, there were many of them and some of them took me a while to remember. Elsie and Bacchus' relationship felt forced.. I felt no chemistry between them whatsoever sadly.I appreciate that as this was a unique magic concept, a lot of explanation was needed to understand it but for the first 100 pages of the book I felt like nothing really happened. That is quite a chunk of the book with nothing catching my interest.My rating was going to be only 1 star, however, the last 20% of the book - I really enjoyed! There was much more action, anticipation and more importantly, magic! I even thought about upping my rating to 3 stars, but then the book just ended. Just like that. So many unanswered questions! I know there is a second book, but as some others have mentioned, it feels like one book was split in half.Will I read the second book? I'm not sure, I have no urge to find out what happens and no real attachment to the characters. I had such high hopes and was sadly left disappointed. I believe I am in the minority as so many people seemed to love this book which is great, but for me it was not the book I hoped for.

OK, it isn't a bad book: the story is half decent and the characters reasonably interesting and not too annoying, and the author did attempt to balance the male (Bacchus) and female (Elsie) protagonists by switching viewpoints between them occasionally and allowing Bacchus to be the saviour once in a while. But, oh, I am so weary of the current fashion for plucky (usually young) females battling the forces of evil even as they struggle against the tides of immaturity, sentiment, love, lust, angst, etc, etc. Elsie may avoid the worst excesses of the seriously irritating female leads I frequently run into, but I struggle to like or respect her.I got this as a Kindle First Read and chose it as the least objectionable. Why are so many of the First Read offerings written by women and why do so many authors force plot and character to take second place to fashionable agendas? I'm not sure whether I'll buy the second in the series. I'll probably wait and see what discerning reviewers think of it.

This is the first one of CNH's books that I have read and it is a book with a varied and interesting set of characters and a few odd twists and, in spite of being classed as a fantasy romance, there was fortunately little romance and what there was was a bit silly. In fact I enjoyed it just enough to have pre-ordered Book 2 in order to see if the plot potential turns into reality.It might almost have merited another star if only American authors would realise that using American words for things in a book set in England is extremely annoying. How would Americans react to discover a book set in the US about the United States Grand Prix which mentioned bonnets and boots rather than hoods and trunks?That aside, whilst it did read as a little unpolished, if you fancy a fantastical and light read that might even make you smile from time to time, this is a book to consider treating yourself to for a cold dark evening when your brain is tired.

Elsie Camden was orphaned at a very young age. She grew up knowing that there were two types of wizards - those that were wealthy enough to pay the price to gain the power to cast spells and those who were born with the ability to break them, like her. She is unlicensed so any magic performed by her is a crime. However, a mysterious and covert group known as the Cowls recruit her to undo spells that harm the general public, that keep the common man downtrodden or are cruel. Elsie is proud that she is providing an important service to the community.Her current task sees her crossing paths with Elite Magician Bacchus Kelsey. While staying with friends while he completes his Mastership, Bacchus discovers Elsie trying to undo a spell of protection he placed on their estate. He strikes a bargain with her that he won't turn her in to the police if she helps him undo unstable and unsafe spells around the grounds. Reluctantly Elsie agrees but the longer they spend time together a new and strong attraction grows between them.Meanwhile, there has been an increase in murders of wizards and thefts of their personal Spell Books. The murderer seems to be after specific spells and Elsie is drawn into the dangerous search for the killer. This leads her to uncover secrets about her family, knowledge about her powers and Bacchus' intriguing backstory. Will she be able to make sense of it all before the next victim is selected? Will her part in the search for the killer create a target of someone she loves?🌟🌟🌟🌟 I loved The Paper Magic series so I had to try this one too. The author has created another wonderfully imaginative and thrilling world full of magic and adventure filled with mystery and corruption. Elsie is a young but strongminded woman and I loved how loyal and feisty she is. Her relationship with Bacchus was interesting to read as they came from two very different worlds but found common ground and developed a love and respect for each other. Their chemistry was palpable on the page. I look forward to book 2 of this duology!