Spellbreaker is the first in a new duology by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg. It’s set in an alternate Victorian-era England where magic is commonplace, although of course it’s primarily only the wealthy white male wizards who are allowed to gain power and prestige through their abilities. Our heroine Elsie Camden is a lowly orphan who happens to be an unregistered spellbreaker and part of a clandestine group she refers to as The Cowls, who undertake altruistic missions to protect common-born folks against the abuse of the magical elite. During one of her goodwill assignments, her covert spellbreaking is discovered by another wizard Bacchus Kelsey and she is forced to make a deal with him to avoid prison. As more secrets and responsibilities pile up with Elsie struggling to meet her obligations to various masters, her heart becomes engaged and her loyalties are tested like never before.
This book falls into the niche category of cosy fantasy, which is similar to the popular cosy mystery sub-genre of amateur sleuths, minimal to no sex or violence. and taking place in a small community with a small cast of characters. It focuses more on interpersonal relationships rather than the high stakes life-or-death end of the world plots like you typically see in high fantasy stories with elves and dragons or prophecies and Dark Ones. It feels ‘safe’ and guarantees a comfortable read where you don’t need to worry about graphic gory scenes or being blindsided by angst and tragedy the way you might in grittier, grimdark fantasy novels. A reader who wants something challenging and unpredictable may not get much out of this, but someone who just wants to curl up with a feel-good book about likeable characters having adventures with the promise of a happy ending will find a lot to love about Spellbreaker.
Elsie is a charming relatable heroine who takes up her Robin Hood activities out of the need to strike back at pampered aristocrats as well as the very simple and human desire to be valued. She can be frustratingly naïve at times, and the reader comes to certain realisations long before Elsie ever connects the dots, leaving us to left to shout at her in vain to make better decision. However it never feels like she behaves out of plot-convenience, her personality and actions make perfect sense based on the mindset of a young girl who was abandoned by her family and continued to experience painful rejection from those she formed connections with throughout her life. Her heart is in the right place as we see when she jeopardises her safety time and time again to help those less fortunate with no expectation of reward.
Bacchus is the secondary protagonist who has his own point-of-view chapters, although not with the regularity that Elsie does as this is her story. It’s wonderful to have these intermittent chapters focusing on Bacchus to flesh out this character who is an entirely swoonworthy love interest, but also has depth and nuance with his own motivations and character arc. Bacchus may be a male wizard who is on the verge of attaining his Mastery and ascending to the ranks of the elite, but he is also biracial and a bastard as his highborn English father never married his common-born Portuguese mother. These are huge roadblocks that prevent him being considered the equal of his English peers and it’s something that Bacchus struggles to deal with throughout the story. There’s no doubt that he is privileged and higher ranked than most in their society, but where poor wizards are disadvantaged because magical knowledge is jealously hoarded and one requires vast sums of money to purchase spells, Bacchus faces setbacks to achieving his goal because he isn’t pure enough for the assembly of Masters to accept his money.
The slow-burn romance between Elsie and Bacchus is pitch-perfect, showcasing the gradual progression from mutual distrust and resentment from Elsie at being blackmailed into helping Bacchus to cautious respect and appreciation for each other’s abilities to becoming proper allies and forming a genuine bond with reciprocated affection for one another. I often bemoan characters being shoved into coupledom far too soon without the foundation being laid for that relationship, but the author excels at drawing out the tension and excitement of the shifting dynamics between Elsie and Bacchus in this book, making me eager for more overt romance in the sequel.
Although the plot isn’t particularly complex and genre-savvy readers will pick up early on who the real villain is, there are still a few twists that will take the audience by surprise. Keeping in line with the cosy theme, the author thankfully doesn’t torment us with a cliffhanger and resolves the main mystery that Elsie attempts to unravel over the course of the book, but there are plenty of plot threads left dangling to whet the reader’s appetite for the next book.
Spellbreaker is an enchanting new fantasy novel that will delight readers with its endearing protagonists, fun magical escapades, and tantalising hints of romance. A thoroughly enjoyable read that balances the fine line of satisfying its audience while leaving them wanting more. I can’t wait for Spellmaker to come out in 2021!
Spellbreaker is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of November 1st 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A world of enchanted injustice needs a disenchanting woman in the newest fantasy series by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician.
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?
This sounds good, a little bit Susan Dennard, a little bit Samantha Shannon.