My favorite part of writing is researching. That includes history fact-finding to ensure that my universe stays realistic and grounded (dragons and krakens aside) as well as reading books. And as an author, I also firmly believe it's my duty to bring attention to underappreciated books, especially when written by other independent/hybrid authors, so join me on the book hunt!
Introduction:
Title: Spellbreaker Duology
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Genre(s): Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Gaslamp Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy
Series Number: Spellbreaker (Book # 1), Spellmaker (Book # 2)
Triggers: Racism, Murder, Terrorism, Classism, Wrongful Imprisonment/Incarceration, Captivity/Confinement, Abandonment (Mentioned), Chronic Illness, Death of a Parent (Mentioned)
Author Charlie N. Holmberg
Analysis:
Characters:
The main character is an orphan named Elsie Camden. She works with a stonemason by day and an underground group that illegally utilizes spellbreakers by night. As a reader, I have a habit of preferring side characters to the main character, but I find Elsie is an exception. I always enjoy a flawed character and poor Elsie suffers from a fear of abandonment, lack of trust, and poor self-confidence. But she didn't let that stop her. There were definitely moments I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and tell her she deserved better, but she was someone I wanted to root for. Even in the softer moments (or maybe especially then), I celebrated with her for every little triumph. I loved that she owned her mistakes along the way and immediately changed course to do whatever she could to fix the problem.
The love interest is Bacchus Kelsey, a biracial spellmaker who's one spell away from his mastership. He's a good example of "opposites attract" with his status, race, and culture so completely different from Elsie's. With that said, despite his elite status, I'm always a sucker for a character that has one quality that still makes them "othered". I enjoyed the way that he didn't let his differences stop him and simply went forward doing whatever he needed to in order to accomplish his goals. He also didn't have too much pride, willing to adjust his goals when needed. I also appreciate a man who isn't afraid to show the main character just how much he appreciates her.
Plot:
In the beginning, Holmberg seems to welcome us into the Victorian, fantasy version of Robin Hood. It's 1895, and Elsie Camden is an unlicensed magic user. But when she's commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie doesn't let her unlicensed status stop her from helping the common man against the elites abusing their powers. She goes about breaking any spell that the Cowls report is suppressing the working class. This involves things like stopping lords from trapping servants in their quarters or carriages from protecting poachers. Of course, Bacchus Kelsey catches her breaking an enchantment. Their solution? They strike a bargain. She'll help Bacchus break unruly spells around his friend's estate if he doesn't turn her in. And so begins the romantic subplot. We get to enjoy their banter as Elsie slowly starts to realize that she's a bit more fond of Bacchus than planned.
But of course, it doesn't end there. In fact, their romance is just one small storyline of a much more sinister plot. Magic users start showing up dead, and Elsie realizes that everything isn't what it seems. She immediately starts working to solve the mystery, and guess what! She does. I don't want to spoil anything so let's just leave this part simple. The culprit is a master spellcaster, and they have hundreds of stolen spells at their disposal... but she can't reveal the murderer without incriminating her own crimes. (Got to love those moral dilemmas!)
This plot includes a lot of fun tropes like "arranged marriage", "enemies to friends to lovers", and more.
Worldbuilding:
The worldbuilding was probably my favorite part of this duology. Instead of following traditional rules for fantasy and magic, Holmberg creates her own unique system. Basically, there are two kinds of wizards in the world: those who cast spells; and those who break them. The former kind need to pay for the power to learn spells, which obviously turns the whole thing very elitist. Then, there are people like Elise who can break them so long as she can reach them. I'm always a fan of main characters with rare magic abilities (for instance Hattie from my series, The Witch's March) and enjoy how it adds complications along the way. I also appreciate any author who doesn't suddenly reveal some twist or whatnot to find a loophole in their own magic system. Holmberg creates her magic world and stays grounded in it. It helped me to stay completely immersed in this wonderful world that she created.
Conclusion:
This is a very fun, light-hearted fantasy duology. It dived into relevant issues in most of our day to day lives with a sort of levity that made you think it will all be okay. There wasn't any angst just for the sake of angst. The plot twists weren't particularly shocking, but the overall plot was fun. I enjoyed the different relationships between the characters. I'm always a sucker for character-driven plots, and while this plot does sort of happen to the characters rather than because of them, I still think that they remained the heart of the story in the best way. The plot focused on interpersonal relationships, which helped me get lost in this gaslight fantasy. In fact, I'm already wondering when I can re-read it.
Want a free review? I will give an honest review in exchange for a free copy of your book. For all requested reviews, I will post my review to both Amazon and Goodreads. I prefer fantasy and historical fiction (bonus points for romantic subplot), but will consider any genre. Just email me at brandedje@gmail.com with the following:
In the subject, include "Book Request" followed by the title of the book
Genre(s) & Subgenre(s)
Book Blurb
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I can't wait to see what wonderful stories my fellow indie authors have come up with!
