Spellbreaker: Book One of the Spellbreaker Series

kdawg: Loved this world of magic, mystery, romance, and humor! Well done Mr. Holmberg looking forward to visiting your wonderful world again!!

United States on Mar 06, 2024

Sara M: This book was wonderful to read through. The plot and characters were well thought out, and the word choice was fun and refreshing. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

United States on Mar 03, 2024

Jo Crompton: Great characters and beautifully brought to life . Plot unfurls in so many different ways . Thoroughly enjoyable ready to read the next .

United Kingdom on Feb 23, 2024

Grandma Runninghorse: This book is a more adult, masterfully written book than some of Charlie Holmberg's other books I have read. It took me several chapters to start getting into it, feeling like it started slow, maybe even too slow.

Then the character development started and as such the tension between characters started to increase. As the story built, the tension built. By the end of Spellbreaker, I cannot wait to begin the sequel, Spellmaker!

Masterful storytelling!

United States on Jan 28, 2024

Marian : Everything is hidden and also in plain sight. A mystery waiting to be solved and partnerships to be developed. Enjoy!

Canada on Dec 08, 2023

Catherine D.: Within a familiar space - magic wielders in Victorian England and the struggles of the class decide - we have a new type of well realised magic system, well defined rules and a protagonist who lives and operates very much outside of these rules! Loved the pacing, the slow bloom of a very grounded romance. Looking forward to book 2!

India on Apr 01, 2023

Mrs.Michalzik: Mal eine etwas andere Zauberperspektive: Eine Zauberspruchbrecherin verfängt sich in einem Wirrwar aus Lügen, geheimen Zaubereien und unheimlichen Todesfälle großer Zauberer. Ich konnte das Buch teilweise nicht mehr aus der Hand legen, weil ich wissen musste, wie es weiter geht. Für Fans der Fantasy Literatur eine absolut empfehelenswerte Geschichte. Der zweite Teil (Spellmaker) ist genauso gut geschrieben und bringt die Geschcihte zu einem würdigen Ende.

Germany on Oct 12, 2022

Brittany Shields: “There were two kinds of wizards in the world— those who cast spells, and those who broke them.”

This was a fun book set in Victorian England. A world where magic is normal and accessible. Well, at least for the elite, and mostly men.

But when something is valuable, violence surrounds it.

Synopsis:

Elsie, mysteriously separated from her family when she was little, is an unregistered spellbreaker who has been doing spellbreaking work for an underground Robin Hood-esque group she calls the Cowls. Her work is illegal but she will do anything to help those who are taken advantage of by the elite’s magic.

She is caught by Bacchus who is working toward becoming a Master Spellmaker. He has his mind set on acquiring a very rare and specific spell. He decides to keep Elsie’s work a secret if she will help him.

As their working relationship turns into friendship, and maybe something more, Elsie is realizing the people she thought she could trust may be part of a sinister plan to kill spellmasters and steal their magic.

And her childhood may have more to do with the Cowls than she thinks.

Historical...

United States on Oct 19, 2021

Karissa Eckert: Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Spellbreaker duology. I got the audiobook of this from Audible.

Audiobook Quality (3/5): I listened to this on audiobook and there are two narrators. The female narrator did awesome, the male narrator came off as very jarring and almost shrill sounding and did an awful job with character voices. I would definitely skip the audiobook and just read in paper/ebook format.

Story (3/5): This was okay. It sounded like something I would absolutely love, unfortunately it came off as a bit shallow and thin to me. The story focuses on Elsie who is an unregistered spellbreaker. She is using her powers to do some clandestine work for a mysterious agency that is helping the downtrodden. When she gets caught in an illegal act, she finds herself blackmailed into using her powers to help the intriguing Bacchus. The plot is fairly simple and the whole thing just felt like it could have more depth. It was okay but just not wonderful.

Characters (3/5): Elsie is a young woman trying to balance some huge secrets while doing multiple jobs and trying to make a living. She was okay but felt kind of...

United States on Apr 23, 2021

Josie - The Bubbly Book Reviewer: This was my first Charlie N Holmberg book but it will not be my last. It was one of those books that I didn’t want to put down and stayed up way too late reading (that’s a pretty good recommendation for a book). I also love the cover and how the second book in the series has a similar cover, so I recognised it instantly.

I enjoyed the characters and their development. Even though I could see where the story was going at the seventy-five percent mark, it didn’t matter because the story was so engaging and I wanted to see how the author dealt with the development and I wasn’t disappointed.

I would highly recommend this book for adults and young adult readers as I felt this was an interesting story with a world and magic system that was quite easy to understand and keep up with. So nice for a change! Make sure you have book 2 ready to find out what happens next, due to be released 9th March 2021.

- Synopsis from the publisher, as they do it best. -

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...

Australia on Jan 03, 2021