In Victorian England, the wealthy can obtain and practice magical abilities by paying for spells. Those who show promise can work towards the coveted title of “Master.” Elsie Camden is a teenager with a unique ability to break spells cast by others; But since she is unregistered, practicing her gift is a crime. Nevertheless, guided by an underground group of rebels she calls the Cowls, she uses her abilities for what she believes to be the greater good. From the writer of the best-selling series The Paper Magician, Charlie N. Holmberg provides another fun yet suspense-filled story with Spellbreaker. 

We learn early on that Elsie’s family mysteriously vanished when she was a young girl. One day they just left, and for some reason they did not take her with. As an orphan, she has had little-to-no guidance as to how to use her gift of breaking spells. After accidentally causing a fire as a child, a woman from the aforementioned rebel group recruits her. Since then, she has seemingly found purpose in her life, even though she remains desperate to find her family again.

Eventually, stonemason Ogden hires Elsie and becomes a pseudo-father-figure for her. While on another mission for the Cowls, a foreign yet very handsome magic user Bacchus Kelsey catches her in the act. In order to avoid persecution by the authorities, she must assist Bacchus with his own projects until he decides that her debt is paid. 

Additionally, someone is murdering Master Magicians and stealing their extremely valuable books of spells. Whoever has these spells at their disposal arguably become more and more powerful each time they commit another murder and theft. Elsie is extremely curious to find out the motivation and perhaps even to solve the crime – until she realizes she might actually be unknowingly involved somehow. 

In Spellbreaker, Holmberg wonderfully presents a story that is part budding romance and part mystery/suspense, while weaving in details of a world where people openly practice magic. Furthermore, the magic system benefits day-to-day living (e.g. the post office using magic to communicate with and train dogs to deliver mail). While we mostly follow the story from Elsie’s point of view, we get some sections from Bacchus’s perspective as well. I felt Elsie’s confusion as Holmberg dropped details that indicated things weren’t what they seem, and foreshadowed big reveals later on. 

If I had to nitpick for any downfalls in Spellbreaker, some parts were slow-paced and some reveals were a little predictable. Nevertheless, Holmberg has a talent for developing well-rounded characters that readers will root for, and events that transform this book into a page-turner. I would say readers can comfortably and casually enjoy up until the last quarter of the book – then the pace picks up and a couple of cliffhangers leave us truly wanting more. 

Charlie N. Holmberg is yet another guest on our Cantina Conversations segment of The Nerd Cantina podcast. I had a blast talking with her about how she came up with the details of her world, her experiences as a bestselling author, and what we can look forward to in the sequel. Stay tuned for an upcoming episode and pre-order Spellbreaker, which releases on November 1.