Review: Spellmaker (Spellbreaker Duology #2) by Charlie N. Holmberg

Spellmaker

(Spellbreaker Duology #2)

by Charlie N. Holmberg

March 9, 2021
302 pages

Goodreads Summary:

Dead wizards, stolen enchantments, and broken promises force a young spellbreaker out of the shadows in the next thrilling installment of the Spellbreaker series by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician.

England, 1895. An unsolved series of magician murders and opus thefts isn’t a puzzle to Elsie Camden. But to reveal a master spellcaster as the culprit means incriminating herself as an unregistered spellbreaker. When Elsie refuses to join forces with the charming assassin, her secret is exposed, she’s thrown in jail, and the murderer disappears. But Elsie’s hope hasn’t vanished.

Through a twist of luck, the elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey helps Elsie join the lawful, but with a caveat: they must marry to prove their cover story. Forced beneath a magical tutor while her bond with Bacchus grows, Elsie seeks to thwart the plans of England’s most devious criminal—if she can find them.

With hundreds of stolen spells at their disposal, the villain has a plan—and it involves seducing Elsie to the dark side. But even now that her secret is out, Elsie must be careful how she uses the new abilities she’s discovering, or she may play right into the criminal’s hands.

Review

Having loved Spellbreaker last year it was a no brainer I'd pick up the sequel. While I didn't enjoy Spellmaker as much as its predecessor, it was a satisfying ending to the duology.

Spellmaker wasn't a particularly memorable sequel. The story felt methodical, having one thing happening after another to neatly tie up loose ends from book one. My expectations were too high because the climax came up short. The main storyline/mystery was resolved in quite the convenient way. Even the truth to Elsie's abandonment wasn't as twisty as I'd hoped for... Though I was happy the explanation was at least realistic.

One thing that Spellmaker had going for it was Elise and Bacchus's relationship. It bloomed beautifully. After her brief stint in jail, Elsie was understandably pessimistic. Her inner turmoil felt so genuine. "The worst thing about tragedy was being surprised by it." (p. 39) Elsie was extremely apologetic towards Bacchus for most of the story. But slowly with little declarations and some grand gestures, he was able to convince her of his feelings. Most importantly, Bacchus helped Elsie see her own worth. The subtle yet strong emotions to their romance had me swooning.

Spellmaker carefully tied up loose ends and gave its characters closure and happiness. Overall, the duology, with an interesting magic system and a good chase, was a good read.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. Any quotes included in my review were taken from the copy I received.