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grumpybookdragonfly's review against another edition
4.0
Extraordinary adventure
I thought some things would be predictable. They weren’t. I should have seen other things coming. I didn’t. Spellbinding! And no, I don’t need need a spellbreaker!
I thought some things would be predictable. They weren’t. I should have seen other things coming. I didn’t. Spellbinding! And no, I don’t need need a spellbreaker!
tonisut's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this more than I did. It's a thin plot that relies heavily on the protagonist's obliviousness.
sweetlikesolo's review against another edition
5.0
Great Read!
First couple chapters were a hard read; once you get past that the book is an amazing with a great plot twist at the end.
First couple chapters were a hard read; once you get past that the book is an amazing with a great plot twist at the end.
scsingley's review against another edition
4.0
Mysterious and Captivating
A unique world and a suspenseful plot. I truly enjoyed this story more than I expected to. Also, a good budding romance starteing that I cannot wait to hopefully watch play out in the second book.
A unique world and a suspenseful plot. I truly enjoyed this story more than I expected to. Also, a good budding romance starteing that I cannot wait to hopefully watch play out in the second book.
aquaphase's review against another edition
4.0
This is the story of Elsie Camden, a young woman who was born with the ability to unmake spells much like unraveling a sweater.
Set in a semi-Victorian England, Spellbreaker tells the story of young Elsie and her search for stability in her life. Orphaned by her family, Elsie is rescued from the work house by a mysterious group of magic wielding “Robin Hood-esque” types know as the Cowls. Throwing another monkey into the barrel: Elsie is an unregistered and unlicensed magic user (or un-user as it is), so she must hide her abilities and her mysterious jobs for the Cowls.
One one such mission, Elsie runs afoul of almost Master Spellcaster Bacchus Kelsey. Bacchus catches Elsie red-handed, and, rather than turn her over to the authorities, he “gives her the opportunity” to work off her “crimes” with him on the Duke’s estate where he is currently residing.
All along the way, and a recurring theme in this book, Elsie is frantically searching for some news as to the whereabouts of the family that up and left her so many years before.
Going too much further into the plot would reveal spoilers that I’d rather not divulge.
In Spellbreaker, Ms. Holmberg presents a very well-formed environment with oodles of the backstory I just love in a read. While I would have rather enjoyed some more practical displays of the wider variety of magic use, I can appreciate staying on task with the story because there is a lot to unpack.
The characters are all marvelously charismatic and there is a real feel of everyone’s individuality in their interactions (trust me, this is important).
Topping it all off is the cliffhanger that — if I’m being honest — I did not totally see coming.
My one whiny gripe about duologies (or trilogies, for that matter) is the waiting required to get to the conclusion. Luckily, Spellmaker is due out March 9, 2021, so I only have to wait a few months.
Spellbreaker is a fun little read. It has a nice airy mix of magic, mystery, the scandalous hint of romance and Victorian England. The language is light and quaint, and the whole production has all the fond reminiscences of MASTERPIECE Mystery!.
Set in a semi-Victorian England, Spellbreaker tells the story of young Elsie and her search for stability in her life. Orphaned by her family, Elsie is rescued from the work house by a mysterious group of magic wielding “Robin Hood-esque” types know as the Cowls. Throwing another monkey into the barrel: Elsie is an unregistered and unlicensed magic user (or un-user as it is), so she must hide her abilities and her mysterious jobs for the Cowls.
One one such mission, Elsie runs afoul of almost Master Spellcaster Bacchus Kelsey. Bacchus catches Elsie red-handed, and, rather than turn her over to the authorities, he “gives her the opportunity” to work off her “crimes” with him on the Duke’s estate where he is currently residing.
All along the way, and a recurring theme in this book, Elsie is frantically searching for some news as to the whereabouts of the family that up and left her so many years before.
Going too much further into the plot would reveal spoilers that I’d rather not divulge.
In Spellbreaker, Ms. Holmberg presents a very well-formed environment with oodles of the backstory I just love in a read. While I would have rather enjoyed some more practical displays of the wider variety of magic use, I can appreciate staying on task with the story because there is a lot to unpack.
The characters are all marvelously charismatic and there is a real feel of everyone’s individuality in their interactions (trust me, this is important).
Topping it all off is the cliffhanger that — if I’m being honest — I did not totally see coming.
My one whiny gripe about duologies (or trilogies, for that matter) is the waiting required to get to the conclusion. Luckily, Spellmaker is due out March 9, 2021, so I only have to wait a few months.
Spellbreaker is a fun little read. It has a nice airy mix of magic, mystery, the scandalous hint of romance and Victorian England. The language is light and quaint, and the whole production has all the fond reminiscences of MASTERPIECE Mystery!.
ninepennylane's review against another edition
2.0
Eh
Was hoping for better. Felt like they buried the main characters story to allow for a sequel. Not very captivating until the last 20 pages
Was hoping for better. Felt like they buried the main characters story to allow for a sequel. Not very captivating until the last 20 pages
logickat's review against another edition
1.0
Set in/around London, 1895. The art of spellmaking is relegated mostly to the wealthy and privileged, due to the high cost to learn and obtain spells. Spellbreaking is a natural skill that few are born with. Elsie is a spellbreaker, and she uses her talent to assist an unknown, secretive group. As Elsie becomes entangled in a dark plot involving murder, her world begins to unravel. I enjoyed the story while I was reading it, as the characters were interesting and the storyline engaging. And then the story stops, literally mid-conversation. There is no ending. I feel like I read 60% of an actual novel, not 1/2 of a duology. Very annoying.
brokenrecord's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I liked this, but not as much as I wanted to. Anyways, beyond the main plot, I liked the romance okay, but didn't love it. I weirdly think there either needed to be more romantic development or less. I did feel like Elsie's naiveté made her feel a bit young for Bacchus. Not that he's an inappropriate age (actually I have no idea how old he's supposed to be, so maybe I'm wrong there), but he seemed so much more worldly, so it made their dynamic feel unbalanced at times. But I did like them in general, and the book as a whole. This ended up being a lot of criticism for a book that I found very easy to read, and I may even read the sequel when it comes out. I think my complaints are mostly just due to liking this but feeling like I should've liked it more and trying to figure out exactly why which leads to more criticism than praise for something that I found pretty enjoyable overall.
Spoiler
On the one hand, I feel like it makes sense given her background that Elsie would latch onto the Cowls and Ogden, but at the same time, I got so tired of how incredibly trusting she was of the random assignments the Cowls gave her. Like, unless I'm misremembering (and it's possible, since I finished this book like 2 months ago), they never gave her any proof that what she was doing was actually helping people. They'd just be like, "Break this water charm and you'll be helping people!" and she'd be like "Okay, sounds legit!" and then would do it and never ask any follow-up questions. And while I can understand why she might latch onto any authority figure giving her approval and telling her she was dong great things given how her family abandoned her, I still wanted to shake her a bit because it was just so obvious the Cowls were the bad guys. I mean, ESPECIALLY after Bacchus catches what she's doing and tells her no servants are being held hostage and she seems to believe him and trust him, like… at a certain point you'd think she'd start questioning them more rather than just continuing to do everything they tell her!!!Spoiler
They basically get almost to the point of confessing/realizing feelings or kissing or something, but the end doesn't quite get there, so if they weren't going to end up together in the first book, I would've liked the romantic development to be a little more subtle and develop more gradually. Then again I'm always the one calling for more slow burn romance, so that's mostly just personal preference.tatianac's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
linalaughs's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25