by Charlie N. Holmberg

Rating: 4/5
Note: Special thanks to Thomas Allen & Son for providing a copy for review.

Spellbreaker has one of the most fascinating magic systems I’ve read in a while. Depicting both spellcasters (aspectors) and spellbreakers in a magical yet dreary version of 18th century England, I was captivated by Elsie and Bacchus’ stories.

The characters, although filled with what feels like a couple hundred different side characters, are so well crafted by Charlie N. Holmberg that it is difficult to choose just one favourite. From the helpful and bubbly Emmeline to the father figure in Elsie’s life, Ogden, I couldn’t wait to read on to see what happens to each person. Holmberg has done a wonderful job writing Bacchus’ character and his struggles with attaining full masters status as a spellcaster; I especially love that he has defied the odds of uptight English norms by being good at what he does and, being the ambitious man he is, disregarding the judgements made about his skin colour. The fact that he has to dress a certain way or speak differently in front of his white peers mimics the social injustice of our own modern world. Holmberg’s commentary on racial bias is cleverly highlighted with Bacchus’ character, but at the same time, I feel like she could’ve dived deeper into his back story of how achieving what he wants doesn’t come as easily compared to his white peers. Although this may not be the right genre to discuss discrimination, I was still disappointed by the surface-level detail.

The fact that Elsie is quick-thinking, clever, and sassy made reading through the mound of unnecessary background information less painful. Holmberg has a habit of veering off to describe the most minute feature that adds nothing to the plot; most of these were descriptions of Elsie traveling from one place to another. While descriptive writing is important for all fiction, once I realized I could skip over these details and find that the story still made sense, I gladly sped through pages that were written like this:

“After retrieving her bonnet, she tucked the ledger under her arm and gestured for the lad to lead the way. He did so without word, and walked too slow for Elsie’s liking. She wanted to arrive straightaway…They crossed the street and passed the dressmaker, the courthouse, and the constable’s home. Continued down the road until it narrowed and grew dusty, past a stream, and through a smattering of woods, all the way to the squire’s home” (68).

I’m not sure why Holmberg added so much attention to Elsie moving from place to place, but this story desperately needed time jumps because it was filled with paragraphs of her just walking. These scenes bogged down the incredible plot that was unfolding, and will likely be the cause of some readers dumping this into their DNF pile. Pages 145-146, 162-163, 196-197 are other samples of what I’ve indicated above. What I really craved were more scenes about spellbreaking or spellcasting. I also wanted to learn more information about the mysterious rune hidden inside Bacchus.

All the excitement and action comes much later in the novel; some readers may consider the action placed too far into the book, but I found it very rewarding. This gave proper attention and time for Bacchus and Elsie’s relationship to blossom and make me root for this couple.

I was not a huge fan of Holmberg’s debut novel, but Spellbreaker has changed my mind about her writing. This is a enthralling, magical adventure that is well worth the read.

Reviewed by Ms. Lee