Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for an advanced review copy of Spellmaker.

This is not a stand-alone book, so make sure you read the first one before picking it up. I didn't do that and had to circle back.

That being said, I enjoyed the world, the magic, the characters, the mystery, and the sweet romance that built throughout the book. As with many other 1800s based fantasies, I found that parts of the story drug a bit, but it's easy to push through those.

The cover of these really drew me in, so if you're thinking about this one...grab book 1 now before this hits the market in March! ( )

Okay, so I gave the first book a 3 star rating. But I loved this book so much. It took me a while to get into the first book, but I jumped right into this one without any problems. I loved the romance part a lot. And the conclusion to the mystery was pretty good. I’m glad the mystery wrapped up nicely even if the way it wrapped up was slightly anticlimactic. These are the first books I’ve read by the author, but I’ll definitely check out her other books now. ( )

Thanks so much to NetGalley and 47North for letting me read and review this intriguing and wonderful story. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I have liked Charlie Holmberg and her writing ever since the first story of hers I read and she continues to get even better and have more awesome stories.
This is the second book in a duology with Spellbreaker being the first book and I think it might be possible to read this without having read the first book, but it would be best to read the first book before reading this one to understand and enjoy all the book and wonderful, enjoyable story.
This is a great story with a unique and very interesting world and magic system very different than any others I have read or heard of before. This second book seemed to focus more on figuring things out with picking up where things left off at the end of the first book and finding who is behind the Cowls and the murders and stolen Opuses and along with going along to solve the mystery was the more intense focus on the relationship and its development between Elsie and Bacchus with one of my favorite tropes in there, but I don't know if I should say much about it because it might be kind of a spoiler and I don't want to ruin anything here.
I love, love, LOVE the relationship between Elsie and Bacchus and it's so swoon-worthy and so well developed and wonderfully done. I'm not usually big on relationships or romances in stories, but I was very invested in this one and found myself focusing on it more than on the mystery with the murders and magic, which was also very interesting, but I was more drawn to the amazing romance between those two.
It's also great seeing the other relationships evolve and develop and such between Elsie and Odgen, who is like her father, and between Elsie and when she finds her brother and then they discover they might have found their sister as well at the end of the story. There are a lot of twists, turns, mystery, romance, adventure, and figuring things out for Elsie and her place in the world, life, her feelings for Bacchus, about her family, and finding where she fits with her magical abilities. It's a very well-written and amazing story that I would highly recommend everyone go out and read the first book, Spellbreaker and then get ready to read the great conclusion with this book when it comes out! ( )

Following the revelations in Spellbreaker, Elsie and Bacchus set out to expose the true villain. They work to figure out the villain's plans and how the American fits into it all while pretending to be engaged. ( )

I'm sad this is a duology. While Elsie and Bacchus' main storyline neatly resolved with a great amount of adventure and stakes, I still want to know how they manage and how all their friends and loved ones get on. Will Elsie find her family? Will Ogden find love and recognition for his skill? Will Emmeline find love?

The magic system in this series is fun and could lend itself to a world-building a la Sanderson. ( )