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Sometimes, I wonder if it’s better to be informed or ignorant. Or, rather, informed and depressed, or ignorant and happy.
Charlie N. Holmberg, Spellbreaker
This book is a part of a two-book series that follows the life of Elsie Camden. A somewhat culmination to the Spellbreaker series, Spellmaker continues the story of Cuthbert Ogden, Bacchus, Master Merton, and Elsie. Set in England in 1895, this world includes aspectors, spellbreakers, runes, and astral projections. I would say it a combination of romance with fantasy.
Even before I begin talking about this book, I would highly recommend that one read the books in order. Spellmaker is continuing the plot where Spellbreaker ended, and it is difficult to comprehend the former without reading the latter. I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The author does a great job of creating a magical world that fits right in with our existing world. I enjoyed this world where certain people could cast spells while others could break them. The author has included minor details like depicting side-effects on people when they use magic extensively and has tried to incorporate elements of 1895. While I felt the book was lagging initially, the plot does pick up. However, I found the ending to be disappointing. It seemed as if the author invested elaborate efforts in building the story and was tired while writing the climax.
Spellbreaker does answer several questions that were raised in Spellmaker. However, it also does create additional questions, some of which never get answered. It does mention on Goodreads that while the author began this as a two-book series, she may consider converting this to a trilogy. As a reader, it terribly disturbs me that not all is clarified, hence leaving behind plot-holes in the story.
I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is not a bad one, however, if you skip this, you are not missing on much.