Such a beautiful, warm, and cozy story! Perfect for fall evenings and winter nights!

I really enjoyed this novel. It’s whimsical and a perfect fit if you want to curl up next to a fire place and a glass of wine for the night!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first Charlie N. Holmberg book and it was delightful. The story itself was charming and fresh. The fantastical elements were unique and seemed realistic. The characters were all lovable and genuine. I was invested in everything from the first chapter. There was whimsy, mystery, comedy, and romance. There were some bibliophile related parts that I just loved. It melted my heart the relationships in this book, which was great for cold, winter nights. This is a fast-paced, cozy fantasy that I will surely recommend to others. I will be continuing on with the series and I cannot wait to try some of Holmberg's other books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and 47North for an advance digital reader's copy in exchange for a honest review.

Ich bin nicht dazu gekommen das Buch zu lesen bevor die zeitliche Frist abgelaufen ist. Daher kann ich leider keine Meinung zum Buch abgeben.

Keeper of the enchanted rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg is a fantasy novel with several doctrines of magic. People with magical abilities can either possess one spell and a lot of it or maybe many of them with very little strength in each of them. While we often see different and newer branches of magic in novels, it's seldom seen authors writing about magical houses and how they are to be taken care of.
This particular enchanting storyline has dual plots- one of which has the heir of a very powerful magical family scheming a sinister plan and another one of it being a ghost who was a wizard in life haunting Whimbrel House. The story starts with our writer protagonist inheriting a mansion in a remote island after being cut off by his family several years back because of an affair gone wrong. While he struggles to understand the motives of his newly inherited house, like a knight in the shining armor, a magical housekeeper from BIKER comes to his rescue. Alongwith Hulda, the housekeeper his enchanted journey in the house begins. Both these characters try to explore the whims of the enchanted house while like a dark, sinister undertone another plot slowly unfolds, of the powerful and greedy wizard who sucks away the magic of others to add to his own.
During all these adventures and unfolding of sinister secrets, a sweet love story blossoms between the housekeeper and the master.
Is it a high fantasy? Not really. Not even low fantasy. Is medium fantasy a thing? If yes, then it is that. The magic in this is very much present, the characters do acknowledge that, unlike magical realism, it cherishes and celebrates the magic yet the magical elements are very subtle in most cases. The subtlety makes it more relatable with all the flaws and weaknesses the characters have.
Overall, this is a good fantasy read if you're not looking for some extraordinary elements in your story. I'll give it 3.5 stars out of 5.
Also, I'm super excited to read the second part, which I already have and the credit goes to netgalley of course.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- LOVE the cover on this one!

This is my second 5 star read of the year and it's only January! 🙌🏻 To say I loved this book would be an understatement. It was just a delightful read from beginning to end. Well written and well paced. The setting was atmospheric, magical, cozy. The plot was engaging and original. The characters were likable and well developed. The romance sweet and just the right amount as to not overpower the rest of the story. I have not a single bad thing to say about this one. I can't wait to dive into <b>Heir of Uncertain Magic</b>. 👍🏻👍🏻

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This heartwarming book was completely different to the genre I would normally choose, however I’m so glad I did. It was a wonderful, fun book to curl up with and enjoy over a weekend. I look forward to exploring more of this genre now.

Thank you 47 North and NetGalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

I loved this book. In the beginning I was thinking “hmm I don’t think this is for me” I was wrong. It was the damn best! I loved Hulda, she is like an old school magical Mary Poppins 😂. I think my most fave parts of the books were the houses themselves, they had so much personality and character and I found the magic system to be really fascinating. I don’t think I can say much more without spoilers so make sure when this book becomes available you see for yourself how special it is.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

📖 🖊 Book Review!

I loved this read!

I loved the way the author included magic in people and objects, the fact that it was set back in history, that it had a kind of remote setting without being disconnected entirely, and the main characters drew me right in!

I absolutely loved this story, beginning to end. It was an endearing, heartwarming story, with mystery, romance and magic!

I was sad when this one ended as I really enjoyed the characters and setting. If this became a series, I'd be happy!

I loved the suspense, mystery and plot as I was eager and guessing what would happen next throughout the book.

I'll definitely be looking into more books by this author!

When an author begins a book with a setting in 1800s London, I know it’s going to be something I like. Sometimes all I need to know about a books is that it takes place in the 1800s for me to be interested. But in “Keeper of Enchanted Rooms” by Charlie N. Holmberg, my love for all things magical met my fascination with the Victorian Era.

Merritt Fernsby inherits an old estate on a remote island is Rhode Island but unbeknownst to him, it’s actively enchanted, or some would say, haunted. He immediately knows something is up when he isn’t able to leave the house and bizarre things happen to him like the stairs changing into a slide or the floors shaking. And one day, in walks Hulda Larkin.

Larkin works for the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms and is assigned to undertake Fernsby’s home, to find the source of its magic and turn it into a habitable home.

The two find themselves digging into records associated with the home to find the source and end facing other mysteries within their personal lives, making the novel a perfect blend of unique fantasy, mystery, a little bit of romance and a threat to their wellbeing.

Another clue indicating a good book is a map and description of terms. Holmberg illustrates a blueprint of the house and outlines the 11 doctrines of magic which come into play throughout the story.

In Holmberg’s world, not many people have magical abilities but it’s something everyone learns about in school. The doctrines of magic include: Augury (or fortune-telling), psychometry (mind reading), conjury, necromancy, wardship (protection), element, alteration, communion, hysteria, kinetic and chaocracy (the manipulation of chaos/order, destruction or restoration).

Some may be born with one or more of these abilities. All of these topics could be associated with magic and it’s interesting how Holmberg brings them together in this world.

The world Holmberg creates is one a reader could easily get lost in with rich characters, a compelling story and a few twists. On Goodreads, I noticed she has a sequel coming out this April and it’s definitely something I’ll be checking out.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.

Thank you 47North and NetGalley for the book!

Actual rating 4.5 ⭐

I stumbled this book on one of my blogger friend. She said that this is one of heartwarming historical fantasy book.

We have 2 timelines in this book, first we follow Merritt, the one who inherit Enchanted House and the other timeline follow Silas, dangerous wizard that prisoned for his dangerous act of magic and murder.

I really feel cozy, heartwarming and magical while reading this book. I love how the relationship between this Enhancted House and Merritt develop. The house itself really playful toward Merritt and I love the way Merritt slowly open his heart towards magic and this Enchanted House because Merritt never exposed with magic before.

Not only Merritt and the House, but the relationship with Hulda is also one of my favorite. Both Merritt and Hulda can't open their heart easily toward each other especially Hulda. But I love their moment together. How Hulda or Merritt think about the other at any time, Merritt the one open up to Hulda first and I love to see how they develop their feelings.

I even love the secondary characters here! i think they the perfect addition to the story.

The conflict itself not really big, I mean like it's not really intense and develop really slow. I'm not really satisfied with the peak of conflict because from what I read, Silas is a really powerful wizard. But despite that I still love the ending. I love how the relationship between Hulda and Merritt turn out.

Really recommend for people who want to read easy cozy magical fantasy!

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I’m not a huge fan of fantasy but historical fantasy I can do! The pacing was slow for me until about half way through. I’m glad I stuck with it. I would not be surprised at all if this were made into a show or movie!

I had not read any books from Charlie N. Holmberg before, but I really enjoyed this book. The writing style and the way Whimbrel House was described was so fun to read about. I also loved Merritt and Hulda, and felt their characters and relationship were developed quite well. The only reason why this was not a 5 star read for me was because I felt the story was a bit slow in pace at some parts so those bits weren’t as exciting for me but overall I thought it was a great book that I’m pleased to have read!

This review is for the first book Keeper of Enchanted Rooms as well as Heir of Uncertain Magic, which I read one after the other. Both worked well as stand-alone stories, though there are certainly places for the series to continue. I thought this would be a nice, light-hearted, optimistic series to read over the holidays, and it was. I appreciated that the characters were not teenagers, though they were quite new at romantic relationships. It was interesting to ponder how a woman with a history of nothing but rejection, disinterest, and derision from men could overcome the wisdom of her experience and allow herself to fall vulnerably in love, which from all her reasoning was extremely foolish. That could have all been very grim and depressing, but being familiar with this author, I had faith she wouldn't go there, and it was nice to see a happy ending, or at least a happy middle.

Loved the atmosphere of the magical enchanted house and all it's quirks. I liked Hulda and Merritt and their slow-burn relationship. Don't know that I jived as much with our antagonist's POV chapters and how dark his side of the story gets - a strange juxtaposition with how charming our other half of the story was.

I do wish the history of the magic was better explained or more deeply delved into. There was one line about there being 11 branches of magic, and that this correlated to the 11 apostles of Christ (minus Judas). But so then is that implying that the magic in the world now is from Jesus? It's just weird because the "powers" the Apostles had wasn't their power, it was Jesus working through them, and that just doesn't make sense then that it would be genetic and hereditary. I know this is fantasy but don't give me a ONE LINE about where this magic comes from, basing it off of a real religion, and leave it so absolutely blank about how it actually works. I'd rather you just called it magic, and left it at that, if you're gonna be so vague.

A pleasant enough read and I'll be searching out the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I believe this was my first read by Charlie N. Holmberg, and I really enjoyed it! I'd give it 4.5 stars. The story did take a few chapters to really kick in, but it felt incredibly cozy throughout despite the conflict. I found Merritt, Hulda, and everyone else in the house to be such lovable characters, and I enjoyed learning about them over the course of the novel. Silas's development was interesting as well, and the magic elements really tied everything together. Overall, this is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold and rainy/snowy day!

This was a whimsical, heartwarming, magical read. I was feeling stressed about an upcoming surgery and just wanted to escape. This book was just what the doctor ordered. I was lost in this exceptional world within these pages. The characters were real, quirky, and lovable. I didn’t want the magic of this book to end. I wanted to stay in the house for a long, long time. I do confess that I am typically a psychological thriller reader, and this is not my typical genre, but boy am I glad I visited this world. I now believe in magic and you will too. Thank you to Netgalley for this book!

4.5 stars
This author can do no wrong (imo)!
She did it again. Charlie N. Holmberg has such unique ideas, and they unfold in such a subtle way but always leave me wanting to go back and start all over again. Her novels are all so different from each other, so there should be something there for everybody - and I love all of it .

This new series has magicked houses, a sweet love story, and found family (I just want to give Owein a big hug!). And a sinister sub-plot that brings all the suspends such a cozy fantasy needs.
What’s not to love?!

I enjoyed the setup / concept of this historical fantasy novel. The characters and plot were interesting, and the pace kept moving forward. Thank you to Net Galley and Charlie Holmberg for the ARC.

This was good. I didn't expect how it turned out. I rarely read fantasy and I liked this one.

Merritt inherits a big house from her grand mother. He had no idea why she gave him that particular house. It's on an isolated island and no one ever lived there in hundred years. When he decided to check out the house, he faces his worst nightmares.

As it turns out that the house is one of the enchanted houses, BIKER sends Hulda to investigate it's source of magic and help the owner. Little does that middle-aged woman knows is that this stay is going to change her life for good.

Hulda is a great character and had a good character development. I loved Merritt too.
While the story is good, I had hard time to keep reading. I couldn't read more than a chapter or two at once. I would recommend this if you love fantasy with magic and love.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the copy.