A house of haunted history and ill temper. Make yourself at home in this beguiling novel of love, magic, and danger by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Rhode Island, 1846. Estranged from his family, writer Merritt Fernsby is surprised when he inherits a remote estate in the Narragansett Bay. Though the property has been uninhabited for more than a century, Merritt is ready to call it home--until he realizes he has no choice. With its doors slamming shut and locking behind him, Whimbrel House is not about to let Merritt leave. Ever.
Hulda Larkin of the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms has been trained in taming such structures in order to preserve their historical and magical significance. She understands the dangers of bespelled homes given to tantrums. She advises that it's in Merritt's best interest to make Whimbrel House their ally. To do that, she'll need to move in, too.
Prepared as she is with augury, a set of magic tools, and a new staff trained in the uncanny, Hulda's work still proves unexpectedly difficult. She and Merritt grow closer as the investigation progresses, but the house's secrets run deeper than they anticipated. And the sentient walls aren't their only concern--something outside is coming for the enchantments of Whimbrel House, and it could be more dangerous than what rattles within.
Unravel the secrets to crafting a masterful magic system from best-selling fantasy author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Whether using magic as flavor or as an essential piece of plot, this book will guide fantasy authors, from new to experienced, through the delicate layers of creating, utilizing, and mastering magic systems.
In this book, we will...
With workshops, work pages, and reference materials included, this succinct one-and-done guide to crafting the magical elements of the fantasy genre is a must-have for speculative fiction authors.
If you haven't had the fortune of attending one of Charlie's writing classes (which I have), this is the next best thing. Book of Magic contains so much wit, wisdom, and practical suggestions for helping any beginning author, or veteran, make their magic systems rise up and be noticed. She uses expert examples from other authors you know as well as teaching a masterclass on developing magic systems from scratch based on methods she's invented. You just may need this book to help find out what kind of magic-based diseases might be festering in your neighbor's cabbages. -Jeff Wheeler, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain series
When dead enemies rise, grave matters of the heart, mind, and body clash in the fantastical fourth Whimbrel House novel by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Whimbrel House is changing. Merritt and Hulda are raising a family. Owein has signed a marriage contract with the magically compatible Lady Cora, a heavyweight of British nobility who's an ocean away. And the lovely shape-shifting druid Fallon makes a distractingly fetching friend for Owein. But another change is in the air, and this time it's something wicked.
The greatest wizard of the millennium, Silas Hogwood, is back--after five years dead. New body, same foul scent, and driven by madness and revenge. Owein, fearing he isn't strong enough to fend off Silas, seeks Cora's help and influence in England. Alarms ringing, Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians, including her personal necromancer, to aid in Owein's defense.
As magic, both good and evil, converges on Blaugdone Island, Owein realizes how harrowing the forces against them are. Combating them will require some digging--literally--for half-formed secrets of magic Hulda doesn't want him to have. But no promise, lock, or government red tape will keep Owein from doing what's necessary to protect those he loves. One way or another, Silas will only take Whimbrel House over Owein's third dead body.
A boy like no other embarks on a transformative journey of magic and self-discovery in the next enchanting Whimbrel House novel by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Merritt Fernsby's life has changed considerably since he inherited Whimbrel House. He's engaged to Hulda Larkin, who opened his eyes to the uncanny. And he's grown quite protective of his uncle Owein--several generations, and iterations, removed. Owein is presently inhabiting the body of a mixed-breed terrier when Merritt receives a missive from none other than Alexandrina Victoria, the Queen of England: I am interested in your dog.
It's the queen's duty to the peerage to keep British wizardry empowered. Her offer: England will find a human vessel for Owein, marry him into the royal family, and add this remarkable soul-shifter to its lineage. For Owein, a boy trapped in the body of a pup, it's a dream come true. How can Merritt refuse? However, once they are in London and in consortium with a necromancer, the situation doesn't feel right, both with their hosts and the house they inhabit. Owein is having nightmares. And Hulda's premonitions warn of danger in Merritt's future. Clearly, someone doesn't want them in town.
But after two hundred years of being cursed to drift, Owein is determined to chart his own destiny. He's ready to defy whatever chaos is coming. After all, Owein is the master of chaos, and with Merritt and Hulda's love and magical support, he can overcome anything.
One man is on a journey to unravel his magical lineage in the next spellbinding novel of the Whimbrel House series by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Thanks to house tamer Hulda Larkin, the mischief infesting Whimbrel House has calmed. But if Hulda's job is done, what does that mean for Merritt Fernsby, inheritor of the remote Narragansett Bay estate, who's only now coming to terms with his enchanted place in the world?
Merritt has realized his own burgeoning powers, which draw the thoughts of every plant, insect, and dog. His nights are sleepless, with an uncontrollable cacophony of voices that compel a long-overdue search into his uncanny bloodline. It's not the only puzzle uniting Merritt and his ex-housekeeper, Hulda. Her friend and former employer at the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms has disappeared. Hulda herself is up for the now-vacant position of institute director, and her rival for the role is a stranger who's suspiciously curious about Whimbrel House--and could have connections to an old foe.
As Merritt struggles to face his estranged family and Hulda dives into the institute's secrets, the two are brought intimately closer than ever into the mysteries of wizardry, chaos, and love.
For a young woman who wields the power of fear, humanity's greatest enemy is her only hope in a new romantic, adventure-filled fantasy by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Seven years on the run from her abusive father, and with no hope of sanctuary among the dwindling pockets of human civilization, Lark is out of options. Her only leverage is a cursed power: she can thrust fear onto others, leaving all threats fleeing in terror. It's a means of survival as she searches for a place to call home. If the campfire myths of her childhood are true, Lark's sole chance for refuge could lie in Cagmar, the city of trolls--a brutal species and the sworn enemies of humanity.
Valuing combat prowess, the troll high council is intrigued. Lark could be much more useful than the low-caste humans who merely labor in Cagmar. Her gift makes her invaluable as a monster slayer to fight off the unspeakable creatures that torment the trolls' hanging city, suspended from a bridge over an endless dark canyon.
Lark will do anything to make Cagmar her home, but her new role comes with a caveat: use her power against a troll, and she'll be killed. Her loyalty is quickly put to the test when she draws the hatred of a powerful troll who loathes humankind. Still, she finds unexpected friendship in the city and, even more surprisingly, love. But if everything else doesn't undo her, being caught in the arms of a troll surely will. Now in the fight of her life, Lark has a lot to learn--about her past, about trust and hope when all seems lost, and above all, about the extraordinary power of fear itself.
An ancient machine holds the secrets of a distant world's past for two intimate strangers in the latest romantic fantasy adventure by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Pell is an engineer and digger by trade--unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She'll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before.
Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. The tower's other riddle is Heartwood himself. He is an enigma, distant yet protective, to whom Pell is inexplicably drawn.
Pell's restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions--and the discovery that her relationship to it could finally reveal the origins of the tower's strange keepers and the unfathomable reason the truth has been hidden from her.
Charlie is a vibrant writer with an excellent voice and great world building. I thoroughly enjoyed the Paper Magician. --Brandon Sanderson, author of Mistborn and The Way of Kings
Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she's bonded to paper, that will be her only magic...forever.
Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined--animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.
An Excisioner--a practitioner of dark, flesh magic--invades the cottage and rips Thane's heart from his chest. To save her teacher's life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane's still-beating heart--and reveal the very soul of the man.
From the imaginative mind of debut author Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician is an extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight readers of all ages.
An ancient machine holds the secrets of a distant world's past for two intimate strangers in the latest romantic fantasy adventure by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Pell is an engineer and digger by trade--unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She'll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before.
Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. The tower's other riddle is Heartwood himself. He is an enigma, distant yet protective, to whom Pell is inexplicably drawn.
Pell's restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions--and the discovery that her relationship to it could finally reveal the origins of the tower's strange keepers and the unfathomable reason the truth has been hidden from her.
Three months after returning Magician Emery Thane's heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony's thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn't broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness.
When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it...even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers...and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands.
The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg's The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike.
Unravel the secrets to crafting a masterful magic system from best-selling fantasy author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Whether using magic as flavor or as an essential piece of plot, this book will guide fantasy authors, from new to experienced, through the delicate layers of creating, utilizing, and mastering magic systems.
In this book, we will...
With workshops, work pages, and reference materials included, this succinct one-and-done guide to crafting the magical elements of the fantasy genre is a must-have for speculative fiction authors.
If you haven't had the fortune of attending one of Charlie's writing classes (which I have), this is the next best thing. Book of Magic contains so much wit, wisdom, and practical suggestions for helping any beginning author, or veteran, make their magic systems rise up and be noticed. She uses expert examples from other authors you know as well as teaching a masterclass on developing magic systems from scratch based on methods she's invented. You just may need this book to help find out what kind of magic-based diseases might be festering in your neighbor's cabbages. -Jeff Wheeler, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain series
Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she's kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She's discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own--an ability long thought impossible.
While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician's exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony's past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.
The whimsical and captivating follow-up to The Paper Magician and The Glass Magician, The Master Magician will enchant readers of all ages.
A world of enchanted injustice needs a disenchanting woman in an all-new fantasy series by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician.
The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells and those, like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.
Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She'll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn't turn her in. Working together, Elsie's trust in--and fondness for--the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the rise in the murders of wizards and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.
For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there's so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she's destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it's too late to save everything she loves?
A Wall Street Journal bestseller.
Dead wizards, stolen enchantments, and broken promises force a young spellbreaker out of the shadows in the next thrilling installment of the Spellbreaker series by the bestselling author of The Paper Magician.
England, 1895. An unsolved series of magician murders and opus thefts isn't a puzzle to Elsie Camden. But to reveal a master spellcaster as the culprit means incriminating herself as an unregistered spellbreaker. When Elsie refuses to join forces with the charming assassin, her secret is exposed, she's thrown in jail, and the murderer disappears. But Elsie's hope hasn't vanished.
Through a twist of luck, the elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey helps Elsie join the lawful, but with a caveat: they must marry to prove their cover story. Forced beneath a magical tutor while her bond with Bacchus grows, Elsie seeks to thwart the plans of England's most devious criminal--if she can find them.
With hundreds of stolen spells at their disposal, the villain has a plan--and it involves seducing Elsie to the dark side. But even now that her secret is out, Elsie must be careful how she uses the new abilities she's discovering, or she may play right into the criminal's hands.
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg returns to the enchanting world of The Paper Magician.
Alvie Brechenmacher has arrived in London to begin her training in Polymaking--the magical discipline of bespelling plastic. Polymaking is the newest form of magic, and in a field where there is so much left to learn, every Polymaker dreams of making the next big discovery.
Even though she is only an apprentice, Alvie is an inventor at heart, and she is determined to make as many discoveries--in as short a time frame--as she can. Luckily for her, she's studying under the world-renowned magician Marion Praff, who is just as dedicated as Alvie is.
Alvie's enthusiasm reinvigorates her mentor's work, and together they create a device that could forever change Polymaking--and the world. But when a rival learns of their plans, he conspires to steal their invention and take the credit for it himself.
To thwart him, Alvie will need to think one step ahead. For in the high-stakes world of magical discovery, not everyone plays fair...
Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn't know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.
When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch's gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.
During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is--as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.
From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption.
Desperate to save her siblings from poverty, a young woman discovers magic fueled by gold . . . and a love for the man who wields it.
Abandoned by their father for the gold rush, Gentry and her siblings labor to survive alone in the inhospitable west. When bizarre natural disasters begin wreaking havoc on the land, Gentry discovers a world of magic. Desperate for help, she accepts aid from a mysterious stranger.
Winn not only sees the magic, but controls its hunger by feeding it gold-the very thing Gentry's father left to acquire. But the earth's unrest only grows worse, and Gentry's fear leads her to a terrible choice: marry a wealthy man she does not love, or trust in Winn's unpredictable power to save her family.
From the author of the bestselling Paper Magician and Spellbreaker series, this book will appeal to lovers of historical romance, fantasy, and Studio Ghibli.
For a young woman who wields the power of fear, humanity's greatest enemy is her only hope in a new romantic, adventure-filled fantasy by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Seven years on the run from her abusive father, and with no hope of sanctuary among the dwindling pockets of human civilization, Lark is out of options. Her only leverage is a cursed power: she can thrust fear onto others, leaving all threats fleeing in terror. It's a means of survival as she searches for a place to call home. If the campfire myths of her childhood are true, Lark's sole chance for refuge could lie in Cagmar, the city of trolls--a brutal species and the sworn enemies of humanity.
Valuing combat prowess, the troll high council is intrigued. Lark could be much more useful than the low-caste humans who merely labor in Cagmar. Her gift makes her invaluable as a monster slayer to fight off the unspeakable creatures that torment the trolls' hanging city, suspended from a bridge over an endless dark canyon.
Lark will do anything to make Cagmar her home, but her new role comes with a caveat: use her power against a troll, and she'll be killed. Her loyalty is quickly put to the test when she draws the hatred of a powerful troll who loathes humankind. Still, she finds unexpected friendship in the city and, even more surprisingly, love. But if everything else doesn't undo her, being caught in the arms of a troll surely will. Now in the fight of her life, Lark has a lot to learn--about her past, about trust and hope when all seems lost, and above all, about the extraordinary power of fear itself.
Desperate to save her siblings from poverty, a young woman discovers magic fueled by gold . . . and a love for the man who wields it.
Abandoned by their father for the gold rush, Gentry and her siblings labor to survive alone in the inhospitable west. When bizarre natural disasters begin wreaking havoc on the land, Gentry discovers a world of magic. Desperate for help, she accepts aid from a mysterious stranger.
Winn not only sees the magic, but controls its hunger by feeding it gold-the very thing Gentry's father left to acquire. But the earth's unrest only grows worse, and Gentry's fear leads her to a terrible choice: marry a wealthy man she does not love, or trust in Winn's unpredictable power to save her family.
From the author of the bestselling Paper Magician and Spellbreaker series, this book will appeal to lovers of historical romance, fantasy, and Studio Ghibli.
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg builds her bewitching world of beasts and betrayal as the Numina Series continues.
Sandis has escaped Kazen's grasp, but she finds herself unmoored, reeling from her thief friend Rone's betrayal.
Kazen has been hurt but not stopped, and he'll do anything to summon the monster that could lay waste to the entire world. Sandis knows she must be the one to stop him, but with her own trusted numen now bound to another, and finding herself with no one she can trust, she is in desperate need of allies. Rone seems determined to help her, but Sandis has no intention of letting him get close to her again. What she doesn't know is how much Rone gave up to protect her. Or how much more he is willing to give up to keep her safe.
As chaos mounts, Sandis must determine whom to trust. After all, the lines between enemy and ally have never been less clear...and corruption lurks in the most unlikely of places.