Keeper of Enchanted Rooms
by Charlie N. HolmbergGenres: Fantasy & Magic
Published on November 1, 2022
Pages: 348
Format: eBook Source: Kindle Unlimited
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.
I do love a sentient house. That’s why I grabbed this book. The world building was excellent. This is an alternative world with some magic users but it is still mostly the 1800s that we know in New England.
When Merritt goes to see the house he has inherited on an island in Rhode Island, he expects to find a ruin. However, the house is in pristine condition despite being uninhabited for close to a hundred years. When he enters though he finds that something is very wrong and then it won’t let him leave.
At the same time, Hulda, a representative from The Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms (BIKER) is dispatched when they learn that a known enchanted house has changed ownership. She arrives to find Merritt trapped in the house. She is determined to put the house in order. She uses charms and stern discipline as befitting a proper housekeeper to stop all this nonsense like furniture melting into the floor.
Gradually they start figuring out the mystery of the house. But just as they think they have it under control, a figure from a case from Hulda’s past appears to try to claim the house’s magic for himself.
This book is cozy and charming. There are also some scarier elements in the villain’s story. There is a slow romance that builds through the book. The main focus though is on the magic and making a found family that includes a magical house.
