Looking For a Good Book

I really like Charlie N. Holmberg’s books. She is a fantastic fantasy writer, and I particularly enjoy the way she combines magic, romance, history, and just a little bit of darkness into her stories. I might easily place two of her books in my top ten favorites. The Whimbrel House series, however, is not among my favorites, so I was looking to Lady of Uncanny Charms with some trepidation. This is the fifth and final book in the Whimbrel House series.

This time the story focuses primarily on Owein and Cora. Owein has arrived in England expecting to marry Cora, but Queen Victoria has other plans for him. She wants to use Owein and his unusual magical abilities for her own purposes, leaving Cora to figure out what is happening and how she can help him. Before long, the two of them are caught up in a much larger magical conspiracy.

There is a lot to like here. Holmberg has created a really interesting magical world, and I continue to enjoy the way magic is woven into an alternate version of Victorian England. The combination of historical setting and fantasy works very well, and Holmberg does a good job of creating an atmosphere that can be cozy one moment and rather dark the next. That darkness has been one of my favorite things about this series.

I also enjoyed watching Owein and Cora’s relationship develop. Both characters have grown throughout the series, and this book gives them an opportunity to finally deal with some of the challenges that have been building for them. Owein in particular has come a long way from the character we first met.

That said, I don’t think this is Holmberg’s best series. I enjoyed the Whimbrel House books, but I have enjoyed some of her other work more. Lady of Uncanny Charms also felt a little uneven to me. Some of the story moves along very slowly, while other parts seem to rush through things that I would have liked to see developed more. A few of the storylines from earlier books are also wrapped up rather quickly.

Still, I am glad I read it. There is plenty of Holmberg’s trademark charm here, and I enjoyed getting to see how Owein and Cora’s story ended. It is a solid conclusion to a series that has provided some entertaining fantasy, even if it isn’t the series I would recommend first to someone new to Charlie N. Holmberg.

Looking for a good book? If you enjoy historical fantasy with magic, romance, and a little bit of darkness, Lady of Uncanny Charms by Charlie N. Holmberg is certainly worth checking out (but know it’s the final book in a series). And if you have already read the first four Whimbrel House books, you will want to see how everything comes together.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

3.5 stars

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Lady of Uncanny Charms

author: Charlie N. Holmberg

series: Whimbrel House #5

publisher: 47North

ISBN: 9781662531224

paperback, 299 pages