Reviews with content warning for Murder - Keeper of Enchanted Rooms

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

23 reviews

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

An enjoyable, lighthearted cozy fantasy mystery. For the most part, the anachronisms actually added to the charm, but the complete lack of acknowledgement that slavery was still happening during the book's time periods and in its general area sat poorly with me.

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katkatz's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Utterly charming. Half love story, half magical mystery thriller. A perfect cozy read (minor trigger warnings for violence).

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reallyrosalie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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rachminick's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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kaedau's review

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

⭐️ 4.5 stars ⭐️

This book had me in a chokehold. Every time I picked it up I was utterly engrossed in the story.

The romance! The magic! The found family! Cozy vibes all around (the villian is absolutely horrific though so don’t mistake this story as all sunshine and rainbows, it has DEPTH)

I already want to re-read, but I would more likely than not skip Silas chapters. I felt they weakened the overall
story, and CNH could have left them out (maybe except the prologue) and gotten away with it! Only reason it’s not a 5 star read for me… but seriously this book might make my favorites list.

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lucyswarby's review

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4.5

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bzliz's review

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Merritt Fernsby inherits a remote island estate with a mind of its own. Luckily, Hulda Larkin excels at taming such structures into behaving and if she’s lucky she may just similarly tame the home’s unruly owner. But the house isn’t the only trouble the pair will find on the island as Hulda’s past comes back to haunt her.

The characters are so charming, especially Owein. I love the sweet regency/Victorian era style romance between Hulda and Merritt. Silas Hogwood makes a nasty villain without being a crude caricature; my heart ached for the version of him in the prologue before his obsessive quest for power began.

There’s a great blend of cozy fantasy/mystery with just enough drama and action. I was concerned about the magic system being too complicated (the book begins with an overview of the schools of magic which can sometimes be a red flag for me of something that gets too technical and caught up in its own lore) but those fears were unfounded. Another big point in its favor is that the ending is satisfying and it absolutely can be read standalone if you’re not into series.

Some portions in the middle were a little slow but the only real reason I detracted from the rating was because (spoilers for the ending)

I don’t fully understand Myra’s involvement in Hogwood’s escape. I know it says she was sick and then her sister was sick and he helped her in exchange but her power is seeing into minds. Hulda is haunted by the bodies Hogwood was keeping even years later. Shouldn’t Myra have been equally alarmed at how twisted this guy ended up being? Was it worth getting him out of prison to cause more harm to the world?

Content warnings:
Child abuse, alcoholism (on page):

Immediately in the prologue we see Silas being abused by his drunk father. He finally fights back and this sets in motion his true descent into villainy.

Murder, torture, violence (on page):

Silas is able to use his combination of powers to drain others of theirs, leaving them a shriveled husk that’s somehow still alive and suffering after he’s done his terrible work. He attempts murder on Hulda after lightly stalking her.

Pregnancy (off page):

A fake pregnancy is used to emotionally destabilize Merritt. His life kind of falls apart as a result and he has to find his own way in the world.

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