Review: MAGIC BITTER, MAGIC SWEET by Charlie N. Holmberg

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 306 pgs

Rating: 5!

Audience: Adult (Clean) Genre: Fantasy Length: 306 pgs Rating: 5! I'm just a big fat Charlie Holmberg fan. I remember the first thing I read of hers, THE PAPER MAGICIAN of course. I'd planned on reat IMMEDIATELY and loved it with all my heart. 

MBMS is just...awesome. I loved the gentle fantasy to it, the heartbreak, and the lessons learned, the sweetness, the bitterness (ha!) the love, the sighs. Just great. And I won't tell you about the part I MOST MOST connected with, because that would be spoilery and I'm not mean like that. 

Content:
Language - 0
Sex - 1 (Mentions of character's {committed} relationship activities ;) )
Violence - 2 (Non-graphic discussions of slave violence, an attack on a village.)
Overall Rating - PG-13

Review: THE PAPER MAGICIAN by Charlie N. Holmberg (47North, 2014)

From Charlie's Site: 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.

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Fantasy, Historical
Length: 224 pgs

Rating: 5 (I really loved it!)

Review: I had so many "have to" reads behind this book that is was a physical relief to pick up something I'd really been looking forward too. Charlie didn't disappoint me. Even though she and I have bonded over BYU football and our shared admiration for Jimmer Fredette, this review is purely objective. Promise.
This is set in a base Victorian time period, which you all know I L-O-V-E. It was perfect. Besides a couple minor, minor things that seemed a bit too modern, it was a great setting. And since the setting is fantastical, that doesn't even matter. It's unique. The fantasy world is incredible and the world-inside-the-world is perfect too. I could picture everything so well. It has a dash of a love story, which I think is a must, of course, that really rounds the entire thing out. You will not regret picking this one up. I flew through it in just a few nights.

Content:
Sex - 0
Language - 0
Violence - 2 (The scene where Mg. Thane's heart is ripped out is described. There are magical battles. Nothing overly graphic.)
Content Rating - PG

Try this. If you liked The Paper Magician you should read Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

NEW cover review for THE PAPER MAGICIAN by Charlie N. Holmberg

My friend Charlie's book THE PAPER MAGICIAN has a new, awesome cover. Now the first one was pretty grand, but I this one is amazing. I love it! And Charlie says I can share it with you all! You're going to love it too, I know.

Isn't it FANTASTIC? I love everything about it. Everything. I think, Charlie, I might even like it better than the first. It makes me hope so so much that my book gets a really fantastic cover too. :D

ABOUT THE BOOK:

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.

* * *

Homegrown in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie with three sisters who also have boy names. She writes fantasy novels and does freelance editing on the side. She’s a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, and owns too many pairs of glasses.

Links

Website * Twitter * Amazon  

Cover Reveal: THE PAPER MAGICIAN by Charlie Holmberg

I still remember the day I *met* Charlie. She left a comment on a post I'd written about THE GAME PLAN and how it was inspired by BYU basketball player Jimmer Fredette. She said she'd been at BYU while he was and been in on the hype. It was friendship at first sight. I immediately went over to Twitter and found her.

When Charlie got her agent, I was very excited for her. Then her book sold. MORE EXCITEMENT! Today I am so happy to be part of revealing the cover for Charlie's book, THE PAPER MAGICIAN.

About the book: 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.

And now, the cover...

SO pretty, right??

Congrats, Charlie! So excited for you!

Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. In addition to writing fantasy novels, she is also a freelance editor. She graduated from BYU, plays the ukulele, owns too many pairs of glasses, and hopes to one day own a dog. The Paper Magician is her debut novel and the first in a whimsical series exploring a world of magicians who animate manmade materials. She currently lives with her family in Utah * CharlieNHolmberg.com

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