Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

A Spoiler Free Review

I would kind of like to be Hulda when I grow up. I have always enjoyed characters like her. The no-nonsense, neat as a pin, teacher-y types. Hulda, McGonagall, Mary Poppins… I’ve been very attached to these characters since I became familiar with the type.

Anyway, I was very drawn into this Keeper of Enchanted Rooms. Loved it almost from the first sentence. It’s pretty damn delightful. A comfort read, really. Not overly much happens for much of the book, which was a nice change of pace for me. Just kind of, slice of life in a slightly magical world.

Silas Hogwood is a slower-paced villain, almost overshadowed by the relationship issues between Hulda and Merritt. Well, more than “almost.” I’d say he’s the villain while the antagonist is Hulda and Merritt’s inability to actually talk to each other. Silas had the misfortune of having an abusive family and his motivations make sense, even if his solution is absolutely reprehensible.

I love the Whimbrel House. He/She’s great, for an enchanted house. The concept’s good, too. Rarely are the enchanted houses featured. They just kind of exist. This one has personality and is quite cute once Hulda and Merritt get a handle on him/her. I won’t go into that more, though, as it is definitely a spoiler.

I feel like I should talk about Merritt, as he’s kind of the driving force behind the plot but… he’s kind of boring. Characters like him are honestly a dime a dozen. He’s an eccentric male author who’s basically just a large child. Nothing especially interesting there. Same with Beth and Baptiste. They’re just kind of there. Mostly background color to Hulda and Whimbrel House.

I would very much like to go on a little rant about burgeoning relationships and twists regarding those relationships, but upon further reflection, that would be a spoiler. Suffice to say: I fucking HATE relationship twists caused by people NOT talking to each other properly. I think they largely aren’t handled well. This one had a bit of a plot reason for happening (Hulda goes on a research binge during it), but it really bugged me as soon as it started. Also not entirely sure how I would have fixed it, but it still bugged me.

Anyway… Keeper of Enchanted Rooms is a whimsical romance that kind of sneaks up on you. Kind of. Of course the book centered on a male and female protagonist with very little going on is going to end up as a romance. Of course it is. Not that it’s bad. It’s not, just typical, is all. But yeah, Keeper of Enchanted Rooms is a nice, mostly chill read that I really enjoyed.

In Other News

I have finished another OviPets project!

 

This is Mokumon. Based on the Digimon of the same name. Part of my "Village of Beginnings" project and overall giant Digimon project. Took me a little under a year to complete.