Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

Narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb, Graham Halstead and Nicholas Boulton

I love audiobooks that use different narrators for different characters who have their own points-of-view within the story. Not only does it help differentiate whose head we might be in at any given time, but it really helps me flesh out the characters. The three narrators for Charlie N. Holmberg’s Keeper of Enchanted Rooms book one in the new Whimbrel House series manage to capture each of the main character’s unique mannerisms and personalities.

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms is set in a world where magic exists, although it has been growing weaker and weaker due to “dilution” through generations of magical and non-magical breeding. Not only do people have the ability to perform magic, but buildings and houses and other inanimate objects can contain their own magical abilities. Such is the case with Whimbrel House, a property left to protagonist Merritt Fernsby by his estranged grandmother. Merritt is at first thrilled to find out that he’s a homeowner, then horrified when he arrives to find that Whimbrel House seems intent on killing him. He quickly determines that he’s not up to the task of owning a haunted house, but when he attempts to leave, Whimbrel House holds him prisoner.

Luckily for Merritt, the Boston Institute of the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms has Whimbrel House on its radar. For centuries, BIKER and its parent organization have worked to preserve magical homes, and Hulda Larkin is one of its best. She heads to Whimbrel House in order to learn about its magical sources and to help Merritt settle in, serving as his temporary housekeeper. She arrives in time to rescue him, and her matter-of-fact acceptance of Whimbrel House’s crazy behaviour convinces Merritt that he might be able to make peace with his new home. Using her own magical abilities, Hulda works to suss out the source of the house’s magic, a job that proves to be more of a challenge than she expected. But even more of a challenge for Hulda is suppressing her growing feelings for Merritt.

While Merritt and Hulda explore the mysteries of Whimbrel House, a man from Hulda’s past sets out on a path of revenge. Silas Hogwood is determined to destroy Hulda for the part she played in his imprisonment, and he plans on taking Whimbrel House’s magic for himself.

If you are looking for a racy romance or even a major focus on the love story, this might not be the book for you. Hulda and Merritt keep things very, very chaste, so much so that the romance is definitely a secondary story until pretty near the end. I believe their love story progresses in the book’s sequel, Heir of Uncertain Magic. That said, I still enjoyed the evolution of the couple’s relationship from business partners to genuine allies heading for something more.

I also really liked the worldbuilding of the book, with its inclusion of magic as something normal yet rare. The book version of Keeper of Enchanted Rooms contains a handy reference table in the front that explains the various magical areas and what they each entail, and I found myself wishing that I could access that more easily than is possible in the audio version. While it’s not critical to completely understand all the different magical factions, the system is complicated enough that things can get confusing. I especially enjoyed the antics of Whimbrel House, which at first started off as fairly nefarious but soon took on a mischievous quality that made a lot of sense as the house’s secrets and sources of magic are revealed.

The narration for this book was excellent, with three narrators each taking a point-of-view character. Amanda Leigh Cobb absolutely conveyed Hulda’s formal, clipped manner, but her light tone kept the character positive and likable. Nicholas Boulton infused Silas Hogwood’s scenes with menace and intensity. My only quibble might be with Graham Halstead’s Merritt, and only because Mr. Halstead’s voice simply did not match the image I had of Merritt in my head. Otherwise his delivery was spot on.

I can happily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys whimsical magic and a bit of a mystery, and I look forward to listening to the next book in the series.

Jenna