Keeper of enchanted rooms

Holmberg (Star Mother, 2021) is back with another genre-blending new series. In this world, magic is greatly diminished, so witch Hulda Larkin doesn't have great powers, but she can see into the future. Hulda's day job is with the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms (BIKER), an organization that works to protect and help nonmagical people with magical places. Merritt Fernsby inherited just such a place from his family. His new island house is a mystery that will challenge Hulda: she must work to make Fernsby's house livable while balancing her feelings for the house and its owner; plus, she could swear that she saw an evil figure from her past on the island. Hulda, before taking on her job with BIKER, used to work for a similar organization in England, where she helped to identify a criminal, Silas, who could steal magic from humans and locations. Hulda is not extraordinary, her nemesis is more magically powerful than she is, but she is driven, strong, and complete, and readers will be drawn into her story.

With a sweet feel and wonderfully twisty plot, this historical fantasy from Holmberg (the Star Mother series) hits all the right notes. In an alternate 1846 U.S. where magic is widely known but rarely seen due to the dilution of magical bloodlines, augurist Hulda Larkin, 34, works as a housekeeper for the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms (BIKER). Her job is to ensure that the magical homes in her care are well-behaved and that their occupants are equipped to care for them. This is just the service that non-magical Merritt Fernsby needs. A 31-year-old writer disowned by his family, Merritt is shocked to inherit his grandfather's Rhode Island Whimbrel House. There's just one problem: the house is haunted. Or enchanted. Or maybe it just doesn't like Merritt. So he's grateful when Hulda sweeps in to help him adjust to his new circumstances. While searching for the source of the house's magic, however, a dark time from Hulda's past rears its head, threatening both her and Merritt's safety--and the integrity of the home they've come to cherish. Filled with delightful period details and artfully shaded characters, this whimsical, thoughtful look at magic and its price is the perfect read for a cold fall night. Agent: Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary. (Nov.)

Holmberg's (Star Father) latest work is an atmospheric gothic fantasy set in 1846. Merritt Fernsby has recently inherited a house and island on Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. He thinks this will be the perfect place to work on his next novel, without neighbors or distractions. But when Merritt arrives, the house immediately locks all the doors and windows, preventing him from leaving. Enter Hulda Larkin, who informs Merritt that she has been specially trained by the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms (BIKER) to manage magically haunted houses. First she must learn what, or who, is haunting Merritt's home. What Hulda doesn't know is that an evil figure from her past will complicate matters and might be even more dangerous than an enchanted house. VERDICT Reminiscent of Mary Stewart's period romances, but with a touch of magic and murder. Holmberg's fantasy is enjoyable but doesn't stand out, and the magical system is only cursorily laid out in this series launch.--Laurel Bliss