Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order – Complete Reading Guide

Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order is one of those rare series guides that doesn’t require a conspiracy board, a color-coded timeline, or a whispered warning from a fandom elder.

Charlie N. Holmberg’s Spellbreaker duology is a historical fantasy with an addictive “Victorian England, but make it magical” energy—where spellcasting is regulated, class divides are literally enchanted into society, and our heroine’s power is illegal… because she can break spells instead of cast them.

At the center: Elsie Camden, an orphaned spellbreaker working with an underground group (the Cowls), and Bacchus Kelsey, an elite magic user whose world starts to crack open the moment he meets her. What begins as a bargain grows teeth—murders, stolen spellbooks, and a dangerous education in what magic costs when society is built to keep it in the wrong hands.

So yes: you can read this quickly. But the best experience—the one that keeps the romance, mystery, and power-discovery arc hitting in the right order—is still the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order.

Quick Answer (TL;DR)

If you’re looking for the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, the good news is: it’s simple, clean, and spoiler-safe.

Read the duology in this order:

1. Spellbreaker (Book 1)
2. Spellmaker (Book 2)

It’s a two-book series (a completed duology), and the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order matches publication order.

If you’re newer to reading orders (publication vs chronological vs “recommended”), you’ll also like our guides on how reading orders work in the real world—like this plain-English breakdown of publication

Quick Facts

Quick Fact	Details
Series	Spellbreaker Duology (2 books)
Author	Charlie N. Holmberg
Setting	Victorian-era England (late 1800s vibe; Book 2 explicitly 1895)
Total pages	~605 pages total (varies slightly by edition)
Book 1 length	~304 pages
Book 2 length	~301 pages
Estimated read time	~10–14 hours total (depending on pace)
Reading difficulty	Easy-to-moderate (accessible prose, plot-forward pacing)
Genre	Historical fantasy, mystery elements, romantic fantasy
Content warnings	Murder/death, imprisonment, classism, sexism, violence (non-graphic), threat/coercion, romantic tension
Media adaptations	None announced/in development for Spellbreaker
Ideal age range	14+ (older teen & adult—tone is adult, content is manageable for mature teens)

About the Spellbreaker Book Series

The elevator pitch for the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order guide is this:

• Magic is regulated and bought (and therefore controlled by power and money).
• Spellbreakers are born with the ability to undo enchantments—and in this world, that’s threatening enough to be criminal.
• Elsie is basically a magical outlaw with Robin Hood instincts, working from the shadows to push back against a society designed to keep common people powerless.
• Bacchus is the polished “legal magic” side of the system… until he discovers the system is rotting from the inside.

What makes this duology especially satisfying in the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order is how neatly it escalates:

• Book 1 establishes the rules, the bargain, and the slow-burn trust.
• Book 2 explodes the consequences—public exposure, higher stakes, deeper magic training, and the cost of choosing the “right” side when the villain offers power.

And because it’s a duology, the momentum is chef’s kiss: you’re never far from a payoff.

Spellbreaker Books at a Glance

Spellbreaker Chronological Reading Order

1) Spellbreaker (Book 1)

If you’re following the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, you start here—because this is where Elsie’s entire world is defined: what spellbreaking is, why it’s illegal, and what it costs her to use it.

What it’s about (without ruining the fun):
Elsie Camden is an orphan with a rare ability—she can break spells. In a world where magic is a commodity and status symbol, spellbreaking isn’t just “unregulated.” It’s disruptive. It’s dangerous. It’s a threat.

She’s recruited by an underground group (the Cowls) to use her gift against the aristocracy—undoing enchantments that keep the wealthy powerful and the poor trapped. That setup alone gives the story its best flavor: Elsie isn’t trying to become a queen of magic. She’s trying to survive while doing what feels right.

Then Bacchus Kelsey enters: an elite magic user on the edge of his mastership. He catches Elsie breaking an enchantment—meaning he catches her committing a magical crime.

The bargain trope is done right here:
To protect herself, Elsie offers a deal: she’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. And this is where the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order really matters—because the relationship growth isn’t instant-love or plot-convenience. It’s earned through proximity, shared secrets, and watching each other choose integrity when it costs something.

What you’ll feel while reading:

• A bright, readable voice with a strong “just one more chapter” pull
• A class-divided magical society that’s easy to picture
• A slow-build romance with real tension and consequences
• A mystery thread that keeps tightening: dead wizards, stolen spellbooks, and a sense that Elsie’s gift is only the surface of what she is

Why it works as Book 1 in the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order:
Because it’s the foundation book. It teaches you the rules. It makes you care about Elsie. And it makes Bacchus more than a “handsome authority figure”—he becomes a question mark: Is he part of the system… or the crack in it?

2) Spellmaker (Book 2)

The second step in the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order is where everything turns from “secret magic and risky bargains” into public consequences.

What it’s about (spoiler-safe):
Book 2 is explicitly set in England, 1895, and the murders + thefts from Book 1 are no longer background tension—they’re a pressure cooker.

Elsie knows something is wrong. She also knows that exposing a master spellcaster could expose herself as an unregistered spellbreaker. And when she refuses to join forces with someone dangerous (and charming in the worst way), she’s outed, jailed, and thrown into a situation where the “rules” of her life change overnight.

Enter Bacchus again—because this series loves forcing two people to choose each other when it’s inconvenient.

One of the biggest shifts:
Elsie’s magic is no longer a hidden talent she uses like a lockpick. In Spellmaker, her abilities expand—and that expansion becomes both a weapon and a trap. When the villain has stolen spells and plans to seduce Elsie to the dark side, the conflict isn’t just “good vs evil.”

It’s: What does power do to someone who’s been denied it her entire life?

Relationship arc (why Book 2 hits emotionally):
This isn’t a romance that exists only to make the plot cute. The romance is woven into the moral spine:

• trust vs survival
• protection vs control
• partnership vs sacrifice
• love vs the temptation to finally stop being powerless

Why this is the required second step in Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order:
Because it completes Elsie’s transformation—from a rogue spellbreaker with a cause to a woman forced to decide what kind of power she’ll become.

And because it’s the payoff book. The mysteries sharpen. The dangers become personal. The love story becomes a choice with teeth.

(And yes: it’s published March 9, 2021, with ~301 pages depending on edition.)

Series Timeline & Character Development

Following the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order gives you the cleanest view of what this story actually is: Elsie Camden’s evolution.

Elsie’s arc: from “survival with principles” to “power with responsibility”

In Book 1, Elsie’s spellbreaking feels like a tool she’s careful with—something she uses to help the Cowls and keep herself alive. She’s constantly balancing:

• doing good
• staying hidden
• not getting caught
• not trusting too much

By Book 2, the series asks a bigger, scarier question:
What happens when Elsie can’t stay hidden anymore?
When her identity is exposed, her gift stops being a private risk—and becomes a public weapon. That shift is why the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order matters: you watch the pressure increase in the correct sequence.

Bacchus’s arc: from “elite magician” to “man choosing his own ethics”

Bacchus starts as someone shaped by the system. He’s an “approved” magic user, pursuing mastership, living inside the rules.

But his relationship with Elsie forces him to confront the system’s hypocrisy. The longer he spends near a spellbreaker, the more he’s forced to see:

• who the laws protect
• who the laws punish
• what “legal” actually means when morality is inconvenient

In the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, Bacchus’s development is one of the most satisfying slow reveals—because he doesn’t become good in one speech. He becomes good through repeated choices.

The series timeline, simplified (spoiler-light)

• Book 1: Elsie’s secret life + bargain with Bacchus; magical class tensions; murders and stolen spellbooks enter the frame.
• Book 2 (1895): the threat becomes organized and personal; Elsie’s identity is exposed; stakes become national-scale; Elsie’s magic deepens; the villain’s temptation intensifies.

If you enjoy tracking how characters change across a series, you’ll probably also like our deeper “arc-forward” guides—like our Empyrean series reading order guide where character growth and power progression is half the fun. Sitemap

Novels sorted in order of in-universe events

Because this is a duology, the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order is straightforward:

1. Spellbreaker
2. Spellmaker

That’s the full in-universe timeline. No prequels. No mid-series novellas. No “read Book 1.5 after Chapter 17.”

Novels sorted in order of publication

Again, the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order matches publication order:

#	Title	Publication Date	Amazon Buy Link
1	Spellbreaker	Nov 1, 2020	Buy On Amazon
2	Spellmaker	Mar 9, 2021	Buy On Amazon

Companion Works

There aren’t official companion novellas that you need to read to understand the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order duology. It’s designed to stand on its own.

But if you finish and want more of Holmberg’s vibe—“romance + high-concept magic + readable pacing”—these are strong next steps:

• The Paper Magician series (the one that first made many readers fall in love with Holmberg’s style)
• Whimbrel House series (cozier, romantic, magical)
• Standalones like Star Mother / newer works (if you like genre blending)

If you’re in a mood for shorter completed fantasy experiences, you may also like our list of fantasy series under 1200 pages—it’s perfect for getting that “I finished something” dopamine without committing to a 14-book saga. Sitemap

Editions & Formats (hardcover, collector, audio)

If you’re reading the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, format is mostly preference—there’s no “bonus chapter only in hardcover” situation you need to worry about.

Common formats you’ll find

• Kindle / ebook (easy binge-read option)
• Paperback (47North editions are widely available)
• Audiobook (available for both titles; popular for commuters)

Hardcover / collector editions?

You may see special editions in certain regions or languages, but the standard English releases are most commonly referenced in paperback + ebook + audio listings. If you’re shopping for “collector” vibes, the safest path is:

• look for special printings (sprayed edges, illustrated endpapers) from specialty sellers
• check the author’s store for signed copies (when in stock)

Why Read Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order?

Because the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order is the series as designed—emotionally and structurally.

Here’s what you gain:

1) The mystery escalation lands correctly

Book 1 plants murders and stolen spellbooks as dread.
Book 2 turns dread into consequences.
Reverse it and you’d ruin the tension curve.

2) The romance has a clean emotional build

The bargain → the trust → the bond → the “we’re in too deep now” commitment.
In the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, every relationship beat makes sense because the characters have earned it.

3) Elsie’s power growth stays satisfying, not confusing

Book 1 shows what she can do.
Book 2 expands what she is.
That only feels powerful if you’ve watched her start from “illegal and hunted.”

4) You avoid unnecessary spoilers

Even small revelations in Book 2 are designed to reframe Book 1. The Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order protects those “ohhh” moments.

Author Spotlight: Charlie N. Holmberg

Charlie N. Holmberg is known for writing fantasy that feels both high-concept and incredibly readable—the kind you pick up “just to try” and then suddenly it’s 1:30 a.m. and you’re negotiating with yourself for one more chapter.

She’s a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author, and her bibliography includes:

• The Paper Magician series
• Spellbreaker series
• Whimbrel House series
  …and more, including works published in 20+ languages.

A few details readers love:

• She’s a BYU alumna and was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters with “boy names.”
• She lives in Utah with her family.

What’s especially relevant for Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order readers is her signature approach:

• a clever magical premise
• a grounded emotional core
• a romantic thread that supports (not smothers) the plot
• pacing that rewards binge reading

Media Adaptations (films, TV, radio)

As of the latest public updates, nothing is currently in the works specifically for Spellbreaker adaptations.

However, Holmberg’s work has drawn adaptation interest in the past—Disney acquired film rights to The Paper Magician back in 2016 (separate from Spellbreaker).

So the appetite is there… but for Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, assume book-only for now.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

If you came here for the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, you’re in luck: this is one of the simplest “reading order” wins on the internet—two books, one clean line, maximum payoff.

But simple doesn’t mean shallow.

In the Spellbreaker Books in Chronological Order, you get:

• a heroine whose power is illegal because it threatens the people in charge
• a morally charged magical society built on money and permission
• a romance that grows through trust, not convenience
• a mystery that sharpens instead of wandering
• a complete story you can finish without waiting on sequels

If you want a bingeable historical fantasy with teeth—this duology earns its spot.