THE BOY OF CHAOTIC MAKING - Charlie N. Holmberg


Who knew that inheriting a house could lead to so much change? It is 1847 and Merritt Fernsby inherited the family Whimbrel House - a structure that had been terrifyingly haunted when he first moved in.  But thanks to the help of Hulda Larkin of BIKER (The Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms) it was discovered that the house had been inhabited by Owein - Merritt's great, great, many generations removed uncle who was once a boy, then a house, and now, with BIKER's help, inhabits the body of a dog. Merritt, meanwhile, has become engaged to Hulda. [These are the events of the previous two books in the series.]

Now Merritt receives communication from the Queen of England, Alexandrina Victoria. She knows of Owein and is interested in the dog. As queen, it is her duty to oversee British wizardry and to make sure it grows and thrives. Owein holds special interest, being hundreds of years old (thanks to being a house for most of those years).

The queen makes an offer - go to England and she will find a human body for the soul and marry him into the royal family so that they can add a soul-shifter into their lineage. For Owein, once a country lad in the young America, then a creaky old house and now a dog, this is a dream come true. But Hulda and Merritt suspect something nefarious is going on.

I am a fan of Charlie N. Holmberg's work - some of her books are among my absolute favorites - but something about this series hasn't worked well for me.  I think it's just a little too syrupy-sweet (which didn't bother me so much with the Paper Magician series). The conflicts lack a certain bite - they just never feel as potentially devasting as they should in order to create the tension.

I think, also, that the 'star' of the book (and the series) is Owein - first as the house and then as the dog - and that creates a challenge that Holmberg hasn't really overcome. How do you give your 'star' the focus they deserve when they can't communicate well. It kind of boils down to what we have here, abut a third of the way into the book:

Owein barked, gaining the attention of every person in the dining room, even the servants trying to disappear into its corners. I'm not a dog! he shouted. I didn't choose this body! Can't you understand! I haven't been a real person for over two hundred years. If it makes this family happy, why is it such a terrible thing?

But of course, they couldn't hear him. They weren't communionists or psychometrists. Only Merritt's expression dipped with the weight of sympathy. To everyone else, he was just a worked-up mutt.

A 'worked-up mutt' doesn't carry a novel (or a series).

It's a fun concept and Holmberg works playfully (perhaps too much so, as I mentioned) with it, but it doesn't quite strike home the way I had hoped.

Looking for a good book? The Boy of Chaotic Making is the third book in the Whimbrel House series by Charlie N. Holmberg. It's fun and light-hearted ... which is kind of a problem here.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

The Boy of Chaotic Making

author: Charlie N. Holmberg

series: Whimbrel House #3

publisher: 47North

ISBN: 9781662508738

paperback, 317 pages

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