16. Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

#1 Whimbrel House

both read on Kindle and listened on Audible

2022
347 pgs.
Fantasy & Historical Fiction
Finished 2/14/2023
Goodreads rating: 4.28
My rating: 3.5
Setting: 1846 secluded island off RI & Boston

My comments: 1846, a world where magic has survived through the centuries but is getting diluted with each generation so there's not much magic left.  A house on an island near Boston is haunted by a ghost - well, actually, the actual house itself is the ghost.  An interesting premise.  A 31-year old writer and a prim, similarly aged housekeeper with slightly magical abilities work together to make the house "livable" at the same time they're being stalked by a powerful foe.  I took a great deal of time reading this, since most of it was off and on while eathing out.  So it went slowly, both literally and physically.

Goodreads synopsis:  Rhode Island, 1846. Estranged from his family, writer Merritt Fernsby is surprised when he inherits a remote estate in the Narragansett Bay. Though the property has been uninhabited for more than a century, Merritt is ready to call it home—until he realizes he has no choice. With its doors slamming shut and locking behind him, Whimbrel House is not about to let Merritt leave. Ever.

Hulda Larkin of the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms has been trained in taming such structures in order to preserve their historical and magical significance. She understands the dangers of bespelled homes given to tantrums. She advises that it’s in Merritt’s best interest to make Whimbrel House their ally. To do that, she’ll need to move in, too.

Prepared as she is with augury, a set of magic tools, and a new staff trained in the uncanny, Hulda’s work still proves unexpectedly difficult. She and Merritt grow closer as the investigation progresses, but the house’s secrets run deeper than they anticipated. And the sentient walls aren’t their only concern—something outside is coming for the enchantments of Whimbrel House, and it could be more dangerous than what rattles within.