Fine Deceptions

Good Neighbors #3

by Stephanie Burgis

A full-length fantasy rom-com novella in the Good Neighbors series! Mia and Leander are forced to pose as magic-free newlyweds in order to carry out a dangerous journey into an unwelcoming city, unearth a precious heirloom from underneath a crowded opera house, and somehow avoid admitting their true feelings to each other...

Genres: Fantasy, Romance

ebook

Published July 6, 2020

About the author

I grew up in America, but now I live in Wales with my husband, fellow writer Patrick Samphire, our two sons, and our sweet (and extremely vocal) tabby cat, Pebbles. I write fantasy rom-coms for adults (most recently Claws and Contrivances and Good Neighbors) and fun MG fantasy adventure novels, too (most recently The Raven Crown duology). My next series will be the adult romantasy trilogy The Queens of Villainy, published by Tor Bramble, starting in 2025 with Wooing the Witch Queen.

To get early sneak peeks at new stories and novels, sign up for my newsletter here: stephanieburgis.com/newsletter.

To join my Dragons' Book Club and get early copies of every ebook that I put out myself (so, all of my novellas, short story ebooks, etc!), check out my Patreon page, where I also published a series of fantasy rom-coms (Good Neighbors) across 2020-2021.

I only rate and review the books that I like, which is why all of my ratings are 4 or 5 stars.

Reviews

[Stephanie]

Hooray! This one is out today, a fantasy rom-com novella full of metal magic, fake-dating, flirting, skeletal horses, and my own personal homage to The Phantom of the Opera. :) I had so much fun writing it!

Right now it can be scooped up as an ebook on Patreon (along with ebooks of the first two stories in this series) by any subscriber at the $5/month level or above. Once the full series is complete (sometime around the end of this year), it'll go up for sale to the public as a collected omnibus edition.

I love writing these characters and this spooky/cozy world.

[Shahista Swellam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yup I am starting to like it a bit more and more as i went through it . I like the idea of necromancy though oddly enough I have never read anything with necromancy in it which lead me to seaech for more now.

The chemistry between our necromancer and our metal inventor has certainly improved in this installment and I found myself wishing for more of them on a larger scale.

Readers get to know more and more about the characters as the storyline flows which is such a massive improvement .

Starting book 4 now .

[Fatiha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love how the previous two novellas built up towards this one (and the final of the quartet). Leander and Mia's relationship develops as they're "forced" to fake-date their way through a city that condemns those with magic as they look for a heirloom for Carmilla.

I loved the way Leander and Mia drew closer than ever before and how the little world building details culminated in the climactic moment within this little novella!

[Sadie Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine Deceptions is the third in a series of fantasy romance stories, centering on the romance between the introverted inventor Mia and her next-door neighbour, flamboyant necromancer Leander, which Stephanie Burgis is releasing as exclusive ebooks for Patreon subscribers. (The whole series will be available to purchase as a collected ebook or paperback once the final story has been released on Patreon later this year, if you're interested in reading it but don't want to subscribe.)

The first story, Good Neighbors, is a very short story which covers Mia and Leander's first meeting; the second, Deadly Courtesies, is a novelette in which Leander persuades Mia to accompany him to a necromancers' midnight ball, while Fine Deceptions is novella-length and sees Mia and Leander undertaking a journey to visit a nearby city where, for Reasons, they find themselves having to pretend to be newlyweds. There's a bit of mild peril but no serious threat; Mia is a delightful heroine - clever, resourceful and more at home in overalls and workboots than dresses - and they are funny, charming and perfect comfort reading.

[Lauren loves llamas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia’s father and Leander’s sorta aunt Carmilla have conspired to send them on a nice, long carriage ride to find a new seller for her father’s (non-magical) metal designs and to retrieve a family heirloom for the Countess. Basically, it’s forced proximity to the max, especially when they’re forced to pose as a pair of completely regular newlyweds.

I adore Mia and her creativity, resourcefulness, and just plain grit, but she is seriously oblivious when it comes to feelings. Part of it is that she can’t believe that anyone as handsome as Leander would be interested in plain old her. She’s spent so much of her life squishing herself to try to fit into that “respectable” mold, but she didn’t realize exactly how much that hurts until she’s had the freedom to be herself in their new village – and now has to shove herself back in that box. The whole story is basically a comedy of misunderstandings, set against an unsettling backdrop of persecution. Still magical and charming, but a bit more serious in tone than the previous stories.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I actually clapped my hands and cackled with glee at the beginning of this story. You know you're hooked when the idea of a long carriage ride between the hero and heroine is basically all you ever wanted from life. And yet, there's so much more to this story! I started it on a very tired night after a very tired day, and still read the whole thing in one sitting. [insert happy sigh here] This series is pure magical romantic fun.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend that you don't sneaky read this at work because it makes yelling MIAAAA far more awkward. OPEN YOUR EYES, MIA! Listen!

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with the whole series, well thought out and a lovely read!