I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Good Neighbors by Stephanie Burgis Series: Good Neighbors Omnibus
Published by Five Fathoms Press on February 2 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 182
Format: eARC
Source: Author
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The nitty-gritty: Another winning story from Stephanie Burgis, Good Neighbors combines humor, romance, magic and feel-good fun.
It’s always fun to pick up a new Stephanie Burgis book, and Good Neighbors is her latest project, an omnibus of four short stories and novellas written exclusively for her Patreons and now available for everyone to enjoy. Good Neighbors is different from her other books in some ways, but it also includes familiar elements that I associate with Burgis’ books, like humor, lighthearted romance, magical intrigue and a sense of warm heartedness that always makes me happy.
The overall story arc consists of four sections, a couple of short stories and two longer, novella-length pieces. Mia and her father have just moved to a new cottage, after an angry mob burned their house down, injuring Mia’s father in the process. Mia has a peculiar talent: she is able to infuse metalwork with magic and uses this ability to invent all sorts of mechanical devices. After their experience with the fire, Mia doesn’t trust people at all and prefers her own company. In fact, she goes out of her way to avoid any type of socializing, and instead spends hours working on her creations.
But Mia’s new neighbor turns out to be a notorious necromancer named Leander Fabian, and despite Mia’s determination to keep to herself, she can’t resist the air of mystery that surrounds him. Oh, and his long shiny hair and intelligent eyes don’t hurt either. When yet another angry mob descends on the castle to attack Leander, he and Mia decide to form an alliance of protection. They will work together to keep each other safe from the Purifiers, a group of people who want to rid the land of anyone capable of doing magic.
This alliance will take them on a dangerous journey to save others like themselves, an adventure that includes the opera, a hidden underground lake, and a prison made of metal. Mia is forced to step out of her comfort zone and interact with others, but will she be able to go back to her old life when her adventure is over?
I loved the characters in Good Neighbors, especially Mia, who I could really relate to. I often resent having to be with people and socialize myself, so Mia’s character made my inner introvert very happy. I also loved the relationship she had with her father and the fact that he taught her how to craft with metal from a very young age. Later in the story we learn where Mia’s unusual magical abilities come from, and it was a very cool idea! Leander is also a great character, a misunderstood necromancer whose family is trying to kill him, unfortunately. I loved the humorous banter and flirting between Leander and Mia, and while this is a romance, Burgis keeps things light and focuses on other aspects of the story.
I thought Mia’s metal magic was fascinating. When she and Leander go to a ball together, Mia makes a ball gown out of metal, a gown that also serves as a weapon. That dress is hands down the best magical dress I’ve ever read about! I won’t tell you what it does, though, you’ll have to read the book to find out. And of course, because there is a character who is a necromancer, Burgis has plenty of opportunities to play with the idea of bringing skeletons to life. There were a lot of fun scenes with Leander and Mia where they needed both of their magical skills to get out of trouble.
The main underlying message beneath all this fun is that you can’t go wrong by helping others. Mia ends up rethinking her beliefs about keeping people at arm’s length, as she’s forced to help others like herself and Leander who are persecuted for being different. Mia and her father may have fled their home because their old neighbors were hateful, but now they realize how lucky they are to have good neighbors, people who will watch out for them as well. All in all, Good Neighbors is an upbeat, magical adventure with just a touch of eerie darkness to combat the light. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Big thanks to the author for providing a review copy.
Mia’s ball gown made out of metal sounds absolutely badass. I already love her! Also love that there’s a necromancer character because I just loooove reading about necromancers. Seriously!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The War That Made the Roman Empire by Barry Strauss
He was a really good character too, they made a great team:-)
Ah, that dress! As I was reading that section I kept thinking it would make for an amazing scene on-screen, so I hope that someone will be far-sighted enough to think about acquiring the screen rights… 😉
Great review, thanks for sharing!
Oh you’re right! I could picture it perfectly in my head, and I’d love to see it on screen:-)
It sounds sweeter than I expected. Good review, Tammy!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…Goodbye, Virginia
It was sweet! Thanks Priscilla:-)
This sounds like so much fun!
It was, she’s so inventive and I love the humor:-)
I loved it too.
I’m glad!
A little feel-good fun is a nice element to find in books every so often. Glad to hear how well it all went together in this one.
I don’t read enough feel good book, lol.
Yes, I really want to read something by her again, it’s been too long. I didn’t even hear about this one!
She’s been self publishing since she left Pyr, so you have to follow her on social media to keep up, I guess:-)
The feel good vibes are really needed, from time to time, and Burgis is amazing with those!!
And the ball gown!! It was the best!!
She really is! And yes, love that dress, and I wish I had one!
I have a copy of this and after reading your review I feel like dropping everything to pick it up.
Lynn 😀
I hope you enjoy it too, lots of fun:-)
What an appealing cover! I haven’t tried anything by Burgis, but I do like the sound of this collection.
Literary Feline recently posted…Where Is Your Bookmark: Maps and Favorite Books Read From Ten Years Ago
I really love picking up her books, they are a fresh breath of air!
Mia sounds like such a fantastic character and I really love everything you’ve described here, especially that overall message/theme about helping people. Adding to my TBR. 🙂
Ooooooo, this sounds wonderful!! Thank you for putting this on my radar, Tammy! ❤
I love the cover first of all. And your review makes me think I’d like to read it as well. Thanks for sharing!
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