Good Neighbors

The Full Collection

By: Stephanie Burgis

Narrated by: Emma Newman

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

When a grumpy inventor meets her outrageous new neighbor in the big black castle down the road, more than one type of spark will fly!

Mia Brandt knows better than to ever again allow her true powers to be discovered. Ever since her last neighbors burned down her workshop in a night of terror and flame, she's been determined to stay solitary, safe, and - to all outside appearances - perfectly respectable....

But Leander Fabian, whose sinister castle looms over her cozy new cottage, has far more dangerous ideas in mind. When he persuades Mia into a reluctant alliance, she finds herself swept into an exhilarating world of midnight balls, interfering countesses, illicit opera house expeditions, necromantic duels, and a whole unnatural community of fellow magic-workers and outcasts, all of whom are facing a threat more ominous than any she's confronted before.

Luckily, Mia has unnatural powers of her own - but even her unique skills may not be enough to protect her new found family and help her resist the wickedly provoking neighbor who's seen through all of her shields from the beginning.

This novel-length collection includes all four stories and novellas originally published on Stephanie Burgis's Patreon in 2020-2021: Good Neighbors, Deadly Courtesies, Fine Deceptions, and Fierce Company.

©2022 Stephanie Burgis Samphire (P)2023 Stephanie Burgis Samphire

Pitch Perfect

Quirky, Queer, Cozy. Start for the Minions, Magic, and Fun, Stay for the Hope and Acceptance.

Wonderful stories.

Good narrator and good stories. I hope that there will be many more. There are many threads that could be continued.

Surprising

It started out with so much promise, quirky and original, but by the final novella, things had become boring.

Mia is an inventor living with her father in the countryside next to Leander, the handsome necromancer, who lives in a black castle with his minions. We slowly learn about her tragic past as well as her unusual powers all while she desperately tries to dissuade her neighbor’s flirtatious advances. This leads to little adventures like balls and duels as their attraction to one another slowly builds.

I was thoroughly enjoying this, when the author casually suggests a side character is a lesbian. This seems to be an historical setting, with carriages, gas lamps and bustles, so saying an openly gay character feels out of place, but it doesn’t stop there. It seems by the books end, all the side characters are gay. By the time the fifth character’s sexuality is mentioned, (in one small town), it was slightly laughable. By this time all the fun had subsided as it seems Mia and Leander’s final adventure is little more than a heated city council meeting. Where were all the minions? . Boring

I’ll pass on the next installment.

It's all right

I liked the idea and the characters. But it felt shallow and had almost no background setting or description of that sort.