The Trick of It

Name: The Trick of It
Author: Ava Devlin

103 pages

Rhys Caradoc has built his life on misdirection, sleight of hand, and the firm belief that Persephone Boswell exists solely to ruin his fun.

This pickpocket-turned-illusionist is perhaps the least respectable of Brighton’s Starling prodigies, and that’s just the way he likes it. Rhys delights in trickery, mystery, abstraction, and irreverence. When a mysterious invitation arrives in three languages, sealed with a dead woman’s handwriting and addressed to both Rhys … and to his avowed nemesis, he has to make a choice. If he wants to untangle the puzzle, he’ll have to face the only person on Earth who gets under his skin.

Persephone “Seph” Boswell built her shop, her composure, and her carefully fixed life from scratch.

Brighton’s premiere illusionist and proprietress of its most peculiar curiosity cabinet, Seph has spent years putting down roots and sticking to them, even when her Traveller family moved on without her. She’s managed every inconvenience life has thrown at her with steady hands and a determined disposition, and that includes the particular inconvenience of Rhys Caradoc, thank you very much.

They were friends once. Partners. They built the Changeling: a legendary act of illusion and folklore that made audiences believe in something real. And then it all went wrong.

Forced together by a dying illusionist’s final wish, Rhys and Seph must rebuild what they destroyed: their act, their history, and the truth about the night everything fell apart. The old man wants to believe in magic one last time before he goes. He’s chosen the right two people. He’s also chosen the worst possible moment.

Some tricks only work when the performers stop pretending.

The Trick of It is a Regency romance full of rivals who’ve never stopped watching each other, the mystery and magic of Samhain, and two illusionists who spent decades performing the wrong story. It’s the third book in The Starling Legacy series and can be read as a standalone. If you love enemies to lovers with real history, slow burn, folklore, magic tricks, and love stories built from the wreckage of what almost was—this one’s for you.

Tropes you’ll enjoy:
Rivals to Lovers
Forced Proximity
One Bed
Fake Married
Irish Traveller Heroine
Welsh Hero
Tricksters in Love
Samhain/Halloween Romance
Gothic Atmosphere
Magical Realism

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