Artifice Books in Order

Artifice looks like Bell stepping into a more urban fantasy flavored space while still keeping romance front and center. So far the series begins in Philadelphia, and the setup mixes magic, city life, and everyday work in a way that feels different from her small town shifter books. The promise of the world is broad, with golems, fae, angels, and even AI all sharing space in the same larger setting.

That is a fun combination.

The first story, Fae Eye for the Golem Guy, centers on Micah Slate, the straight-laced security director of a Philadelphia museum, and Ophilia Morgan, a bohemian art restorer who catches his attention immediately. That pairing tells you a lot about the series mood. Bell and her coauthor are interested in the collision between order and chaos, duty and desire, and people who look as if they belong in different stories until magic decides otherwise.

The museum setting helps too. It gives the opening book a grounded workplace structure while still leaving plenty of room for the strange. Micah is not just a supernatural being wandering through a vague city. He has a job, a set of responsibilities, and a very practical way of moving through the world. Ophilia brings a more artistic and free flowing energy, which makes the romance feel built on contrast from the start.

Then there are the Fairy Godfathers, which tells you this is not meant to be all gloom and urban menace. There is danger and secrecy in the setup, but there is also a playful streak. The world sounds big enough to hold dark magic and genuine threats, while still making room for meddling magical helpers and characters who can laugh at how absurd their lives have become.

Because the series is still small, a lot of the appeal is in the opening promise. If Bell keeps building on what is already here, readers can expect a Philadelphia based paranormal world where romance grows out of very specific jobs, personalities, and magical identities rather than generic fate alone. The city, the art angle, and the mix of species give Artifice a different texture from her other work.

If you like your paranormal romance with more urban fantasy furniture around it, Artifice is worth a look. It starts with one couple, one city, and one magical mismatch, then hints at a much wider world waiting just off the page.