Padme's Library: Saturday's Series Spotlight: The ABCs of Spellcraft by Jordan Castillo Price Part 1

Saturday, June 1, 2019

Saturday's Series Spotlight: The ABCs of Spellcraft by Jordan Castillo Price Part 1

Quill Me Now #1

Summary:

What if the words you wrote came true?

Spellcraft isn’t exactly a respectable business, but it does pay the bills. At least, it should. Unfortunately, Dixon Penn failed his Spellcraft initiation. Instead of working in his family’s shop, he’s stuck delivering takeout orders in his uncle’s beat-up Buick.

Winning a Valentine’s Day contest at the largest greeting card company in the tri-state area would be just the thing to get his life back on track—but something at Precious Greetings just doesn’t add up. And despite numerous warnings to quit pestering them about his contest entry, he just can’t stop himself from coming back again and again.

It doesn’t hurt that the head of security is such a hottie. If Dixon had any common sense, he’d be scared of the big, mysterious, tattooed Russian.

To be fair, no one ever accused him of being too smart….

Quill Me Now originally debuted in the Bad Valentine collection, with Love Magic by Jesi Lea Ryan, Hidden Hearts by Clare London, and Temporary Dad by Dev Bentham.

All That Glitters #1.5
Summary:
Yuri meets Dixon's parents for the first time.

Trouble in Taco Town #2
Summary:
Road trip!

When Dixon and Yuri head for Taco Town, they’re hoping to track down Uncle Fonzo. What they find instead is a fiasco. Is it sabotage? A curse? Or is it just a bunch of badly worded Spellcraft?

The small Minnesota berg is a tourist destination featuring a memorable roadside attraction: The Big Taco. It’s not actually edible, but there’s a flock of birds passing through that never got the memo.

One thing’s for sure, Fonzo has been there. Not only do plenty of folks recognize his photo, but they paid him to solve certain problems…all of which are now exponentially worse. Dixon wants to chalk it up to a run of bad luck. Yuri knows a con man when he sees one, and while he doesn’t relish the thought of destroying Dixon’s hero, he wouldn’t mind knocking the guy down a few pegs.

But there’s definitely something screwy about the Spellcraft they uncover. And they’d better figure out how to repair it before the Big Taco is reduced to crumbs—and with it, the livelihood of all their new friends.

The ABCs of Spellcraft is a series filled with bad jokes and good magic, where MM Romance meets Paranormal Cozy. A perky hero, a brooding love interest, and delightfully twisty-turny stories that never end up quite where you’d expect. The books are best read in order, so be sure to start at the beginning with Quill Me Now.

Quill Me Now #1
Original Review February 2019:
We all know what happens when it comes to wishes, it is all in the wording well in Quill Me Now, magic and spells is all about the wording too. Who knew the extent of the headache it would be when no one ever wants to leave a restaurant because of the slogan? Dixon knows but unfortunately for him, spellcrafting that runs in his family doesn't seem to run in his veins but he can spot a poorly thought out one a mile away. Having been summoned after sending in an entry to a greeting card contest, Dixon meets Yuri when he warns him to stay away but needing the money a winning entry would bring him Dixon is not easily kept away. That's it about the plot you'll get but let me tell you, Quill Me Now is a lovely holiday gem that I would love to see more of but if this is all we get then it is absolutely delightful. Magic, love, humor, good guys, bad guys all brought together by the writing style of Jordan Castillo Price, what more can a person ask for?

All that Glitters #1.5
This free short story is an absolute delight! Yuri's fears about meeting the 'rents and Dixon's hope of everyone liking each other is rom-com 101 with Jordan Castillo Price's flair that makes All that Glitters anything but cliche. A real treat for this series and an awesome look into the growing connection between Dixon and Yuri.

Trouble in Taco Town #2
I was hoping that the author would continue Dixon and Yuri's story when I finished Quill Me Now back in February so when Trouble in Taco Town popped up in the "recommended for you" section on Amazon I one-clicked and read it immediately. Well, I was not disappointed or wrong in my hoping. The ABCs of Spellcraft is already a fun and delightful series that I can't wait to read further. Between Dixon's eager and unending "up-ness" and Yuri's quiet "don't-jump-in-ness", they really don't seem like they could be any more opposite if they tried but as the saying goes: opposites attract. They may not appear as they match on paper but the minute you see them together you just know that their opposite-ness not only balances each other but it helps bring out their strengths. Don't get me wrong, how Yuri doesn't throttle Dixon a dozen times a day is beyond me, I think I'm a pretty positive person but HOLY HANNAH BATMAN! Dixon's peppiness would really make me pull my hair out😉😉. So Yuri may not seem like he's a patient person but Dixon is living proof that he is and you can't help but love them for their balance.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned the plot or their quest to find Uncle Fonzo. I don't do spoilers as those of you who follow my reviews will already know but I don't think I've ever read a book(short, novella, or full length) that truly embodies the theory "you have to read to believe". What the boys find in Taco Town really needs to be experienced to appreciate the full magnitude of how important wording is to spellcrafting.

Trouble in Taco Town, the whole ABCs of Spellcraft series, is a delightful gem that may be short in quantity but it's overflowing in quality. This is a series that is best read in order and trust me you want to read this series. Humor doesn't often play a part in the paranormal genres but it is a perfect fit for Dixon and Yuri's journey.

RATING:

Author Bio:
Author and artist Jordan Castillo Price is the owner of JCP Books LLC. Her paranormal thrillers are colored by her time in the midwest, from inner city Chicago, to small town Wisconsin, to liberal Madison.

Jordan is best known as the author of the PsyCop series, an unfolding tale of paranormal mystery and suspense starring Victor Bayne, a gay medium who's plagued by ghostly visitations. Also check out her new series, Mnevermind, where memories are made...one client at a time.

With her education in fine arts and practical experience as a graphic designer, Jordan set out to create high quality ebooks with lavish cover art, quality editing and gripping content. The result is JCP Books, offering stories you'll want to read again and again.