Padme's Library: Sunday's Short Stack: Something Stinks at the Spa by Jordan Castillo Price

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Sunday's Short Stack: Something Stinks at the Spa by Jordan Castillo Price

Summary:
Mineral spas are so calm and relaxing...unless they smell like a derrière at a bean-lover's convention, that is!

Dixon and Yuri have a hot tip that Uncle Fonzo is taking the waters at Spring Falls Hot Spring Spa. Not only is the spring stinky enough to make your eyes water—but the foul odor reaches peak level just as the resort is gearing up for a visit from an important critic that will make or break its reputation.

Normally, this wouldn't be Dixon’s problem...except it appears that a piece of his uncle's Spellcraft might be responsible. He can't be entirely sure, though, since that particular slip of paper managed to go through the shredder.

Dixon and Yuri pitch in to help the spa's owner appease a jilted bride, an obnoxious businessman, and the world's most boring critic while they scramble to reconstruct the shredded Spellcraft. Can they fix the wonky spell before it does any permanent damage? Or will all their efforts at saving the spa end up swirling down the drain?

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.

Honestly I didn't think the author could make the adventures, or should I say misadventures, of Dixon and Yuri any more fun and zany than they were in Trouble in Taco Town. Boy was I wrong!

We see Dixon and Yuri continue their quest to find Dixon's Uncle Fonzo and this time they find themselves in a not-so-sweet spa in this entry so aptly titled, Something Stinks at the Spa. I won't go into details because it really is an adventure you need to experience to grasp the full effect of what these boys face. What started out as a find-the-lost-relative quest has become multiple stops on the find-him-and-clean-up-his-mess map. Trust me what the boys find themselves in may be one zany spell after another but it will grab you and not let go till they discover the next clue to Uncle Fonzo's trail.

As for the romance part of this series, well Dixon and Yuri really shouldn't mesh but they do and perhaps their relationship isn't growing by leaps and bounds from one entry to the next, it is deepening. I don't think anyone who has been reading this series doubts the connection between the two and even when their love story takes a backseat to fixing Fonzo's spells, it is still there and getting stronger with each page.

They say comedy is the hardest thing to write and I can certainly see how that can be true well, Jordan Castillo Price has not only written a novella series that is ripe with adventure and romance but is chock full of humor. I for one can't wait to see where Uncle Fonzo's spells lead Dixon and Yuri next.

So much goodness packed into so few pages that make The ABCs of Spellcraft a must read but it is most definitely a series that needs to be read in order. I realize that a short story series that has an ongoing plot isn't for everyone or that some might think the author should put them into one book instead of "spread out in small increments", perhaps some authors should. HOWEVER, for me these kinds of short story connected series bring to the table a bit of nostalgia for the old movie serials of the 30s and 40s that got the population through the Great Depression and World War 2. For that feeling of nostalgia(to be honest they were way before my time but my parents collect them on DVD/Blu-Ray so I've watched & enjoyed the simplicity of the genre) alone I salute Jordan Castillo Price for telling Dixon and Yuri's journey in this manner.

RATING:

Saturday's Series Spotlight Part 1

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.