Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: The ABCs of Spellcraft Collection, Volume 2
AUTHOR: Jordan Castillo Price
NARRATOR: Nick Hudson
PUBLISHER: JCP Books
RELEASE DATE: October 8, 2020
LENGTH: 11 hours, 3 minutes
BLURB:
Pinyin Bay is in peril!
Dixon Penn has done his share of traveling and is ready to settle down in the city where he grew up. Yuri Volnikov has finally found a place he can call home. But their idyllic life together is threatened when a mysterious buyer starts scooping up properties in Pinyin Bay…and not with the intention of sprucing things up. To add insult to injury, the buyer is using Spellcraft to get what they want.
Pinyin Bay might not be a thriving metropolis, but from the ramshackle tenements of Scrivener Village to the crumbling splendor of Shirque Mansion, the city is rich with Spellcraft history. Even more importantly, it’s the place Dixon and Yuri call home.
Yuri’s Spellcraft talent is exceedingly rare. And although Dixon came into his magical potential recently, he’s been training his whole life to wield his quill. The magic is notoriously capricious — but with explosions rattling the shoreline, Spellcraft is the city’s best hope. Can Dixon and Yuri harness the forces of Spellcraft to save Pinyin Bay?
The ABCs of Spellcraft is a series filled with bad jokes and good magic, where M/M 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. This collection contains novellas 5 through 7 of The ABCs of Spellcraft series: Last but Not Lease, Don’t Rock the Boardwalk, and What the Frack?
REVIEW:
The release of this book was a happy surprise, there’s something about this world and these quirky characters that makes me smile. And during these times we just can’t smile enough.
In the last collection of stories we followed Dixon and Yuri around on one adventure after the other, some quite insane ones (remember the so called SPA with cleaning supplies?). This time the adventures take place at home, maybe a tad less insane but more important. And it all started with an eviction notice, forcing Yuri to find a new place to live. It’s the start of an insane apartment hunt, and I do mean hunt, as in hunting parties. Add some spellcraft and a huge dose of competition over the most insane dumps of apartments you could ever imagine. I can only imagine how much fun Jordan Castillo Price had while creating them, because they were insane. And over the top crazy.
We, or rather the guys, go from apartment hunting, to helping a mime undo a spell that’s helping an outsider destroy the Boardwalk – a place close to Dixon’s heart. The problem is, as a mime has a habit of not doing, the mime isn’t talking so finding out exactly what’s going on is about as insane as you can imagine. Add some family drama and the stage is set. I mean who’d end up in those insane situations except Dixon and Yuri?
Though this book contains three different stories they all share a common theme; saving the Boardwalk from being torn down. And through it all we see Dixon and Yuri grow together. I love how they communicate with a look or a touch, each knowing what the other needs. I just love them, they are so sweet together.
Nick Hudson really brings both Yuri and Dixon to life – I just love his accent for Yuri. He captures them both just right; the more careful Yuri and Dixon’s over the top personality. I also have to say that he captures the sense of place. And in the case of the apartments I could see every cringe-worthy detail in front of me and let me tell you it was not a pleasant sight. It’s not only our main characters he captures perfectly, but he nails every single quirky one, and it makes for a great listen.
This is a fun book and a great catch if you want to smile for a while.
RATING: 
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