It’s all fun and games until someone loses a hand.Dixon has been dying to introduce Yuri to Uncle Fonzo, the Hand of his family, and now he’ll finally get that chance. All they need to do is meet him at a traveling carnival with an unused piece of Spellcraft. Easy peasy, right?Not even a little. And even worse, they might encounter a clown.Uncle Fonzo has left a trail of magical destruction in … a trail of magical destruction in his wake, but he claims he’s been helping people. Spellcrafters are a slippery bunch, and it’s hard to say if he’s stretching the truth or telling an outright lie. One thing’s for sure, he’s between a rock and a hard place now, and if he doesn’t deliver an outrageous ransom to Strange Manor by midnight, all deals are off.
From a lackluster carnival with a booby-trapped tour bus to the decrepit mausoleum behind an old mental asylum, the Spellcraft leads Dixon and Yuri on a goose chase that’s not only wild…but deadly.
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.
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The trek to find Uncle Fanzo comes to fruition only to be fraught with more peril. Dixon remains his true chipper self, seeing only the good in everyone and every situation. Yuri is still stoic and still deeply in love with Dixon. He indulges all of Dixon’s hairbrained ideas and tries his best to be gracious to Uncle Fanzo. The storyline is great with a bit of cloak and dagger, a creepy carnival owner, a bitter rival, and a nasty curse. Loved every minute.
Highly recommended author and series
Audiobook: I really enjoyed the narrator. He occasionally loses Yuri’s ‘Russian’ accent but it almost makes it more enjoyable.
In this book, we finally meet Dixon’s Uncle Fonzo who has left a crazy trail of unusual, one-worded, and damaging Spellcraft. Is Fonzo a quack, a con artist, or a thief? A man who seemingly left his family under the shadows of debt and scorn or is he the caring uncle Dixon remembers? Maybe he is all of these things. This is a fun and rollicking good story. As always, the trails are wandering and twisted. Dixon continues to be sweet and cheerful, optimistic and supportive of his uncle, while Yuri thinks he has the man pegged as a thieving huckster. The story is funny and you never know where it will end up, although the magic always seems to find a way to make things right. This segment seemed to be a little darker in places than the first three books, but there is still plenty of humor to be found. The third book, Something Stinks at the Spa, remains my favorite of the series. As to the order, I think you could read book 2 and 3 in either order, but you definitely need to read book 1 first, and this book 4 fourth. Book 1 first or you won’t understand the dynamics of what is going on and how Dixon and Yuri came together. You need to wait to read this book 4 until after #2 and #3 or you get too many spoilers that would steal some of the surprise and enjoyment of the books in the middle, and you don’t want to do that.
I received a complimentary ARC from the author and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
Dixon and Yuri finally find Uncle Fonzo!! That makes it sound so simple, and, of course, it is not. The adventures and magic in this episode of the ABC’s of Spellcraft seem to take a darker turn, with our intrepid duo taking on an actual curse. With Fonzo “helping” and the machinations of a set of twins from Dixon’s past, the path to figuring out this latest magical mess is truly entertaining. I missed the silliness and sweetness of the interactions between Dixon and Yuri. The plot was more focused on Fonzo and his curse which was understandable. I just really love seeing the goofy side of Dixon so much. Now that they have finally found Fonzo it will be interesting to see what comes next for Yuri and Dixon.