Listening to more of the ABC of Spellcraft while I wait for my lunch to arrive. (I have a problem,and that problem is called DoorDash.) I'm on book 3 now-- they're shorter--and while the very first story is still my favorite, I've enjoyed them all.

I didn't go into much detail about the series before, but it's basically the adventures of Dixon, an upbeat and perpetually-broke magical calligrapher and Yuri, the taciturn Russian muscle who creates beautiful magical watercolor paintings. Together they fight crime!

Well, okay, they fight crime in the first book, which introduces Dixon and Yuri to the reader and each other, shows how they get together (romantically and magically) and sets up the ongoing plot of the two of them searching for Dixon's missing uncle and the answers he owes them.

Book 1.5 is a short story about Yuri meeting Dixon's parents. It's very short, and probably skippable, but does a lot to flesh out Yuri, which is important because Dixon definitely gets more POV time in their debut. I feel it makes Dixon come off a little ditzy, though.

Book 2, "Trouble in Taco Town," alternates POV more evenly and also does more to develop Dixon's family and Yuri's background. It also sets up their ongoing road trip and series of adventures dealing with spellcraft gone wrong.

Book 3, "Something Stinks at the Spa," is the one I'm on now. So far, it's full of hijinks, but manages to be both funny and full of sweetness. Sex scenes in this series are minimal and not at all explicit, and the relationship between the guys is developed in myriad small ways.

I saw one reviewer complain about "insta-love" in the first story, but I don't agree. Yeah, the two hook up after a few days' acquaintance, but it happens in a way I can buy, and even in book 3, no one has said the L-word yet. They have chemistry, they need to collaborate to make

spellcraft happen, and they definitely like and care about each other, but it's still a new relationship and they're getting to know each other. The pacing feels pretty natural.

Lunch is over, so I'll come back with more thoughts later. #amreading #amreadingromance

Okay, I'm on book 4 now. We've located the shady uncle and are trying to figure out what he's been up to. Dixon is thrilled, Yuri is suspicious. I'm with Yuri on this one.

Actually, I'm with Yuri most of the time. He's a great foil for Dixon. Dixon is bubbly, clever, comes from a loving lower-middle-class background, and retains a certain charming innocence in that he *always* tries to see the best in people. He's not stupid, just optimistic.

Dixon is described as well-groomed and a natty dresser, and definitely has a bit of a metrosexual flair going on. He's also average in height and build and tends to come off as more "enthusiastic" than "intimidating." He's also got quite a way with words.

Yuri, by contrast, is a huge, muscular Russian man covered in tattoos. The way he's described is pure stereotypical mafiya goon, all suits that barely fit and shaved head. The narrator gives him an accent that's more Boris&Natasha than I would prefer, but it's not too bad.

Yuri is shrewd. He knows more about magic than he lets on, and what we do learn of his past is rough. He's got all the history of being a guy man in Russia, plus magical slavery, plus I suspect at least a minor criminal background. His problem-solving tends to involve a crowbar.

The fact that these two seem to adore each other is incredibly adorable. Dixon thinks Yuri's accent and gruffness are sexy, and knows that they hide a good heart. Yuri thinks Dixon is too trusting, so makes it his mission to keep him from being taken advantage of. It's awesome.

Another thing I really like about this series is the magical rules JCP has established. @penguinscribble described it as "magical notaries," and she not wrong, though I'd call it "magical graphic design." Magic is called "spellcrafting," and the crafting part is literal.

In order to harness magic, you need both talent, which runs in bloodlines, and special tools. A spellcrafting is an image with some calligraphy on it, but it's also more than that. There's two elements to every spellcraft: a scene (the image) and a scribing (the words).

Scenes are created by Seers: artists who are always male, always left-handed, and who shape magic by painting. (The only ones mentioned so far use watercolors, but I don't know if that's universal or not.) Seers are rare, and spellcraft doesn't work without a scene. This is Yuri.

The words that channel magic-- both precisely defining and limiting what a crafting does--are penned by a Scrivener. Scriveners require a scene to write on, and they also need a special quill, which "chooses" them during a magical ceremony. That's Dixon.

There's implied to be a lot of limitations on what magic in this universe can do, and even more on what people with the talent for it are ALLOWED to make it do. Plus, magic is wily, and a damaged scene or poorly-worded scrivening can cause a lot of problems, as the boys discover.

The cleverness of the series--and of Dixon and Yuri-- is in how they deal with crafting gone wrong. Dixon's skill with words makes him uniquely skilled at UNcrafting other people's fuckups. This is where the "case fic" aspect of the series is so strong.

Every story involves a piece of spellcraft somehow gone haywire, whether through malice, accident or incompetence. The guys end up deciding, for one reason or another, to find the offending magic and correct it.

It's not as formulaic as it sounds. I'm leaving out a lot of details because I really feel like anyone who reads this thread this far should read these books. The whole collection is on Audible as a single download, and it's probably on Kindle as well. They're short, fun reads.