Practice Makes Perfect

Title: Practice Makes Perfect
Author: Jenna Byrnes
Publisher: Total-e-Bound
Genre: paranormal M/M
Length: short story (30 PDF pages)
Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

One sentence summary:  The misadventures of Julian learning magic and also his whirlwind romance with his teacher, Dante.

THE BLURB

Discovering he has magic powers isn’t much fun for Julian Delaney when all his spells backfire. Can his hunky mentor mend his wonky ways?

Julian Delaney thinks he’s a normal, sometimes clumsy guy, who occasionally has weird stuff happen. When he finds out the truth—he’s a warlock who just needs practice using his powers—he’s too shocked to believe it.

Dante, his Mystical Guide, arrives prepared to teach Julian everything he needs to know. What neither of them realises is there’s a reason Julian’s magic powers backfire. Can they figure it out before one of them makes the ultimate sacrifice?

THE REVIEW

Julian is a salesman at a men’s store in Chicago.  He has just turned 25 and he is happy with his life and job. The door chimes as another customer enters the store, but Dante is not just another goodlooking man, he is a warlock whose job it is to teach magic skills to Julian.  Julian is taken by Dante’s good looks and agrees to meet for a drink so the blond hunk can explain what being a warlock means. 

Dante informs Julian of the realm of witches and warlocks, how some are born into magic families and some are born to parents that are regular, normal folk. He explains the rules, the main one being that budding warlocks and witches have to wait until they are 25 years old to start their training, but at the first sign of magic ability a guide is assigned and this is Dante’s role in Julian’s life.  Apparently he has been around watching, and in some cases fixing messes that Julian caused when he used his magic unknowing, but Dante is not just going to be Julian’s teacher, he is attracted sexually and soon both men are rolling around in bed.

As the blurb mentions, Julian tries to be a good student, but it seems as though all his attempts at magic go horribly wrong.  He wishes for money, but robs a bank; he intends to transport Dante and himself to the bedroom and they both wind up in a department store.  Dante is very patient and fixes each misstep. What is going wrong?  Julian is so frustrated that he asks Dante to wipe his memory of being a warlock and just return him to his life before but that wish could have unforeseen consequences.

Practice Makes Perfect is a nice little story.  It’s about 30 pages long but it explores Dante and Julian very well and I was surprised by how much information there is about warlocks, their history and ruling council, and rules.  It doesn’t seem like the pace is hurried at all.  It just tells a story of a young warlock, his teacher, their romance, and the pupil’s inability to master his magic skills.  The situations are humorous, not laugh-out-loud moments, but worth a chuckle or two.  Dante seems to have the patience of Job and doesn’t mind the mistakes.  He is in love with his pupil and soon Julian returns the feelings.  The sex is hot and in the first scene, they go at it like rabbits.

The conclusion makes a lot of sense and ends this story nicely.  The solution at the end is unexpected and is intertwined with a mistake Julian makes. 

The term ‘lover’ is used early on in this relationship, so be warned.

Overall a very enjoyable read.