No Quest for the Wicked

No Quest For The Wicked by Shanna Swendson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Katie Chandler is Bored. Bored bored bored. Now that MSI is pretty much the only game in town as far as magic goes, there isn't much for the marketing department to do. That is, until her boyfriend discovers that the language has changed on the ancient document he's translating, indicating that the Eye of the Moon--an incredibly powerful and dangerous gem lost for centuries--is now on the move and may be in New York City. The last time anyone used it, war broke out, so tracking it down is imperative, and only magical immunes like Katie and Owen can be trusted to locate and recover it. Unfortunately, they soon learn that the Eye, which gives the holder power over others, has been fused with an Elven knot, which bestows invulnerability. Katie and Owen are not the only ones determined to find the Eye, and soon there is a knock-down, drag-out race raging across the city between an ever-increasing number of factions, all with their own agendas.

Whew! Talk about fast-paced! Book #6 in the Enchanted, Inc. series is a whirlwind of a novel--fun and funny. The addition of Katie's grandma and former boss to the mix was highly entertaining. I also appreciated the character development as Owen learns to cope with his new non-magical reality.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. No sex, violence (not really), or bad language that I can recall. Setting is contemporary New York City.

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Much Ado About Magic

Much Ado About Magic by Shanna Swendson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book #5 in the Enchanted, Inc., series begins with Katie Chandler returning to New York City just in time to become embroiled in a propaganda war between her employer, MSI, and their rival, Spellworks. A series of dark spells has the magical community flocking to Spellworks for protection amulets and bracelets, never realizing the whole thing is part of a more sinister plot. Katie's boyfriend, Owen, is working feverishly to reverse-engineer the spells and find a way to neutralize them before they get even more out of control, but it soon becomes evident that a key part of the competition's strategy involves discrediting and falsely accusing Owen of creating the mess in the first place. Even Katie's boss, Merlin (yes, that Merlin), is powerless to stem the tide of rumor and suspicion. It's up to Katie to sort out fact from fiction in time to prevent a corporate takeover with deadly consequences.

I was so excited when I stumbled across a WorldCat listing for one of the later books in this series and realized that although my library couldn't purchase print copies of volumes 5, 6, or 7, we could get the ebooks through OverDrive. Hooray! I love this quirky, humorous series, and I was bummed when I had to stop reading at #4. But now my library has digital access to all seven books in the series, so I can find out what happens in the continuing saga of the battle for control of the biggest companies in the magical community.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character is secondary. There is no sex or real violence, and I can't recall any instances of swearing.

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Don't Hex with Texas

Don't Hex with Texas by Shanna Swendson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5 stars, actually

Katie Chandler fled New York City four months ago to escape the magical battle that was brewing. However, her tiny little un-magical hometown of Cobb, Texas, is not as lacking in magic as she thought. Strange things are happening, and Katie needs some backup. Pretty soon, the town is a hotbed of magical mysteries she needs to solve, some of which hit a little too close to home.

Book 4 in the Enchanted, Inc. series is just as fast-paced as the first three. In fact, I read this one in one sitting because I simply could NOT put it down until I'd finished it. It's a good thing I did not have to get up early the next morning.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. Still no sex or violence or bad language.

There is not yet a published book 5--although Swendson has started it--because the publisher won't publish it until books 3 & 4 start selling better. So please encourage your friends and family to buy copies or make their libraries buy copies--I need to know how the story turns out!!



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Damsel Under Stress

Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swendson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5 stars, really.

Book 3 in the series picks up the day after book 2 ended. I am so glad I didn't read these as they came out because I would not have wanted to wait to read the next one. Damsel Under Stress is just as funny and quirky a cozy-romantic-magical-realism-mystery as the first two. This time Katie has picked up a fairy godmother whose dating help is...not so helpful, and her roommates are starting to suspect Katie is keeping secrets from them. On the bright side, Owen invites her to spend Christmas with his foster parents, and repeated attacks on Katie and/or Owen certainly do keep things interesting! Can they uncover the extent of the conspiracy in time to keep the existence of magic from being revealed to the world? And will they EVER succeed in having a "normal" date?

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways are primary. Setting (New York City) is less important in book 3 than in the first two.


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Once Upon Stilettos

Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5 stars, really

I read the first book in this series, Enchanted, Inc., a couple of years ago, immediately put the rest of the series on my to-read list, and then forgot about them until last week. I'm so glad I ran across them in my list because they are such fun! It's hard to categorize this series because it's got mystery without any murder, romance without sex (at least so far), magic that hovers between "magical realism" and "fantasy," and humor without overt slapstick, etc. They are just FUN. And hard to put down. This one kept me up until after midnight on a work night.

Katie Chandler is a nonmagical person living in New York City, working for a magical company as a Verifier...because she is immune to magic and can see through illusions, survive magical fireballs, and so on. Her boss is Merlin (yep, that one), and she has a major crush on a wizard coworker but is dating a lawyer who is also an Immune. Strange things are an everyday occurrence for Katie, but things get even stranger when she's tasked with finding the corporate spy while dealing with her parents' visit, a sudden loss of magical immunity, and a just-as-sudden spike in popularity amongst the opposite sex.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, as well as setting (weird things are the norm in Times Square, right?)



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