Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson

From Ballantine Books:                                              

DON’T MESS WITH HEXES

Katie Chandler had always heard that New York is a weird and wonderful place, but this small-town Texas gal had no idea how weird until she moved there. Everywhere she goes, she sees something worth gawking at and Katie is afraid she’s a little too normal to make a splash in the big city. Working for an ogre of a boss doesn’t help.

Then, seemingly out of the blue, Katie gets a job offer from Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., a company that tricks of the trade to the magic community. For MSI, Katie’s ordinariness is an asset. Lacking any bit of magic, she can easily spot a fake spell, catch hidden clauses in competitor’s contracts, and detect magically disguised intruders. Suddenly, average Katie is very special indeed.

She quickly learns that office politics are even more complicated when your new boss is a real ogre, and you have a crush on the sexy, shy, ultra powerful head of the R&D department, who is so busy fighting an evil competitor threatening to sell black magic on the street that he seems barely to notice Katie. Now it’s up to Katie to pull off the impossible: save the world and–hopefully–live happily ever after.

The Enchanted, Inc. Series ranks as one of my all time favorite series.  It's one of my fall back comfort series (unfortunately, one of my sisters - you know who you are - borrowed my copies of the first four books like two years ago and has not returned them).  I even made Bel read Enchanted, Inc. long before we had the blog because I would not shut up about it. 

I love the legends of Merlin and King Arthur, so this modern day story about such beloved characters was a natural for me.  Also, it was a paranormal romantic comedy/mystery before the market became flooded with the genre.  Swendson is a decent writer, but the true catch of this series is the story.  This is a fantastic story.  Unfortunately, after the fourth book, 2008's Don't Hex With Texas, Ballantine decided not to pursue the series any further.  Which sucked.  Flash forward to 2012, the age of self-publishing and I am over the moon to say that Swendson is publishing not just book 5, Much Ado About Magic, but also book 6, and depending upon the success, she may publish a 7th!  WOOHOO! 

Using any excuse to re-read a favorite series, I will be reviewing the first four in the series leading up to the release of Much Ado About Magic on August 15th. 

So, Book 1, Enchanted, Inc. introduces us to Katie, a down to earth Texan transplanted to New York working for a tyrannical despot at a Manhattan office, when she mysteriously gets a job offer from MSI, Inc.  When she agrees to meet with the HR rep (and the gorgeous Owen), she is introduced to a world of myth and magic.  But even in a world with magic, people try to cheat, so MSI needs someone like Katie, who can see through the magic to know the truth, whether its a clause concealed in a contract, or someone trying to sell dangerous spells disguised as harmless items, it takes all Katie's common sense and business know how to keep these wizards in check.  This is such a fun world with wizards, talking gargoyles and fairies, all set in an otherwise normal, modern Manhattan.  A place where the most powerful person may be the one with no magical powers at all. 

You can find out more about Enchanted, Inc. and Shanna Swendson at her website www.shannaswendson.com.   Next up, I will review Book 2, Once Upon Stilettoes. 

~Shel