Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson

From Ballantine Books:

Click your heels three times and say,
“There’s no place like Bloomies!”

Katie Chandler’s life is pure magic–literally. As an executive assistant at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., she’s seen more than her share of fantastical occurrences. A mere Manhattan mortal, Katie is no wizard, but she’s a wiz at exposing “hokum” pocus, cloaked lies, and deceptive enchantments. And she’s fallen under the all-too-human spell of attraction to Owen, a hunky wizard and coworker. Owen, however, is preoccupied. Someone has broken into his office and disrupted top-secret files, and it reeks of an inside job. CEO Merlin (yes, the Merlin) and taps Katie and her special ability to uncover the magical mole.

Keeping her feelings in check while sleuthing alongside Owen, Katie is shocked to discover that her immunity to magic is waning, putting her in grave danger. Soon she’s surrendering to the charms and enchantments of everyone and everything around her, including a killer pair of red stilettos. Katie must now conjure up her natural instincts to get to the bottom of the break-in, regain her power, and win the wizard of her dreams.

In the second installment of the Enchanted, Inc. Series, we get to know more about our core characters, including a visit from Katie’s parents!  Once Upon Stilettos is funny and fast-paced and full of these embarrassing family moments you just wish you could magically erase.  Trouble strikes a little closer to home as the bad guys focus their energy on Katie, who is trying to figure out how to keep her parents and friends in the dark about magic, reassure them that she is safe and sound in Manhattan, figure out why her immunity to magic is on the fritz, all while giving her family and friends a perfect Thanksgiving.  Of course, mayhem ensues causing Katie to question, not just herself, but things she always took for granted.  I don’t want to get spoilery on you guys, so I’m trying to keep this vague.  Stilettos is probably the funniest of the series and as soon as you finish you will want to dive into Book 3, Damsel Under Stress (unlike the first time I read it, I had to wait a very long year in between the two books).

Continuing our Much Ado About Magic countdown, our next Enchanted, Inc. review will be Damsel Under Stress, which features the nuttiest fairy godmother you can imagine!

~Shel