Damsel Under Stress and Don't Hex With Texas by Shanna Swendson

To save a little time & space (and also to get to the review of Much Ado About Magic this week), I combined the posts for Damsel & Don't Hex With Texas (Books 3 and 4 of the Enchanted, Inc. Series).   

From Ballantine Books:

To-do: Stop the bad guys. Rescue the wizard. Find the perfect outfit for New Year’s Eve.

At last, Owen Palmer, the dreamboat wizard at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., has conjured up the courage to get Katie Chandler under the mistletoe at the office holiday party. But just when it looks like Katie has found her prince, in pops her inept fairy godmother, Ethelinda, to throw a wand into the works. Ethelinda’s timing couldn’t be worse. A plot hatched by MSI’s rogue ex-employees, Idris and his evil fairy gal pal Ari, threatens to expose the company’s secrets–and the very existence of magic itself. Even worse, it could also mean the end of Katie’s happily-ever-after.

Now Katie and Owen must work side by side (but alas, not cheek to cheek) to thwart the villains’ plans. Braving black-magic-wielding sorceresses, subway-dwelling dragons, lovelorn frog princes, and even the dreaded trip to meet Owen’s parents at Christmas, Katie and her beau are in a battle to beat Idris at his own sinister game. All mischief and matters of the heart will come to a head at a big New Year’s Eve gala, when the crystal ball will drop, champagne will pour, and Katie will find herself truly spellbound.

Damsel Under Stress introduces us to the fairy godmother from hell.  Things are tense at MSI with spies in the mix, a havoc wreaking fairy godmother and more secrets surrounding Owen, Katie once again has her hands full. 

The Bad:

Honestly, I’m not overly fond of the ending of Damsel and when I first read it, I thought Katie was insane. Also, there’s a very slow build to the relationship between Katie and Owen, which feels a little drawn out, but all in all, Damsel is a fun read and a continuation of a fascinating tale.

The Good:

I love the dragons, more hilarious situations from bad dates to a church full of crazy women trying to steal Owen for their daughters and of course, the gargoyles. I know I mentioned the talking gargoyles in my review for Enchanted, Inc., but we get to go for a ride with more gargoyles in Damsel. 

Book 4 -Don't Hex With Texas

SPOILER ALERT! From Ballantine Books:

Everything’s bigger in Texas–including romance, magic, and danger!

Katie Chandler has fled fast-paced Manhattan and returned home to a simpler life, working at her family’s feed-and-seed store in Cobb, Texas. In a painfully selfless gesture, Katie had left the sexy wizard Owen Palmer to battle his demons in the magical realm–after all, Katie just seemed to attract evil, which only made Owen’s job a lot harder. But now it seems that trouble has followed her home: Despite the fact that Merlin, Katie’s old boss at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., has assured her that Cobb is free of enchantment, (magically speaking), Katie begins to notice curious phenomena.

Cobb is being plagued by a series of inexplicable petty crimes and other devilish mischief, and after her experiences in Manhattan, Katie knows“unauthorized magic” when she sees it. As this new darkness strikes deep in the heart of Texas, Owen appears (literally) to investigate. Now Katie’s friends and family must show the bad guys why it’s bad luck to hex with Texas, while Katie and Owen combine their strengths like never before to uncover a sinister plot before evil takes root in the Lone Star State.

I’m not sure I can do this review without spoilers, so if you are like me and hate too much information, STOP READING and I’m sorry! In Book 4, DHWT, Katie has returned home to Texas to live a magic free life. Or so she thought until she sees spots someone using magic in her small town.

The Bad:

I did not like Katie’s retreat to Texas. It seemed out of character for her to walk away, not just from Owen, but from her friends and more importantly from this battle that had become so much of her life. I realize it was to set up the things we learn in DHWT, but I still had a hard time buying it. DHWT is probably the slowest paced of the books, but I’ve still read it about 5 times if that tells you anything.J

The Good:
Katie’s crazy family is present and accounted for in DHWT. There are plenty of funny situations – such as Katie’s grandma and her mother. Plus, we finally get some Katie-Owen alone time. I DO love the ending and was devastated when Shanna announced in 2008 that Ballantine wasn’t going to pursue Book 5. There’s still so much to discover, including all the mystery surrounding Owen and his destiny. Thus my complete joy at discovering that today, August 15, 2012, Shanna is self-publishing Book 5, now known as Much Ado About Magic AND that there will be a Book 6 later this fall! Plus, if you guys love them as much as I do (meaning the books sell), Shanna will publish Book 7!

Continuing our Much Ado About Magic countdown, our next Enchanted, Inc. review will be Much Ado About Magic!!!!

~Shel

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

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