Review: Much Ado About Magic (Shanna Swendson)

Much Ado About Magic by Shanna Swendson
Publisher: NLA Digital Liaison Platform (2012)
Format: e-book | 235 pages
Genre(s): Paranormal Romance, Chick Lit

Description (GR): "Katie Chandler is back in New York and at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. – and just in time. The city’s in the grip of a magical crime wave from spells that wizarding whiz Owen Palmer thinks look awfully familiar, and the rogue firm Spellworks is raising its profile in the magical world by selling protective amulets. It’s Katie’s job as the new director of marketing for MSI to fight this battle of public perception while Owen and the other wizards try to uncover what’s really going on.

What Katie doesn’t realize is that her idea to stage a showcase for MSI’s magical achievements is playing right into a devious plot more than three decades in the making. Now Katie has to do damage control that has nothing to do with marketing. To save the magical world, she’ll have to prove who the real enemy is, and doing that will require digging deeper into Owen’s mysterious past than he wants anyone to go. If she fails, she not only stands to lose a magical war, but she could also lose the man she loves."

Much Ado about Magic is the much anticipated (at least by me, because I really like these books; they're just too sweet and cute) fifth book in the Enchanted, Inc series.

Katie Chandler returns to New York to ask for her old job back, at Magic, Spells and Illusions (MSI). She is has a rare immunity to magic that is very valuable to magical folk since she can spot hidden clauses in contracts and see through glamours. Her former boss, Merlin (yes, THE Merlin) accepts her back promptly because the situation with their rival (and evil) company Spellworks is not over; they might have captured a minion but the real mastermind remains at large and is still creating havoc.

With magically fueled maladies and robberies spreading through New York, the magical community is scared; and it seems like they will put their faith with Spellworks. How will Merlin and his company solve this problem?

This book was, like the previous four, a quick and cute read. Swendson knows how to captivate her readers with her light writing style.

At the same time this book was a little darker. We finally get a glimpse of the bigger plan behind Spellworks, the company that has been the bane of our heroes since book one. We also get a lot of information about Owen and his past.

I'll admit some parts of the book seemed forced (as in, the events came out of nowhere and seemed a bit implausible), but I still liked this read.

Katie and Owen start having fights and I think there was more emotional turmoil in this book, more tension and consequently more character development.

The twist at the end was pretty unexpected.

Overall, a nice, cute read that will definitely appeal to fans of chick lit who also like a bit of paranormal action. The world building is not the most original and the plot devices were a little predictable but the author makes it works and manages to combine all the elements to form an interesting story.

I received a digital copy of Much Ado about Magic from NLA Digital Liaison Platform LLC through Netgalley. Thank you.

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