Book Review: Much Ado About Magic by Shanna Swendson

Much Ado About Magic is the fifth installment in the Enchanted, Inc. series by Shanna Swendson. Katie Chandler is back in New York and hoping to pick up where she left off. However, she does not get her old job back at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., instead she gets a big promotion and is soon neck deep in trouble again. There is a magical crime wave sweeping through the city, and MSI's less than ethical competition is selling counter spells to the attacks. However, they are also the ones behind the spells creating havoc all over town. Katie's new job is to fix the rising marketing disaster the problem is creating for MSI, while her boyfriend and magical prodigy Owen has in integrity question by the magical community. Can Katie and friends discover who the source of the plotting and destruction, and more importantly can she prove it before a magical war is lost.

If you have read and enjoyed Swendson's other novels, then you will enjoy Much Ado About Magic as well. I do not suggest jumping in at this point in the series, the background for MSI and the characters are key in understanding some of the interplay. While new readers might be able to understand and enjoy the story, they will be missing some inside jokes that make the story even more fun to read. Katie is a character that has come into her own, she is more confident and sure of her relationships than in previous books, but she still has a few moments of dealing on how very average she is. Owen is still the good-hearted but socially awkward hero, who is crush worthy.

Readers that like magic laden books on the light-hearted side, full of fun and magic plots, would enjoy Much Ado About Magic and the rest of the Enchanted, Inc. series. I do suggest starting at the beginning, with Don't Mex With Hexes, in order to appreciate the characters' growth and complexity. While this is not the best fun urban fantasy series out there, it never fails to get me out of a reading funk or make me smile.