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Enchanted, Inc. #2
Once Upon Stilettos
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) 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.
“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) 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.
303 pages, Paperback
First published April 25, 2006
127 people are currently reading
2439 people want to read
About the author
Shanna Swendson
40 books1,132 followersOnce upon a time ...
A little girl learned to amuse herself by making up stories in her head. She turned everyday activities into exciting adventures, and she made up new adventures for characters from her favorite movies, TV shows and books. Then one day she realized that if she wrote down those stories, she'd have a book! But that was crazy, she thought. Real people don't become novelists. That was like deciding you were going to be a movie star. You couldn't just go and do it.
But, it turns out, you can, and she did. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist and seeing her stories in bookstores.
And then she started to wig herself out by writing about herself in the third-person.
This is her story.
The Novelist's Journey
As I said above in that bit of silliness, I've always been a writer at heart. My favorite way to play was to create stories and act them out with my Fisher-Price people, my Barbie dolls or myself and a box of play clothes. If none of those things were available, I could just sit and make up stories in my head. I occasionally got into trouble for being a little too creative, such as the time when I embellished a bit on my kindergarten experiences (where's the dramatic hook in coloring, cutting out and pasting?).
When I was in seventh grade and a bit old for Fisher-Price people, Barbie dolls or the dress-up box, I started writing these stories down in spiral notebooks. Later, I found an old manual typewriter, taught myself to type, then wrote a lot of first chapters of novels on it. I still hadn't figured out how to actually be a working novelist who gets paid for writing (finishing a book instead of writing a lot of first chapters might have been a good start), so when it came time to go to college, I went to journalism school at the University of Texas. While getting my degree in broadcast news, I managed to structure a curriculum that might also help me in my real career plans. I took fencing (which I thought would be useful for writing fantasy novels), an astronomy course on the search for extraterrestrial life (in case I wanted to write science fiction), psychology, interpersonal communication, and parageography (the geography of imaginary lands).
I got serious about pursuing my novel-writing ambitions soon after I got my first job in public relations (TV reporting, it turns out, would have taken away from my writing time) when I started joining local writing organizations and reading books on how to write a novel. Then I took the big step of registering for a writing conference. With the registration fee, you could enter two manuscripts in a contest that went with the conference. I figured if I was paying that much money, I'd get the most out of it, so I wrote two entries. At the conference, I met a real, live editor, who encouraged me to submit, and one of my entries won the science fiction/fantasy category of the contest. I hurried to finish the novel the editor had asked for, then mailed a proposal.
She ended up rejecting the book, but encouraged me to keep trying. I ended up selling that novel elsewhere, then sold two more books to that publisher before I had another idea for that original editor. That book ended up selling, and then one more.
And then I hit the wall. Due to a number of circumstances, some of which weren't my fault and some of which were, I didn't sell anything else for eight years. But then I had the idea that became Enchanted, Inc., I wrote it, sold it, and here I am.
Other Life Stuff
I think I need to get a few more hobbies or something else going on in my life that isn't related to reading or writing because currently my bio in my books is shorter than the "about the typeface" section. Yes, a typeface has a more interesting life than I do.
When I'm not writing, I'm most often reading. Otherwise, I enjoy watching science fiction TV shows and then discussing them on the Internet, working crossw
A little girl learned to amuse herself by making up stories in her head. She turned everyday activities into exciting adventures, and she made up new adventures for characters from her favorite movies, TV shows and books. Then one day she realized that if she wrote down those stories, she'd have a book! But that was crazy, she thought. Real people don't become novelists. That was like deciding you were going to be a movie star. You couldn't just go and do it.
But, it turns out, you can, and she did. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist and seeing her stories in bookstores.
And then she started to wig herself out by writing about herself in the third-person.
This is her story.
The Novelist's Journey
As I said above in that bit of silliness, I've always been a writer at heart. My favorite way to play was to create stories and act them out with my Fisher-Price people, my Barbie dolls or myself and a box of play clothes. If none of those things were available, I could just sit and make up stories in my head. I occasionally got into trouble for being a little too creative, such as the time when I embellished a bit on my kindergarten experiences (where's the dramatic hook in coloring, cutting out and pasting?).
When I was in seventh grade and a bit old for Fisher-Price people, Barbie dolls or the dress-up box, I started writing these stories down in spiral notebooks. Later, I found an old manual typewriter, taught myself to type, then wrote a lot of first chapters of novels on it. I still hadn't figured out how to actually be a working novelist who gets paid for writing (finishing a book instead of writing a lot of first chapters might have been a good start), so when it came time to go to college, I went to journalism school at the University of Texas. While getting my degree in broadcast news, I managed to structure a curriculum that might also help me in my real career plans. I took fencing (which I thought would be useful for writing fantasy novels), an astronomy course on the search for extraterrestrial life (in case I wanted to write science fiction), psychology, interpersonal communication, and parageography (the geography of imaginary lands).
I got serious about pursuing my novel-writing ambitions soon after I got my first job in public relations (TV reporting, it turns out, would have taken away from my writing time) when I started joining local writing organizations and reading books on how to write a novel. Then I took the big step of registering for a writing conference. With the registration fee, you could enter two manuscripts in a contest that went with the conference. I figured if I was paying that much money, I'd get the most out of it, so I wrote two entries. At the conference, I met a real, live editor, who encouraged me to submit, and one of my entries won the science fiction/fantasy category of the contest. I hurried to finish the novel the editor had asked for, then mailed a proposal.
She ended up rejecting the book, but encouraged me to keep trying. I ended up selling that novel elsewhere, then sold two more books to that publisher before I had another idea for that original editor. That book ended up selling, and then one more.
And then I hit the wall. Due to a number of circumstances, some of which weren't my fault and some of which were, I didn't sell anything else for eight years. But then I had the idea that became Enchanted, Inc., I wrote it, sold it, and here I am.
Other Life Stuff
I think I need to get a few more hobbies or something else going on in my life that isn't related to reading or writing because currently my bio in my books is shorter than the "about the typeface" section. Yes, a typeface has a more interesting life than I do.
When I'm not writing, I'm most often reading. Otherwise, I enjoy watching science fiction TV shows and then discussing them on the Internet, working crossw
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 558 reviews
June 11, 2019
Abandoned at about 40%.
It is not a bad book, it is just uninteresting. I haven’t read the first book in this series and it may be part of my problem. I would care more about the characters.
Especially for Katie. Who is by the way a pretty decent heroine for chick-lit. She is quite smart and not so clumsy or naïve. I quite like her, but not enough to read the whole book unfortunately. And her love dilemmas are not my favourite ones since I detest love triangles.
I won’t say there is no plot in here, because obviously there is one. Accompanied even by some minor subplots even. But the whole thing is rather slow and uninspired. I have the impression that the author could not fully decide which way to go, what to focus on. So we have some of this, some of that and some of nothing in particular. Boredom. The curse of sequels.
Life is too short and I have too many books waiting in line to be read to waste time on a story that does not really interest me. Again, this is not a bad book, you may like it. For me, it’s just not worth my time.
It is not a bad book, it is just uninteresting. I haven’t read the first book in this series and it may be part of my problem. I would care more about the characters.
Especially for Katie. Who is by the way a pretty decent heroine for chick-lit. She is quite smart and not so clumsy or naïve. I quite like her, but not enough to read the whole book unfortunately. And her love dilemmas are not my favourite ones since I detest love triangles.
I won’t say there is no plot in here, because obviously there is one. Accompanied even by some minor subplots even. But the whole thing is rather slow and uninspired. I have the impression that the author could not fully decide which way to go, what to focus on. So we have some of this, some of that and some of nothing in particular. Boredom. The curse of sequels.
Life is too short and I have too many books waiting in line to be read to waste time on a story that does not really interest me. Again, this is not a bad book, you may like it. For me, it’s just not worth my time.
January 25, 2011
I liked this book, but reading it was frustrating because a large part of the book involved the heroine being completely stupid and not just telling someone something for absolutely no good reason. And, of course, as soon as she told, boom, they solved the problem. A scene was shoehorned in to explain why she was just not telling, but it was still so obviously a plot contrivance that it irritated me as a reader. And this book was so predictable that it made me think that the heroine was an idiot for not being able to figure it all out. That said, I'd still give it a 2.5, because I do like the world building and characters in general, and I'll read the next book, I just wish this one didn't annoy me so much for the middle third of the book.
May 14, 2009
This is the sequel to Enchated Inc. and picks up around where the first book left off. Another book that I read for the book club and so far the responses to the book have been really positive. There are more in the series and I am looking forward to reading them.
This book is about Katie again, and she is still working at MSI. This one focuses around her parents visiting, during which she has to hid her job and the magic around her from the. She is trying to find a spy in the company and she is suddenly find it harder to see magic as easily as it use to be. Now she doesn't know who she can trust, maybe losing her powers, and has to "save" the magical world again.
What I really appricated about this book is that enough background was given so that you didn't have to read the other book first (though it is probably easier if you had read the other book) but you weren't hit over the head with the lat book summary/background. The plot was a bit simpler in this book in my opinion, but that could be because we didn't have/need as much character development in this one. The flow still worked well though and it did cover a shorter time frame I believe. Some realizations were made at the end of this book that will make the next book very interesting and keep people reading I think.
This book is about Katie again, and she is still working at MSI. This one focuses around her parents visiting, during which she has to hid her job and the magic around her from the. She is trying to find a spy in the company and she is suddenly find it harder to see magic as easily as it use to be. Now she doesn't know who she can trust, maybe losing her powers, and has to "save" the magical world again.
What I really appricated about this book is that enough background was given so that you didn't have to read the other book first (though it is probably easier if you had read the other book) but you weren't hit over the head with the lat book summary/background. The plot was a bit simpler in this book in my opinion, but that could be because we didn't have/need as much character development in this one. The flow still worked well though and it did cover a shorter time frame I believe. Some realizations were made at the end of this book that will make the next book very interesting and keep people reading I think.
November 29, 2008
I may have read the book out of order (Enchanted, Inc. comes before this and I don't even have that on Mount TBR much less have I read it), but I didn't feel that I was missing out on too much by starting with this book (though I will go back and read the first one eventually). And this book was great. It just made me feel really good while reading it, and the ending still has me smiling. In fact, all I'm thinking about is how happy and content I am with the book rather than any deeper thoughts about it.
September 13, 2008
Book two in the Enchanted, Inc. series. I definitly enjoyed the ending to this one. Once again it was a delightfully, lighted read. Just what I needed. Books three and four were ordered before I finished number two. Hopefully they will be here in a day or two. I can't wait to see what happens next.
August 31, 2008
I loved these quirky, funny books. The setting is imaginative, the main characters are likable, and I couldn't put them down.
September 3, 2008
"Once Upon Stilettos" is the second book in the Katie Chandler series by Shanna Swendsen and utterly delicious.
Although there are enough "flashbacks" and casual mentions to what has already happened, I do think you should read this series in order starting with "Enchanted, Inc." to get the most out of this book.
"Once Upon Stilettos" sees us back at MSI, Inc. and Katie promoted to Executive Assistant to Merlin (yes, THE Merlin). And despite being employed for her "ordinariness", Katie's life is anything but as she faces the holidays with her parents combined with the usual havoc of being exposed to the magical element of New York!
This is a light-hearted, fun, chick lit story with a magical twist and I was gripped to the very last page! I can't wait to start the next book - "Damsel Under Stress".
Highly recommended.
Although there are enough "flashbacks" and casual mentions to what has already happened, I do think you should read this series in order starting with "Enchanted, Inc." to get the most out of this book.
"Once Upon Stilettos" sees us back at MSI, Inc. and Katie promoted to Executive Assistant to Merlin (yes, THE Merlin). And despite being employed for her "ordinariness", Katie's life is anything but as she faces the holidays with her parents combined with the usual havoc of being exposed to the magical element of New York!
This is a light-hearted, fun, chick lit story with a magical twist and I was gripped to the very last page! I can't wait to start the next book - "Damsel Under Stress".
Highly recommended.
September 27, 2007
Katie's parents are coming for Thanksgiving, and even worse, her magical immunity is disappearing. Now she must track down a spy in the office and navigate the dating pool.
A great continuation. Owen and Katie finally get together at the end. The plot was interesting. I couldn't put it down.
A great continuation. Owen and Katie finally get together at the end. The plot was interesting. I couldn't put it down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2008
OMG. So much fun! I wasn't expecting to like this book that much because I kinda would have broken up with Katie too for trying to be so normal. But I really liked the spy angle and the way it ended! I want the next book to be full of hot wizard sex!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2008
My very favorite book of the series. Things are looking good for Katie. She has a killer pairs of heels that are enchanted and it looks like she hit the jackpot with the guys. Entertaining and and funny throughout the book.
January 5, 2009
Love this one even more than the first... couldn't put it down until I was done.
Katie is a lovable, mystery solving immune who gets herself into some funny predicaments. Just wish she'd 'fessed up to her situation sooner. Loved the ending.
Katie is a lovable, mystery solving immune who gets herself into some funny predicaments. Just wish she'd 'fessed up to her situation sooner. Loved the ending.
April 16, 2009
This great book will send you crying for more! It'll give you the power to be able to be normal and the strength to take on anything, but not patience! I loved this book and am begging for more! Thanks Shanna! Great job! I can't wait to read the third book....:)
January 18, 2008
Just as good as the first in the series; quick, funny, and very sweet.
January 4, 2008
Pretty cute when magic turns mischevious. Damn stilettos shoes have so many consequences; but some are not so bad.
June 26, 2008
cute, funny and easy to read
July 21, 2008
Thank goodness this book ended the way it did. I thought it was kind of predicable by it's title and the few things that were going on but you still had to figure out who did what. Easy one day read.
July 31, 2008
The second book in a 4 book series, another fabulous delivery by Shanna Swendson.
April 12, 2009
Fun, fun, fun!
January 7, 2010
I am looking forward to the second book in this series.
April 26, 2010
Awesome and amazing!! I can't stop smiling!! :D :D
February 4, 2008
Another magically romantic fun book to read.
November 25, 2008
Another great book by Swendson.
June 10, 2009
This was another fun read! I love the ending!!
January 27, 2020
First reread 16 May 2015
March 1, 2009
Katie, the transplanted Texan who is immune to magic, is back in another light-hearted, frothy adventure. She's dating Ethan, a lawyer who is also immune to magic and working at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc or MSI. Her boss, Merlin (yes that Merlin) trusts her to see through all the illusions and magic spells cast around him. He entrusts her with uncovering who within the company is a spy, someone in league with their enemy Idris Phelan.
Katie realizes that her immunity has disappeared and she can no longer reliably see the reality underneath the illusions. She hides it while at the same time trying to uncover who is the spy.
In the meantime, Ethan breaks up with her and she buys an incredible pair of red stilettos to cheer her up. She still has a ginormous crush on Owen, the cute, shy super powerful wizard.
And so the fun begins. This book is a cute and funny as the previous book. The author keeps it fun, inventive, and sweet even if it's slightly predictable, it's very fun to get there. And the shoes were great!
Katie realizes that her immunity has disappeared and she can no longer reliably see the reality underneath the illusions. She hides it while at the same time trying to uncover who is the spy.
In the meantime, Ethan breaks up with her and she buys an incredible pair of red stilettos to cheer her up. She still has a ginormous crush on Owen, the cute, shy super powerful wizard.
And so the fun begins. This book is a cute and funny as the previous book. The author keeps it fun, inventive, and sweet even if it's slightly predictable, it's very fun to get there. And the shoes were great!
June 24, 2009
Now that Katie Chandler has saved the world, time to take on the next challenge - saving her company, MSI (Magic Spells Incorporated) from a spy. But is it really a spy, or is it someone within the ranks of MSI stirring up trouble? This book is the second in the series, and you can catch on pretty quick if you haven't read the first one, but I would recommend reading Enchanted, Inc. first.
Katie's biggest asset or talent is her 'immunity' to magic - she can literally see right through spells and illusions. Of course, since most of her friends don't realize magic exists, she also has to carefully balance the magical and non magical worlds. Just to add to the fun, her decidedly non magical parents are paying a visit from Texas to the Big Apple - and Katie has lost her immunity to magic! Top that off with the usual single girl man troubles, and you have a recipe for a great read.
Katie's biggest asset or talent is her 'immunity' to magic - she can literally see right through spells and illusions. Of course, since most of her friends don't realize magic exists, she also has to carefully balance the magical and non magical worlds. Just to add to the fun, her decidedly non magical parents are paying a visit from Texas to the Big Apple - and Katie has lost her immunity to magic! Top that off with the usual single girl man troubles, and you have a recipe for a great read.
August 10, 2014
I really wanted to like this book, but it really fell flat for me. I would actually rate it 1.5 stars, because I didn't hate all of it, but it doesn't really deserve the two star rating I'm giving it. I hated how Katie acted in this one. Granted a lot of it was due to how she was being tampered with, but her inability to trust her coworkers seemed really out of character for her. She couldn't even trust her supposed boyfriend or the guy she had a mega crush on? Not to mention keeping her mom in the dark like she did, all because she felt her mom couldn't handle it, or that she would get recruited to MSI? When did Katie become this insecure, because it wasn't this bad in the first book! I kept wanting to drop this for another book, and considering the fact that I had gotten annoyed with a previous read and was reading this one in the middle of it made for a very annoyed reader. It really soured me on continuing the series.
April 5, 2021
I love that the office is the main setting for a paranormal chick-lit book.
What I enjoyed:
* Katie is a nice character that would be fun to hang out with
* Love triangle is cleared up
* Owen is sweet.
* The intrigue of a possible mole at the office was interesting
What could have been better:
* Katie really should have told someone sooner
* Katie's parents' visit was nice, but really not needed
What I enjoyed:
* Katie is a nice character that would be fun to hang out with
* Love triangle is cleared up
* Owen is sweet.
* The intrigue of a possible mole at the office was interesting
What could have been better:
* Katie really should have told someone sooner
* Katie's parents' visit was nice, but really not needed
June 28, 2010
This book is really cute and one of my favorites. I love the entire series. The heroine is likable, her love interest is adorable in every way, and the rest of the characters are funny and interesting. This series is unique in that you don't really hear about a heroine who is so important even though she has no powers in the magical world. Definitely my favorite series and highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 558 reviews