Katie Chandler is from a small town in Texas, but has moved to New York City to live with friends from college. She’s getting used to seeing things that seem a bit odd – like the semi-regular occurrence of random people wearing wings – because it is New York City after all. Until the day that she finds out that what she’s seeing is real – magic exists, and there are fairies, elves, gargoyles and all manner of magical creatures living in the city.
It turns out that Katie is immune to magic, a rare talent that makes her an invaluable employee prospect at MSI, Inc. – Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. She can see through the magical tricks that outsiders try to pull, and can help the company steer its way around its magical competition.
This book is very firmly in the fantasy chick lit genre – I sub genre of fantasy that I’m very often disappointed in. But I’m a sucker for an interesting story hook, and trading up from a job with a “monster” boss to a job with a real monster for a boss was irresistible. And I wasn’t disappointed. This is the first book in the series, so while there’s no overt romance, it’s pretty clear exactly who Katie will end up with at the end of the series (pretty much a prerequisite for any chick lit book I’ve ever read). But the romantic overtones at least work with the story, and life in the corporate world at MSI is just similar enough to my own day job to actually make it a bit enjoyable to read through. (It’s nice to have an alternative corporate vision to the daily grind of the cube farm.)
High art this book is not, but it was solidly enjoyable, and I will be seeking out the next three books in the series.