“Enchanted, Inc”, ISBN 0-345-48125-9, is another magic realism book, this one set in New York City, written by Shanna Swendson and published by Ballantine Books in 2005. It is the beginning of a series that includes “Once Upon Stilettos,” “Damsel Under Stress,“ and “Don’t Hex with Texas.”

         Katie Chandler is ordinary, a trait direly needed by Magic, Spells and Illusions, Inc, the company actively trying to recruit her. Katie, formerly from Texas and living in New York for the past year, is skeptical at first that this is a real job offer, but the months spent surviving an ogre of a boss come to a head and she is ready to seriously consider a closer look at this mystery job.

         Not until her first day at work does she realize she traded a figurative ogre boss for a real one. But by then, that little fact is just one of many that add interest and excitement to her day. As was explained to her when she came to interview at MSI, most people have at least a little magic in them. Some, like those working for MSI, can perform magic, but many only have enough to make them susceptible to spells and illusions. Then there are the few like Katie, called immunes, who are not affected at all by magic. They can walk through magical barriers. They see through the illusions fairies, elves and gnomes wear to escape notice. And, a main reason MSI is recruiting them, they can see magically hidden clauses in contracts and notice suspicious people or actions during business meetings.

         Katie learns soon after starting work at MSI, Inc that the magical community is nervous. Apparently there is trouble brewing, but no one is sure where it will strike next. Because of her astute observations and quick thinking, Katie soon becomes invaluable to MSI, discovering and helping eliminate at least one possible threat to the company. Everything is not all serious, though, as Katie adjusts to her new life in a magical company. She socializes with her new co-workers, rescues a frog-prince, attempts to date with some seriously hilarious results, all the while juggling her new life and her old life in an effort to keep the truth from her roommates.

         This is lighthearted read with quirky characters and a fascinating world to discover. Katie Chandler is a sympathetic, down-to-earth heroine. Her observations and reactions to single life in New York City add levity to an already humorous story. I’m sure subsequent books will see her having even more fun and becoming even more invaluable to the magical community of MSI, Inc.

         “Garden Spells”, ISBN 978-0-553-80548-2, was written by Sarah Addison Allen and published in hardback by Bantam Dell in 2007. Allen has also published “The Sugar Queen” and has at least one other book due out soon. “Garden Spells” is a light, fascinating story. As with most novels published in the current culture, there are some out-of-wedlock relationships and explicit intimacy portrayed. While rare and done tastefully, some Christians might find these offensive. If you are able to overlook that, though, this book could prove to be a satisfying break from day-to-day reality.

         “Garden Spells” is a sweet magical realism story set in the small fictitious town of Bascom, NC. Many of Bascom’s residents have unique quirks (every generation of Youngs has a Phineas who is the strongest man in town, Clark women were great lovers and always married well, or all Hopkins men married older women). The Waverly family, though, was the oddest of the town. Or so it seems for Claire and Sydney, sisters who had drastically different reactions to life in the Waverly house and garden.

         Claire and her mother returned to Bascom when her mother was pregnant with Sydney. Claire relished the safety and security of life under one roof and immersed herself in the life of a Waverly. The house and garden was magical, with flowers blooming without regard to normal seasons and an apple tree that threw apples at you. If you ate one, you saw the most momentous occasion of your life. Claire, and most of the Waverly women, did not like apples as a result. In Claire’s words,

“If it’s good, you’ll suddenly know that everything else you do will never make you as happy. And if it’s bad, you’ll have to live the rest of your life knowing something bad is going to happen. It’s something no one should know.”

         Claire grows up and starts a catering business that capitalizes on the Waverly tradition of the magical garden, using the different edible flowers to impart various magical effects. Sydney, however, cannot get away from Bascom fast enough. She leaves town soon after graduation and does not return for ten years. When she does return, she is running, with her six-year-old daughter, from an abusive relationship. The book explores the tragic and sometimes humorous history and new life as the two women learn to forgive each other and forge a new, more satisfying relationship. In the end, both women find peace with themselves, their history and their new loves.