Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

"Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.
When Brimstone called, she always came."

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought. 

-- Goodreads.com description --

I have to admit, after reading so many good reviews on this one, I expected a lot. And at first, I felt that Daughter of Smoke and Bone did not live up to my expectations. I actually put it down for a couple of days. When I started reading it again, I was sucked in and read the rest in one sitting. I was blown away with the direction the book took. I highly recommend to finish this book before making your mind up about it. Since I am currently taking a classical mythology class, I adored the fact that the author made up myths. In my opinion this is one superior young adult book you have to read! It is also very refreshing that it is set for the most part in Prague. That's something that doesn't normally happen in young adult books. This book is very original and I would recommend it to anyone! 5 out of 5 stars!

Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson

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) and 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.

-- Goodreads.com description -- 

This is the second book in the Enchanted, Inc. series by Shanna Swendson and I am absolutely falling in love in with the series! I picked this one up fairly cheap on kobo.com and the rest of the series will soon follow, I imagine. I am very stressed out at the moment and that's why I was looking for something light, fun and cute to read and I hit the jackpot with Enchanted, Inc. I can't believe it took a book promotion for me to get this series on my radar. It deserves to be a lot more popular. It has an interesting magic system and the romance in the story is just adorable. You all need to read this series, I, for one, can't get enough of it and I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars! Read it!

Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson

DON'T MESS WITH HEXES

Katie Chandler had always heard that New York is a weird and wonderful place, but this small-town Texas gal had no idea how weird until she moved there. Everywhere she goes, she sees something worth gawking at and Katie is afraid she's a little too normal to make a splash in the big city. Working for an ogre of a boss doesn't help.

Then, seemingly out of the blue, Katie gets a job offer from Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., a company that tricks of the trade to the magic community. For MSI, Katie's ordinariness is an asset.

Lacking any bit of magic, she can easily spot a fake spell, catch hidden clauses in competitor's contracts, and detect magically disguised intruders. Suddenly, average Katie is very special indeed. 

She quickly learns that office politics are even more complicated when your new boss is a real ogre, and you have a crush on the sexy, shy, ultra powerful head of the R&D department, who is so busy fighting an evil competitor threatening to sell black magic on the street that he seems barely to notice Katie. Now it's up to Katie to pull off the impossible: save the world and--hopefully--live happily ever after.

-- Goodreads.com description -- 

Well, this book was quite a surprise. I got a good deal for the first e-book in this series and decided to go for it. I must say, I liked it way more than I expected! It is a cute, fantastic and romantic read. At times it even made me laugh out loud which doesn't often happen. The characters were very entertaining and I adore all of them. In short, this is a very enjoyable read. If the synopsis sounds good to don't hesitate to give it a try! This book deserves a 5 out of 5 stars!

Chew Volume 2: International Flavour

Tony Chu, the cibopathic federal agent with the ability to get psychic impressions from the things he eats, is on a bizarre new case. A newly discovered fruit takes Agent Chu to a remote island full of secrets, Presenting the second storyline of IGN.com's pick for Best Indie Series of 2009 and MTV Splash Page.com's pick for Best New Series of 2009. Find out what the fuss is about in this latest a twisted and darkly funny comic about cops, crooks, cooks, cannibals and clairvoyants.strangeness-and a shadowy killer with a particularly sinister appetite.

-- Goodreads.com description --

After such an original and entertaining first volume, I expected a lot from this instalment. However, I can't help feeling a tiny bit let down. International Flavour got off on a good start and all in all it's not a bad volume but I had a problem with it. Out of a sudden, there was a vampire in the story. Now, normally I don't have problems with vampires but where did he suddenly come from? It felt very out of place. I do have high hopes that this question will have a satisfying answer in the next volumes, as I'm sure there is a perfectly disgusting answer to it. Furthermore, I would have liked to see more of Mason. It felt a bit off focus from the first volume but I'm sure this will be resolved in later volumes as well. 

Ultimately, I gave this comic 4 out of 5 stars! And I still highly recommend this series to anyone! Read it!