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katieinca's review
3.0
I was excited for the narrator change, because we've been hearing about this youngest sister for 5 books now. Antimony as a character was great. The rest of the cast wasn't as strong, and the plot/pacing wasn't my favorite. And McGuire occasionally write something that makes me think "oh hey was that a clue? or a red herring?" and then the answer turns out to be "oh, that's just something that doesn't make sense that she's never going to explain and I'm not supposed to think about it." This had a biggish one. So, still fun, but not as much as most of the earlier ones. 3.5?
embereye's review
Just going to sit over here waiting impatiently for the next one. Mild spoiler/warning, it ends in a mild cliff hanger.
crochetchrisie's review
5.0
Ooh, my most favourite so far! I haven't read any of the short stories so this is my first real look at Antimony. I like her! I think she is a tiny bit hard on Verity though...
Blasted through this one in a day. :)
Blasted through this one in a day. :)
jesslynh's review
5.0
Funtastic
Ugh, that's a terrible title. This is the best Cryptic book, IMO. Ms. McGuire has hit her stride in the series and I look forward to more.
Ugh, that's a terrible title. This is the best Cryptic book, IMO. Ms. McGuire has hit her stride in the series and I look forward to more.
maxtrommelen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
cwebb's review
4.0
Got this one cheap in a used book store and got lucky as it is the first one to feature a new member of the family. Urban fantasy, lots of humor, an easy read. Not a favorite of mine, but nice enough I might pick up some more if I get them at a good price.
bunrab's review
4.0
If you haven't read the previous books in the series, this one isn't going to make a lick of sense. That said, it's a very funny series and worth reading - go back and start from the beginning and get to this one in order. This volume is a little darker than the previous ones, though - fair warning.
tani's review
4.0
I was so excited when I read that this book was going to be about Antimony, and even more excited when I read that she was going to be infiltrating the Covenant. My expectations for this were incredibly high, so maybe that's why it fell a bit flat for me. I still enjoyed it a lot, but it might actually be my least favorite book of the series.
My problem is, I felt like a lot of the Covenant infiltration plot didn't really go anywhere. Antimony puts herself at risk in a huge way, and at the end of the day, I don't feel like my understanding of the Covenant was really affected in any way by her experiences. I see and respect what McGuire was trying to do with the plot and the way that she handled it, but I'm still left with the feeling that nothing much happened for the first 40% of the book. I don't know, maybe I'm being a bit overly critical. I wasn't in the best mental space when I was reading the first part of this book, so that probably didn't help. I just wanted more from it, I guess.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed having Annie as a POV character. After spending 5 books with Verity and Alex demonizing her, it was nice to get a glimpse into her head and discover that she's actually the least selfish and most practical of the three of them. (Which doesn't change my affection for Verity and Alex in any way. It just adds depth to my perception of them.) It was fun getting to know Annie and realizing that she's probably the sibling that I empathize with the most.
My favorite part of the book, though, was hands-down the romance. I absolutely fell in love with Annie and Sam as a couple. So cute! So sweet! Yup, there may have been some fangirlish squeeing over the two of them. I can't say too much about them because it can get into spoiler territory, but McGuire really hit my buttons with them. A++ rating from me on that.
Other than that, the series continues to deliver on some of my favorite elements: fun encounters with random incryptids, steadfast protection of said incryptids by the Price family, a bit of identity-related skullduggery, and the Aeslin mice. In fact, the subplot involving the Aeslin mice was another of my favorite parts of the book. (Also, I thought that Antimony's attitude toward the mice was a refreshing change after Alex and Verity's benign semi-distaste.)
So, color me excited for the next book!
My problem is, I felt like a lot of the Covenant infiltration plot didn't really go anywhere. Antimony puts herself at risk in a huge way, and at the end of the day, I don't feel like my understanding of the Covenant was really affected in any way by her experiences. I see and respect what McGuire was trying to do with the plot and the way that she handled it, but I'm still left with the feeling that nothing much happened for the first 40% of the book. I don't know, maybe I'm being a bit overly critical. I wasn't in the best mental space when I was reading the first part of this book, so that probably didn't help. I just wanted more from it, I guess.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed having Annie as a POV character. After spending 5 books with Verity and Alex demonizing her, it was nice to get a glimpse into her head and discover that she's actually the least selfish and most practical of the three of them. (Which doesn't change my affection for Verity and Alex in any way. It just adds depth to my perception of them.) It was fun getting to know Annie and realizing that she's probably the sibling that I empathize with the most.
My favorite part of the book, though, was hands-down the romance. I absolutely fell in love with Annie and Sam as a couple. So cute! So sweet! Yup, there may have been some fangirlish squeeing over the two of them. I can't say too much about them because it can get into spoiler territory, but McGuire really hit my buttons with them. A++ rating from me on that.
Other than that, the series continues to deliver on some of my favorite elements: fun encounters with random incryptids, steadfast protection of said incryptids by the Price family, a bit of identity-related skullduggery, and the Aeslin mice. In fact, the subplot involving the Aeslin mice was another of my favorite parts of the book. (Also, I thought that Antimony's attitude toward the mice was a refreshing change after Alex and Verity's benign semi-distaste.)
So, color me excited for the next book!
lisawreading's review
5.0
What am I going to do when I run out of Seanan McGuire books to read? After 6 InCryptid books, there's only one remaining before I'm caught up for now and (gasp) have to find something different to read.
Magic for Nothing focuses on Antimony Price, the baby sister of the family (maybe that's why I like her so much?), who -- thanks to Verity's antics in the previous book -- is sent on a dangerous mission to infiltrate the Covenant. Meanwhile, there are carnivals and trapezes and monkey shapeshifters, so despite the real and intense danger and emotions, there's also the oodles of fun expected in an InCryptid novel.
Onward to #7!
Magic for Nothing focuses on Antimony Price, the baby sister of the family (maybe that's why I like her so much?), who -- thanks to Verity's antics in the previous book -- is sent on a dangerous mission to infiltrate the Covenant. Meanwhile, there are carnivals and trapezes and monkey shapeshifters, so despite the real and intense danger and emotions, there's also the oodles of fun expected in an InCryptid novel.
Onward to #7!