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lisawreading's review
5.0
A note on the rating: I was going to go with 4 stars, simply because this isn't the best of the best of the InCryptid series. But still, the entire series is terrific, so 5 stars it is!
Seanan McGuire can pretty much do no wrong in my worldview, and That Ain't Witchcraft is a prime example of why. The InCryptid series is relatively light-hearted, although bad things do happen, but overall these books maintain a whimsical, wise-ass feel that keeps the mood more on the fun end of the urban fantasy spectrum.
Eight books in, the series continues to rock and roll. The beauty (or I really should say, one of the beauties) of this series is the focus on the sprawling Price family, which gives the author plenty of characters to share the spotlight from book to book. So far, we've had three books with Verity as the lead, two with Alex, and now three with Antimony, the baby sister of the family. (I understand that the spotlight will be moving to a different family member in book #9 -- I'm already on pins and needles to see what happens next!)
That Ain't Witchcraft continues from the ending of book #7, Tricks For Free, with Antimony and friends on the run from the Covenant, the globally powerful cryptid-hating organization that would also like to track down and annihilate the entire Price clan. Looking for a hideout where they can rest and catch their breaths for a while, Antimony and the gang instead find themselves in a small town with a big problem involving the crossroads, the otherworldy entity that makes bargains that never seem to work out well for the human side.
The writing, as always in Seanan McGuire books, is snappy and snarky and full of pop-culture references and overall geekiness, and I love it all to bits. Random example:
Need I say more? In case it's not perfectly obvious, the 8th book in an ongoing series is NOT the place to start. So, I encourage you to go find a copy of book #1, Discount Armageddon, and dive in. If you're like me, you'll be hooked, and will want to keep going until you've gobbled up all eight books and are panting for more.
InCryptids rule. Check out this series!
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
Merged review:
An InCryptid novella that's included in That Ain't Witchcraft (InCryptid #8). The focus shifts to Alex and Shelby, who are called upon to help rescue a group of kidnapped Gorgon children. It's a fun, engaging story, and it's nice to revisit these characters, since we haven't seen them in a while. And we even get a little bit of the mice, which is always a plus in this series.
Seanan McGuire can pretty much do no wrong in my worldview, and That Ain't Witchcraft is a prime example of why. The InCryptid series is relatively light-hearted, although bad things do happen, but overall these books maintain a whimsical, wise-ass feel that keeps the mood more on the fun end of the urban fantasy spectrum.
Eight books in, the series continues to rock and roll. The beauty (or I really should say, one of the beauties) of this series is the focus on the sprawling Price family, which gives the author plenty of characters to share the spotlight from book to book. So far, we've had three books with Verity as the lead, two with Alex, and now three with Antimony, the baby sister of the family. (I understand that the spotlight will be moving to a different family member in book #9 -- I'm already on pins and needles to see what happens next!)
That Ain't Witchcraft continues from the ending of book #7, Tricks For Free, with Antimony and friends on the run from the Covenant, the globally powerful cryptid-hating organization that would also like to track down and annihilate the entire Price clan. Looking for a hideout where they can rest and catch their breaths for a while, Antimony and the gang instead find themselves in a small town with a big problem involving the crossroads, the otherworldy entity that makes bargains that never seem to work out well for the human side.
The writing, as always in Seanan McGuire books, is snappy and snarky and full of pop-culture references and overall geekiness, and I love it all to bits. Random example:
"He's a delicate boy. He doesn't need some loose woman coming from out of town and getting him all confused."
I blinked. "I... what? I don't know whether to be more offended by you calling James 'delicate' or you calling me 'loose.' I assure you, I am the opposite of a loose woman. I'm a tightly wound, sort of prickly woman. Hermione Granger is my Patronus."
Need I say more? In case it's not perfectly obvious, the 8th book in an ongoing series is NOT the place to start. So, I encourage you to go find a copy of book #1, Discount Armageddon, and dive in. If you're like me, you'll be hooked, and will want to keep going until you've gobbled up all eight books and are panting for more.
InCryptids rule. Check out this series!
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
Merged review:
An InCryptid novella that's included in That Ain't Witchcraft (InCryptid #8). The focus shifts to Alex and Shelby, who are called upon to help rescue a group of kidnapped Gorgon children. It's a fun, engaging story, and it's nice to revisit these characters, since we haven't seen them in a while. And we even get a little bit of the mice, which is always a plus in this series.
rusticreadingal's review against another edition
4.0
The Crossroads have come calling to collect their debt from Annie. Even though what they task her to do goes against every fiber of her being, there's no way to refuse the crossroads... right? Then, just when things couldn't possibly get worse, Leonard Cunningham, the heir to the Covenant of St. George, shows up. With everything going haywire, can Annie and her friends find a way out the colossal mess they've found themselves in?
I've had my fair share of issues with Annie in the last few books, but I have to admit, I'm gonna miss her and her friends. The next book switches narration to cousin Sarah, and while I'm so excited for that, I've really grown to love Annie and her ragtag group. I hope we get to catch up with them from time to time.
A lot happened in this book. Some lingering questions were answered, while even more questions popped up. It was really interesting learning more about the crossroads. Kinda terrifying, but very enlightening.
I've said this before, but I'll say it again: if you're a fan of urban fantasy, pick up this series. It's one of the best in the genre.
NOTE: This book contains some strong language.
I've had my fair share of issues with Annie in the last few books, but I have to admit, I'm gonna miss her and her friends. The next book switches narration to cousin Sarah, and while I'm so excited for that, I've really grown to love Annie and her ragtag group. I hope we get to catch up with them from time to time.
A lot happened in this book. Some lingering questions were answered, while even more questions popped up. It was really interesting learning more about the crossroads. Kinda terrifying, but very enlightening.
I've said this before, but I'll say it again: if you're a fan of urban fantasy, pick up this series. It's one of the best in the genre.
NOTE: This book contains some strong language.
jasonmark's review
3.0
Story is fine but the voice actor does this weird accent that I think is supposed to be Maine, but just sounds like a fake speech impediment. It's jarring and hard to stick through.
cimorene1558's review
5.0
Golly, I think this may be my all-time favourite Seanan McGuire! Certainly it's my favourite of the InCryptid series. Very funny, creepy, and I like Antimony more every book (I liked Verity less every book).
kitty_whimsical's review against another edition
5.0
So, first, I have to say that Antimony Price has really grown on me. With Magic For Nothing, her first turn as narrator, I didn't dislike her, but after the ease of Verity and Alexander, who narrated the first five books, Annie was a sharp turn in another direction. (I think she'd like that I said that about her.) Anyway, I grew quite fond of her over the last three books. She's not an easy character to love. She prickly and sarcastic in a pointed way that was entertaining, but she still has the same good heart and the best intentions that seem to be Price family traits.
As for the novel itself, I started reading with a sense of dread that something terrible was going to happen. Possibly because "something terrible" happened with many of the following volumes, and Annie's previous book Tricks For Free was filled to the brim with utter chaos and violence. I was especially concerned when Leonard, the Covenant of St. George agent intent on bringing Annie and the Prices "back to the fold," showed up, even though I knew he was coming (from the premise). Add in the slightly creepy, small-town setting, and the dread just kept on coming.
Small towns genuinely disturb me. Maybe because I grew up in one, and it was unfortunate enough to start falling apart for the same reasons as a lot of small towns: industry leaves the area, taking jobs, and Walmart moves in, essentially shutting down the local businesses. So even though New Gravesend seemed charming enough, something about it made me deeply, deeply unsettled.
The main plot of the novel had me fascinated. The crossroads come up, again and again, throughout this series. The crossroads are bad; stay away from them. Right? Except, when it came down to it, Annie had to choose between death or a crossroads deal in the previous book. Now that they've come to collect from Annie, it becomes vividly clear why it was so important to stay away. Turns out that "the crossroads" is shorthand for an eldritch entity of Lovecraftian proportions. Color me hooked.
As always with this series, the side characters are just as lovingly portrayed as those in the spotlight. I'm so glad that we got to spend more time with Fern and Cylia...I hope that we see more of them in the future, especially Cylia. Not that I didn't like Fern, but something about Cylia reminded me of myself. She takes care of her loved ones in the best way that she can. There's a part near the end about how she was making dinner for the lot of them before they head out for the big confrontation. Something was said about this being what Cylia could do. Sure, she can affect their luck (being a jink), but that can only go so far, especially given the balancing act that the jinks must perform when they decide to interfere. Try to enforce too much good luck, and they'll pay a big, painful price. So while it might be something useful in a big, bad, boss fight, Cylia's abilities are limited. But she can damned well make sure that her friends aren't going out to face something evil as anything less than their best, well-fed and energized selves. I loved that.
Bonus!
As with many of McGuie's recent releases, there was a bonus novella at the end. I'm not going to ruin it for you, other than to say that it was nice to see this particular set of characters again.
In Conclusion:
That Ain't Witchcraft brings Annie's story to a close, for now. I'm really wondering where things will go from here. I'm fascinated by the series again in an entirely new way, now that we're so deep into things. I may have mentioned this before: do not mistake this series as something fluffy. I'll let McGuire speak to this, herself:
Also...I'm really proud of these books. They're my candy-coated heart of darkness: they seem light and fluffy (talking mice! combat cheerleading!), until you start looking past the surface, and realize that they're a slow-motion Gothic tragedy, falling apart piece by piece.
— Seanan McGuire (@seananmcguire) March 31, 2018
As for the novel itself, I started reading with a sense of dread that something terrible was going to happen. Possibly because "something terrible" happened with many of the following volumes, and Annie's previous book Tricks For Free was filled to the brim with utter chaos and violence. I was especially concerned when Leonard, the Covenant of St. George agent intent on bringing Annie and the Prices "back to the fold," showed up, even though I knew he was coming (from the premise). Add in the slightly creepy, small-town setting, and the dread just kept on coming.
Small towns genuinely disturb me. Maybe because I grew up in one, and it was unfortunate enough to start falling apart for the same reasons as a lot of small towns: industry leaves the area, taking jobs, and Walmart moves in, essentially shutting down the local businesses. So even though New Gravesend seemed charming enough, something about it made me deeply, deeply unsettled.
The main plot of the novel had me fascinated. The crossroads come up, again and again, throughout this series. The crossroads are bad; stay away from them. Right? Except, when it came down to it, Annie had to choose between death or a crossroads deal in the previous book. Now that they've come to collect from Annie, it becomes vividly clear why it was so important to stay away. Turns out that "the crossroads" is shorthand for an eldritch entity of Lovecraftian proportions. Color me hooked.
As always with this series, the side characters are just as lovingly portrayed as those in the spotlight. I'm so glad that we got to spend more time with Fern and Cylia...I hope that we see more of them in the future, especially Cylia. Not that I didn't like Fern, but something about Cylia reminded me of myself. She takes care of her loved ones in the best way that she can. There's a part near the end about how she was making dinner for the lot of them before they head out for the big confrontation. Something was said about this being what Cylia could do. Sure, she can affect their luck (being a jink), but that can only go so far, especially given the balancing act that the jinks must perform when they decide to interfere. Try to enforce too much good luck, and they'll pay a big, painful price. So while it might be something useful in a big, bad, boss fight, Cylia's abilities are limited. But she can damned well make sure that her friends aren't going out to face something evil as anything less than their best, well-fed and energized selves. I loved that.
Bonus!
As with many of McGuie's recent releases, there was a bonus novella at the end. I'm not going to ruin it for you, other than to say that it was nice to see this particular set of characters again.
In Conclusion:
That Ain't Witchcraft brings Annie's story to a close, for now. I'm really wondering where things will go from here. I'm fascinated by the series again in an entirely new way, now that we're so deep into things. I may have mentioned this before: do not mistake this series as something fluffy. I'll let McGuire speak to this, herself:
Also...I'm really proud of these books. They're my candy-coated heart of darkness: they seem light and fluffy (talking mice! combat cheerleading!), until you start looking past the surface, and realize that they're a slow-motion Gothic tragedy, falling apart piece by piece.
— Seanan McGuire (@seananmcguire) March 31, 2018
andrea_heather's review
5.0
this one's my favorite because of all the stuff at the end with the crossroads. even though the whole "a character gets vocally irritated when they don't know what other characters are talking about" exposition thing makes me get vocally irritated. anyway, annie's the best
tarahleblanc's review against another edition
5.0
Love this series!!
Such a good series. I read her other one and wasn’t sure if I’d like this as much but I do!
Such a good series. I read her other one and wasn’t sure if I’d like this as much but I do!