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A review by tani
Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire
4.0
After having some trouble getting into the previous book in this series, I was a bit worried about this one, but it turns out that my worries were completely unfounded. Tricks for Free was one of my favorite entries in the series to date. Annie has really grown on me, I guess.
So, in this book, Antimony is on the run from the Covenant, and is hiding out at Lowryland, the next best thing to Disneyland. She starts the book alone, without a plan, and still fighting to keep from burning down everything she touches. I don't want to say too much about what happens during the book, as I think this is one that is truly better if you don't know what's going to happen, so I guess I'll keep this relatively short.
First, the setting of this was a lot of fun. Disneyland is where I went for my honeymoon, so having a setting that was somewhat modeled after that was really amusing for me, and made the beginning of the book a bit more absorbing than it might have otherwise been.
Second, I loved that we got to learn more about magic in this book. We also got a few new incryptids, both of whom were pretty awesome, but the magic was a real highlight for me. I'm really glad that Annie is a magic-user because it adds a very cool extra layer to her character and the world-building, and its an element that I'm excited to see more of in the next book.
Third, there's a real found family theme building in Annie's books that I'm honestly loving. It's the kind of thing that absolutely makes sense for Annie, who feels pretty alienated from most of her actual family, and the people that she chooses for that found family are pretty awesome. Also, having a slightly larger cast of characters in this book was a real draw for me, and I hope that all of the characters get more time to grow and develop in the next book.
Also worth mentioning is the little novelette at the end of the book, which tells the story of a few things that happened in between this book and the previous one. It was a cute and touching addition to the series, and I'm glad I got to read it.
Anyway, I'm really excited that the next book will also feature Annie, and I can't wait to see where the story takes her!
So, in this book, Antimony is on the run from the Covenant, and is hiding out at Lowryland, the next best thing to Disneyland. She starts the book alone, without a plan, and still fighting to keep from burning down everything she touches. I don't want to say too much about what happens during the book, as I think this is one that is truly better if you don't know what's going to happen, so I guess I'll keep this relatively short.
First, the setting of this was a lot of fun. Disneyland is where I went for my honeymoon, so having a setting that was somewhat modeled after that was really amusing for me, and made the beginning of the book a bit more absorbing than it might have otherwise been.
Second, I loved that we got to learn more about magic in this book. We also got a few new incryptids, both of whom were pretty awesome, but the magic was a real highlight for me. I'm really glad that Annie is a magic-user because it adds a very cool extra layer to her character and the world-building, and its an element that I'm excited to see more of in the next book.
Third, there's a real found family theme building in Annie's books that I'm honestly loving. It's the kind of thing that absolutely makes sense for Annie, who feels pretty alienated from most of her actual family, and the people that she chooses for that found family are pretty awesome. Also, having a slightly larger cast of characters in this book was a real draw for me, and I hope that all of the characters get more time to grow and develop in the next book.
Also worth mentioning is the little novelette at the end of the book, which tells the story of a few things that happened in between this book and the previous one. It was a cute and touching addition to the series, and I'm glad I got to read it.
Anyway, I'm really excited that the next book will also feature Annie, and I can't wait to see where the story takes her!