Monday, May 18, 2020

Review: That Ain't Witchcraft (InCryptid #8) by Seanan McGuire

About the Book
The eighth book in the funny and fast-paced InCryptid urban fantasy series returns to the mishaps of the Price family, eccentric cryptozoologists who safeguard the world of magical creatures living in secret among humans.

Crossroads, noun:

1. A place where two roads cross.
2. A place where bargains can be made.
3. See also “places to avoid.”

Antimony Price has never done well without a support system. As the youngest of her generation, she has always been able to depend on her parents, siblings, and cousins to help her out when she’s in a pinch—until now. After fleeing from the Covenant of St. George, she’s found herself in debt to the crossroads and running for her life. No family. No mice. No way out.

Lucky for her, she’s always been resourceful, and she’s been gathering allies as she travels: Sam, fūri trapeze artist turned boyfriend; Cylia, jink roller derby captain and designated driver; Fern, sylph friend, confidant, and maker of breakfasts; even Mary, ghost babysitter to the Price family. Annie’s actually starting to feel like they might be able to figure things out—which is probably why things start going wrong again.

New Gravesend, Maine is a nice place to raise a family…or make a binding contract with the crossroads. For James Smith, whose best friend disappeared when she tried to do precisely that, it’s also an excellent place to plot revenge. Now the crossroads want him dead and they want Annie to do the dirty deed. She owes them, after all.

And that’s before Leonard Cunningham, aka, “the next leader of the Covenant,” shows up…

It’s going to take everything Annie has and a little bit more to get out of this one. If she succeeds, she gets to go home. If she fails, she becomes one more cautionary tale about the dangers of bargaining with the crossroads.

But no pressure.


My Thoughts

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.

Four Stars

4 comments:

  1. That's neat how the character grew on you so that now you'll miss her as the lead. :) I haven't tried this series by the author, but I like some of her other ones.

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    1. Annie was probably my least favorite character in this series, so I wasn't too eager to read her story arc. But I'm so glad I finally did. I love when an author can totally change my opinion of a character for the better. It's rare, but so awesome when it does happen. :)

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  2. It does sound like she has a ragtag group of friends. And the focus of the crossroads in this one is intriguing. I really do need to give this series a try. :)

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    1. It's such a fun series. I think you'd really like it. :)

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