Tricks for Free is quite possibly the best installment in the InCryptid series so far, which I am sort of surprised I’m saying. I love Verity and loved the Hollywood aspects of her books, while Antimony, the main character in Tricks for Free, reminds me of my own little sister and I’m just not that into theme parks. But somehow, the combination of Antimony, theme parks and a special kind of Seanan magic, and I was HOOKED.

I couldn’t put the book down.

All of the InCryptid novels are wild, wonderful rides of mystery, magical creatures and mice and Tricks for Free is *almost* an exception. There are almost no Aeslin Mice in this book. If it weren’t for the bonus novella at the end (first available to Seanan’s Patreon supporters and now available to the public for the first time here!) there would have been no mice. (Thankfully, we’re spared THAT horror.) That’s honestly my only complaint. Not enough mice.

Antimony is holding it together, mostly, and just trying to make it from one day to the next. But of course, the universe won’t let Annie fade away. She’s a Price, after all. And Prices are always up to their neck in one thing or another. Tricks for Free is a very strong entry in the InCryptid series and I’m already dyyyyyying for the next book in the series.

Somehow, despite my general ambivalence toward theme parks, McGuire’s description of the day-to-day and behind-the-scenes inner workings of Lowryland makes the setting interesting and engaging. There’s something about seeing below the facade and shine that draws me in. Add in Annie’s struggle to understand and control her magic, keep her identity a secret, and not crack under the loneliness of being completely disconnected from her family and from Sam and you’ve got a complex, layered, rollercoaster of a novel.

This is one ride you definitely want to be tall enough for.

Antimony, Annie, Price is on the run hiding from her enemies and her family. If she went to her family the Covenant could use her magical signature to find them. Her only chance. Find a massively populated area and hope it masks her magic. What better place then one of the happiest places on earth…a Florida amusement park.

Little did she know that the amusement park is ran but a magic using cabal, just waiting to use Annie for their own means. To top it off, horrific accidents have begun to happen and Annie can’t help but think they are all centering around her because she is at the scene each accident has taken place.

Annie must do what she does best, jump right in head first without a plan in sight and let the chips end where they may…

McGuire imagination is amazing. We are now 7 into the InCryptid series and its still as original, fresh, exciting and new as the when we finished DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON back in 2012. Strong characters, heartfelt friendships and a plot with back bone.

I received this ARC copy of Tricks for Free from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. Tricks for Free is set for publication Mar. 6, 2018.

My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Seanan McGuire
Series: InCryptid (Book 7)
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: DAW
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN-10: 0756410401
ISBN-13: 978-0756410407
Genre: Urban Fantasy

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If you’ve asked me to recommend a book to you before, you have probably had to live through me squeeing and fangirling over Seanan McGuire before. So, I was initially acquainted with her when Rosemary and Rue, the first October Daye book, came out, uh, a very long time ago, and while I’ve kept up with that series religiously (at this point, my husband knows that I will be utterly useless the Tuesday in September the books annually come out on), I’m not as up to date on her others. And I’ll admit – when I first read Discount Armageddon a very long time ago, I was disappointed because I was expecting another October Daye-style series. But, Ms. McGuire is an enormously talented writer, and the InCryptid series is more of a tongue-in-cheek send-up of urban fantasy while at the same time being the one of the best entries in that genre. So, yeah, all that to say is that this is the seventh in the InCryptid series, and it absolutely can’t be read as a standalone. If you’re interested in urban fantasy starring a ballroom dancer and a bunch of highly religious mice, do yourself a favor and go start at the beginning. Mild spoilers ahead for the first six books, though I’m trying to keep it general, and, uh, lots of happy squeeing.

When I realized this would be another Annie book, and that it would be set at a “Florida theme park,” I honestly thought I was going to die of anticipation. I’m a bit of a Disney freak, and I know Ms. McGuire is as well, and seeing her take on Disney World was perhaps my favorite thing about this book. I was initially unsure of Annie, partly because she’s still quite young and figuring out who she is when she gets her first book, while the other main characters already know who they are and are just trying to navigate the world they find themselves in. In this book, though, she’s learning to control her magic and is much more sure of herself and less the whiny bratty little sister.

As always, Ms. McGuire has written an amazingly strong, well-paced plot, full of unbelievable creativity. I did think some of the twists were predictable, and I was mildly annoyed at how oblivious Annie seemed to the mayhem going on around her, but it feels more like nitpicking, honestly, when the book is this good. While I missed the Aeslin mice (“HAIL!”), there were plenty of other secondary characters, including a gorgon, that made it easier. I haven’t read the Ghost Road novels (seriously Ms. McGuire, do you not sleep???), so I have the feeling I was missing things there. While I feel like there was a lot of character development for Annie, there’s pretty much nothing in the book that advances the greater Prices vs Covenant storyline. This isn’t necessarily a critique – more a warning for anyone going into this looking for more Covenant-ness, so they won’t be disappointed.

In some ways, Ms. McGuire’s novels are like following a new baking recipe. It takes a bit of time and work to get into them, and sometimes it feels like there’s a lot of disparate elements being thrown together, but, with patience, you’re always rewarded with something absolutely delicious at the end. Highly recommended!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Annie is in hiding at Lowryland, the second happiest place on earth. Depressed and cut off from her loved ones, Annie is going through the motions until an unexpected body shows up exactly where it shouldn't be. The body leads Annie to discovering that not everything is as perfect as it seems and deciding that maybe being in hiding shouldn't prevent her from saving the world.

Tricks for Free is another interesting foray into the Incryptid world with new and old characters. Definitely worth reading if you’ve enjoyed the other novels. The short story bridges the time between the end of book 6 and the beginning of book 7 from the view of Mindy and Sam. I did miss the rest of the Price family

This is not the book to start the series with since it would mostly ruin everything that has come before. Antimony is on the run from the Covenant after they figured out she was spying on them. Knowing they can track her she runs from her family and decides to hide in a large crowd instead. Lowryland is much like other amusement parks in FL, large, crowded and employing lots of people. Annie does get a bit of good luck and scores a job there along with some cryptid roommates including someone from her roller derby days.
With everything that is going on what the story and plot do revolve around is luck. When you have it and why you have it. The plot does hinge on luck and it is explained in a great way. Overall another great read in this series but by no means the end of the story. Now to wait until the next one comes out.

Although I really didn't like Antimony Price in the previous title in the series (Magic for Nothing), I did appreciate her more in Tricks for Free. Antimony is in hiding from the Covenant in an amusement park in Florida, where she has unexpectedly finds friends from her earlier years, and believes she has found someone to help her learn to control her magic. A series of accidents indicates that all is not as it first seemed in Lowryland, and Antimony and her allies are pitted against dark forces. This particular volume of the series makes the relationship between the Incryptid world and that of the Ghost Roads series (volume 2 due to be released July 2018) more clear.

The bonus Aeslin mice novella was a lovely surprise.... some of Ms. McGuire's minor characters (in both the Incryptid and the October Daye series) have become firm favorites, and I really do love these mice!

Antimony Price is hiding from the Covenant of St. George in a theme park in Florida (but not the one you're thinking of), where the sheer mass of humanity can keep her safe. She can't go home without endangering her family, but she does have friends with her. And she may have even found someone to help her control her magic. But then the accidents begin.

Recommended.

McGuire is always amazing, and Tricks for Free is no different. A great entry in the InCryptid series, fans are sure to love this new action packed adventure!

Book 7! Book 7 People! When will I ever learn!
Antimony is on the run, and hiding in a knock theme park of sorts. Tricks for Free would have been something I would have loved if I had had started from the beginning of the series, as it was I don't have time to read 6 other books to get to this one when my tbr list is already so long. but for what it is worth it was a fun read, I did skim some parts.

ARC provided by Goodreads and NetGalley.

I like pretty much anything that Seanan McGuire writes, and am always excited to see a new book come out. The InCryptid series took me a few books to really get into, but in retrospect I think that was just because the published book series starts out following Verity, who is not my favorite character. For those who feel like I do, I would recommend trying out some of the InCryptid short stories that Seanan McGuire posts on her website. In some ways they are a better entry point to the series, and they are obviously much shorter then the full novels.

"Tricks for Free" continues Antimony's story after she flees from the Covenant at the end of "Magic for Nothing." Her current goal is to hide, and so she finds a job at a large theme park in Florida (not Disney, McGuire has actually invented her own Disney competitor here) where she can conceal herself among the masses. Unfortunately it turns out that there is trouble at the park (of course), and it's up to Antimony and her small group of allies to figure things out.

While the plot of this book is fun and engaging, I didn't like it quite as much as the previous volumes. I think that this is at least partially because this is a bit of a place holder book. The main plot of the series doesn't progress; there is no appearance by the Covenant, and the only other Price we see is ghostly Aunt Mary. That said, the Lowryland theme park sounds amazing and I want to go there immediately (hopefully minus the various instances of death and destruction). McGuire obviously had a lot of fun designing her fictional theme park and it truly ends up feeling like a real place.

"Tricks for Free" is another fun entry into the InCryptid series and I can't wait to see what Antimony gets up to next.

Annie (or should I say Melody) is back. Still on the lam to save her family, she joins a Disney-esque park, but can't stay away from trouble. Old and new characters from previous books in the series make an appearance, and it will be interesting to see where the series goes.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors. Seriously, she's on my auto-buy list. I love the worlds and characters she creates.

Incryptid is one of those worlds, and I struggle with deciding if it is my favorite or if October Daye is. Every time I read one of the books in either series, I decide that one is my favorite Seanan series. Then I read one in the other, and change my mind.

Tricks for Free picks up with Antimony's story, following the crazy events of Magic for Nothing. There is a shorty included that takes place in between the two novels, but I read that last year when it was a Patreon story, and I highly recommend reading that one first, since it takes up the story immediately while Tricks for Free's narrative starts a few months later.

Antimony has been on the run, and found her way to a theme park (of course!), hoping to hide from the Covenant in the crowds. But of course, Seanan never lets her protagonists' plans work out like they expect, so hijinks ensue. We did see some returning characters, both expected and unexpected, and made a few new friends along the way.

I'd like to say I was satisfied with this one. I loved it, but it wasn't, and doesn't ever seem to be, enough. I'm already ready for the next book -- which no information seems to be available on yet -- and can only hope that the next October Daye book's release (usually a fall thing) can tide me over until I can get my next Seanan fix.

The latest and the best of the InCryptid series. Antimony Price is on the run from the Covenant and cannot risk contacting her family lest she bring the Covenant to their door. She finds work at Lowryland, an amusement park in Florida. A magic cabal is running things behind the scenes and offer Annie a deal--let them train her to become a Sorcerer, or lose her job. She starts magic lessons while working a punishing schedule at the park. Bad accidents start to happen to people all around her. While the Covenant hasn't found her, something evil has.

This book has great, vivid characters, a fascinating setting, an intriguing plot, and a heart-pounding, thrilling conclusion. Highly reccomended.

Absolutely loved this newest installment! I miss the Aeslin mice this time around, so it was great that there was a bonus story about Mork and Mindy! I don't think there is anything that this author could write that I wouldn't enjoy. Antimony is on the run, and is hiding in a knock-off Disneyland. Luckily, she still has her dead Aunt Mary watching out for her, as well as a couple of old roller-derby buddies. And maybe there is still romance in her future...

It isn't every day I get to read a new Seanan McGuire novel, but those days are always magical. I was unsure of InCryptid in the beginning of the series, but when the series shifted to Antimony, I am all in. Antimony is a fantastically crafted character. I love her sass and courage. I can't wait for the next book!

Love Seanan McGuire's Incryptid series. Saying that Antimony is my least favorite of the Price family...but the book is still a roller coaster ride full of fun.