Much as I love the character of Antimony, the previous two books in this series have been a bit of a downer. However, in this one, Antimony finally hits her stride! (Just in time for McGuire to transition to another character. :-/ ) Still, I enjoyed this one much more than the previous two books and really enjoyed getting to spend time with the characters again.

One more complaint though: I MISS THE MICE. *sigh*

Next up: Sarah's book! Yay!

That Ain't Witchcraft is the Eighth installment in author Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series. It is also the third book featuring Antimony (Annie) Price, the youngest of the Price family of cryptozoologists. As Annie's story continues, she and her friends Cylia, Fern, and Sam are still attempting to lie low and not be caught by the Covenant of St. George who her sister Verity declared war on in the book called Chaos Choreography.

There is more to Annie's story, but I won't get into it for fear of spoiling something for readers who haven't read the series yet. It's fair to say that Annie has made her share of enemies since leaving home without any support, but she continues to blame her sister for her troubles which I am honestly sick of. She has the Covenant who wants to bring Annie back to them, she has a group of Sorcerers from Lowryland who she pissed off, and she has the Crossroads just itching to collect on a debt she owes them for saving her life.

This story takes Annie from Ohio, where she meets monsters called Corn Blight, to Maine where she encounters a sorcerer named James Smith who lost his best friend to the Crossroads and learns that the Crossroads has decided to call in their marker. The crossroads is an otherworldly entity that makes bargains that never really seem to go the way people want them to go. One of this series reoccurring characters, Mary Dunlavy, is a crossroads ghost and also a sort of babysitter protector for the Price family, especially Annie.

If you thought the author was just going to have Annie face off against the Crossroads, boy are you mistaken. Nope, she has to bring back one Leonard Cunningham who just happens to be the heir apparent to the Covenant of St. George. Leonard believes that Annie wants to come back with him to London. Annie has other ideas. The Covenant would also like to bring the entire Price family down in flames. The Covenant of St. George was founded to uphold one simple ideal: anything that was not present on the Ark—anything they deemed "unnatural"—needed to be destroyed.

Monsters. Creatures of myth and legend. All of them would be wiped from the Earth in the name of Man's dominion. Unfortunately for them, not all the monsters agreed with this plan...and neither did all the human beings. They hate the fact that Annie's family has tried to protect certain species. Annie's friends are all cryptid's and they are not easily impressed with those who want them dead.

The Price family has been monitoring, working with, and attempting to survive encounters with the cryptid population of North America since the early 1900s, when Alexander and Enid Healy first immigrated from England. In that time, the family has managed to amass a great deal of information about these cryptids. Most of it is potentially even accurate. The Price family also has a weakness. They tend to adopt allies into their family, including Cryptids like Sarah.

So, why my rating you ask? Sam. I have not been an easy reviewer to please when it comes to Sam. I hate the fact that he spends a large chunk of this story feeling like someone took away his cookie stash, and won't give them back. I get that Sam left a life behind for Annie. Yes, I do get that. But, nobody told Sam to continue on this ride with Annie and her group. He could have gone home to his grandmother at any time. It's fair to say that I am hoping that this is the last Annie book for awhile.

There is a short novella in the back of this book featuring Alex Price and Shelby Tanner who readers last saw in Pocket Apocalypse. It also features a few characters who you will have met before if you've read this entire series. The next book in the series, Imaginary Numbers, will be narrated by Sarah Zellerby. The first Cryptid to take the lead role in this series.

Annie (Antimony) is now officially my favorite Price of this generation and That Ain’t Witchcraft is officially my favorite of the series. Now you understand why I kept up the binge read, though it wasn’t why I started it and I wouldn’t have continued if the books showed the type of writing patterns that get too obvious. This is a five star book, something I use rarely, because it hit all my sweet spots. Please forgive me if this review has a little too much gush.

To get them out of the way, I’ll mention a few things to know.

This is an immediate follower to the previous one (Tricks for Free), though not in the time passes sense. However, there are quite a few quick catch-up passages in the first two chapters, allowing this to be an entry point into the series as well. If you’ve read the previous books recently, as I have, this is unnecessary recap. It’s flush with the tone of the series so wasn’t a problem except in that I was waiting to see what this story would be. Turns out it’s about getting a break, relaxing in hiding, and washing the dust of many roads off their feet… I bet you can guess how well that turns out.

I do think Cylia was cheated in the last. She burned a ton of good luck to get them to where they are in the middle of a nightmarish confrontation. Seems she deserves a refund.

In case you didn’t notice, especially when reading in eBook, there is a bonus novella at the end. It’s a beautiful story and well worth the read, but it was a little startling to have the main book end at around 80% because I didn’t realize the novella was there. It’s going to be a long year because while the book has a satisfying ending with a lovely epilogue, it didn’t go as far into what comes next as I thought it would (probably influenced by the amount remaining), and I want to know more.

Oh, and not really important or surprising, but I loved the pop (nerd?) culture references, and even better how they blended into the story and became relevant. Sam’s nature makes me love him, but he’s been a bit isolated so didn’t bring out this side of Annie. This is why a community is better than isolation. She’s able to express all sides of her, and that’s her true strength. She brings people together into a chosen family, each with their own strengths and weaknesses so they work better together than in isolation.

This book takes a sideways look at the whole personhood theme I read the series for. The emphasis is more on working against evil, but the underlying theme is still present with an interesting development that may bear fruit sometime in the future. There is one jarring note when Annie sets the first human she killed (two books ago) as somehow more significant than the non-humans despite being equally dangerous to all sapient beings that aren’t human…and any humans related to a Price. It’s a passing comment so might not mean what it seems to say. The novella squashes that as a theme quite thoroughly, BTW. Thank you, Shelby.

Annie has become everything I click with beyond the one stumble on personhood trumps species. I don’t know how much was her growing on me, or just her growing, but that’s how she became my favorite. She’s determined to give people a chance, to love them and accept them into her chosen family as long as they’re willing to do the same. Those who are not willing she’ll defend her family against to the end of time, all the while trying to show the willful doubters the errors of their ways.

I love how Annie understands Fern and why friends are so important to the sylph. Her relationship struggles with Sam are poignant and true to the kinds of adaptations necessary to become a couple, though they face more challenges than most because of Annie’s self-appointed position as savior of the world. It’s a family tradition, sure, but she owns it. She always tries to give her friends an out, to let them choose not to follow her down the path to almost certain destruction. But when they disagree, as you have to know they will, she accepts their help and is happy for it. Her ability to recognize not just the magic/cryptid situation, but the life conflicts is definitely one of her strengths.

I hope this gives you some sense of why I loved this story, though it’s hard to talk around all the potential spoilers. Not even counting the fun geek references and word play, this is a wonderful book with harsh moments as well as lighter ones. It’s the kind of tale that seeps into your bones and makes you face the hard questions while entertaining you enough that you don’t want it to end…even for the treat of a bonus novella.

P.S. I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review…though our copy is on its way because not talking about those fun moments with my husband is killing me.

Annie, Sam, Fern and Cylia may have escaped Lowryland with their lives but it came at a high price considering that Annie now owes an unspecified favour to the Crossroads. It doesn't help that Annie is still running from the Covenant of St. George so she can't even turn to her family for help. All the group can do is try to stay ahead of the game, Cylia's luck magic has been playing a big part in keeping them safe but luck will only get them so far and it's only a matter of time before the Covenant catches up with them and the Crossroads calls in it's debts.

I have to confess that I still don't love Annie as much as her siblings but she has really grown on me as we've got to know her better and That Ain't Witchcraft was definitely my favourite of the stories she has narrated. It's no secret that I didn't love the Lowryland setting of the previous book so I really enjoyed seeing the group out in the real world again never quite knowing what they'll come up against next. We get to find out quite a bit more about Annie's magic in this book which I really enjoyed and she definitely has to keep her wits about her when her two biggest enemies come calling at the same time.

I don't want to say too much about what happens but I loved the plot with the Crossroads, we learn so much about them as an entity and the way their magic works which is something I've always been curious about. We also learn more about a certain Covenant operative and their plans for Annie and her friends but you're just going to have to read the book for yourself if you want the juicy details. This story just seemed to have far more action overall than the previous one and it really moved the overall series story arc forward. I'm already desperate to get my hands on the next book to see where things go from here.

This book also includes an extra short story at the end called The Measure of a Monster which is narrated by Alex and features Shelby, Sarah and the Gorgons. Once again Seanan McGuire proves her skill at writing short stories and this was an excellent addition to this world, it was great to catch up with Alex and Shelby, I loved spending more time with the gorgons and it was brilliant to see how Sarah's health is improving. I believe the next couple of full length books will be narrated by Sarah which just has me even more excited.

Seanan McGuire has been one of my favorite authors ever since I began reading her October Daye series. She has a unique voice and a way with dialogue that sticks with a reader. When she began The Incryptid series, I was immediately hooked, especially by the diverse, incredibly detailed world and characters that have flair and rich backgrounds. “That Ain’t Witchcraft” is the eighth novel in the series, the third focusing on the youngest Price daughter, Antimony. Not only does it continue Seanan McGuire’s tradition of excellent craftsmanship but the story is engaging, thrilling, and completes Antimony’s character arc in an unexpected fashion.
Here is what the Amazon description of the book says: 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.

First, the plot is captivating. Seanan McGuire is truly talented at building a story that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. Each step of the way, the characters have choices they make that lead to further problems. The main character, Antimony, is on the run, helped by her friends and boyfriend but she still is stuck not being able to go home. Not only does Seanan build a unique solution to the problem but she carries multiple threads that are all resolved by the end of the novel. Between the Covenant and the Crossroads, the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat, up late at night and completely wrapped up in the story.
One of the foundations of Seanan’s style is her way with worldbuilding. With the Incryptid series, she has built a rich urban fantasy world, one where she re-envisions fairytales and urban legends from around world into a new form, one where humans aren’t the good guys, where some of them care but some are the hunters, the ones that are the monsters under the bed. In this book, she builds on that idea, especially with Antimony’s boyfriend being cryptid as are her best friends. Despite the humans in Antimony’s life, it is those who are different who handle the problems in this story and are the support for Antimony. It is incredible to see this type of spin on a paranormal world. I’ve seen others that embrace the different but this is a world where even the non-humans are different than the types we normally see the grace the pages of books like this one. Instead of vampires, werewolves, and demons, we get Furi Monkey, Jinxes, and Sylphs. That unique vision is why I keep reading every book Seanan McGuire puts out.
Most of all what I love most, especially in this novel, are the characters. This story would not nearly be as amazing without the incredible people that Seanan creates. Antimony is complex, strong willed, sarcastic and full of spunk. As the main character, she is the focus of the novel and she holds that attention perfectly, engaging the reader in the plot and being a dynamic force for the novel. She isn’t perfect but so few people are and one of the strengths of Seanan McGuire’s writing is her ability to create characters with rich, diverse backgrounds, with strengths and weaknesses, and never cookie cutter, two dimensional. The best part of Antimony Price as a character is that she doesn’t always make the right choice, doesn’t have all the answers and doesn’t always fix everything but she has a team which is how the story works. Not only is she a brilliant character but so are the rest of the characters in the novel.
The secondary characters are as interesting and engaging as Antimony, the main character. Her boyfriend, Sam, is willing to follow her path, instead of the other way around but he isn’t a passive character. As a character, he has opinions of his own as do Antimony’s friends, Cylia and Fern. Fern isn’t a fighter but she has her own contributions to make. Cylia ensures that they have a place to stay and all of them help Antimony when she meets James Smith, to help find a solution to the Crossroads coming after him. Included in the dynamic group is Antimony’s adopted aunt Mary, who still gives Antimony input, even when she can’t help any other way. Much like Antimony, they are people who keep the reader engaged in the story and add their own elements to the novel.
With fantastic worldbuilding, rich details to the plot, surprise ending and realistic, engaging characters, this is one of the best novels I’ve read. It kept me up at night, was thrilling, and Seanan McGuire has done it once again, giving readers a great story and builds the universe she has created in the Incryptid series. I can’t wait for her next book!

Annie and her crew have settled in New Gravesend, Maine. They meet James Smith who is trying to get his friend back from the crossroads. As they research how to get her back, the come to find out that a dark entity has killed the original owner of the crossroads. Now they need to find James' friend and kill this dark entity. This was such an awesome read that kept me wanting more. Seanan Mcguire Is a master of her craft. Her word building and storytelling is always very well-developed. I cannot wait for the next book in the series. I give That Ain't Witchcraft (InCryptid Book 8) 5/5 stars.

That Ain’t Witchcraft is a fantastic fantasy adventure filled with supervillains, ghosts, and non-human entities aplenty. From the start, it’s hard to put down, flying a mile-a-minute toward magical forces that want to kill our protagonist and her team of misfits. As always, McGuire delivers a thrilling story filled with everything you could want from a fantasy novel.

Full review to be published on 3/6/19: https://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/03/06/that-aint-witchcraft-book-review

Annie, AKA Antimony Price, and a group of her incryptids friends are on the run for the covenant. They thought they found a safe hide-a-way in Maine, only to discover that not only did the future leader of the covenant, Leo track Annie down. But they are also sitting on a serious crossroads, with the crossroads ready to claim the debt Annie incurred when they saved her and Sam.

That Ain’t Witchcraft is one of those white knuckle, packed full of everything you’ve been waiting to find out, McGuire reads! Not one second of down time in this amazing addition to the InCryptid series. I do believe That Ain’t Witchcraft is now my favorite in this series and that is saying something since I really enjoyed them ALL.

I received this ARC copy of THAT AIN'T WITCHCRAFT from Berkley Publishing Group - DAW. This is my honest and voluntary review. THAT AIN'T WITCHCRAFT is set for publication March 5, 2019.

My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Seanan McGuire
Series: InCryptid
Sequence in Series: 8
Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: DAW
Publication Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN-10: 0756411793
ISBN-13: 978-0756411794

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/That-Witchcraf...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/that...
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/that...
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If you've been digging deeper and deeper into Seanan McGuire's InCryptid world, both with this series and her Rose Marshall/Ghostroads series, you've probably begun to have a lot of questions about the Crossroads, both as a place and an entity. Well, do we have a book for you. You may not have all your questions answered in this outing- you won't be getting Thomas Price back for Alice Healy-Price- but you're going to find some satisfying answers in this eighth book in the InCryptid world.

When we last left Antimony Price in Tricks for Free she was on the run from the Covenant of St. George. She escaped with her life and that of her boyfriend Sam (a fûri), and friends Cylia (a jink) and Fern (personal density changing sylph), after making a dicey bargain with the Crossroads, with the help of her ghost babysitter Mary Dunlavy. Knowing the Price family as we do, it should seem only natural that Antimony should follow the gradient to more danger rather than less. And that's how the four of them end up in a nice small town in Maine called New Gravesend (you read that right), meeting a nice ice sorcerer named James, an all-too-familiar ghost named Bethany, and that eldritch terror called the Crossroads. If that isn't stressful enough, what will the quartet (quintet? sextet?) do when when none other than Leonard Cunningham, heir apparent of the Covenant, shows up, crossbow in hand, thanks to that awesome tracking spell he has for tracking Antimony? Over the past two books we've seen that Annie is at her best when the chips are down. Or, well, maybe she's just at her craziest. Whatever it takes, she's going to get her team through the evolving disaster that is a Crossroads bargain. If the Crossroads have any sense at all, they'll pack up and go back to whatever dimension they belong to. You know what? Maybe Leonard should go home, too. Antimony Price is just done with them.

This was a wonderful conclusion to Antimony's story arc. I'm hoping Mindy and also Mork will get an accurate accounting of the events, which were delightful fun if you don't mind a bit of mad terror. I continue to enjoy Annie and have grown very fond of Sam. James is a fine addition to the madcap world.

This novel is also bound with a novella titled The Measure of a Monster featuring Alex and Shelby, and Alex's cousin Sarah, a cuckoo, who will be the main character of book nine in the series.


I received a Digital Review Copy from DAW in exchange for an honest review.

So, with the eighth book of the InCryptid Series, Seanan McGuire decided to play around with her worlds' actual well being by having Annie confront the crossroads. Annie made a bargain with the crossroads in book 7, and it wants to collect. However, it's pushed Annie to do something she doesn't want to do: take a life for the sake of taking a life. And even a metaphysical being like the crossroads should know better than to make a Price do something they don't want to do.

We're still hanging out with Annie and her ragtag family that she's made for her self over the last bunch of novels. Annie never felt part of the Prices even though she clearly loves them and considers herself family, but with Celia, Fern, and Sam she felt more grounded than at the beginning of her adventure. She's still on the run from the Convenant of St. George and is holed up in a cabin in the woods of Maine. Only that's what she thinks. Turns out their neighbor is a sorcerer too and has a grudge against the crossroads. Oh, and she has an unexpected stalker.

I really, really like it when Seanan McGuire lets her characters have the huge stakes that Annie finds out she has. It gives them a chance to show a nobility that few can actually master without being tiresome. In this novel, the whole fabric of the world is at stake, and Annie and her friends are unexpectedly the only ones who can stop it. Annie gets to step up again and throw herself into danger with nothing more than a threadbare plan. In doing so, so much falls into place, and the Aeslin mice show up in the narrative in a super creative way.

McGuire is one of my go-to authors both for her lyrical writing style, and her creative use of myth and folklore. The way she uses folklore - especially in this series - to create a deep fantasy world that is both separate and part of our world, is fascinating to me. The are very few urban fantasy writers that can create so many systems that work together and make it plausible. I am here for whatever comes next.

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.

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!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Another fantastic addition to a fun series. I'm so happy we've had three books of Annie -- it has been a great journey. I think of the three siblings, Annie is my favorite.
Honestly, these books have a great mix of fantasy while still feeling like real life and there continue to be more and more supernatural creatures which is astounding. This is a world that is easy to get swept up in.

I'm not a total fan of how things concluded in this one- it got a bit complicated, but on the whole I think it worked out well. I do like how we now have potential how other main characters in the future.
I was hoping there would be more Fern, it felt like her character hot pushed to the side in this book, since there wasn't much for her to do. I did like how positive Sam and Annie's relationship is. It is hard because we don't have a chance to see Annie support Sam, but there is love, respect, and patience which hints that no matter what they will be there for each other.

The novella was sweet and I'm we got to see more of Sarah. I have missed interactions with her. I hope she gets a bigger role in future books.

Really looking forward to more additions to this series.

Antimony Price is one of those characters that has "grown on" me over the course of the series. The past three titles in the Incryptid series have focused on Antimony, Fleeing Lowryland, Annie and her friends have found what appears to be a safe haven in New Gravesend (how's that for a reassuring place name?), Maine, only to have Covenant scion Leonard Cunningham appear, intent on convincing Annie that they belong together and to return with him to the Covenant. More importantly, Annie has stumbled into an area strongly affected by the Crossroads, and the debt she owes is being called due. A very quick read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Daw Books for the opportunity to read the eARC.

"Now a Hugo-nominated series!

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."

The question has to be asked, how does Seanan put out almost as many books as James Patterson without a whole cadre of co-writers?

I love all of Seanan McGuire's series, but InCryptid is my very favorite. This entry sees our heroine, Antimony "Annie" Price, still on the run from the evil Covenant, accompanied by her furi boyfriend Sam and two of her roller derby cronies, both of whom are also cryptids. Fleeing from the previous adventure at the Disneyworld-like Lowryland, the gang is hoping for a bit of a respite. They rent a house in Maine, only to find that it's close to a crossroads--and THE CROSSROADS, a particularly powerful entity that offers bargains to humans who agree to pay huge soul-prices for bargains that never turn out well for them. Annie has previously bargained with the crossroads for her life and those of her friends in exchange for her magic and a favor to be named later. Later turns out to be now, with the crossroads demanding she murder her new friend James, who has a score to settle with that same entity. To make matters worse, a Covenant operative shows up, determined to kill her friends and return with Annie as his consort.

Lots of action, a little romance, and some good old-fashioned monster hunting make this a thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended, can't wait for the next book in this series.

Annie is still on the run after leaving Lowryland and making a bargain at th crossroads. When she ends up in Maine, she stumbles across a mystery to solve. Includes a bonus story with Alex Price. ARC from NetGalley.

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

<script>
So if you won't listen to me, listen to the author. She's telling you exactly what she's doing with this series. I am still 100% on board with InCryptid, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.

This has Annie finally dealing with her deal with the crossroads she did in the previous book. There is a good explanation about the who and what of the crossroads that covers so much more than the Sparrow Hill road books did. The story arc for Annie does finish with this book and there is a nice novella dealing with her brother while in Ohio at the end of it. I’ll be glad to see the mice back in the series since Annie had to send them home during her story line.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Antimony is my least favorite Price child. I hate that the Aeslin Mice don’t feature in the book. (Though there is a short story afterwards.) However, the series is still one that I buy for our library & my personal collection. :)

Seanan McGuire does not disappoint in this latest addition to her Incrypted series. Her characters are fun, real, and totally kick ass. I finished this book and started the series over—couldn’t get enough.