That Ain't Witchcraft

InCryptid, Book 8

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Emily Bauer

Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2019 Seanan McGuire (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Get ready for an intense listen!

I loved the world McGuire has created and the history of the families. We see Rose, a hitchhiker ghost and another ghost from the Ghost Roads series. It all tied in perfectly. McGuire treats us to the history or the beginning of the Aeslin Mice and their relationship to the Price family. All hail the Aeslin Mice! I miss them, but hope we see them in the next book! McGuire hinted that we would.

Emily Bauer rocked the narration and I could not imagine the series without her. She creates unique voices and captures the intensity of the scenes and we get some nail-biting, tear jerking, help me now scenes before it was all said and done.

Anne Price must outwit the Crossroads and Leonard if she hopes to get Mary back and have a normal life...well normal for her. After all she is a Price. That Ain't Witchcraft was brilliant from beginning to end. If you haven't stepped into the mind and imagination of Seanan McGuire you are missing out!

Rush into this intoxicating read!

I really love light hearted urban fantasies, and That Ain't Witchcraft fills the bill nicely! This is book number 8 in the InCryptid series. There are various Cryptids (semi supernatural beings) introduced throughout this series, and the Price family has tasked itself with protecting them from humanity! This book dives into the 3rd and final story of Antimony, the youngest daughter of the Price clan. Antimony happens to be my favorite of all the Price family. I fell in love with Antimony long before her novels were written... Seanan McGuire had written 3 short stories detailing Antimony's life. From her school years on a cheerleading squad, to her stint as one of the Slasher-Chicks on a professional roller derby team in Portland OR. and she absolutely won my heart!
That Ain't Witchcraft is not the book to start with. You'll be better off to start with Magic for Nothing (bk №6), or better yet start with the short story "Blocked" available for free on Seanan McGuire's website... By starting there you'll get in on Antimony full story Arc
Antimony family has always had her back, and provided all the emotional support that she needs, but now, she's had to completely cut contact with the family in order to keep them safe, and hidden. Now that she's on her own, she's found a new "family", a group of friends that provides an anchor for her, only we find that they rely just as much on her, to be their anchor!
In this tale, she's still dealing with The Covenant of Saint George (a secret cabal, dedicated to exterminating all things Cryptid), and this time she'll take on her deadliest foe, the Crossroads!
Do the sensible thing... abandon any and all sense of decorum, and RUSH headlong into this intoxicating read!

                          I give this one 6 out of 5 stars!!!
                                    🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟(🌟)

Not the Best in the Series.

I am used to having more funny bits in this series. I was disappointed. Maybe the next will be better.

more good series getting political

I enjoy this series a lot but this book has increasingly more political undertones then previous installments. Very disappointed.

Narrator getting way better

I reviewed an earlier title in this series with some concerns about the narrator. But now I feel like I can dial some of that back as the series progresses. There are still some mispronunciations ("garrotte" is a big one), but previous words at issue have been corrected. And in this episode specifically, the narrator does a surprisingly not-annoying New England accent (source: I am a native of New England). It's really hard for someone who hasn't grown up leaving out Rs to be proficient in their (non?)application, and really hard for anyone who has done so to listen to most people try. I won't say she nails it, but it was pleasantly not horrible, and the misses were more cute than nails-on-a-chalkboard. Definitely an improved experience overall.

Good series

Another interesting entry in the series. Although in this case, the book is one of those where the plot gets so epic in matters of space and time, that the problem and the solution tend to be rather confusing.

The best Price is the baby Price

This continues to be one of the best urban fantasy series. The story continues with Antimony, the youngest daughter of the Price clan. The last book ended with a fire at the circus where she worked. Leonard, an agent from The Covenant of Saint George and has romantic feelings for Antimony, discovered her location. She had joined the circus to keep her family safe and hidden. With the Covenant’s discovery of her at the circus she and her cryptids friends run.
While the group is trying to avoid The Covenant of Saint George, they take a little time to help solve the mystery of people disappearing from a corn maze. Finally, to get a break from all the road travel the group stays at a creepy house in the middle of the woods in Maine. Mary, Annie’s ghost babysitter has a big part of the story as a crossroads ghost. In the last book Annie made a deal with the crossroads to save her and Sam. Mary was not happy with the choice. Annie promise to do a favor for the crossroads. Annie and friends discovered that the crossroads are an evil entity that is not playing fair. Annie does her duty as a Price and attempts to remove the entity from the crossroads even putting Mary in peril. There is a lot of Price family history discussed and family members make a cameo appearance.

Still got it

I am always amazed at the creativity and scope of Seanan's work! This series is fascinating and there's always something new. This series is one of my favs and I've pretty much read them all (even under M.K. Grant). Lots of unique situations. Re-readable and always well read. Good for YA and adults!

To read or not to read

I wasn't sure about this book initially. Would it be cheesy? childish? Absolutely not, it was fantastic! Totally worth every minute :)

so good

this series continues to rock. Seanan McGuire can do no wrong Antinomy price is at it again