All of Seanan's books are fun, and I and my staff at The Portal Bookshop regularly get someone new hooked on the series

I received a copy of this book as part of the 2017 Hugo Awards voter's packet and therefore won't be reviewing it on NetGalley.

I read this series for the 2020 Hugo (Best Series) awards and felt it was the best of the nominated series, although I enjoyed the earlier short stories more than the 'modern times' stories.

Thank you for providing this book as part of the 2020 Hugo Awards Voter’s Packet (finalist for Best Series).

This was honestly a disappointing book in an otherwise cool series. Probably because I didn't really like the protagonist and couldn't care less about her story. I loved Verity and was happy to follow her for two books. I loved her brother and his adventures... I always thought that Antimony was a sanctimonious bore, so reading an entire book from her perspective? Hmm... But it was a series I liked, so I decided to give it a shot. Yeah, that's a disappointment.

Annie is still as unlikeable as before, and I had zero desire to follow her through the story. Also, this whole double-triple agent idea is fun if well executed... which it wasn't. The Price family has the resources of the entire incryptid community to rely on, yet they choose to send one girl with no support and outdated intel on the Covenant to infiltrate the said Covenant. Wait, what? In what world is that supposed to succeed? In this one, apparently.

There were a couple interesting side characters to keep me going with the book, but the main characters were not fun. I already mentioned that I didn't like Annie, and her Covenant counterpart wasn't much better. Dominic he is not. 

It also felt like the book was doing a lot of telling and very little showing. Also, what's up with the constant rehashing of the lore that was already disclosed in previous books? This is book 6 in the series. Surely readers realize that? That if they don't understand something, they will pick up previous books and read them (if they hadn't already)? No need to rehash everything again. 

Another problem is that this book often breaks its own lore and the rules that were established in previous books, which makes for a bewildering read for those of us who read the other books in the series. I had several "Wait, this can be done this way? Wait, I thought these species couldn't do that?" episodes while reading this book. And that is the ultimate put-off for me. I am willing to suspend my disbelief and enjoy a fictional world, as long as that world stays consistent with the rules established by the author. 

And that ending? I'm sorry, but that's the worst ending I've seen in a series in a long time.

I loved the book. Antimony is a big change from her siblings as a narrator, and it was fascinating to see them through her eyes. The plot was very exciting and the ending left me wanting to read the next book in the series immediately. I loved that we got mice with more individuality in this book, and that Mindy has found cousins across the sea to share their rituals with. I really liked Sam, and the carnival setting. I hope we'll see these characters again.

received as part of the Hugo packet when the series was nominated for Best Series. I had never read the books and read every novel and every short story available in under a month. Wickedly funny banter, delightful characters, intriguing cryptozoology. They continue to be books I buy pretty much immediately.

Listen, I long ago joined the church of Seanan McGuire, when I read Rosemary and Rue for the first time with Felicia Day's Vaginal Fantasy book club. From that moment on, I was completely hooked. Seanan has never failed me. So when this series was nominated for a Hugo and I received the first eight books in the series as part of my Hugo voter packet, I was beyond pleased. This series gives me the same warm and fuzzy feelings that I get when reading Toby Daye books, but just ever so slightly lighter and I love the kind of monster-of-the-week feeling. One of my favourite parts about this series is that we get to follow different characters, which I honestly was skeptical about when I first got to a book not from Verity's point of view. But it really widens the possibilities of the series. The Aeslin mice are my favourite. As always, the balance of character building and world building is pretty close to perfection.

When we get to the later books in the series, I think she straddles the line perfectly of reviewing what has happened previously in the series (a kind of "previously on" but for books) while also moving on with the series. If I wasn't reading them all in a row, I'm sure I would appreciate that even more, as so often I feel like I have to completely re-read a series in order to remind myself of what's happened before I read the newest installment, which tends to mean that i put off that reading.

Overall, really pleased to have finally started this new-to-me series from McGuire and equally pleased to look forward to future books to come.

With the shocking plot twist at the end of the last book, it is time for Antimony to get her chance in the spotlight as the Price family task her with going undercover in the very organisation that has been trying to wipe them out for four generations or so. Not a job for the faint of heart, but then I don't suppose you could ever describe the youngest Price as being 'faint of heart'. Annoyed, crabby and seriously hacked off with her older sister's poor life choices, yes. A wilting pansy? Nope.

As one might expect from a story that involves the youngest member of the family going into the heart of an enemy organisation, Magic For Nothing is full of action and tension. Best of all, Antimony isn't going alone. One single member of the Aeslin mouse community that revers the Price family as Gods is going with her, and whilst Antimony's mission is to find out as much about the Covenant and their plans as possible, Mindy has her own mission. I found the sections revolving around the mice to be both heart-warming and heart-breaking, particularly when Mindy finds what she is looking for.

I actually really enjoyed the first half of the novel, although it is perhaps slower in pace than many of the other novels in the series. It was fascinating to get a good look at the inside workings of the Covenant and some of the parallels between them and the Price family. The plot picks up quite quickly once Antimony is given her first Covenant assignment, to infiltrate a travelling circus and find out the truth behind a series of teenage disappearances. I was less enamoured with this second half of the book; partly because the conclusion seemed rather inevitable and partly because it involved McGuire pairing off the third character in a row in a sappy and unnecessary romance sub-plot. Each character has gone through an almost identical romantic sub-plot, starting with lies and deceit and ending with kisses and sex. Given Antimony's spiky and self-sufficient character, I was hoping I would be spared it this time round. But my hopes were dashed in fairly short order.

Taking out the annoyance of another romantic sub-plot though, the atmosphere of the carnival is hard to deny and I felt that McGuire ramped up the tension well... whilst using the Aeslin mice to add in some light humour and relief. The central mystery of the missing teenagers is resolved relatively quickly, yet the danger has not passed for Antimony or the people she is now working with. Although the depictions of new and interesting cryptids are less obvious here, there is still a decent amount to sink your teeth into and a few new mysteries to unravel.

All in all, an enjoyable and interesting novel dealing with the backlash from the end of the last book. I appreciated seeing events from another perspective, and found myself rather sympathetic to Antimony's dislike of her older sister. I could have done without the re-run of 'boy meets girl', particularly as McGuire hasn't changed the formula much at all over the last three characters. It felt repetitive, unnecessary and lazy. Admittedly, if you go in for romantic sub-plots, this will be less of an annoyance. Once more, the mice stole the show for me though and I loved the additional background of the lost but now found colony living under the Covenant's noses.

Another great novel in the Incryptid series by Seanan McGuire.

This novel finally brings Antimony front and center into the action and narrative, Antimony FINALLY gets her own full novel.

Following on from the shocking events of Chaos Choreography, Antimony has to step up and dive into a looming confrontation with the Covenant of St George.

Underneath the amazing story we also see the world through Antimony's eyes. We also see how she feels being the youngest child. Being a sibling is never easy, it is especially harder being a sibling in the Price/Healy clan of Incryptid Guardian/researchers.

There are lot of new characters we meet in this book too.

If you're an Incryptid fan, you're going to love this latest addition to the series!

Make sure you read the previous novels in this series first before reading this one. If you like the series, there are also a bunch of free short stories set in the same universe on the authors website. FREE BONUS CONTENT of sorts, HAIL!

Seanen McGuire's epic series continues to delight! Her characters are very engaging.. The Stakes Are High! May we treated to the adventures of the Healey Price family and their descendants for many more novels!

As a novel in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series, this book certainly delivered. We join Antimony Price as she goes undercover to infiltrate the family's fearsome and dangerous enemy organization, The Covenant of Saint George in Britian. The plot takes a deeper twist when they send her to Wisconsin under supervision to further infiltrate a carnival and betray people her family is sworn to protect. This book delivers non-stop suspense and action and was enjoyable to read. My only complaint is that it ended in a cliff-hanger which means I am going to start reading the next book as soon as I send this review.

Thank you for the chance to review prior to Hugo voting. It was very helpful to get the full series on NetGalley!

This is a book I am accessing via Netgalley for the Hugo nomination packet. Due to this, I will not be reviewing this book via Netgalley at this time.

Thank you so much for providing this book as part of the Hugo voting packet. When I have read this book my review will be posted to my blog, Goodreads and retail websites.

Seanan McGuire is a treasure! I love the Incryptid series - I prefer it to October Daye (which is not to say I dislike Toby). I voted for this series for best series Hugo and I will vote for it again in two years.

Magic for Nothing is Seanan McGuire's sixth inCryptid novel, but the first in a new arc following the last of the Price kids, Antimony Price. It's also the first novel in the series following a major change in the status quo, and as such it's not quite as beginner friendly as the start of the last new arc (Book 3, Half-Off Ragnarok). You COULD start the series here - I think it would work, as again, this is the start of a new arc and McGuire does a decent job at the beginning of each book recapping what you need to know to start here. But I wouldn't advise it, as the conflicts in the book work better if you have some background coming into this story.*

*You probably should read all of Verity's Books, which are Books 1, 2, and 5 (Discount Armageddon, Midnight Blue-Light Special, and Chaos Choreography) before this book, with the Alex Price books (Half-Off Ragnarok and Pocket Apocalypse) being optional. But as I like the Alex Price books, you might as well read them.

But here's the thing: This is easily my favorite book in the series, and Antimony is easily my favorite character in the Novels (I think Francis Brown from the short stories is my favorite inCryptid character still, but Antimony comes close). Whereas Verity and Alex, the protagonists of the prior five novels, are clearly adults with adult concerns, Antimony is more of a Young Adult heroine (even though at 22 I guess she's old for traditional YA) - she's still looking for what to do with her life and has never taken or even attempted to take steps toward traditional adulthood (such as finding a job or moving out of her parent's place). Naturally her trying to find herself is a major part of this book, and it works tremendously well.

Warning: Spoilers for Chaos Choreography's ending are below - there's no way to avoid them here:
---------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------

Five Generations ago, the Healy family were part of the Covenant of St. George, an organization dedicated to the extermination of Cryptids - animals and sentient beings who can't be explained by science - think Gorgons, Dragons, Basilisks, Talking Mice, Sentient Snakes/Spiders/Apes, etc etc etc. But then Alexander and Enid Healy decided that these beings had a right to exist and left the Covenant behind to become Cryptozoologists who protected the Cryptids of North America. Two generations later, Covenant Agent Thomas Price left the Covenant and married the latest Healy, Alice Healy, and joined their family in trying to protect the Cryptids. The Covenant did not take kindly to this and attempted to slaughter the family, only giving up when they were tricked into believing the family had been destroyed. For two generations since then, the Healy-Price family has continued to help the Cryptids of North America, all the while still staying under the radar to not alert the Covenant of their continued existence.

And then one of the latest members of the family, Verity Price, got caught on live television killing a ginormous Snake God alongside a Shark-man and a Chupacabra. And then to compound this she responded to the blowing of her cover by challenging the Covenant directly.

Yeah, the Price Family's anonymity is well and truly blown.

Enter Antimony Price. The youngest Price girl, Antimony has always felt as an outcast in the family. While she cares about Cryptids as much as her siblings, Antimony has never found her niche like they have (Verity deals with Urban Cryptids, Alex with Reptiles and and Amphibians). Hell, she's always felt like her family has given her siblings just plain freedom to live their lives that she has never had. Add in the fact that she doesn't look like anyone else in the family and has secretly began manifesting the magical ability to conjure fire, well Antimony isn't a very happy person. And because she doesn't look like a Healy, Antimony is given a mission by her family: to infiltrate the Covenant of St. George to find out what they are planning.

Antimony will have to convince enemies who want to kill her and everything she stands for that she is on their side, without blowing her cover. But when those same enemies send her undercover to infiltrate a carnival where cryptids have seemingly killed human beings, can she manage to keep her story straight between the many layers of lies? And even if she can, can she manage to keep her ideals when the enemy Covenant suddenly becomes less an abstract concept but more a group of human beings she knows and can almost understand?

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For Five books, what the inCryptid series has told us about Antimony Price is basically that she's crazy and homicidal - both Verity and Alex recount how Antimony loved to dig pit traps everywhere when they were playing growing up and how she filled those traps with very deadly spikes, and how extremely aggressive she is. But this book shows how skewed Verity and Alex's perspectives are - Antimony is in fact a very three dimensional character, more conflicted by her circumstances than anything. I was expecting a more nerd-culture referencing version of Verity when I picked up this book, but Antimony is more jaded than sarcastic and while she's still quick witted, she's as much unsure of herself as her sister is headstrong. In short, I love Antimony Price, as she's a marvelous character. And she has the best romance plot of any of her siblings in the series so far.

The minor characters are also excellent. The Carnival members, particularly Sam Spencer and his grandmother Emery are excellent additions to the cast, yet another set of examples of humans and cryptids have lived together secretly in an environment. Sam is particularly great, and I hope we see him in the future. And since Antimony only carries one mouse with her on her mission, which she names Mindy, even the Aeslin mice get a little more personality than usual, and they have it in spades. We also learn more about the Covenant agents, making them more believable characters and putting a face on our series' antagonists really makes them more intimidating.

The plot is more aligned with the series' long-term arc than any book since the 2nd book in the series, and it surprises on multiple occasions. The ending is incredibly bittersweet and a major cliffhanger, but it works pretty damn well.

In short, this book contains the fast paced and fun tones of an inCryptid book with some of the series' best characters and an excellent plot that surprises and yet comes together into a cohesive hole with a satisfying ending and a hell of a cliffhanger.

This book presents a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the Covenant - the big baddie in this series; I hope there will be more about these folks eventually.

Antimony is not my favorite of the Price siblings (although I appreciated the short pieces that let me get to know here better) but her story is engaging. I think my favorite character in this book may be Sam.

Even more than the last book, this one ends with a cliffhanger: it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Magic for Nothing is the sixth Incryptid novel and the first to feature Antimony, the youngest of the Price siblings. Magic for Nothing is all about the fallout from Verity's actions at the end of Chaos Choreography. The Covenant of St. George knows that Verity is alive and they're coming for the Price family. How to get some intelligence about what the Covenant is planning? Send Antimony under cover.

By this point you either trust McGuire to tell a hell of a story or you don't, and if you don't there's no reason to be reading this far into a series. McGuire tells one hell of a story and with Magic or Nothing we get our first look inside the Covenant as well as a deep dive under cover at a circus (plus a little roller derby). Through the first five novels Antimony has been a character mentioned, referred to and described, but never seen. There's been an outside view suggesting that she's a nearly homicidal child, but the truth is never that simple and Antimony is a far richer character than we could have guessed (besides being written by McGuire, which then we just know that she will be). Maybe don't start reading Incryptid with Magic for Nothing, but absolutely keep reading the series because this is another satisfying novel from Seanan McGuire.
Score: 7/10

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2019/02/nanoreviews-breath-of-sun-chaos.html

I received this work as part of the 2018 Hugo Voter Packet. This is the expected mix of pop culture, magic realism, and humor which have characterized the earlier books in the series. I find that I prefer the author's October Daye series, which manages the snarky humor without being flippant. Readers will need to read the earlier books first to enjoy this one. Recommended for fans of urban fantasy and pop culture.