by Seanan McGuire
Series: InCryptid #7
Narrator: Emily Bauer
Length: 11 hours and 49 minutes
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 4.5 cups
Penance, noun:
1. Punishment for past actions.
2. An attempt to pay for what can’t be bought.
3. See also “exile.”Antimony Price is on the run. With the Covenant on her tail and her family still in danger, she needs to get far, far away from anyone who might recognize her—including her own mice. For the first time in a long time, a Price is flying without a safety net. Where do you go when you need to disappear into a crowd without worrying about attracting attention? An amusement park, of course.
Some people would call Lowryland the amusement park. It’s one of the largest in Florida, the keystone of the Lowry entertainment empire…but for Annie, it’s a place to hide. She’s just trying to keep her head down long enough to come up with a plan that will get her home without getting anyone killed. No small order when she’s rooming with gorgons and sylphs, trying to placate frustrated ghosts, and rushing to get to work on time.
Then the accidents begin. The discovery of a dead man brings Annie to the attention of the secret cabal of magic users running Lowryland from behind the scenes. They want the fire that sleeps in her fingers. They want her on their side. They want to help her—although their help, like everything else, comes with a price.
No plan. Minimal backup. No way out. Annie’s about to get a crash course in the reality behind the pretty facade. If she’s lucky, she’ll survive the experience.
I finally caught up on the InCryptid series, but the release of Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire fell during Take Control, so I had to wait until April to enjoy it. McGuire has created a unique urban fantasy surrounding the Price family. In Tricks for Free, we are with Antimony Price who is on the run from the Covenant of St. George and hiding at a theme park in sunny Florida. The tale that unfolds is fast-paced and places Antimony at a crossroads.
Not wanting the Covenant to follow her and find her family, Annie (Antimony) works her way to Florida where she secures a job at Lowryland Amusement Park. Lowryland is one of the largest amusement parks and second only to Disneyland. Luck seems to fall her way as she lands a job that provides housing. She finds herself rooming with a gorgon and sylph. While she misses a certain monkey and would dearly love to be home with her family things are going well. That is until her roommate stumbles over a dead body and her powers become harder to control.
The tale that unfolds was fun with twists, mysteries, and magic. We soon discover a secret cabal of magic users who run Lowryland from behind the scenes. They attempt to recruit Annie and offer to teach her how to control her powers but at what price? Annie’s ghostly Aunt, her roommates, and a surprise visitor made things interests and they soon find themselves in danger.
McGuire takes us behind the scenes with details about Lowryland and daily operations. I imagine a lot of theme parks have similar setups and found it interesting. Unusual cryptids, danger and the constant threat of discovery made Tricks for Free a pageturner. I loved learning more about Annie’s roommates and the costs of using magic.
Annie has to make some tough decisions, and while her personality often betrays her youthfulness and family ranking, she does have spunk and a pure heart. The pacing of the story had a great ebb and flow providing suspenseful moments and character growth.
Emily Bauer continues to narrate the series. I felt she captured Annie from her youthfulness to sheer determination. Bauer does a lovely job with pacing, tone, and build up as the story progressed. She provided unique voices for each character and enhanced the story.
McGuire sprinkled in a little romance, humor, and kickassery which made Tricks for Free another fun installment in the Incryptid series.
Seanan McGuire sprinkled in a little romance, humor, and kickassery into Tricks for Free making it another fun installment in the Incryptid series. #loveaudiobooks #JIAM Share on XJune is Audio Month
@macmillian is celebrating Audio Month with an Instagram challenge. Post a picture each day in June using the daily prompt and hashtag, and they’ll repost! Share your love of audiobooks, recommendations, and beautiful #bookstagrams. You can follow mine here: kimbacaffeinate
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Mary @StackingMyBookShelves!
I did not know June was Audiobook month! How cool. I will have to post sometime this month when I finish one! This sounds like a great mystery!
Mary
Kimberly
It was and yes lots of audio love this month 🙂
Stormi Johnson
Oh I want to do the instagram thing! Though I can’t remember my first audio…lol.
Kimberly
Lol. Thankfully I reviewed it.
Ailyn Koay
7th book now! hey by the time i finish ATiicus i get to read her
Kimberly
There ya go sounds like a plan.
verushka
… like how does Seanan McGuire sleep or do anything else besides write? I am constantly in awe of her and her imagination!
Kimberly
Hahaha..right.
Sophia Rose
The feeling of accomplishment and sadness for catching up on a series. 🙂
Annie’s story sounds fun. Neat how the narrator captured her youthful spirit in the story.
Kimberly
Exactly…because now I wait for the next book.
Leona
I really can’t wait to try this author! Also, I just posted for the first day in this month’s audiobook challenge…fingers crossed that I stick with it lol.
Kimberly
Yay. I love her both as McGuire and Grant.
Anne
This is another one of those series I have yet to start, really everything by this author. Someday. Anne – Books of My Heart
Kimberly
I adore this author and hope that you try her works
blodeuedd
What a good audio banner! I tried making one in a program i found…yeah..well 😉
Kimberly
I bought the image and the used PicMonkey to design it.
Melliane
I really liked this one but I think I prefered the previous one though
Kimberly
Yes, a little more action and mice 🙂
Heidi
I read book one last month, finally and enjoyed it. Two is on my Kindle waiting for me. I wish I could get these on audio, but my library doesn’t carry them. Bummer! Can’t wait to get further.
Kimberly
That is a bummer. I used audio credits for most of them.
Tanya @ Rantings of a Reading Addict
This one sounds like quite the adventure! She had to leave the mice behind? They were my favorite characters in the first book!
Kimberly
Right. I am hoping the next book brings them back.
Angela
Glad you enjoyed. Thank you for sharing!
Kimberly
Thanks, Angela. It is a fun series.
Vanessa
Wow. Sounds like a really good series indeed. Definitely checking it out. Happy Donut Day!
Kimberly
Vanessa, now I want a donut!
Jenea’s Book Obsession
Glad you were able to catch up and loved this installment so much.
Kimberly
Me too and now I wait for the next one…
Cindy
This sounds so good that I cannot wait to get to this one, I am on book 2 in the series via audible. Great review !
Kimberly
Woot! Happy listening Cyndy.
RO
I like the magic and suspense in this one, but you know I would have to read the actual book and not the audio version, right? (lol) Happy Friday! Hugs…RO
Kimberly
That is ok..however, you jam is good with me <3
Nadene
It is good that the series is still going strong.
Kimberly
Agreed. Now I have to wait with everyone for the next release 🙁