So, since I managed to suffer through all the Verity and Alex books, I thought I should prepare myself for the third sibling, Antimony, by reading all her short stories that I imagine also work as prequels to her book, [b: Magic for Nothing|30712676|Magic for Nothing (InCryptid, #6)|Seanan McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477960709s/30712676.jpg|42788028] (InCryptid, #6).

Antimony's supposed to be a loner, a nerd and rough around the edges. A prodigy child that feels neglected, especially in comparison to her older siblings. Unfortunately she reads as every character in this universe so far: they all sound the same. Sure, one may have an obsession with the X-men and the other with snakes, but the way they react, think, and talk, is identical.

This time I enjoyed the details about derby, I love derby, and wished they were longer. Especially since I had to sit through THREE Verity books filled with tidbits about ballroom dancing.

I missed the mice tho. We didn't get a lot of Aislin action in these stories.

I think Seanan's strongest in this short format, instead of her 350 and 600 page long books, but I have to admit, that reading with each addition again and again all about how the world, the Price family and the cryptids work, is getting tiring FAST.

Since the rest of the stories are in collections and are not registered in Goodreads individually, I'll also write a few words about each of them, just so I can refresh my memory later on if I need to.

Blocked (InCryptid, #2.1)
A very cute and sweet story about Antimony. We are introduced to her POV for the first time. We also get to meet Elsie, her succubus cousin (sister of incubus Artie), who's queer
Bad Dream Girl (InCryptid, #2.2)
Antimony, under the alias Annie Thompson, is one of the two regular jammers of her team. She notices derby girls fainting during games, recognizes this as a cryptids work, and sets out to find what's wrong. We get to meet Artie for the first time. Elsie has an on-and-0ff-again relationship with a derby girl named Carlotta. Fern is a cryptid teammate. My mind cannot hold any more names. There's also a chupacabra derby girl. There are a lot of cryptid derby girls. The suspect for the faintings is a creature called mara, and all the cryptids band together to banish her from derby for her bad behavior. Really wished this had turned into a romance between the mara-girl and Antimony. Near the end the bisexual vibes were strong.

Jammed (InCryptid, #2.3)
Antimony is happy derby-ing when suddenly, a chopped foot of a skater appears! She works with her cousins (Elsie & Artie) and the cryptid derby girls, and they find that a Chimera is lose. How are they gonna manage? How did it get there? How will they manage to keep their identities secret? They kill it. The end.

Survival Horror (InCryptid, #2.4)
First time we see Artie up close! Antimony hangs our with him in his room while he installs a game someone from a shady cryptid forum sent him. Turns out it's a trap to kill him, made by a cuckoo and some cryptids called hid-a-something (we saw the species in Verity's books), for knowing about their existence (he kept asking medical questions for cuckoos in order to help his crush, Sarah, and thus attracted their attention). The game transfers them in a virtual reality/ alternate dimension world full of riddles they have to solve or else they will go to hellish dimensions or something. After they escape, Artie cries a bit and then both are fine. No talk of Sarah again. ( )

I think Antimony might be my favorite, which is saying something. Also, I never thought I'd like a cheerleader, but she makes it sound so fierce. ( )

Well alright then. I guess I am going to give the InCryptid series another shot. Verity's books veered a little wildly between "hell yeah!" and "meh" for my taste (and the second book was mostly "Oh, no. Really, just no."). I really wanted to like Alex, but it's a classic case of "can't stand your girlfriend, buddy." So, Antimony: Misanthropic loner with no romantic interest in sight. Snarky but not overdone. Sounds like I may have found the one. (Maybe I should read Antimony's other stories right quick and make sure there is no romance waiting around the corner.)

This little story is really a prelude, just a snippet to introduce some characters. It is not an actual full fledged short story. I rate things on what they are. As a prelude, it is lovely, and accomplishes a mission few stories can. I am willing to give a universe I had written off another chance. (Too bad the Antimony books are not here yet, but I see there are a couple of other short stories to read. And I will probably give the third Verity book a chance, just because I might miss something important, and really I am inclined to like the lady and her boyfriend. I'm done with Alex, though.) ( )

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

Blocked introduces the youngest of the Price siblings, Antimony. She's not yet had her own book, which made it somewhat more difficult to relate to her in such a short story.

She was mostly a teenager and the cryptids didn't feel like the most important part of the story. I am curious to see how her story develops though. ( )

A Chance to learn a bit more about Antimony! I love it! And what a great "team sport" she decided on to keep her busy and social! I happen to be a big fan. I love Verity, but I'm going to enjoy getting to know some of the other Prices a little better in these shorts. ( )