So this summer I plan on doing a lot of reading as we have some big life changes in my household (namely moving at the end of August). As such, I wanted to share my thoughts on a new series I just started reading last week. I’m always up for finding new series and this one happens to be by an author I already enjoy.

Title: Discount Armageddon

Author: Seanan McGuire

Rating: 4.5

So if you couldn’t tell I’m a big fan of urban fantasy.  I would say about 90-95% of what I read falls into that category. I just love getting swept away by the fantastical. Author Seanan McGuire is good at that and has been doing so with her October Daye series for quite a while. I am a big fan of that series and so I decided to check out her other seires, InCryptid. The first book introduces us to Verity Price and her family of cryptozoologists who study and try to protect the creepy crawlies of the world (or in Very’s case Manhattan). Because of a generations-old blood feud with a group called The Covenant, Verity and her family are in hiding and can’t draw too much attention to themselves. Enter hot Covenant guy Dominic De Luca and things just go from bad to insane.

The reason I gave this book 4 and a half stars instead of 5 is becuse there a few plot points that were just a little too predictable. But that may mean I read too much in this genre and epect things. But I have to say McGuire did a terrific job giving you just enough backstory on the characters to explain the tension between them but left things vague enough that you weren’t overwhelmed with info dump. The characters themselves were well drawn and distinctive and even if you didn’t see some of them for more than a scene or two you got a feel for what they were like.

The cryptid population of Manhattan consisted of a lot of myths and creatures that the general population had heard of before which made it easier to connect with and the ones you didn’t recognize were explained in such a way that made it interesting to imagine them.

I think my favorite aspect of the story though was Verity’s sense of humor. It’s sharp and witty and I found myself laughing out loud many times at her antics and reactions to situations. A good book should always make you laugh and I think McGuire succeeded in that regard 100%.

I’ve already started reading the second book in the series and can’t wait to see what mishaps Verity and her family find themselves in next!