Seanan McGuire
InCryptid #2
Published 5 March 2013 by DAW (Penguin)
Urban fantasy
4 stars
The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity--and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and when her work with the cryptid community took her to Manhattan, she thought she would finally be free to pursue competition-level dance in earnest. It didn't quite work out that way...
But now, with the snake cult that was killing virgins all over Manhattan finally taken care of, Verity is ready to settle down for some serious ballroom dancing—until her on-again, off-again, semi-boyfriend Dominic De Luca, a member of the monster-hunting Covenant of St. George, informs her that the Covenant is on their way to assess the city's readiness for a cryptid purge. With everything and everyone she loves on the line, there's no way Verity can take that lying down.
Alliances will be tested, allies will be questioned, lives will be lost, and the talking mice in Verity's apartment will immortalize everything as holy writ--assuming there's anyone left standing when all is said and done. It's a midnight blue-light special, and the sale of the day is on betrayal, deceit...and carnage.
Bite-Sized Review
One of the best books I've read this year, Midnight Blue-Light Special is an excellent followup to Discount Armageddon, filled with excitement, danger, suspense, romance, and the religious ecstasy of Aeslin mice. HAIL!
Chocolate (things I liked)
-MBLS has what I consider a perfect balance of action, romance, humor, suspense, and all the other things that make a book great. The romance is more background, but intertwines well with the actual plot. Parts of the book are absolutely hilarious, nail-biting-inducing, and heart-breaking.
-The world has enough that's familiar to avoid being too descriptive in world-building, but is creative enough to seem different from anything you might have seen before. Plus the idea of being a cryptozoologist is pretty awesome.
-MBLS's cast of characters is diverse and relatable. Verity, a cryptozoologist-cum-ballroom-dancer, has a fun voice to read, and it's distinct from Sarah, the telepathic mathematician who narrates for part of the the book. The supporting characters are also unique and fascinating, which is a huge part of what makes this series special.
Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-I'm rarely a fan of sudden point of view changes. Granted, I didn't hate this one, and I did like seeing things from Sarah's perspective, but it still didn't seem entirely necessary to me. So while the perspective shift isn't awful, it isn't my favorite either.
-I have to wait a whole year to read the next book...
Recommended for
People...who like good stories. You will probably enjoy InCryptid if you like Diana Rowland, Ilona Andrews, and Jim Butcher.
Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent
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