Chaos Choreography

InCryptid #5

by Seanan McGuire

Fifth book in Seanan McGuire’s funny and fast-paced urban fantasy InCryptid series featuring ballroom dancer and monster expert Verity Price.

Verity Price is back on the West Coast and getting back into the swing of the family business: cryptozoology. She’s rescuing cryptids from bad situations, protecting them from monster-hunters, and generally risking life and limb for the greater good, with her ex-Covenant partner/husband, Dominic, by her side. Her ballroom dance career is behind her—or so she thinks. When Verity gets the call from the producers of Dance or Die, the reality show she almost won several years before, she finds the lure impossible to resist, and she and Dominic are off to L.A. for one last shot at the big time.

Of course, nothing is that simple. When two contestants turn up dead, Verity will need every ally she can find with the investigation, without blowing her cover…

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Dragons, Magic, Romance

356 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Hi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.

Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).

I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-Read 2/27/23:

ELIMINATION ROUND.

'nuff said.


Or rather, I think I may have enjoyed it a bit more this time since I've gotten to know Alice a bit better.

Dance! Dance! Dance!


Original Review:

I have to admit I felt a little let down seeing that we were moving back to the big city. Maybe It's just the Verity and Dominic arc that I just don't care all that much for, no matter that it's not bad or uninteresting, but I just don't love it quite as much as big bro.

Of course, most of my annoyance is just because I don't really care about dance, and this, more than all the others, is *all* about dance. Dance competition, stardom, and Verity's personal gratification. I don't disapprove, and there's plenty of good conflict, but it's like watching an episode of Dancing with the Stars or some other weird tv show I have absolutely no interest in watching. The saving grace is that we get to see all these semi-or-professional dancers get permanently kicked off the show... and life.

So even if I didn't give much of a poop, at least I can snicker when the prima-donnas start getting bumped off, and that's basically where I was.

Except for grandma and the dragon princess. I have to admit I really enjoyed them. And the Mice. Things are definitely getting interesting in the side-characters. :)

So, all in all, and despite the basic subject matter, I still had a great deal of fun.

These are still full of a great selection of beasties, of course, but first and foremost, it's all about the Price Family, as usual. And That's A Good Thing. :) What a weird family. :)

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4.35 ***

A buddy read with my people at BB&B's Wednesday UF group!!! Because we all love the Aeslin Mice:)

Another very fun, very exciting and full of adventure entry in the Incryptid Series by Seanan McGuire!!! This is book 5, and after the first two books we got to spend with Verity, the third and forth books we got to fall in love with Alex, in this one we are back with now married to Dominic Verity, ready and excited to participate in a dance contest TV show, very much like "So You Think You Can Dance", including the format, the judges and the MC, who happens to be this gorgeous, tall, blond, barely human woman who steels the show year after year:) (Catherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley , here is looking at you:):):) . Being a huge fan of the show, it being the only show I still watch on TV, this book felt like a very worm and cozy cup of hot chocolate!

"..."“Love what you do. Even if it’s not what you thought you’d be doing when you were a kid, love what you do. Eventually, it’s going to kill you, and it would be a real pity if you died doing something you hate.”..."

The return to Verity's POV was OK, but I am still a bigger fan of Alex, for some reason - science dudes are hot! However, a ballroom dancer who can throw knives with a deadly precision is pretty hot as well:) Dominic was the perfect, supportive, loving, and very caring husband and is making it difficult for real life man to measure up, because despite his not getting why Verity loves dance so much, he is 100% behind her decision to go and try her luck in the biz once more. And wouldn't you know it, exactly when they thought that the cutthroat business of show dancing and competition would be their only problem, bodies with weird runes drawn on them postmortem became popping up after the elimination stage of the competition. And, once again, it looks like a weird snake cult is trying to do something naughty and catastrophic in the vicinity of our married cryptozoolagists... Didn't people learn not to attempt such tasks when anyone of the Price family is around? Thing just get way tooooo complicated... The situation got so hazardous, that a member of the older and more experienced Price family members had to be sent as a back-up, and you know the chaos that ensues once those folks start congregating... *shudders*... Verity would be lucky if she is able to fit any dancing in...

"..."“Walking into danger with your eyes open and your mind clear is a sign of bravery, not foolishness. Well, sometimes foolishness. But as long as you walk back out again, you can pretend that part doesn’t matter.”..."

And, last but definitely not least, we got our splinter colony of religious Aeslin Mice!!! YAYAYAYYAAY!!! ANd they were cute, wise, helpful and all together most wonderful as always! I still so want to have a splinter colony of my own in real life, it almost hurts! It is a very similar feeling to the one I used to have as a little child, when while reading the Merry Poppins stories, I would pray before going to bed for G-d to send her to my house, since we really, really needed her... I guess I have never truly grown up.. ...

"..."“No one is shooting, stabbing or immolating anyone in this hotel room."

"Please," added Dominic. "I have to sleep here."

"HAIL!" Rejoiced the mice. "HAIL THE LACK OF STABBING, SHOOTING AND FLAME!” ..."

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I would encourage everyone to try this series on for size - yes, it is not for every taste, but if it is, you would be very glad you tried it!!! It is a ray of sunshine, where it could easily have been bleak or flat. Check it out, what could it harm?

Now I wish you All Happy Reading and Many, Many more Wonderful Books to Come!!!

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

UF buddy read with my peeps at



Wow was I happy to be back with Verity, even though I really liked Alex’s PoV too I have a great time with Verity. I was a little sorry that I didn’t read a few of the road trip free stories available from Seanan Mcguire’s website here before starting this but don’t worry I read them right after so I would have all the details of the 4+ month road trip to get back to Oregon.

Verity and Dominic are living with her family and while they are not nearly as bad as Shelby’s family was to Alex I couldn’t help but feel a little bad that Dominic is still trying to prove himself worthy to join their ranks. This book started out a little slow for me and when Verity is given the opportunity to enter a dance competition as her alter ego Valerie…I’m not going to lie I groaned internally. But let me put your fears to rest. IT WAS AWESOME. And the reason it was awesome is because of her back up ALICE.

Yep this book took off when Grandma Alice showed up. She is the only member of the family to have 2 congregations of mice following her. But that is what happens when you are close to 80 but look 25 because you are an interdimensional bounty hunter trying to find your husband who was sucked into some vortex 60ish years ago. She is fantastic in this and I love her and Verity hanging out together. Especially since if anyone is going to understand turning and marrying an ex-covenant boy it is her.

Grandma Alice isn’t a free-runner; like most of my family, she views my tendency to throw myself off tall buildings as just short of suicidal, although—being her—she also found it sort of adorable. When your grandmother with no sense of self-preservation thinks you’re being cute, maybe it’s time to reconsider your life choices.

Okay so Verity is going to give Valerie (her dance alter ego) one more change in the spot light and then it will be time to tie off the loose ends and kill her off. So she is just going to enjoy the moment and dance for the fun of it but then she finds a few of the voted off contestants dead and that changes everything because someone is trying to call a snake god forth.

(I don’t have much experience with gods, and I don’t want much experience with gods, since people who meet gods tend to wind up pregnant with demigods. Not my idea of a good time.)

Since the stakes have just been raised the family decides that Verity needs a little extra back up and who better than Grandma Alice.

After Alice showed up I couldn’t put the book down. It was intense, fast and fun. Plus there were the mice and as always I love the mice and their sayings and rituals.

“Hail to Verity, the Arboreal Priestess, bride to the God of Hard Choices in Dark Places,” it squeaked. “Today begins the great feast of Dammit, Enid, Where Is That Girl, I Know She Tells You When She’s Sneaking Out. We have come to beg a re-creation.”
I was still partially asleep, and it took me a moment to remember which holiday they were talking about. “Wait—isn’t this the one where Grandma Alice got lost in the woods for almost a whole day, and then wound up at Grandpa Thomas’ house for the first time?”

I adore that as the books go one the mice get more and more page time and get to do more things to help out. I find them one of the best parts of this series.

The ending surprised me, like really surprised me and wow is really all I can say without giving anything away. I didn’t see the series heading in that direction but I’m pretty sure that whatever happens next is going to be just great.

A few other things of interest.

- Another clan of Dragon Princesses that need something from Verity.
- cute Ghoul children at play
- A shark shifter that can walk on land
- Routewitches
- A fight with a giant Snake God.
- chupacabra
- AND newlywed Verity and Dominic. (so totally cute)

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, I don't really care for reality dance shows. Just like the reality music competitions, I feel like these things have run their course and need to go to where reality shows go to die. But, thanks to Seanan McGuire, I've now enjoyed at least one reality dance competition show this decade -- Dance or Die.

Yes, that's right, ladies and gents, Verity gets a call to be on a special All-Stars edition of the show, which at first seems like a great way to confirm to herself that her decision to give up her Valerie Pryor identity and focus on cryptozoology was the right one. At least, that's what it was supposed to be - luckily for the world, it was kismet that brought her back to the world of dance, because yet another snake cult has decided to attempt their rituals around Verity (you would think they would have learned?) and this time, they make it extremely personal.

My only complaint is that I totally guessed who was involved in the snake cult and was responsible. I really enjoyed the book though, and very much liked the new characters. :)

Like I say every time, do yourself a favor and start reading Seanan McGuire.

[Ferdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers

Meh, nowhere near as fun as the other Verity books.

-Verity banging on about being torn about her dancing and her duties as a Price was boring, she had the same issues in the first two books and chose to stick with her family duties, there was already closure on that. Her bringing it all up again was repetitive and pointless, especially as it was obvious where her loyalties ultimately lied.

-Really didn't enjoy the focus on dancing and reality TV. It wasn't funny or insightful or interesting.

-What happened to Anders at the end? His character was completely forgotten, everyone else was dealt with but there was no mention of whether he was punished or killed or if he got away. He was one of the main villains there should have been some closure as to what actually happened to him.

-Alice was a far more entertaining character than Verity, I was more interested in her story with her missing husband than Verity's constant whining about her love for dance.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four fun, furry, feisty stars.

True confessions time: back in the days when I owned a telly, I was a happy addict to Dancing With the Stars, glued to the waltzes, rhumbas, and tangos performed by be-sequined celebrities and their professional dance partners. I listened with bated breath as the judges rated their performances and urged them to “give it a little more welly.” Reading this novel was like going back to those days for a few hours, without paying for cable, as Verity (in her persona as Valerie) is summoned to perform again on Dance or Die.

I have rhapsodized in other reviews about how wonderful I consider McGuire’s invention of the Aeslin mice to be—I adore these tiny sapient rodents, their love of cheese and cake, their fierce dedication to the people whom they have chosen to worship, and their general good humour and willingness perform tasks that larger creatures might shrink from. The mice are as charming as usual, although I wish they had received slightly more air time. Perhaps I always wish for that?

I have rated this book at four stars, because I did inhale it in one evening (as I have all of the InCryptid books, truthfully). I was somewhat dismayed, however, to find a kind of repeat villain in the form of Yet Another Snake Cult (let me speak in capitalized words, as the mice do). The temptation to knock off a star or at least half of one was strong.

However, we do get to meet Verity’s renowned grandmother, Alice, who is much quoted in the earlier volumes. We also get caught up to speed on Verity & Dominic, who apparently got married in Vegas (inexplicably on their way from New York to Oregon—geography must be different in the InCryptid universe).

An acceptable addition to the InCryptid canon, the sacred scriptures of the Aeslin mice.

[Denisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verity disappoints again...


As I've said, I enjoy the Alex books.
The Verity books, well, not so much.

I just realized something: when you have this sort of series, where you switch the main character every few books, it's extremely hard not to have a lot of loose ends. And this is what annoyed me here: I have a lot of questions, no answers, and I'll probably only find out in 5, 6 books (if I ever do, that is).

As for Verity, she's not bad. The plot is interesting, the writing is decent (although I expected a lot more from this author), and the side characters aren't too bad. A bit flat, but ah well.

All in all, yeah, if you've read the series so far, it's worth continuing. This book was still better than the first 2 in the series.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession time: at first I thought this would be about Verity's little sister. When I found out it was once again about Verity and her now-husband Domninic AND about a televised dancing competition, I was sure it wouldn't be all that good. Boy, was I surprised when I really really liked this!

Verity had her alter-persona Valerie retired and moved back in with her parents after the events of book 2 in this series. But the producer of the dance show she used to starr in contacts her one day and the offer is too good to pass up. Not least because she wants to find out if giving up that life was the right choice or not.
However, nothing could have prepared her for the fact that there is indeed murder on the dancefloor and some magically messed-up one to boot!
Contestants don't just get voted off the show - they are LITERALLY getting eliminated. By a snake-cult. Yes, another one. I guess they didn't get the memo about what happened to the last one.
I have to hand it to them though: they were sneaky about it. So much so that even once Verity's grandma Alice shows up, the two have their hands full!

The dancing competition was actually riveting, to my big surprise. However, center stage was definitely Alice and the mice. Oh, and that deal with the dragon princesses about adopting one of William's male children. I always like getting more background and magic and this book had all of it in spades.

Action, inter-personal heartbreak, magic (familiar and new), the risk of discovery by the Covenant and some new cryptids that were all very fascinating combined with the usual situational humour make for one hell of an installment of this series.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I've loved every book (and all of the many short stories) in this series, I was extremely excited to get back to Verity. Especially after reading the short-stories that were set while she and Dominic drove across country from New York to her family home in Oregon.

I wasn't let down.

I was a little concerned when I realized that her dance career was going to play such a large role in this book, especially after she'd been forced to make a decision in book 2. But after we got started in it, I realized that I loved everything about it. I love dance competition shows, and I love reading about Verity juggling the dance competition and the very dangerous cryptid problem that is occurring in Los Angeles right now.

Better yet was meeting Alice. Finally. I still have a lot of questions about Alice, and I'm sure that there's quite a lot of mystery that will need to be resolved in the future (or stories about the past, maybe), but I sincerely hope that we get some full-length novels featuring Alice (and the search for her husband, Thomas). Please? Pretty, pretty please. I'll make brownies and cake and all sorts of yummy food-stuffs for the mice (and anyone else).

I don't want to say too much about the plot, but I can say that this took my worry about Verity's two worlds colliding (which happened in books 1 and 2), and amped it up to the nth degree. And the  ending . Oh, damn. That ending left me wide-eyed and with goose-bumps.

I can't wait to see what happens next. There are so many questions that are answered in  this book, but then there are so many new ones that are brought up. I love how intricate and detailed this world is. How many secrets and occurrences are happening with the family. And I'm well and truly hooked.

Now, I just have to wait for the next book. And it's Antimony's. I'm a little worried that there's going to be a lot of roller derby occupying the pages, but I have faith in this author to deliver another stellar story with a main character that I end up adoring.

Review also available at The Book Eaters

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buddy read with the Wednesday UF group at BB&B

This is one of those books you don't read, you inhale them. The suck you in and keep their hold on you even after the last sentence is read. I'm completely and utterly in love with this world and can barely wait for the next book to be published.

In Chaos Choreography we're back with Verity and Dominic. Following the events in New York those two have gotten married and live with Verity's parents. And they ain't happy with their daughter's choice in husband. Or at least with her choice to elope instead of having a proper wedding. So they're taking it out on Dominic by being distrustful and a little bit illogical. Still they act a lot more reasonable than the Tanners did when confronted with the reality of Alex dating their daughter so points to the Prices. The thing is that in Oregon people are used to turn to Evelyn and Kevin when things get bad and Verity feels a bit useless so when a call from the head judge of the reality show she appeared on that ultimately led to her going to New York and meeting Dominic calls she jumps at the idea of dancing professionally one more time.

Dominic and her parents don't really understand her passion for dancing but they are incredibly supportive. I loved how quickly Dominic said that she should do it. He thinks it's stupid and irrelevant thing to do, especially compared to their work with the cryptids, and yet he encourages her to grab the chance in front of her. This showed how much he loves her and added to all the little things he has to suffer because of his love of her makes Dominic one of those swoon worthy male leads that have ruined my chance of ever falling in love with a real life man. Verity's little sister Antimony, however, acted like a spoiled brat and while I can understand being jealous of your sibling, it was a bitchy move that makes me worry about the next book, since it'll be from her POV.

Once Verity, Dominic and a small splinter colony of Aeslin mice arrive at L.A. things start to heat up. Things go great for a couple of weeks. We meet the other competitors, some of them old friends of Valerie from the time she appeared on TV, have a laugh at the expense of Dominic, who's been demoted to the role of boyfriend, since Valerie isn't married and Verity agrees to negotiate the arranged marriage of a nest of dragons with an unborn male of the species. But because this won't be an InCryptid book if there isn't murder, blood and mystery, things go south pretty fast. Verity seems to have an affinity for snake cults. She acts like a magnet for them or they for her since she seems to be attracted to the places where these psychos operate. This particular snake cult is using the eliminated dancer as sacrifices and this makes it even more personal for Verity. She knows these people, some of them are her friends. So she bands up with a couple of the other dancers, who happen to be cryptids to solve the mystery and save their lives. Enter the second chick on the cover, you won't guess who she is! Why, it's grandma Alice! You know the crazily violent one that takes trips to hell and other dimensions looking for her lost husband. From the moment she showed up I knew this is going to be great! And it was. The banter between Verity and Dominic is great, Verity's witty comments are hilarious but they don't hold a thing to the hilarity Alice causes. Mostly because Verity doesn't really know what to do with her or how to introduce her to her friends. When your grandma looks younger than you things do get complicated.

From that moment on there was a hell of a lot of running around, meetings with the local ghouls and investigations carried with the help of talking mice. I had my suspicions for who the cultist were and I was mostly right. One of them was a surprise. One I should have seen coming because in hindsight it;s obvious and yet Verity presented that person as a non-treat so well that I never even suspected him. I felt as betrayed as Verity did and at the end when so many people died, people that don't deserved it and were close to Valerie's heart, I felt so sad. The final showdown was incredible, action packed and intense and opening up the door for a war I don't think the rices are ready for. But maybe with the help of the various cryptids of North America when the Covenant comes to answer Verity's challenge, the good guys will win and rid the world of the real monsters. Buckle up, people, because this series is just getting started.

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verity was back as the MC! I greatly prefer her POV over Alex's. I definitely did not miss Alex at all. So Verity's alter ego Valerie was invited to reappear on the tv show Dance or Die. And that is where the story went downhill for me. I love Verity and her family, but the dance stuff was boring. There was quite a bit of it too. It did play into the incryptid mystery, but most of the people involved with the dancing weren't appealing. I did like a few of the new characters but not many.

It was great to see how Verity and Dominic's relationship had evolved. I like them as a couple. Since they were in Hollywood for Dance or Die, they couldn't publicly be a couple. It would have put Dominic in too much danger with the covenant. But it also meant they didn't get to work as a team for the majority of the book. I was disappointed he didn't get more page time.

Grandma Alice made an appearance! She was one kick ass lady with plenty of secrets. What she does when she travels in other dimensions is a mystery. No one knows why she is getting younger instead of older. She's in her 80's but looks like she is in her 20's. Then there were other times where she acted like a sweet old grandmother and baked cookies. Alice is interesting to say the least. The next two books are going to be from Antimony's POV, but I really hope there will be a book or two from Alice's at some point. I want to know more about her and about what happened to her husband.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie- it was a relief to be back with Verity and Dominic again. The Alex books were ok but Verity is better! There is no doubt that Seanan McGuire is onto a winner with the Aeslin mice: love their capitalised speech and general joy at life. It was great to meet Grandma Alice and spend time with different incryptids too.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifth in the Incryptid urban fantasy series revolving around the cryptozoologist Price-Healey family. The focus is on Verity Price and her second chance at a dance career and is set in L.A.

My Take

I enjoy paranormal fantasy stories…yeah, I reckon y'all can tell, lol. And my favorite thing about the Incryptid series is those Aeslin mice and all their feasts and rules. The great feast of Dammit, Enid, Where Is That Girl. The rule of the Well-Groomed Priestess that “What Has Been Discarded, You May Have, But Don't You Little Monsters Nip My Embroidery". They've now incorporated dance into their religious rituals because of Verity's interest in dance; she says “watching Aeslin mice do the cha-cha is an experience". Then there's the booty they find in the theater *more laughing*

Huh. I never thought about the difference between “not wanting for funds" and “staying under the IRS radar", lol.

It was a fascinating look behind-the-scenes at a reality dance show. And I was aching and hurting as I read what the dancers went through! Anyone hoping to get onto a reality show ought'a read this, as advance notice of what to expect.

Even more fascinating is Verity and Dominic's approach to life, their interactions with the mice, how supportive they are of each other, and the kind of care they need to take, lol.

"Being a smart shopper doesn't just mean clipping coupons and watching for sales. Sometimes it means understanding when you need that Kevlar vest a lot more than you need to wait for it to go on clearance." – Evelyn Baker

That Jessica is something else. The complete opposite of Grandma Alice, who's tough but with a heart. That “Elle" just slides right in.

Ah-ha! The truth behind Maleficent and Disney!

I can understand Verity's fascination with free-running, and while I'd love to try it…I ain't in no kind'a shape for it, *more laughter*

Life gets exciting as bodies start turning up with particular markings, pools of blood that never existed, and intra-dimensional doorways pop open.

Verity's right. Humans are much worse than the cryptids.

And now I need some Chinese food.

The Story
Three years ago, America's Dancer of Choice was Lyra, and Valerie decided a career in dance wasn't meant to be.

Now Dance or Die is planning a reunion show of all the best dancers from the past five years, and Valerie Pryor can't believe she has a chance. Again. Only, television exposure could out her to the Covenant, but that lure is impossible to resist, and she and Dominic are off to L.A. for one last shot at the big time.

A tricky proposition when they start stumbling over carved-up dead bodies.

The Characters
The free-running Verity Price in the crypto world — Valerie Pryor in the world of Latin ballroom dancing (and Verity, the Arboreal Priestess, bride to the God of Hard Choices in Dark Places — that would be Dominic — per the Aeslin mice). Dominic De Luca (he's planning on changing his last name) is her husband and ex-Covenant; his alter ego will become David Laflin. Yep, the Covenant is looking for him too.

Tattooed and grenade-equipped Grandma Alice is an intra-dimensional traveler who's been hunting for Grandpa Thomas. In this story, she'll be Verity's sister, Elle. She's the senior priestess of the family, but with two identities: Noisy Priestess when home and Pilgrim Priestess when looking for Grandpa.

The Aeslin mice have an eidetic memory and believe the Price-Healys are their gods.

"'They're Aeslin mice,' I said. 'They would rather do anything that involves food.'

'HAIL! HAIL THE WISDOM OF THE ARBOREAL PRIESTESS!'"

The television show is…
… Dance or Die with Brenna Kelly as the show's host…and a dragon princess with a proposition for Verity. It's produced by Adrian Crier Productions with Adrian Crier as the executive producer. Lindy O'Toole has Botoxed herself out of expression and is one of the judges for the show. The easygoing Clint Goldfein is another judge, a choreographer, and a producer. Marisol Bustos and Sasha are choreographers for the show.

Lyra was the winner from Valerie's season. Anders Clarke prefers tap and is in love with Valerie, who had been his dance partner. Pax had been Lyra's partner; he's also a Ukupani and an aquatic therianthrope shark shifter with two wives and a husband. Lo had won in her season, partnered with Will. Raisa and Graham are week one; Bobbi and Danny (ballroom); Leanne and Mac (ballet); Troy; Jessica is the mean girl; Poppy (ballroom) and Chaz (jazz); Emily; Jessica; Reggie; Malena is a chupacabra; and, Ivan's specialty is jive.

The L.A. Dragon Nest is hidden…
…within the Shady Oaks Mental Institution. Osana is a laidly worm, which are good administrators. I think Catherine is Osana's older sister?? Chantelle is a Nest-sister.

South Riverside Flea Market
Siobhan “Bon" is a routewitch, who had been with the Campbell Family Carnival as their fortuneteller. Great-Aunt Laura Campbell was a routewitch, an ambulancer. Routewitches pull magic from the long sweep of the road.

The ghoul community had…
…worked together with the bogeymen and the hidebehinds, until they got screwed by the government and land developers. The dragons had a much better idea. Aurelie is the young ghoul having the tea party. And Verity has info on a dollmaker who does cryptids.

Back in New York
The Freakshow is a cryptid bar where Ryan is a tanuki bartender with the waheela girlfriend. Candy is a dragon princess of the Manhattan Nest and William's primary wife. Betty.

Nemo is the plesiosaur. Charlie, Kim, and Angie had gone on an archeological dig. Uncle Mike and Aunt Lea (she's an Oceanid) should be able to help. Titanoba might have qualified for snake god status, although it seems that it's not the snake himself that is the attraction. The Covenant of St. George is an organization that hunts down cryptids, seeing them all as unnatural monsters.

Verity's great-great-grandparents, Enid and Alexander Healey, had quit the Covenant and moved to Michigan. Frances Brown had been her great-grandmother and highly honored by the chupacabra community. Thomas Price is her grandfather who met and fell in love with Alice Healy, Frances' daughter.

Kevin Price was their son who married Evelyn Baker, Verity's mother. Dad is an academic who can translate anything; Mom provides medical advice, care, and remedies to the community. Antimony is Verity's sister, a.k.a., the Precise Priestess, who's into roller derby. Alex is the brother who loves reptiles, amphibians, etc., and works at a zoo in Ohio. Jane was their daughter, and she married Theodore Harrington, an incubus. Jane and Theodore have two children: Elsie and Artie, the reclusive, half-incubus, comic book-loving nerd.

Evelyn had been adopted; her mother, Angela, was a cuckoo, and her father, Martin, is a Revenant. Angela and Martin had also adopted Drew, who had grown up in a bogeyman community, and Sarah, a cuckoo, a telepathic cryptid; she's still recovering from events in Midnight Blue-Light Special , 2. Aunt Mary is a crossroads ghost ( Sparrow Hill Road , 1 ). Aunt Rose is another ghost and lives in New Orleans ("The Ghosts of Bourbon Street", 3.1). Uncle Naga, a professor of intra-dimensional studies, is a naga from a parallel dimension.

The Cover and Title

I suspect the two gun-toting blondes peeking out from behind the purple velvet curtains are meant to represent Valerie and Grandma Alice. Valerie is wearing the sexy gold sequin vest with the brown velvet skirt split-up-to-here while Alice is in rolled-up jean shorts, a brown tank top, and an armful of tattoos.

The title is what it is on the dance floor for a reality TV show, Chaos Choreography.

[Tigress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pre-Read:

This one's narrated by Verity!!



UPDATE: Just finished it, and it was awesome! Full review to come.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fifth book in the InCryptid series features Verity as the pov character, relitigating her previous inner conflicts when she is invited as "Valerie" to participate in a reality-TV dancing elimination contest. There's a villainous threat lurking in the wings of the studio, and as the contestants are eliminated, they're also eliminated in a much more final way ...

This story has a few major elements:

(1) the TV show, its various characters, and social life in the apartments the dancers are staying in in between practices and shows
(2) the catch-the-villain "mystery" (more on that shortly)
(3) the various cryptids living in Burbank and participating in the show
(4) the introduction of Alice as an active character

Each is entertaining in its own right, and the book as a whole is plotted well and never stayed still long enough for me to feel bored. Still, I also don't think any of them was filled in enough to get me fully invested.

Dominic is there, and while he and Verity obviously are quite enthused about the early stages of their marriage, he's pretty much shunted off to watch the horses. Alice could be fun if given center stage--as is, she's close to a joke character who exists in the story to supply the grenade that kills off the big monster at the end.

None of the dance show characters except Malena distinguish themselves all that much, including Valerie's dance partner Anders, and Lyra, who supposedly was Valerie's best bud the first time she was on the show. Probably because they both died in a rather offhand way at the end of the book.

Cryptid-wise we have more returning species, including dragons and the ubiquitous and adorably loyal Aeslin mice, and one or two others that are given a few pages apiece. I really liked the idea of the underground cryptids forming a loose alliance to build a kind of housing co-op that eventually was put under eminent domain, ousting them, but they were essentially a sidetrack to explain some of the workings of the major plot. (They inspired an idea for a very different story of my own, so that's a plus!) The cryptid at the very end died just as quickly as Lyra.

Last and definitely least, we have the major mystery plot of the book, a by-the-numbers affair that, just like the previous couple of books, had very obvious culprits who either were killed or otherwise permanently dealt with by the end. One of the characters involved in that plot had a personality change that made no sense to me, and their backstory was just as baffling, and also unimportant to anything else that was going on.

This one's a perfect three-star book in having a lot going for it, but also having some problems. The plotting often feels too obvious, and the endgame was rushed and unsurprising. McGuire's irritating writing quirks crop up again and again: barely tolerable when the action's trotting along, and much, much less tolerable when things slow down. "Never make a point that can't be reiterated a couple more times in the same paragraph." Dialogue that's obviously intended to be witty but doesn't elicit half a smile, much less a laugh. Verity feels a little softer--less self-involved, blunt, and bossy--and I'm happy about that, because she was hard to sympathize with in her first two books. But I don't see that change as having come through her experience with other people, or self-reflection, as much as I see the author's hand behind it.

Chaos Choreography is the last of the InCryptid books I have in my ebook library. I've consistently found these much more exciting to anticipate reading than to actually read, so this is it for this series, at least for a good long while. I have a few more of McGuire's books, under both this name and her pseudonym Mira Grant, so we aren't done with each other just yet.

Note on the cover: I'm certain that the character on the right is Alice, with her tank top and tattoos. Who's this on the left, though? It shouldn't be Verity, since she wears a wig with red hair during her dance performances, and she's about the same height as Alice, and her real hair has been shorter in the other cover illustrations. Is it Brenna, perhaps? Though Brenna never wielded a gun during the story, and why would you not feature the pov character on the cover ...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I loved getting to know Alex I was really excited for the chance to catch back up with Verity and Dominic. I was looking forward to seeing how married life was treating them and it was great to see what a strong couple they have become. Verity thought she had walked away from her dancing career for good when they left New York but when she gets an invitation to appear on an all star line up of the dancing show that started it all she finds the lure impossible to resist. Heading to L.A. in a whirlwind of sequins and wigs Verity knows she's going to have to work 24/7 to impress the judges.

Dominic has never understood Verity's obsession with dancing but I loved how incredibly supportive he is of her choices, he knows how much dancing means to her and he wants her to have every possible opportunity to fulfil her dreams. Even though he won't be allowed to stay in the dancer's accommodation he heads to L.A. with her just to offer support and to make sure she's safe. Unfortunately for Verity what should be a fun reunion with old friends and the chance of a lifetime for her career ends up getting a lot more complicated when dancers start going missing. After discovering dead bodies covered in strange runes they realise they're dealing with something significant and her parents send backup in the form of Verity's grandmother Alice.

Chaos Choreography was probably my favourite book in the series so far, I enjoyed spending time with Verity and Dominic, the crazy dance show setting made a nice change, the Aeslin mice were on hand to add humour in the darker moments, we get to meet a few interesting new cryptids but most of all I absolutely loved getting to know grandma Alice. We've had a lot of hints dropped about Alice during the series (someone please tell me that Seanan McGuire is going to give her her own book or spin off series eventually - I want to join her on her search for Thomas and we NEED to see them get a HEA!) and we even met her in one of the short stories but nothing prepared me for how completely badass she is. Alice is a weird mix of cookie baking grandma and gun-toting, grenade throwing, dimension hopping supergirl who looks like Verity's younger sister and she is absolutely awesome.

Things got very interesting at the end of this book and now I'm more excited to continue this series than ever. It initially seemed like a weird place to switch to Antimony's point of view for the next two books but having read the blurb for Magic for Nothing March can't get here soon enough so that I can find out what happens next.

[Snarktastic Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do love Verity. And her mice. I do, however, struggle with this review. And the number of stars to give to this one. I loved it, don't get me wrong. Verity always makes me giggle. But, I just really felt something missing here. I'm really not sure why . . . I think it was the So You Think You Can Dance format . . . I love that show, too. I recognized all the main characters here. And, I gotta admit I'm really sad at where THAT series is going this year and I do not know if it impacted my enjoyment of this book, but I suspect it did. It made me read a few phrases such as "Here are your gals, America . . . " with regret and sadness.

And, then came the mice. The mice are extra special here. And, we get to actually MEET more of Verity's family. The ending is interesting to say the least. It will be intriguing to see where it goes.

But, the dance element (and the reality tv show) really steals the book. And, that thought makes me sad.

So, I'm giving this one 3 stars. It is probably actually better than that . . . but I have to give it something.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

3/1/2016: It is out in the wild today! And I still haven't caught up on the short stories for Verity. I guess I have weekend plans, anyway.
********************************
This is not 'my' series, but any day Seanan gets a cover reveal is a good day in my book.



Love her reveal pic on Twitter (Thanks to goodreader Sammm for bringing this to my attention over on the CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE COVER!!! list.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, features a lot of things I’m not fond of: reality competition tv show, Verity, okay maybe just those two things. Verity is very selfish and I honestly, do not like her. I was kinda hoping this was Antimony’s book—alas, no.

Honestly, Grandma Alice saved this book from being a complete slog for me. Still reads fast, but about things I have zero interest in: costuming, various dance programs and catty people.

Alice seemed to have at least a basic understanding of traffic laws—she understood they existed, and she understood she didn’t like them, but if everyone else was playing by the rules, she should pretend to care.

And the Aeslin mice are the best:

“No one is stabbing, shooting or immolating anyone in this hotel room.”
“Please,” added Dominic. “I have to sleep here.”
HAIL!” rejoiced the mice. “HAIL THE LACK OF STABBING, SHOOTING, AND FLAME!”

If I were Verity siblings, I would off her for this.

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaos Choreography is the fifth book in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series.

THIS IS MIDWAY INTO A LONGSTANDING SERIES, SO IF YOU ARE READING THIS REVIEW, YOU SHOULD KNOW THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF SPOILERS.

Moving on.

"I didn't start out with a lot of family. One thing I've learned is that people who love and accept you are worth their weight in silver bullets. You hold them fast, and you never let them go."

The first two books in the series (Discount Armageddon and Midnight Blue-Light Special) focused on Verity Price and her family of cryptozoologists. In Discount Armageddon, Verity was living a double life. Not only was she acting as the family's go-to for the urban cryptids, but she was competing in ballroom dancing as Valerie Pryor, hoping to be the one to make it out of the family business. Since there are more Verity books, clearly this didn't happen!

Valerie, being the mask that Verity had been wearing, disappeared from the dance scene while Verity moved back home to fulfill her obligations to the family and oh yeah, get married to Dominic!

That is until Dance or Die, the reality dance competition that made the redheaded Latin ballroom specialist (Valerie) a household name, contacts her after all this time. They ask her to return for an All-Star season, where the top four from each prior season compete to become America's Dancer of Choice once again. If she lasts, she could be in Hollywood for two months or so. If you're thinking that might be a bit dangerous considering who she really is, yeah.. you are right my friend.

In fact, Verity and Dominic discover that the eliminated dancers are being ritually sacrificed by a cult that wants to summon a snake god. So, just another day at the Healy-Price office.. but with dance!

This is So You Think You Can Dance, Seanan McGuire style!

"My name is Verity Price; I'm a cryptozoologist. That means that sometimes my life includes shouting at extinct genera of reptiles. My life is weird."

Plesiosaurs, Ukupani, a dragon princess, chupacabras, ghouls, bogeymen and of course, AESLIN MICE!!

Oddly enough, a few days after I finished reading this, Seanan spoke in detail about the Aeslin mice and how they are actually quite tragic. BUT OF COURSE!! It's true. As much as I would love an entire story dedicated to them, I know it would break my fucking heart at the same time. Oof.

The thing that sticks out in my mind with these books, especially, is the long line of family history. It's informative and fascinating and oh so awesome, but I won't get into here because it's detailed and long and JUST READ THE BOOKS ALREADY, DAMNIT!!

I will say that the tattooed, dimension-hopping Grandma Alice does make an appearance and she is even more radical than I had hoped!

I just adore this family of misfits so bloody much! It's such an entertaining, insanely fun, action-packed series!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first two InCryptid novels, gave up on the 3rd (where the PoV shifted from Verity to her brother, and unfortunately, it just didn't work for me) and then tried again with this 5th novel, back in Verity's PoV...and oh, wow. I LOVED this book!

It has all the sparkle and fun of the first two books - I mean seriously, Verity's dancing in a high-intensity, vividly detailed reality TV show where the eliminated contestants each week get killed by supernatural means! so Verity's dancing her heart out while secreting an enormous number of weapons in her flimsy costume and dealing with magical hijinks, and it is all SO much fun - but it also turned out to be incredibly moving and powerful about identity and the way our identities shift throughout adulthood in so many ways. It was WONDERFUL and I loved it so much.

You certainly don't need to read Books 3-4 (written from her brother Alex's PoV) to enjoy this - like I said, I gave up halfway through Book 3 and had NO problem slipping back into the series with this book! Honestly, I think you could probably even read this book first and enjoy it perfectly - and it is the strongest book so far of the whole series. On the other hand, I loved seeing how Verity's identity AND relationships had developed across her three books - and the first two books are fun! - so....?

Basically, I'm just highly, highly recommending this book to any fans of smart, fun adult urban fantasy.

[Christine PNW · Rating 4 out of 5]

This remains an absolute favorite series, and I am glad we are back to Verity's POV. I was less than thrilled with the reality television theme to the book, but the appearance of Grandma Alice Healy and the Aeslin mice made up for the fact that I hate reality television so much that I apparently also can't stand fictional literary reality television.

However, the ending of this book was COMPLETELY FECKING AWESOME. Well played, Verity, well played.

[Coyora Dokusho · Rating 5 out of 5]

I *knew* I was forgetting something! It was the date this book released!!!! XD Well, it was glorious. Excellent in all the ways the Seanan McGuire is ALWAYS excellent. I'm extremely attached to all the characters and SUPER looking forward to more!!!

3/5/16 updated to add:

just wanted to add some highlights that are haunting me a bit: there was a part where I actually gasped out loud in shock and horror, there were laughs, it ended on perhaps one of the most epically badass moments in literary history, the mice were awesome. that is all.

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

So here’s the deal: InCryptid has a LOT of backstory via a multitude of (FREE) extras that are available on McGuire’s website.

These extras chronicle the Healy and Price family after they went rogue and left the Covenant of St. George. The majority are about Jonathan Healy, the son of Enid and Alexander Healy, the original detractors, and Frances Brown, Jonathan’s future wife (and are quite tragic), but a few of the later ones begin to tell Alice Healy, Frances and Jonathan’s daughter, and Thomas Price’s tale.

Thomas and Alice’s story is FASCINATING. In part b/c we know so little about them beyond Thomas being sucked into a hell dimension and Alice spending the last forty to fifty years trying to find him.

After his disappearance, Alice dropped their two small children off with the traveling carnival her mother had belonged to prior to marrying Jonathan, and promptly started searching other dimensions.

Per the current generation of Healy-Prices (Alice’s grandchildren), we know that she periodically shows up, frequently packing grenades, and still appearing to be in her early to mid twenties (b/c the passage of time in hell dimensions is weird).

I mention this b/c Alice saves CHAOS CHOREOGRAPHY.

We all know about Verity’s love of ballroom dancing and her runner up status on the reality dance competition Dance or Die, but knowing it and experiencing it are two different things, and experiencing it is deathly dull.

I was 30% in before anything plot worthy made an appearance, and the fact that it was the work of snake cult only irritated me further.

I am sick to death of snake cults.

Snake cults: InCryptid as that damn blood diamond: Jane Yellowrock.

BUT.

It’s hard to stay pissed about (yet another) snake cult when (the) Alice (freaking) Price shows up on Verity’s doorstep.

Suffice it to say that after that things pick up dramatically.

I’m not going to say anything about those things b/c spoilers. Just know that we get a multitude of tantalizing tidbits about what it is that Alice has been doing, and the last 10% is . . . Explosive.

Heh.

InCryptid continues to remain highly recommended. Seriously guys . . . It’s officially on my Top 5 (unfinished) Urban Fantasy Series list. And with Antimony up as the main POV in the next book . . . *throws confetti in the air*

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Verity or should I say Valerie is offered the chance for a return season on Dance or Die, she pulls out her wigs and costumes before dragging her ex-Covenant husband, Dominic to Los Angelos.

At one time Verity considered pursuing dance and leaving the family business. While she is happy with her decision the opportunity to compete again is too great. Not wanting to deal with what-ifs, she along with Dominic and a small group of Aslin Mice head off to the competition. At first, things are wonderful as she is reunited with old cast members but when two contestants show up dead with strange symbols painted in blood she knows she is dealing with a cryptid problem.

Each book in the series deals with one Price and a cryptid-related mystery. Chaos Choreography was interesting in that we are dealing with a reality dance-off. It turns out some of the contestants are cryptids, including one of the announcers who asks Verity for a HUGE favor.

I really enjoyed the team that formed in solving this mystery. The murderer is specifically targeting contestants. Get eliminated...you die. It was suspenseful, but also had McGuire's signature form of humor as we dealt with dragons, gecko type creatures, snake lovers and more.  Verity consults with local cryptids and her family but to survive she will need to keep her wits about her and delegate.  I really felt like Verity came into her own in Chaos Choreography. She makes peace with herself and trusts others to handle missions. This was such a big change from Manhatten and allowed other characters to shine.

McGuire did an excellent job giving us a real feel for the on-camera excitement and demands of a reality dance-off. While we knew early on what the symbols on the body stood for we encounter plenty of twists and kinks as the team worked to stop the killer(s). The final scenes were climatic and had me holding my breath from who would be eliminated to preventing the next murder. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Ina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

After two adventures with Alex and Shelby, McGuire takes us back to Verity and Dominic. I'm still getting used to the premise of switching main characters every few books in this series, but I have to say I was glad to see Verity again. However, when it turned out this book is centered around dance competition, I wasn't too excited. If you think I started reading Urban Fantasy because I'm interested in people trying to become celebrities in Hollywood, I will disappoint you. However, not the whole story was about the dance competition.

Years after Verity abandoned her life as Valerie Pryor, ballroom dancer, life is willing to give her another shot at dancing career. Verity has given up on her previous identity and settled down with her family and husband (!) Dominic, but now she has a chance to evaluate her life choices. However, soon after she enters the dance competition, eliminated dancers start dying and it looks like Verity has a snake cult on her hands.

At first, this book reminded me of the first installment quite a lot - Verity was assuming her alter ego Valerie while trying to make it as ballroom dancer and people were being killed as sacrifices to snake god. Luckily, it turned out this book was its own story. Things started looking promising when Verity's grandma Alice (who looks like 20 year old tattooed girl) showed up to help her and from that point on, things were getting better.

The final twist with reveal of people who were behind snake cult wasn't that surprising (I didn't suspect any of them - mostly because I didn't really suspect anyone - but it made sense it was them, because they were all quite shady throughout the story). The final twist, with the whole fight being taped and streamed on national TV, however, was quite surprising. I have to admit I was kind of disappointed McGuire ended it like this and I hope she will come back to it in the next installment, because such a reveal can't just be swept under the rug.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. ALICE. I didn't read anything about this one, so I had no idea who the other girl on the cover was, and I have to say I LOVE ALICE, the cookie-baking, dimension-hopping, reverse-aging grandma with MAGIC TATTOOS. Seanan puts so much amazing work into the personalities of the entire Price-Healy clan, and it shows.
2. I never get tired of Aeslin mice.
3. Routewitches! I need to reread Sparrow Hill Road.
4. WHEN DOES ANTIMONY GET A BOOK? IS IT NEXT?? I HOPE IT'S NEXT

Now, who wants to talk about the ending?

Really, they passed off the entire climax as a special effects show? Like, how does that work? Obviously the murder was real, because they had a funeral for Lyra and it would be difficult to cover that up. So why on earth would a show ever have a murder happen onstage and then go into a special effects display? Why wouldn't they stop the show immediately? Unless their spin was that Anders was disturbed and set up the display beforehand as part of his murder spree. But to have the dancers go along with it by attacking the giant snake... I don't know, none of that makes any sense to me. I just don't see how anyone would have come up with a mundane explanation for this.

I get that they needed to set up the Covenant coming to the US and Verity warning them on camera, and that part was pretty badass. But the handwave of "oh, we said it was special effects" stretches things too far for me. I don't buy it. Especially not in this day and age when it would have been on the internet immediately.

[Arushi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book far more than the previous installment. Maybe it was having Verity back as a narrator, but I am sure, mostly it was just being rid of all the 'Australian' bits.

I enjoyed the Aeslin mice far more too. I think Verity notices and includes them a lot more than Alex does - something he too touched upon - but he seemed to think its coz he's a god while his sisters are priestesses, and so, far more easy to approach - for the mice. I don't think so - after all - they have no issues harassing Dominic.

Anyways, the story was great. Verity has one more chance to dance - and just so she has no regrets, she takes it. Going back to national level reality TV as Valerie Pryor. Only to find that the show has a snake cult killing eliminated contestants.

I liked learning more about the dancing aspect of Verity's life and it was also good to see Dominic interested in it. What I really loved was 'meeting' Alice in person. We have been hearing about Grandma Alice right from the beginning and I think she truly lived up to the hype. Not only was it great fun to see the reaction of other characters to her in a book - it was even more fun to just see her do what she did - no matter what it was.

We got to come in close contact with a few more sapient cryptids and that was good. I kinda wish I could have seen more of Dominic at the Price home - but then again - I was happy with what I got.
This book has definitely made me look forward to the next one.

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

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

So, after the first four books, I expected to get to know Antimony in this one, but with the Dancing title, I should have known it was Verity.

Verity and by extension Dominic are back as Verity stars in something like So You Think You Can Dance. I'm not a big fan of these talent shows, and reading about them was also not my favourite. Obviously, something fishy is going on at the program and you really don't want to be eliminated.

I like these books a lot. They don't have the best story, or are written in the best way, but they are heavily entertaining, with lots of cute characters (all the fantastic beasts) and I find Chaos Choreography as well as the rest of the series are great for relaxing. Would certainly recommend as a light read.

But man, that's quite a cliffhanger!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yesss, Verity is back! And Dominic! McGuire does a good established ship.

Also, OBVIOUSLY, an urban fantasy would give me pretty much the reality tv story I want.

Okay, I get that Verity declaring war on the Covenant on live tv is bad, but also . . . there were monsters???? People died??? Also on live tv???? You can maybe get away with monsters for the special effects, but I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE WOULD NOTICE PEOPLE ACTUALLY DIED. Maybe this addressed in the next book because the one made it sound like just the war was the issue.