Name: Florence's review of The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Item: The Invocations
Rating: 4
Author: Florence

Krystal Sutherland

From the author of New York Times bestseller "House of Hollow" comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it's feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.

Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Flowers and insects die in her wake and monstrous things come to taunt her at night. If Jude can’t find the right someone to fix her mistake, she fears she’ll die very soon.

Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara and Jude's predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. But Emer has a dark past all her own—and as her former clients are murdered one-by-one, she knows it’s followed her all the way to London.

As Zara and Jude enter Emer's orbit, they'll have to team up to stop the killer—before they each end up next on his list.

The Invocations

Lacey Devlin

They understand what they are looking at. They understand that it could have been them. A wrong turn on the wrong night, and it could have been them. There is no sense to that. That you can be going about your life, minding your own goddamn business, and suddenly become prey.

Her eyes find the figure immediately, standing stationary on the path. He's a slip of shadow, nothing more. No face, no weapon, nothing to indicate that he might do her harm. Just a man.

But she is a girl. And she is alone. And it is night. And that is enough.

The gift of fear was given to her by the women she grew up around: nannies, teachers, friends, lovers. From them all, she learned to carry her keys between her fingers like knuckle-dusters. She learned to pour her own drinks at parties and keep them close to her, always in sight, never unguarded. She learned to walk in busy, well-lit areas at night and to wear bright, memorable clothing so that if- when- she disappeared, she would stick in the minds of those who'd witnessed her final hours.

Men do not know what it feels like to be hunted. Men do not walk alone on dark streets and think about fingers closing around their throats or their skulls thudding dully against the pavement. They do not think about strangers coming to their house and slaughtering their entire family.

A girl walks alone, but not alone. She feels him before she sees him, the way women do.

J Nieto

Florence

I really loved this! I need a sequel immediately 

fris🐝

such a vivid and beautifully crafted world of more gore and blood and pain than any 17 year old should bear witness to but also one filled with such a tender and sweet found family. 

Samantha 

kelsey

had to wait 3 years for a new krystal sutherland book but man was it worth it. she has truly mastered the art of writing such compelling YA that reads more like adult fiction

Not quite as dark academia as I was originally expecting but Sutherland killed it again with the dark atmospherics that she is well known for. Loved the magic system between demons and witches that she used. All 3 of the main girls were entertaining to read about, they were all well thought out and each brought something to the plot. I even loved Bael who was barely in the book, that's how well she wrote the characters. The mystery was well planned and I did guess the villain but it was still fun to read. I'd honestly love to get a Phoenix House sequel to revisit the girls.

Cassidy Webb

I absolutely adored everything about this book. I've loved Krystal Sutherland's writing since I read House of Hollow a couple years ago, and this did not disappoint. With lovable, fully fledged out characters and an enthralling plot, this is one of the best books I've read recently. The premise immediately caught my attention: three girls, Zara Jones, who has a murdered sister, Jude Wolf, the billionaire's daughter with a cursed soul, and Emer Byrne, the cursewriter whose clients are being killed, team up catch a witch hunting serial killer. 

One thing I loved was how all the POVs were unique—ya books with multiple point-of-views often have characters that all blend together, but that did not happen at all with this. Each perspective is so distinct from each other, yet the characters come together so well. I also loved the worldbuilding and plot. Incorporating witchcraft and witch hunting into feminist analysis is not new by any means, but Sutherland's rendition of this theme was fascinating. A story that's unapologetically pro-female, with QUEER female characters at the center? Without any sort of male apologia incorporated into it? Do you know how rare that is? I couldn't tell you much joy this brought me, how emotionally invested in this book I was. The writing itself is flawless, switching seamlessly from emotional to humorous to back again. 

The ending I adored as well. While it could definitely be considered obvious, it was still an emotional rollercoaster. It's also the perfect ending in my opinion, especially with the feminist undertones of the story, because who is often a girl's first betrayal, if not her own family? And the epilogue with Jude and Emer has my entire heart. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys gritty horroresque fantasy. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the early copy.

Three girls, all bound by witchcraft, go from the hunted to the hunters in this spellbinding novel. Jude wants to get rid of the deals she made with demons. Zara wants her sister back. Emer wants revenge--not only for her family, but for the person killing her clients. Can they get to the bottom of the mystery before it's too late?

I really liked this, but it is INCREDIBLY slow. The mystery aspect is so well done, I hadn't started putting pieces together until after the first big reveal. The characters are compelling, but Emer was probably the hardest to connect to. She's giving hermit. Jude is the most personable of the three, and the most sympathetic in my opinion. I feel like Zara had so much potential but was just flat?

This book is about female rage. It is about the dark side of humanity and the anger that rises from the systemic injustices women face. It's also about reclaiming power and narratives. It's a storm, but it's a very beautiful one.

My main issue was actually with the digital copy itself. Now, every arc will assure the reader that any formatting errors will be fixed by the time it goes to print. My issue here isn't weird formatting per se, I've read arcs where it's all one chunk of text. Here, though, any consonant clusters that started with 'f' (think fi, ft, ffi, fli, etc.) was missing. Most of the time it only took a second to parse out what was being said, but there were a couple times I had to sit and think for a moment. Another issue, there were several times where there would be some iteration of "it (be it a tombstone or plaque) said..." and then what it said was missing, or the beginning phrases of some paragraphs was missing. So I sort of feel like I didn't read the whole book? I'm not taking any stars off or anything, but this is to say that I cannot say I fully read the book because, well, some parts were missing. 

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

Holly

Three girls, all bound by witchcraft, go from the hunted to the hunters in this spellbinding novel. Jude wants to get rid of the deals she made with demons. Zara wants her sister back. Emer wants revenge--not only for her family, but for the person killing her clients. Can they get to the bottom of the mystery before it's too late?

I really liked this, but it is INCREDIBLY slow. The mystery aspect is so well done, I hadn't started putting pieces together until after the first big reveal. The characters are compelling, but Emer was probably the hardest to connect to. She's giving hermit. Jude is the most personable of the three, and the most sympathetic in my opinion. I feel like Zara had so much potential but was just flat?

This book is about female rage. It is about the dark side of humanity and the anger that rises from the systemic injustices women face. It's also about reclaiming power and narratives. It's a storm, but it's a very beautiful one.

My main issue was actually with the digital copy itself. Now, every arc will assure the reader that any formatting errors will be fixed by the time it goes to print. My issue here isn't weird formatting per se, I've read arcs where it's all one chunk of text. Here, though, any consonant clusters that started with 'f' (think fi, ft, ffi, fli, etc.) was missing. Most of the time it only took a second to parse out what was being said, but there were a couple times I had to sit and think for a moment. Another issue, there were several times where there would be some iteration of "it (be it a tombstone or plaque) said..." and then what it said was missing, or the beginning phrases of some paragraphs was missing. So I sort of feel like I didn't read the whole book? I'm not taking any stars off or anything, but this is to say that I cannot say I fully read the book because, well, some parts were missing. 

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

Okay.. that was more gruesome than I thought it was gonna be lol but excellent! I was able to read this early and at the height of spooky season and it was perfection! But if you’re just looking for a witchy read that feels like a movie, The Invocations is a great choice!

This one has a little bit of everything! Witches, demons, sapphic rep, pretty descriptive gore, magic (but very unique), multiple POV’s, a serial killer and more!

Also it’s worth mentioning that with my early copy, came a letter from the author stating that part of her inspiration for the Invocations was actually the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by a police officer. This story has a strong theme of the rich and powerful preying on those weaker than them.

Overall, this was an excellent story and I loved how it all came together in the end!

Courtney Passio

Okay.. that was more gruesome than I thought it was gonna be lol but excellent! I was able to read this early and at the height of spooky season and it was perfection! But if you’re just looking for a witchy read that feels like a movie, The Invocations is a great choice!

This one has a little bit of everything! Witches, demons, sapphic rep, pretty descriptive gore, magic (but very unique), multiple POV’s, a serial killer and more!

Also it’s worth mentioning that with my early copy, came a letter from the author stating that part of her inspiration for the Invocations was actually the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by a police officer. This story has a strong theme of the rich and powerful preying on those weaker than them.

Overall, this was an excellent story and I loved how it all came together in the end!

Read if you like:

Witchy vibes

Urban fantasy

Demons & mayhem

Found family

One bed

Sapphic representation

Unique magic system

Slow burn romance

Multiple pov



J Nieto &
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

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J Nieto &The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

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J Nieto &
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland