Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

38 reviews

outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In a world where only women can make deals with demons & wield magic, three young women are drawn into the hunt for a supernatural serial killer. Zara Jones's older sister, Savannah, was the killer's first victim. The sisters were always close & Zara can't live without her so she is intent on raising Savannah from the dead if only she can find the right spell. Everything she has tried so far has failed. Jude Wolf comes from a rich family but she's the outsider. Jude tethered her soul to three demons but the first one went badly wrong & cursed her to be in constant pain as the demon tries to get out of the deal. Emer comes from a family of witches & is a talented cursewriter - the spells which bind the demons to their human. As a child she watched her entire coven slaughtered by four men - witch-hunters - & she has vowed revenge on them. 

OK, I really enjoyed this one & I was hooked from the start. It's a perfect mix of horror & fantasy with an undercurrent of social commentary. The first chapter sets the scene as an unnamed character walks home from a party alone - I would say that most women who have walked home alone in the dark in a deserted area would recognise the feeling of being on high alert of your surroundings & the fear that lurks.  It's no accident that only women can wield magic (i.e. power) in this book & the (mainly male) witch-hunters want to take it away. It is inclusive of trans women by the way. My only (minor) observation is that I wasn't sold on the Jude/Emer romance but that's only because I felt there was little chemistry between them & out of the 3 main characters, I liked Emer the least.  Overall though, it was a gripping read & that cover is perfection. 

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Bonnier Books UK/Hot Key Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Medical content, Cannibalism, Stalking, Abortion, and Pregnancy

nerdybookqueen's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I got this book from netgalley in exchange for a review.

What an amazing adventure. If you enjoyed this author's other work, you'll enjoy this one.

Featuring three povs, these female leads must join together to achieve their goals and solve the mystery underlying the story. I found all three women to be very interesting and compelling characters, featuring unique motives and personalities.

Jude is working to fix the botched deal with a demon, and along the way starts investigating a string of murdered women, all with a similar signature. She meets Zara, a woman trying to find a way to bring her sister back from the dead. Together, they find Emer, the woman who, as it turns out, has written deals-invocations- with demons for all the murdered women so far. And she's not pleased they're turning up dead. Together, they work to discover whose been murdering these women, while trying to find a solution to both Jude and Zara's problems.

This story kept me hooked, every twist and turn in the tale creating an exciting adventure that had me hanging on every word until the end. I also loved the addition of sapphic main characters, enjoying their story and the evolution of their relationship through the tale. 

I was so sad when the story ended, but so satisfied, and surprised, by the final act. I've already preorder the book, I loved it so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death

leos_library's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexism

anna_may's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

neonfrills's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book for review purposes

This is a YA Horror/ Thriller that focuses on three young women, each with some connection to witchcraft, that get pulled together when a serial killer starts targeting witches in their area, and they have to work together to stop him.

This book is an ode to women who take matters into their own hands against an unjust world. It captures so much of the fear, angst and rage that women go through at the hands of abuse by men, and feeds it into a “Good for Her” fantasy I think a lot of young women can relate to.

Krystal Sutherland is so good at giving a wide range of horror vibes in her books. She can do slower, more gross-out horrifying moments, as well as gut-punching jumpscares that leave you shocked and breathless. Yes, this book is YA, so maybe it doesn’t go as far as an adult horror would with the same subject matter, but it still gives me that uneasy feeling that no other YA horror author has for me.

Some other things I loved:

• Jude calling her four older brothers “the Horseman” is such a good nickname that feels like something a real teenager would come up with, and also tells you so much about their personalities without spending too much time with them.
• The demon characters and their bond with Emer, as well as some of the final reveals of their end goals really nail down the “Good for her” vibes as Emer got her revenge.

My only critique was personally, I didn’t love our main three protagonists as much as I did the Hollow sisters in House of Hollow. Jude a lot of the time is downright annoying, with her snarky commentary feeling a little forced. Zara is a bit better, but was lacking in the common sense department, especially with her eventual alternative plan to bring her sister back from the dead. Emer is the best of the three, who I instantly loved from her opening chapter; she’s smart, resourceful, a fighter, and her eventual self-destructive goals make sense from everything she’s been through. I didn’t really understand her and Jude’s attraction, and thought Zara and Jude had a better “straight man, funny man” combo going on, but I didn’t really need this book to have a pronounced romance at all for me to like it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism

marywahlmeierbracciano's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Invocations is set in a world where only women can use magic, but it comes at a price.  Butch heiress Jude learns this the hard way when a misguided curse leaves her with a necrotic wound.  Zara’s racing against time to learn how to raise her sister from the dead before it’s too late.  And Emer, a gifted polylinguist and curse-writer and the sole survivor from her coven, knows that being a witch is a dangerous thing.  The three young women are brought together when it’s discovered that a serial murderer is targeting Emer’s past clients—women who were willing to sell part of their soul for magic.  Grief leads the way in this whirlwind story, gruesome and truly scary as it confronts generational wealth, misogynistic violence, demons, and empowerment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Sexual violence, Torture, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent