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natashaleighton_'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
Continuing the decadently lush and creepy vibes of House of Hollow, Krystal Sutherland’s newest standalone is just as eerie and hauntingly sinister; with protagonists I found just as vividly compelling as the Hollow sisters.
Given how much I LOVED House of Hollow, you can imagine how high my expectations were for this. But I’m glad to say Sutherland absolutely nailed it! The simmering undercurrent of feminine rage, the witchy occultism and satisfyingly phenomenal ending, I was absolutely hooked.
I don’t think my words can truly capture how amazing this was but I will try my best. From the heart-stopping action which never let up, to the mystery surrounding a string of murders, and the skill with which Sutherland effortlessly intertwined the lives of our three protagonists: Emer, Jude and Zara (all from vastly different backgrounds) was nothing short of breathtaking.
I really loved them all and was utterly captivated by the emotionally complex backstories and thought processes that brought each girl to life. The vibrancy of their individual personalities and differences they embody, did briefly have me questioning how they could possibly get along, let alone solve such a complex case.
But watching their relationship shift and evolve as they got to know one another, shared their feelings, experiences, and generally became closer was really uplifting. And did help lighten the mood between all the tense, bloody and (predominantly) gory events the trio find themselves in.
Though I should admit, given I grew up in the London borough this is partially set in, (Zara attends a rival school to the one I graduated from) so my enjoyment is somewhat entwined with nostalgic memories of my own teen years in the area (when my love of all things witchy and paranormal really took off.)
In any case, if you’re eager to delve into something spooky or unapologetically witchy this October. Or yearn for a fiercely badass cast of FMCs (who team up to not only track down a killer, but stop him for good) and live for stories with plenty of plot twisty action — then you absolutely have to consider picking this up.
Though given the subject material I do suggest checking the TWs beforehand (as it does deal in a lot of dark themes.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
black_cat_iiix's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexism, Sexual violence, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
meg53's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
ellie_debney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Physical abuse, Vomit, and Medical content
frannieman's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
apoppyinthewind's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? No
5.0
I love a witchy book that takes a different approach to magic and The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland is one of the darker, more unique versions of magic I've read. In this world, magic is tied to making a pact with a demon, stamped on the witch's skin, which comes with a cost, and there is no room for mistakes.
The three main POV characters are Jude, Emer, and Zara. The first, Jude, is a novice witch who's made quite a life-changing mistake with her pact and is seeking help to fix it. Zara, grieving her murdered sister, is determined to find answers and a way to bring her sister back. Jude and Zara are brought together while researching the murders of other witches, all of whom were former clients of Emer, the curse writer.
It's a dark, bloody tale, with a significant amount of body horror about three characters trying to track down a murderer targeting witches. I would recommend checking it out if you enjoy witchy books and horror.
The three main POV characters are Jude, Emer, and Zara. The first, Jude, is a novice witch who's made quite a life-changing mistake with her pact and is seeking help to fix it. Zara, grieving her murdered sister, is determined to find answers and a way to bring her sister back. Jude and Zara are brought together while researching the murders of other witches, all of whom were former clients of Emer, the curse writer.
It's a dark, bloody tale, with a significant amount of body horror about three characters trying to track down a murderer targeting witches. I would recommend checking it out if you enjoy witchy books and horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
gabburrit0's review against another edition
dark
3.75
this ended v sweetly. i think that the metaphor of having a villain who quite literally uses the successes of women to feel more powerful himself is a bit on the nose but i think it worked really well for this story.
i really liked all of the girls! i think that their specific dynamic (the face, the brain, and the brawn) can definitely fall into the trap of cliche but it also really worked for this specific story and the narrative that they were trying to convey of like "girl power but make it supernatural" i also really appreciated that sutherland included the gore of doing these rituals into the story. lots of ppl are into witchcraft and their own interpretations of it but it has a lot to do with imbuing crystals with intentions or lighting sage to cleanse but this was like "let's get back to our roots and show the blood and how you have to give up a lot of yourself in order to achieve your specific wants in witchcraft" which i thoroughly enjoyed
the only thing keeping this book from a 4 star (5 star was a bit too high for me since i take re-readability into account) is that i just enjoyed sutherland's other book (house of hollow) so much more. it's unfair for me to pit 2 books against each other but in my defense they're both written by the same author and have similar vibes of supernatural occurrences happening to young women. where this book fell flat when it came to atmosphere, house of hollow absolutely knocked it out of the park. i wish that there had been more moodiness and overall gothic tones throughout this story because we're quite literally talking about hunting witch-hunters because they're killing women rapidly and the tone of the book just felt very vampire academy (movie version) and i just know that sutherland knows how to write a fucking good atmospheric book. tldr, house of hollow actually made me feel anxious and a little scared to turn off my light at night and i listened to this book on audiobook to help me go to sleep (affectionately)
that all being said, this book has made me a fan of sutherland's work. i'm definitely going to be picking up whatever she releases next and i'll be there for the vibes of a spooky story
i really liked all of the girls! i think that their specific dynamic (the face, the brain, and the brawn) can definitely fall into the trap of cliche but it also really worked for this specific story and the narrative that they were trying to convey of like "girl power but make it supernatural" i also really appreciated that sutherland included the gore of doing these rituals into the story. lots of ppl are into witchcraft and their own interpretations of it but it has a lot to do with imbuing crystals with intentions or lighting sage to cleanse but this was like "let's get back to our roots and show the blood and how you have to give up a lot of yourself in order to achieve your specific wants in witchcraft" which i thoroughly enjoyed
the only thing keeping this book from a 4 star (5 star was a bit too high for me since i take re-readability into account) is that i just enjoyed sutherland's other book (house of hollow) so much more. it's unfair for me to pit 2 books against each other but in my defense they're both written by the same author and have similar vibes of supernatural occurrences happening to young women. where this book fell flat when it came to atmosphere, house of hollow absolutely knocked it out of the park. i wish that there had been more moodiness and overall gothic tones throughout this story because we're quite literally talking about hunting witch-hunters because they're killing women rapidly and the tone of the book just felt very vampire academy (movie version) and i just know that sutherland knows how to write a fucking good atmospheric book. tldr, house of hollow actually made me feel anxious and a little scared to turn off my light at night and i listened to this book on audiobook to help me go to sleep (affectionately)
that all being said, this book has made me a fan of sutherland's work. i'm definitely going to be picking up whatever she releases next and i'll be there for the vibes of a spooky story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Murder
mirell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
ever_dee's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Blood and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
codyemma's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Sexism, Vomit, and Grief