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katielouisef's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
bzliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Emer, a cursewriter whose coven was slaughtered years ago and was essentially raised by demons, is only seeking survival and revenge on the men who killed her family. She provides curses to gift magic to women in bad or desperate situations. Zara’s sister was murdered nearly a year ago and she’s not looking for revenge; she just wants to raise her sister from the dead. Jude made a stupid mistake is writing her own curse which bound an unwilling demon to her and it is hell bent to destroy her. Zara and Jude’s journeys join them together then link them to Emer as they investigate who is killing Emer’s clients and stealing their invocations.
In my opinion, the least enjoyable part was the “romance” between Jude and Emer. It would have been just as well by these three girls- Jude, Emer & Zara- seeking connection, community & friendship because that’s really what they want. I hesitate to say there’s much growth for the trio as such a vast majority of their quest is externally driven but I don’t think the story suffers for it. The ending is a little waffley too. The cops here must be pretty inept and that’s all I’ll say on that.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
not_another_ana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
A girl walks home alone, but not alone.
In a world where only women can wield magic three girls will cross paths thanks to a serial killer targetting witches. Jude is a rich heiress who accidentally cursed herself and is now suffering from a rotting soul. A pariah to her family and constantly in pain she will do anything and pay whatever steep price to fix the damage and go back to her normal life, and if she has to track down a killer then so be it. Zara is looking for a way to bring back her sister, Savannah, from the dead and if magic is the answer then she'll stop at nothing, including finding her sister's murderer. When they find themselves down the same path they start working together and come across Emer, an actual witch and the girl who gave Zara's sister her magic. She could cure Jude and maybe even reanimate Savannah, but there's a more pressing situation: her clients are slowly being killed one by one. Bound together by what they know the three of them will try to catch this serial killer before he comes for them.
I thought this would be such an easy 5 stars. A book about witches! With a serial killer! By the same author of House of Hollow! Saying I was hype is an understatement, I was genuinely counting down the days and yet... this did not hit 😔 and trust me, it hurts. Some of my frustration might be due to how much I loved House of Hollow, which I read twice last year, and to that I say my bad, sure, but even separating this from previous books I still think it's weak and not up to standard. There were still elements that I enjoyed so let's start with the good.
The prose was excellent in general. Easy to read, very descriptive without boring the reader, non repetitive. Nobody does gruesome in such an enjoyable way as Krystal Sutherland, tasteful amount of gore I would say. The central idea was solid, I was particulary captivated by the magic system in this world. Magic has a price, magic hurts, it's disgusting, it cannot do it all, it demands a sacrifice. Giving away part of your soul in exchange for power ties up nicely to the medieval beliefs of witches consorting with the devil. Emer's family history
Now to the bad parts. I knew this wasn't a 5 stars when I realized there were three points of view. It made the beginning too slow because we had to meet all of them, learn about their situation, and then connect them to the main plot and eventually each other. The pacing was a big issue, slow start that then picks up only to slump again to then pack all the action in the last 30%. At some points the girls were too similar and difficult to separate, at others some of them felt like they were just there and didn't contribute much to the story
Then there's the... romance.
I said a lot of shit for a book that I still ranked 3.25 but I stand by it all. I did enjoy it! Which makes everything I didn't enjoy so important for me to talk about. Even with all this if Krystal Sutherland handed me a new book in a similar vein I would sit my ass down and thank her for the meal. TL;DR: yeah you can still read this and enjoy it.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Graphic descriptions of corpsesbrittonmc1221's review
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While dark there were enough moments of levity to keep it from being a thoroughly depressing book.
Narrator Rating: 5 stars
The narrator did an excellent job with tonal shifts and giving each character a unique voice.
Elemental Levels: Fluff-0/5 Heartfelt-2/5 Helpful-NA Horror-3/5 Inspiration-NA
Love aka Romance-3/5 Mystery-2/5 Predictability-4/5 Spice-0/5 Suspense-2/5 Tear- 2.5/5
Thrill-3/5 Humor-2/5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Excrement, Medical content, Cannibalism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
modernmatilda's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Stalking
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent and Pandemic/Epidemic
modernmatilda's review against another edition
- 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
The Invocations follows three girls with dark magic who rile against the patriarchy to find a killer who is targeting women and stealing their powers. We meet Jude, the cursed and exiled daughter of a billionaire, Emer the feisty witch, and Zara, who is trying to bring her sister back from the dead.
I am so thankful to have received an advanced readers copy from my favorite indie bookstore and I am looking forward to conversing with Krystal Sutherland at my Library in February!
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent and Pandemic/Epidemic
kris386's review
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, and Alcohol
jaedia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed The Invocations a lot. At first I worried the purple prose was going to fall on the wrong side for me but quickly fell in love with the way Sutherland describes everything and paints pictures with words. And the three girls: Jude, Emer, and Zara, felt pretty 3-dimensional to me, to the point that Jude in my mind looked quite different to the Jude on the cover art, the other 2 as well, actually - I struggle to visualise characters at all, usually. I also just adore dark witchy stories. This one has gore, and demons, and dark power, and women who are angry. It really really hit the spot.
There were a few points that bothered me, however, though they were small niggles rather than outright problems. For one... quite a few typos. I maybe noticed 7 or 8 throughout the book? Which isn't great for a traditionally published book. Not the end of the world though, they don't make it unreadable. Also without spoilers, one character has a magical injury, you learn about it right away when they are introduced, and the extent of the injury and the pain it causes... it really bothered me that they could walk around and do things. Like, yes there were times if they were running or doing manual labour they'd be visibly struggled or just bow out completely, but it's never made into much. I experience some minor pain at times and can't walk when it gets really bad, and there are others who need to constantly use crutches or a wheelchair. Pain like that isn't something that you grin and bear, get used to, magical or not. It wipes you out. I would have at least liked for them to have a walking stick, you know? Would have felt more real. Also: disabled representation, we could always use more.
Aside from that, the rest really are just small things here and there. Perhaps a person feels too much like a walking cliché, something feels a little too convenient, that kind of thing. These are generally things I notice when I read young adult fiction, however, and I tend to just brush them off. The instances in this book where they came up just didn't affect what I was reading. The overall writing and excitement of the story and what was happening to these characters was solid enough that it more than made up for any issues I had.
If you don't mind a little gore and enjoy dark stories about witches and the occult, with queer leading ladies, nonetheless, you might really get a kick out of The Invocations. And if you do, I definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings, as it is horror.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Excrement, Car accident, and Pregnancy
ivywwx's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail