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2.45k reviews for:

The Invocations

Krystal Sutherland

4.14 AVERAGE

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

very memorable, amazing storytelling with chilling twists and a tale that you will be left thinking about for days afterwards

Sometimes I just wanted this book to get to the point but it was fun and I really liked the characters and the magic system and the ending:)
adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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: Yes
adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

really enjoyed this book! it's slightly predictable but the magic system and generally how the story flows made it all so thrilling.
Unfortunately, sometimes I found the characters' logic a bit confusing (looking at you Zara) and would even dare to say that a plot hole partially tore me out of the finale.
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
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
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: Yes

“Even the devil does not trust men to honor a bargain, so it does not deal with them. It offers power only to women.”

This is everything I want a book about witches to be. This is a story about angry, feral, desperate women claiming power and agency in a world that only seeks to harm them. 

This book brings with it a bloody and violent atmosphere, fantastic characters, and an unsettling serial killer plot at the core. The magic, themes, and plot weave into the dark and chilling as it explores misogyny, power, and the violence men inflict on women. While simultaneously rotating around themes of female power, sisterhood, and family acceptance. 

I already knew just how well Krystal Sutherland can delve into stories about sisters and family, how deeply unsettling her brand of horror can be, and how wonderful and unapologetic her characters are - I read House of Hollow, after all. But to me, this was an almost perfect escalation on similar themes. A fucked up Pokemon evolution of horrors if you will (and I do mean that in the nicest way). The characters all felt so different and individual, each with their own wants, desires, and fears. And while there were times I questioned some of the plot points in relation to their teenage age range - I suspended my disbelieving swiftly because YA protagonists will get shit done no matter how young they are, because honestly, someone has to. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if it was a harrowing experience at times. While the characters have their fun moments, and the atmosphere of the story pulls you in - this story is grim. For the first time in my horror reading experience, I felt my heart racing as I read. I felt a deeply rooted fear and unease settle in me, a looming discomfort. And all from the first chapter. The prologue really tapped into a primal fear that unfortunately far too many women can relate to. An unease that spiked at later intervals throughout my reading experience. So while this book is a stunning addition to YA horror, it is one I suggest you check trigger warnings for. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

  • wow ! Just wow amazing I really enjoyed this . I wasn’t ready to leave this world! The world building to this so good I wasn’t ready to leave it ! It started off very dark academia like and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it I stuck with it and was sucked in by this amazing story . I found myself thinking about it while at work waiting to read it ! Towards the end one of the characters brought up being 17 and I was SHOCKED I knew going in it was a YA book , yet I kept seeing them as older .