Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Invocations

Don't let my slow progress fool you on this title! Every time I picked it back up, I was lapping this up. I think subconsciously I was taking forever because I wanted to savour it. It was very apparent from the start that I would adore the characters and I was already hooked on the direction of the story!

Invocations felt so dark, rich, yet funny (especially with Jude's comments) all at the same time. The mystery and magic is exhilarating and especially when we got to the end, both the two major plot twists did not have me guessing until the big reveal.

I wasn't expecting to have the mysterious sounding Emer Byrne as our first main POV, but I really enjoyed seeing her life straight away. It served to add even more to the illusive mystery surrounding her and I found that I was eager to discover more about her back story.

On page 19, I liked the connection of this in-the-process-of-healing lesion whispering the demonic language humans have aversion to... Much like the evil whisperings of legion itself! I don't know if it was intentional, but they sound similar and I liked the play on words.

There's also a scene where Jude observes her estranged family and the way the older siblings act around the patriarch of the father with their umbrellas, which greatly reminded me out of something from The Umbrella Academy.

As you can tell, I had a great time with the imagery and (imagined or not) metaphors speckled throughout. The writing was just so vivid and saturated in the telling.

Zara was probably the character I least bonded with. Don't get me wrong, I still loved reading from her perspective and the motive she had behind everything was a mixture of driven and heartbreaking. I just felt that she was too closed off and felt a touch like a filler character at times. Especially during moments that you could really tell there was some sort of chemistry with Jude and Emer.

The epilogue had me holding back tears.... After everything that happened it was just so beautiful, and honestly a fitting and perfect ending to the story. I felt kind of giddy and melancholy all at once when it was over. I took so long savouring over this book, it became my essence and now I don't know what to do with my life... Maybe I'll go hunt me some witch hunters.

: Eli's rationale for murdering women and stealing invocations was completely heartless and disgusting. How privileged he lived, yet he would go to the extremes of torture and murder to redeem himself in his family's eyes and for an ounce more power? I was stunned. My sympathy and empathy can only go so far. I thought he was a fantastic character and I loved the dynamic with Jude as the two black sheep siblings of the Wolf family, so this had me distraught.

Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy!

Content Warnings

mars_loves_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark 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

2.75

Content Warnings

clairelikesbooks95's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I feel like with every book I read by Krystal Sutherland (all two), my main reaction while reading is “Ewww. Really??” And I dig it! Lots of rage, lots of girl power, lots of gore, lots of queer vibes. Definitely not for folks who don’t like bleak, gory stories.

Content Warnings

brebeingwell's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5 ⭐

This book gave me all the proper uncomfy feels I want in a horror, but I did feel like it dragged a little in the second half. I wish I didn't know Russian or play The Sims because then the twist might have been a little more twisty (if you know, you know). I think the characters have strong, independent voices and personalities which lead to me becoming emotionally attached to both who they are as well as their desires/goals. The worldbuilding for a standalone book was immaculate and I enjoyed getting lost every step of the way.

Content Warnings

katielouisef's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

Content Warnings

brittonmc1221's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

I enjoyed the book, but I figured out who the witch hunter was pretty easily, so that plot "twist" was pretty dull. I did love the ending and I hope there's a sequel, which there seemed to be a setup for.
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

Content Warnings

More...