Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

6 reviews

bzliz's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

I recently read House of Hollow and enjoyed it a lot, so when I saw this at the library I scooped it up knowing that I’d get another dose of Krystal Sutherland’s hauntingly beautiful imagery and she did not disappoint. The Invocations is just as bloody and gruesome while still being somewhat charming. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Excrement, Self harm, Death of parent, Vomit, Abandonment, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Classism, Grief, Death, Murder, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Blood, Chronic illness, Self harm, Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Cannibalism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Confinement, Addiction, Excrement, and Bullying

Minor: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Sexual violence

kris386's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, Misogyny, Violence, Gun violence, Child abuse, Self harm, Vomit, Blood, Bullying, Grief, and Hate crime

Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty

jaedia's review

adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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 read a hefty chunk of this during a three-day migraine. Day one I could barely read at all, day two I was just so desperate for something to do that wasn't a screen. 😅 So that was a new experience for me (I've only been having migraines for a couple years, if that). 

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Stalking, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Sexism, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Lesbophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Mental illness, Bullying, Eating disorder, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

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, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Domestic abuse and Animal death

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

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