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ebonwilde 's review for:
The Invocations
by Krystal Sutherland
I absolutely adored everything about this book. I've loved Krystal Sutherland's writing since I read House of Hollow a couple years ago, and this did not disappoint. With lovable, fully fledged out characters and an enthralling plot, this is one of the best books I've read recently. The premise immediately caught my attention: three girls, Zara Jones, who has a murdered sister, Jude Wolf, the billionaire's daughter with a cursed soul, and Emer Byrne, the cursewriter whose clients are being killed, team up catch a witch hunting serial killer.
One thing I loved was how all the POVs were unique—ya books with multiple point-of-views often have characters that all blend together, but that did not happen at all with this. Each perspective is so distinct from each other, yet the characters come together so well. I also loved the worldbuilding and plot. Incorporating witchcraft and witch hunting into feminist analysis is not new by any means, but Sutherland's rendition of this theme was fascinating. A story that's unapologetically pro-female, with QUEER female characters at the center? Without any sort of male apologia incorporated into it? Do you know how rare that is? I couldn't tell you much joy this brought me, how emotionally invested in this book I was. The writing itself is flawless, switching seamlessly from emotional to humorous to back again.
The ending I adored as well. While it could definitely be considered obvious, it was still an emotional rollercoaster. It's also the perfect ending in my opinion, especially with the feminist undertones of the story, because who is often a girl's first betrayal, if not her own family? And the epilogue with Jude and Emer has my entire heart. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys gritty horroresque fantasy. 4.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the early copy.
One thing I loved was how all the POVs were unique—ya books with multiple point-of-views often have characters that all blend together, but that did not happen at all with this. Each perspective is so distinct from each other, yet the characters come together so well. I also loved the worldbuilding and plot. Incorporating witchcraft and witch hunting into feminist analysis is not new by any means, but Sutherland's rendition of this theme was fascinating. A story that's unapologetically pro-female, with QUEER female characters at the center? Without any sort of male apologia incorporated into it? Do you know how rare that is? I couldn't tell you much joy this brought me, how emotionally invested in this book I was. The writing itself is flawless, switching seamlessly from emotional to humorous to back again.
The ending I adored as well. While it could definitely be considered obvious, it was still an emotional rollercoaster. It's also the perfect ending in my opinion, especially with the feminist undertones of the story, because who is often a girl's first betrayal, if not her own family? And the epilogue with Jude and Emer has my entire heart. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys gritty horroresque fantasy. 4.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the early copy.