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A review by jaedia
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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