The Invocations by. Krystal Sutherland | ARC Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Invocations

Author: Krystal Sutherland

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 1/30/24

Publisher: Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Sapphic, Feminism, Demons, Witches, Paranormal, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the author of New York Times bestseller House of Hollow comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it’s feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.

Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Flowers and insects die in her wake and monstrous things come to taunt her at night. If Jude can’t find the right someone to fix her mistake, she fears she’ll die very soon.

Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. But Emer has a dark past all her own—and as her former clients are murdered one-by-one, she knows it’s followed her all the way to London.

As Zara and Jude enter Emer’s orbit, they’ll have to team up to stop the killer—before they each end up next on his list.

Content Warning: death, violence, self harm, gore

+ If you want demons and witches and females trying to fight the men who are killing them – you will want to read this book. I actually had to process this book in my mind for a bit before writing what I thought about it. The Invocations is outright, in your face, blood, gore, dark, not some glamorous wholesome kind of witchcraft. No, this one has witchcraft that comes with lots of blood and old languages. It is gritty, it is scary but shows how desperate these women seeking these invocations are to have power against the men hunting them. I thought the themes of feminism was great – loved that only women can have magic.

+ There are three characters: Emer, Jude, and Zara and I thought they were pretty cool trio with very different personalities. Jude brings the humor which I loved since this book is so dark in themes and gory in some scenes. Zara is someone grieving her sister and wants to bring her back to life so she can apologize. Emer is a witch who has had quite a life – she’s so fascinating and scary with her power. I love how the three of them meet and start to bond over finding this killer. They are all tied to the murders in some way. There is also a little romance brewing but it’s not something that is the focus of the story.

+ This is a murder mystery or serial killer mystery and I did like the twist at the end. And what an ending it was – my eyes were wide open for most of the climatic ending! It was disgusting and gory but I couldn’t look away, so to speak!

+ I did find the second half of the book more exciting than the first, maybe because that’s when Tabatha is getting close to figuring things out and a bunch of wild things happen that I did not expect! I liked the twist.

~ The beginning was slower than the second half but it was introducing three characters and tying them together. But once they meet the story really gets rolling!

~ It is dark, there is self harm, lots of blood, cutting skin. Lots of gruesome deaths.

My Thoughts:

This book was like, “you want demons and witches? I’ll give you demons and witches.” This is a dark story about women, men, demons, witches and power. There is a lot of blood and gore but also a sort of happy ending. I loved that the story didn’t shy away from the gore – even though I don’t usually read gory books in general. I wish this was released near Halloween because this is the perfect dark, witchy read for Fall! I look forward to reading more from this author, she’s becoming one of my must-read authors!