The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Pub date: January 30, 2024

When Zara’s sister is murdered, it’s more than she can bear. Raised by a woman who saw the potential in her, Zara knows that there’s more to the natural world than most people can see.

Jude is a rich girl, by anyone’s standards, but falling in line with the rest of her siblings by countless other mothers, has never been easy. When she dabbles in magic and accidently binds a demon to her, it begins to slowly eat her from the inside out. Cast out from the family home, she lives with the knowledge that everything around her is dying along with the decrepit state of her soul.

Emer Bryne was raised with witches until the witch finders came and slaughtered them all. Emer, raised by her cousin in hiding, makes spells that steal a part of the soul. But the women she sells them to are willing to pay that price for the power it gives them.

When these three women meet, it’ll set them on the path of a murderer. Someone who knows Emer’s work and will stop at nothing to have it for themselves. Each woman has a reason to stop this killer but together, they form a trio that could be unstoppable.

Sutherland incorporates the power of sisterhood with an unlikely trio while building a magical world where anything is possible and proving that blood doesn't always make you family. Each character’s unique personality stood out yet worked brilliantly with the others.

Suspenseful, thrilling, and magical!

My thanks to Penguin Teen for this gifted copy!

A deliciously gory feminist suspense.

This story brings Zara, Jude, and Emer together. Each has a connection to the demon world. Jude accidentally attached herself to a demon and is slowly rotting away. Zara wants to bring her murdered sister back from the dead so she can set things right. Emer is a witch who writes invocations, basically tethering oneself to a demon, for women who want the power a demon can bring. When Emer's former clients begin showing up murdered throughout London, with their invocations cut out, they join forces to track down the killer.

I do not usually enjoy gory, fantastical books, but this one enthralled me. I enjoyed the world building and the writer does a great job of describing the scenes, gore and all. I also appreciated the little tidbits she threw about women, men, and power.

Zara believes in magic and hates feeling powerless. She is determined to bring her sister who was murdered back from the dead.

Jude is the daughter of a billionaire, but also cursed. After a deal with a demon goes wrong, Jude isn’t sure she is going to live much longer.

Emer might have the solution to both Zara and Jude’s predicaments. She’s the daughter of a witch, although she has a dark past of her own.

As the three team up to stop a killer, they must act fast or they’ll end up the next victims.

The cover for this book captivated me and made me want to pick this book up. I read the blurb and was also intrigued so I was pretty excited going in. This one started slow, and I really struggled to connect with the characters. Because the majority of reviews were so good, I kept reading despite being bored, and I am glad I stuck out the lackluster beginning. Once things started rolling, I really got into the witches and the magic and of course, demons. The characters also really started to shine, and they ended up being really developed and rounded. I loved all the different backgrounds that they had; it was a lot of fun. I also am not usually a fan of gore, but it worked in this book, and I was okay with it. I think that I would have enjoyed this one a whole lot more had more care been given to the pacing, and it been more even throughout the book.

Thank you so much to Penguin Young Readers Group – Nancy Paulsen Books and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

E-arc provided by netgalley

While I enjoyed House Of Hollow better than this one, I still liked this, supernatural thrillers can be a little confusing for me and I do think this one was a bit confusing in places but overall I enjoyed the story and I think it has some important things to say

The Invocations was absolutely worth the wait. I loved Sutherland's House of Hollow and again Sutherland creates a haunting atmospheric spooky book. What I loved most was Sutherland's ability to create three distinct characters who come together in their varrying goals. The body horror was unexpected but I felt it added deeply to story without being overwhelming.

Krystal Sutherland does it again! The House of Hollow is one of my favorite Horror novels ever so I was so excited to get an ARC of her next novel! This story is so unique and I loved the aspect of true crime and sleuthing that was wrapped up into this horror novel as well. Sutherland explains creepy and scary things so well that has me keeping my lights on while reading! I loved the triple POV in this book and getting to know all three of these characters and it made the twists and turns at the end hit even harder as your switching between what's happening between these three girls. I thought I had the mystery figured out at the 60% mark of the book was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong and shocked by the ending! The magic and horror and mystery was blended together so well in this genre-bending story. I was so interested in these characters by the end I would love to see a sequel set like ten years in the future to see where they all end up! The only thing keeping me from rating this a five stars was the first 35% of this book dragged a little bit and that was no problem for me because I knew it would be worth it but I could see it losing a lot of people early on. I also would've loved a longer wrap-up at the end it felt a tad bit rushed, but those are both very minor cons for me. Krystal Sutherland is one of few auto-buy authors for me and can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

The Invocations is a wonderfully gory jewel of a book. It uses witcraft—and witches as a population—in both traditional and original ways. Ultimately, The Invocations is an exploration of female power and the men who seek to destroy it. A wonderfully flesh-out cast of characters makes the book absolutely bewitching.

After the murder of her sister, Zara Jones, is looking for a way to bring her back. She will do whatever it takes including bargaining with her soul. Jude Wolf is a disappointment to her billionaire father and family who believe her to be a drug addict. In reality her illness is due to a deal she made with a demon that went horribly wrong. She is looking for a witch who had the ability to reverse her curse and set her free. Emer Byrne is a very skilled witch with a tragic past. She helps women in desperate situations gain the power they need for a price. These three women’s paths will converge marking them as threats for a supernatural serial killer. They will have to work together to catch the killer before he becomes unstoppable.

The Invocations is an exciting new witchy thriller that follows three young women whose paths cross and in doing so become targets for a supernatural serial killer. I was so excited to read this novel and it did not disappoint. I loved the characters, the plot was exciting and unique, and the ending was not what I expected. I will say there was quite a bit of disturbing content (descriptions of wounds, body mutilation, rotting corpses, etc,) so be prepared if gore bothers you. This was exactly the book I needed in my fall reading list and I enjoyed it so much I would love to see a return for these characters in a future novel. A must read for 2024!

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland is a dark, YA horror/thriller that follows three young women as they try to solve a murder mystery. Witches and demons and magic galore, this atmospheric read kept me up way too late turning pages!

While I enjoyed House of Hollow by this author, I didn’t love it. I never really totally believed the characters and that took me out of the story. This book had characters I really enjoyed learning about. I loved how all three main characters were very different and had different goals but seemed to come together very well. While this is mostly a murder mystery, there are lots of creepy moments involving the magic of this world and even some body horror.

This book is very much a “feminine rage” book in a way that isn’t too over the top but really makes you think about things. There is also the barest sprinkle of a romance that I really enjoyed. This book absolutely did not need a romance so I appreciated how very subtle it was. Also, the bits of humor in here added a much needed levity to this very dark story.

If you enjoyed House of Hollow, I think you would like this. If you didn’t enjoy House of Hollow but wanted to, I think you would like this. I had a great time reading and can’t wait to own a physical copy when it comes out!

This is BETTER THAN WHAT I EXPECTED.

After reading and enjoying House of Hollow last year, I was so excited when I heard that the author is releasing a new book and thank you Penguin Teen for giving me access to an early e-galley.

The Invocations is Krystal Sutherland's sophomore YA mystery novel and this falls under the serial killer category.

Starting with what I liked about this book is how atmospheric it is. Everytime I read a dark or gothic book, I always check if the narration is able to support the vibe that the storyline is imposing and in The Invocations, Krystal successfully interconnect the voice and building of the setting with how violent and gruesome the events are.

Aside from that, I also loved the commentary about patriarchy and the message about women empowerment. It may not be an in-your-face commentary but I love to see significant stands like this in novel that I read.

And lastly, the overall package is just too SCARY to not give a five star rating!! Love the vibe, the impact, and well this one was wrapped up.

The first third of the book was decent, but at about the 30% mark I lost interest in this. There are also so many typos and spelling errors in the eBook ARC. There are almost no words that have "ft" or "ff" for no apparent reason? I will have to wait until the physical copy comes out, because I just can't do it anymore. I think I will enjoy the rest when all the words are present!

Fans of house of hollow will love this. it has the same dark/creepy vibes. Witty, dark and sapphic. The beginning dragged slightly but as soon as I really gave it a chance I couldn’t put it down.

I will say this one is a bit more graphic with the gore, some scenes I needed to skim because I’m weak.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC!

Up until 60% mark the book was quite engrossing. The atmosphere was lovely. The set up was interesting. The three POVs were great in their own ways. All three protagonists being 17 was too convenient somehow (to me it would have made more sense if they were at least a few years apart). They also really didn’t sound or act like 17-year-olds, but I’ll chalk it up to them having had complicated lives and having to grow up quickly, although I think it’s a stretch.

But at around 60% mark they started doing stupid stuff, which somehow did not turn out too poorly, but was really dumb nonetheless. I guess this is where the fact that they are 17-year-olds comes in.

Jones was not a character I liked at all. Jude was well-written, but Emer was by far my favorite. No other character got any decent character development, apart from maybe Jude’s father, but to be fair, this is a book about female rage, so male characters aren’t meant to be afforded that kind of a favor.

I loved the main twist in House of Hollow - it was exquisite. As for the two main twists in this book – sadly they weren’t that successful. The main one was a bit gimmicky: basically, if you know (i.e. have required knowledge from outside the book world), you know immediately, and if you don’t you can’t figure it out unless you just guess. The second twist was just very predictable.

With all these faults, I still quite liked the ending. Last battle, the stuff that comes after. 3.5 stars rounded up.

What a surprising book. Witches! Demons, friendships - action packed tale about power abuse and I loved it.

Three girls on three different missions. One to survive, one to revive, and one to fix. Their paths meet and maybe, just maybe they will help each other on their goals.

I loved the play on power and how different people try to control especially when they can’t have it. There’s so many fun things I haven’t seen in other book, and it worked so well in this story. Not much play on tropes which I really appreciated, and a grumpy old Bael that was the best surprise of them all.

Make sure to add this to your TBRs as it will blow away your expectations! Can’t wait for more on these witches.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good girl power book and this book absolutely has it. It did have a bit of a slow start to begin with as you meet the three girls involved with the story and you wait for them to actually cross paths, but once you get there, the story really picks up. We have a murder mystery involved where it seems that someone is killing witches, but it takes some time to figure out exactly how and why. In the process, you have these girls forced together by fate and trying to navigate this witchy murder mystery to figure out who is targeting the women they are killing and why.

I did see the big reveal coming before it hit, but it was still pretty late in the story before the pieces fell together for me.

3.75! Thank you NetGalley for a copy of The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland! This was my first Krystal Sutherland and I really enjoyed! I loved the characters and I thought the pacing was great and I loved the magic system in this book as well! I did not really enjoy the "convivence" that I noticed in this book, like how convenient it is that they just have 5 liters in blood bags like I just found that ridiculous, but maybe that's just rich people do lol.

After recently reading and loving House of Hollow, I knew when I saw The Invocations on NetGalley that I had to request it and I was NOT disappointed because The Invocations brought many of the same vibes that I loved about House of Hollow: A suspenseful story, intriguing characters, and a lot of wit and humor despite (and in light of) the seriousness of the story.

The Invocations is a standalone YA Horror novel that follows 3 young women that are inexplicably drawn together, through a shared interest in the occult (though for very different reasons), to find a killer when witches start being serially murdered.

The story was an unbelievably quick read and although the plotline was narrow, Krystal Sutherland did a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters and their backstories while simultaneously moving forward the plot. It gave us queer (sapphic) witches, LOTS female rage, magical curses, necromancy, demons, body horror and dysfunctional family dynamics leading to my favorite trope: found family. The book sits appropriately in the YA categorization with teenaged characters who make the dumbest decisions but...to Krystal's credit, you love them anyway and still root for them to come out of the other side of their idiocy. It had a satisfying ending with twists that I personally did not see coming.

I will say that this story went hard on the horror, despite the murder-mystery aspects with plenty of body horror and gore, significantly more so than House of Hollow. Although it wasn't an unreasonable amount, I did find myself wishing I hadn't picked the book back up quite so soon after eating more than once :D.

I do want to note that the digital arc of The Invocations was very rough, specifically missing letters any time there was double f's or an ft in a word (i.e. coffee looked like co ee and after looked like a er ) that especially at first made it really difficult to get into the story and chunks of words missing at the beginning of paragraphs. After a while though, and to the credit of the story and writing, my brain started to fill in the gaps and I was able to keep going.

Thank you netgalley and penguin group for the opportunity to read and review The Invocations. I look forward to whatever Krystal Sutherland brings us next!

NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH

Okay, that was my PSA. Seriously though, this book is very gory in spots. The descriptions of body horror/gore were so vivid that they very nearly turned my stomach.

This book follows three characters:

Emer, a talented witch;
Jude, badly cursed when a spell backfired on her and wants to find a witch to help her;
And Zara, who is looking for closure after her sister’s murder.


This is part horror story, part murder mystery, since someone is killing all of the women that Emer has helped.

I’m so torn with this. I really enjoyed <i>House of Hollow</i> when I read it earlier this year and I was excited to pick this one up.

However, the story seemed to drag a lot and it was just too gory in spots. Also, I found the reveal of the villain to be very predictable. The story was well written, but all the gore and horror got to be too much after a while.

2.5 stars, rounded up. Readers who like horror more than I do (I don’t read a ton of it but do enjoy the occasional horror story from time to time) will likely enjoy this one.

The Invocations is a YA sapphic horror about a trio of young women brought together by supernatural circumstances that lead them to hunt down a serial killer.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the chance to read and review this book.
At first I did not enjoy this book. There were multiple issues with the downloaded copy including spacing issues and missing letters in a large portion of words throughout the entire text, most notable was the missing letter F. The opening scene seemed very poorly written with short abrupt sentences that were reminiscent of underdeveloped writing skills.
That being said after the first 20% this book really came together and became so much more enjoyable. The last 25% of the book went absolutely bananas and I flew through the rest of it in what felt like record time. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely recommend it on my social media closer to it release date. Probably one of the best YA horror books I have read and a solid 4 stars.

Not my favorite YA book, however, the cover is stunning! I went into this book super excited but found the story one-dimensional. It wasn't until about 2/3 of the way through that a small chuck of the book had the depth that I was looking for in an occult-based story. It however was a good book and I think it is important to note that because it is YA it might not be as enjoyable because I'm a little outside of the target audience. I would however suggest this book for a younger audience who enjoys paranormal or occult books.