Phew! That was the slowest roller coaster I've ever been on. But I mean that in the best possible way. Krystal Sutherland has really created something special with this story of three women fighting the darkness in us all.

This story needs to be adapted into a tv show stat as it covers all the topics missing from most modern teen shows.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Nancy Paulsen Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

Three girls, all bound by witchcraft, go from the hunted to the hunters in this spellbinding novel. Jude wants to get rid of the deals she made with demons. Zara wants her sister back. Emer wants revenge--not only for her family, but for the person killing her clients. Can they get to the bottom of the mystery before it's too late?

I really liked this, but it is INCREDIBLY slow. The mystery aspect is so well done, I hadn't started putting pieces together until after the first big reveal. The characters are compelling, but Emer was probably the hardest to connect to. She's giving hermit. Jude is the most personable of the three, and the most sympathetic in my opinion. I feel like Zara had so much potential but was just flat?

This book is about female rage. It is about the dark side of humanity and the anger that rises from the systemic injustices women face. It's also about reclaiming power and narratives. It's a storm, but it's a very beautiful one.

My main issue was actually with the digital copy itself. Now, every arc will assure the reader that any formatting errors will be fixed by the time it goes to print. My issue here isn't weird formatting per se, I've read arcs where it's all one chunk of text. Here, though, any consonant clusters that started with 'f' (think fi, ft, ffi, fli, etc.) was missing. Most of the time it only took a second to parse out what was being said, but there were a couple times I had to sit and think for a moment. Another issue, there were several times where there would be some iteration of "it (be it a tombstone or plaque) said..." and then what it said was missing, or the beginning phrases of some paragraphs was missing. So I sort of feel like I didn't read the whole book? I'm not taking any stars off or anything, but this is to say that I cannot say I fully read the book because, well, some parts were missing.

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

As a proviso, this is not the type of book I typically read. My usual books are in the realm of fantasy, romance, and smut. This ARC was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

As this is not a genre I typically read, I’m not sure how beneficial other people will find this review, regardless, I found the book to be stunning in the grotesque imagery that it summoned, as well as intriguing in concept.

There are three viewpoints from this book:

1. You have Emir. Emir grew up in a coven of witches who were all mercilessly slaughtered by men when she was a child. She survived by hiding in the woods and living as a feral child alone in the elements until the demons of this world began to provide her with sustenance. As a young adult she makes her way in the world by stealing and living rough. She is a curse writer, she writes invocations (spells) for women who have been abused by men in order to give these women power.

2. You have Zara. Zara is a type A, straight A, honors student with a will do attitude. Zara is the daughter of a drug addict, who was raised at the home of a relative after her mother abandoned her and her sister there. This woman was a positive role model in Zara’s life. When that relative died, she and her sister were doing their best to make it on their own before her sister was brutally murdered by a man. Forced by these circumstances to live with a creepy uncle, Zara spends all of her time trying to find a witch so that she might resurrect her sister.

3. You have Jude. Jude is a socialite with serious money. Well, her family has money, and she’s been cast aside and abandoned by her family when she starts playing with the occult as a teenager. She curses herself accidentally and spends years trying to find a witch to help her correct her issues in order to get back on her domineering family's good side. She has a very damn the torpedoes spirit and I find her utter gall to be amusing.

These three young women are drawn together because they all practice the occult. They discover that the invocations (spells) that Emir has been writing for desperate women are being forcible stolen from them, and these women are all being murdered for their power.



The story moved fast, there is a ton of action that happens at a steady clip. The body horror and descriptions are INSANE. Again, horror is not my genre, so some of this stuff was really difficult to read. The story is strong on feminism, female power, female support, and female anger. It touches on the absolute bullshit we have to go through sometime to exist without being accosted or taken advantage of by men and the patriarchy in general. It also shone a light on ingrained misogyny and abuse, and how women who feel they have no way out can react to the situation around them.

For people who have never experienced abuse before, it is easy to stand ten feet away and ask “Why didn’t they leave? Why did they do that?”. It's a lack of understanding that leads to victim blaming, pure and simple. Women are often blamed for being in a situation, and this book touches on that, and moves right past it to the fine point that that question is often unhelpful. Supporting people through these times is what is ultimately important and gives the abused person power. Healing and understanding come later.

And that is a movement I can also get behind: Women showing love and support for other women. This is the message of the book. It also delivers prominent queer representation, as well as being inclusive of trans-people.

Strongly recommend this book. Thank you to Net Galley for the eARC.

Krystal Sutherland has undeniably secured her place as my auto-approved author with the extraordinary and unique "House of Hollow"! When I saw her latest release, excitement coursed through me, and without delving into the blurb, I jumped headfirst into the journey solely guided by the captivating cover. I once again entrusted my mind and nervous gray cells to her, confident that she wouldn't disappoint — and she lived up to that confidence!

In "Invocations" Sutherland masterfully brings to life three distinct young women characters: Emer, wielding magical powers and combat skills; Jude, the snarky and sarcastic queen radiating boldness, amusement, cunningness, and charm; and Zara (or Jones, as affectionately called by Jude), the nerdy, quirky brain of the group with a big heart ready to protect her loved ones and face extreme challenges.

This trio converges in unexpected, unusual, and perilous circumstances to thwart a serial killer targeting not ordinary women but those who made a pact with a cursewriter for special talents, exchanging a piece of their soul. Now, a mystic entity or vengeful force is on the hunt.

Zara Jones, recently orphaned and enduring an abusive uncle, is resolute in bringing back her sister Savannah, a victim of the serial killer. In her quest, Zara crosses paths with Jude Wolf, the billionaire Wolf Family's successor, cursed and banished from her family. Meanwhile, Emer Byrne, a cunning identity thief with a dark past, unravels the killer's connection to the women she assisted. To halt the murderer, Emer forges a tenuous alliance with Zara and Jude.

The narrative unfolds with girl power at the forefront — brain, strategy, and combat skills unite to avenge victims and teach a lesson to the vicious killer. The story is action-packed, magical, mystical, and heart-throbbing, leading to a fair and satisfying conclusion. I couldn't stop reading, wishing the journey would never end, yet unable to slow down.

Every chapter, each characterization, and the overall progression of this fantasy tale are praiseworthy. Count me in as a dedicated fangirl of this author! I wholeheartedly recommend "Invocations" as one of the standout fantasy reads of 2024 — don't miss out on this exceptional book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group/Nancy Paulsen Books for providing me with a digital review copy of this fantastic book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I had a tough time getting into this at first, but it might have just been because I had recently finished a hard to put down thriller. But after a bit, I really started to enjoy this. I definitely needed all three girls' stories to enjoy it. This book is pretty gory. Just a warning for those that need it. There is also a lot of cutting for offering blood to demons.

Jude is rich, but she's been isolated from her family for two years. She gave herself an invocation and it didn't go well. Her leg is basically oozing and falling apart. Her house is falling apart too. She's cursed and it doesn't just affect her body. She sets out to find a strong witch to help her. Witches are the ones that write invocations and attach demons to people for specific powers. Emer is that witch. She's strong, but alone. Her whole family was killed by witch hunters in front of her. She lived on her own as a child in the woods with only the demons to help her. Zara isn't a witch, but her sister was killed and she wants to bring her back. Her life hasn't been good without her and they fought the last time she saw her. So Zara studies every book she can find and has to believe that magic is true. The three girls end up together. Emer's past clients are being killed by a serial killer. The killings are definitely occult and the invocations are being cut out of them. Zara's sister was one of them and she didn't know. The three must work together to figure out who the killer is and stop them before they are all dead.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for my earc.

"The Invocations" by Krystal Sutherland is a dark and enchanting witchy thriller that unfolds a tale of magic, demons, and the relentless pursuit of the supernatural. In a world where both men and demons lurk in shadows, the story revolves around three girls whose lives become entangled as they confront a supernatural killer on the loose.

Zara Jones, fueled by the belief in magic, refuses to accept the painful reality of her murdered sister's loss. Determined to bring her sister back, Zara delves into the occult, ready to make any sacrifice necessary. Jude Wolf, despite being the daughter of a billionaire, is cursed, her soul gradually turning necrotic after a deal with a demon goes awry. Desperate to undo the damage, Jude seeks a solution.

Enter Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past and a potent power—her invocations. Despite leading a challenging life, Emer offers her invocations to women in dire situations, allowing them to exchange a piece of their soul for a fragment of power. Zara and Jude, facing their own challenges, seek out Emer to make a deal.

However, as Emer's clients start to meet mysterious deaths in London, the trio forms an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery. If a serial killer is targeting Emer's clients, they need to understand why and put an end to it. The story explores themes of sacrifice, sisterhood, and the consequences of dealing with the supernatural.

Krystal Sutherland weaves a gripping narrative, blending elements of the occult, mystery, and fantasy. The characters, each with their unique struggles, contribute to the depth of the plot. The novel promises a thrilling journey into a world where the boundaries between the living and the supernatural blur, and where the characters must navigate the shadows to uncover the truth.

"The Invocations" is likely to captivate readers who enjoy dark fantasy, witchy tales, and atmospheric mysteries, making it a compelling addition to the genre of supernatural thrillers for young adults.

A haunting yet loving story about community, sacrifice, demons, and witches. With so many twists and turns, this story will draw you in and warm your heart.

Three girls, three stories, and one big mystery to solve. Zara Jones believes she can bring her murdered sister back from the dead, and she needs powerful magic to do it. Jude Wolf, daughter of a billionaire, stumbled into the occult and left with a painful mistake and a few angry demons. She needs a powerful witch to help her. In comes Emer Bryne, the witch both Zara and Jude are looking for. For now, both of their problems will have to wait, as there is a killer on the loose, and only the three of them can solve the case and bring the guilty to justice. They’ll have to hurry, or they’ll be next.

I loved the setting, the characters, the rich lore on demons and witches, and everything in between. Gorey descriptions and heartwarming friendship make this book a must read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for this ARC.

This wasn't for me.

I had read and loved Krystal Sutherland's last book, House of Hollow. I even included it in my ten favorite books of the year round-up. But this one went in a little bit different direction and had more occult-like themes than I was comfortable with.

It was well-written and very entertaining, but the content was just a bit much.

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.

I loved loved loved this story. The darker side of being a witch comes with a cost but when the witches are being unalived it is up to 3 teens to figure it out. I really enjoyed the character development of the 3 main characters. To not needing anyone to knowing it is ok to ask for help. The twists and turns in this story kept me turning the pages. So glad to have read this book.

This is more like a 3.5/3.75 star read but I'll happily round up because I had a lot of fun with it. It's not as vibrant and memorable as [book:House of Hollow|54613751], which I sped through in a single day, but Sutherland still created a wonderful, grotesque story here.

The cons are that this book is a bit plodding, with characters who felt a bit removed from me as the reader, and the villain was obvious, but none of those things took away from my enjoyment. Sutherland has a very captivating writing style; the way she writes body horror just gives me the creeps in the best way possible. I also really liked the magic system she created for this book.

Weird, creepy, trippy, and everything else I expect from Krystal Sutherland. I wasn’t sure she could top House of Hollow, but The Invocations is very good.

Third person present tense was an interesting choice that I struggled to connect with, and I expect many readers will immediately dislike. It took a few chapters for me to feel immersed, but once I did, everything felt real. I think this would have been better marketed as adult or new adult.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a highly anticipated read for me. The author’s previous was a book a tried to get everyone to read. It may go down as my most disappointing read of 2023. The concept, three girls come together to fight demons who are killing witches, was super intriguing. The execution was not. I was bored. The only character that I felt slightly engaged with was Jude. The other two, Emer and Zara, felt paper thin. The side characters were so underdeveloped that the reveal of who was behind all the murders was almost too obvious since it was the only developed side character. All in all, not for me.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Oh my goodness where to start with this book? It was the perfect spooky season read, and I absolutely loved unraveling the story and the characters while the leaves fall down around us. It starts out strong and doesn't let up, and I loved the way that the characters were all woven together.

This is a story that centers on 3 girls, but also centers on women and femininity in general and pushing back against the "fates" that the world tries to give us. It features 3 girls who are strong in their own unique ways and who refuse to back down and go quietly into the night.

This was definitely a book that caught me by surprise at the climax and I can definitively say that I was on the edge of my seat, unable to stop because I simply needed to know.

If you need a little something to cap off spooky season, look no further!

I need a physical copy of this book. I have been requesting this book on Goodreads giveaways for at least a month and I was so happy to find it on NetGalley. I loved it so much!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book had gorgeous gothic atmosphere and writing. This is the perfect read for any fans of House of Hollow. The romance felt a little flat, but beside from that the rest was amazing and the plot was wonderful to read for Halloween season.

This book has a great premise, but I honestly found it a touch on the dull side. The plot moves along quite slowly, due in part to the three-POV structure, and so it doesn't really pick up until the second half. Furthermore, the prose isn't as rich with emotion as I prefer, and so I struggled to connect to the characters. This is still an "all right" book, but it wasn't anything special for me, unfortunately.

Three girls, a supernatural killer, and deals with demons, Emer Byrne is an orphaned witch, on the run trying to find the murderer who killed 19 members of her family, she's near feral, having spent years living in the woods but is determined to hunt down the killer. Jude Wolf is the daughter of a billionaire... except she lives in exile due to the fact that she might have accidentally made a deal with a demon and she has no clue what she's doing only that its slowly rotting her away, all the money in the world and she's willing to do anything to find a witch to help her. Zara Jones believes that she can find a way to bring back her murdered sister, and if she can just find a way to use magic then she can bring her sister back from the dead. All three girls find their paths converging when both Zara and Jude need a witch... and Emer just happens to be the perfect one for them... yet a supernatural killer is hunting down witches and women who have made deals with demons and now Jude is becoming the target. Can they figure out who the killer is before he comes after them or will they be next? This was such an interesting read, it nails the supernatural mystery so well and the distinct voices between the three protagonist was great. I loved Emer the most, she just had my heart and I can't wait to see (if there is a next book) the things in store for her. I loved the deal with a demon aspect and the way magic was used. Emer has been in survival mode ever since her family was murdered, she's good at hiding and blending in and I loved seeing her open herself up to having friends after everything she's been through. Jude has her entire life turned upside down and she craves love and acceptance from her family, she might have all the money in the world but she's still lonely and aches for real connections. Zara is in denial about her sister's death, she doesn't want to admit that she's gone and is willing to go as far as possible to get her back... yet sometimes you have to learn to let go. It's such a fun story and I would definitely recommend it!!

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Nancy Paulsen Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

SUCH AN AMAZING BOOK! If you loved House of Hollow read this! It's alot darker than House of Hollow, but that made me love it even more!

Three Witches have to team up to figure out who is targeting and murdering Witches. All three of these main characters I absolutely adored. I love how they were all so very different, but had the same sass and witty banter.

As I said above, this is dark and very gruesome but I devoured this book. I honestly wish it was longer because I loved the characters and the world with magic.

This is a weird one because on the one hand this has a lot going for it. There's the inherent fear and rage that comes with being a woman in a world that hates women; there's some creepy scares; there's a lot of gore (far more than I was expecting); the magic was cool--binding demons to your flesh using ancient languages. On the other hand, I feel like I wanted more than what the story gave me. The POVs aren't really structured equally and I wanted more of Emer's POV. I wanted to see more how she actually created the spells themselves. Also, there is some diversity and inclusionary talk (there's a line towards the middle-ish of the book where it says that only woman can become witches and transwomen are included in that, which was cool), but I feel like it was surface-level? The main cast seems to be white, cis-gendered girls. Yes, they're queer, but I wanted to see maybe a bit more variety. Maybe the author didn't feel comfortable writing outside that experience, which is fair, I suppose, but I also feel like you can't discuss violence against women in such a narrow bracket (i.e. white, cis). I could just be being nitpicky, too, but with more and more diverse books coming out, it's made me want to see that diversity reflected in other books I read, too. This didn't quite get there for me.

Also, I feel like the ending kind of tapered out. I expected a bit more from it, given the build-up, but it didn't really satisfy me the way the beginning and middle did.

Overall, I'd say this was a good, spooky read and I know other people are really enjoying it. It just missed a few key notes for me to be truly great.