Deal with the Devil.

A tale of ex lovers, occultism, and an old deal with the devil…what could go wrong? Apparently, quite a bit.

David is a lawyer during the day, with a charm that gets him anything in life and a taste for the spirits (in more ways than one).
A deal made by his family seems to hang over him. He gets in touch with Moira and Rhys to help and the drama unfolds.
Rhys is the ex-boyfriend to David. Moira is the sounding board to Rhys and their marriage is strong. Old feelings reemerge between David and Rhys. The support of a strong, independent and emotionally stable woman help both men overcome their fear of the unknown.

Oscar Reyes is the narrator for the audiobook. The effect of the emotions experienced by David and Rhys were portrayed with subtle nuances and it was hard, at first, to distinguish the two. It took me about a fourth of the way into the book to figure out who was who.

If you’re into the dark world of paranormal fiction, then this is the book to listen to or read. The audio had me sleeping with the lights on and I will probably keep it that way for a while. I am anxiously waiting for the sequel. The author, S.T. Gibson, also wrote A Dowry of Blood and I was excited to listen to this book. The narration knocked out a star.

Special thanks to #NetGalley and #TantorAudio for the #ARC. Publication date is May 28, 2024.

When a reviewer cautions others to 'give the novel time' it is usually a matter of a trickling to a highly complex or deep world or a slow burn that redeems itself on maybe the merit of its pros or concept. This can also be interpreted as 'if you need break neck pace, turn back'. Being a patient reader, I'm usually very dismissive of this type of notation. However this might be the first time I've truly felt that I need to being this review with this warning because of the first impression of the protagonist and the world itself.

Being an admittedly rather snobbish, self absorbed, workaholic is not necessarily a trait I'm opposed to seeing. However, I have to confess that the combination of this hoity demeanor with privileged rich boy and what felt like cheap drama magic system gave me a sense of dread about what the reading experience would be. However, Gibson legitimately eases into more nuanced character development that while though some things about a character's life lean to predictable, by the time David is fully engaged in interactions with Rhys and Moira that somehow you end up completely onboard. That is, if you can adjust your expectations.

It's not that the publisher's summary of "Evocation" is incorrect. However, it does give away a punchline that leads the reader to believe they're going into a dark, magic and myth time bomb that our leads are dashing to correct. While there is a moment of frantic dark adrenaline horror fueled confrontation, it is very long in coming. David is unaware of exactly what's going on with him with no clue that there is a particular time frame well into the third quarter.

"Evocation" would be more accurately pitched as a literary leaning romance built in a world of characters involved with modern occult societies. In other words, more dark academia sans school setting than 'romantacy'. The search for an unknown magical malady is just the tool to bring together these three characters and explore their wounds, the way bonds can change, and the forging of their own paths. It is much more about mundane relations fueled with this extra magical side sprinkle.

It is easy to see where this book would be too slow, too meandering, to someone who came in looking for something leaning closer to adventure. And even as someone who enjoyed the ride, there were certainly times where the book felt a bit drawn out. While the cast and events are meant as much to flesh out the world as draw out the plot, it didn't paint an alluring enough picture for me to really fall in love with the society in question or the magics involved. The characters, however, are a different story.

Moira might be one of my new favorite fictional females. She is a woman who knows what she wants, goes for it, and isn't afraid to call her husband out. For his part, Rhys is incredibly attentive and resolute in his love for his wife. What shouldn't feel so refreshing and astounding, but does just because of how rare it is in so many genres, is the level of communication and trust between them. They are completely tuned into one another in a prime example of writing an established relationship is just as engaging to at least a set of readers as focusing on a pair who are building up steam. What's also important is that the book acknowledges that there is no 'perfect' in a partner and that it's not about never messing up, but about owning who you are, what you do, and addressing conflict.

I also have to give a nod to David's sister as a firecracker who I look forward to seeing more of. Also of high note is its portrayal of both mental health challenges and a character who is a recovering alcoholic.

As a cherry on top to all of this, it is prime queer representation. it's more than just a checklist or statement. It brings up legitimate issues such as, is the boys club open to trans-men, and all the different forms and agreements /arrangements that can occur in monogamous or polyamorous relationships.


In the end, while it is a bit long winded and I can't honestly say the plot or magic system itself has me craving for more, I absolutely fell in love with the dynamics within these characters and this relationship between them. That alone would entice me to read another book in this series. But this is far more in the 'guilty pleasure' than the 'recommend for superior stylistic craft' as while there is strong character work, the plot and world building were less immersive than I had hoped.

Evocation is a character-driven fantasy following David, his ex-boyfriend Rhys, and Rhys' wife Moira as they navigate life dealing with an occult society, lingering feelings from the past, and a deal with the Devil. I spent the first half of this book frustrated with wanting more from the plot, but around 60% realized that I care deeply about two of the three main characters. My hope is that book 2 introduces more detail into their everyday lives and maybe a look into the lives of secondary characters that I found intriguing - David's sister and his ancestors. The narration was performed by Oscar Reyes, and much like the pace of the story, I went from struggling a little to connect, to being entranced to the very end.

Perfect for fans of character-driven fantasies.

I received an ALC from Tantor Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

S.T. Gibson has such a way with words. I loved the prose of this book, it felt lyrical without being too purple. I think there was a bit more info dumping than I typically enjoy in books, but I get why it needed to be done. There is a lot going on in this book- different variations of occult powers, a secret occult society, demons, haunted houses, it has the works. I really enjoyed David, Moira, and Rhys as characters; they all had nuance and depth. I think Moira was my favorite character and I am really excited to see her growth in the rest of the series. The themes of addiction, childhood trauma, and domestic disputes were handled with a lot of love and care. For some reason it took me a bit longer to get into this book than normal, but I still really enjoyed it!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This story is sensuous and spellbinding. I loved the secret society, the celebration of the occult and atmosphere. The entangled trio of loveable and dysfunctional characters and their relationship are addictive to read about. This is definitely a character driven story but there’s enough plot to keep things interesting and the pace relatively steady.
The audiobook is so good. The narration is as smooth as butter and just a joy to listen to.
Definitely a book I will recommend time and time again. Can’t wait to see where these characters go.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

As a fan of S. T. Gibson, Evocation was one of my most anticipated books of 2024, and I'm glad to say I was not left disappointed. Evocation was exactly what I expected and just what I needed. I absolutely loved the balance between the exploration of occult forces and character dynamics, Rhys was my least favorite character, surprisingly, but Moira and David took me by surprise, especially David. At first I though I was going to hate him, but it turns out that, though he absolutely is an asshole, he's charming and layered, and works really well as a character for me. Moira was a delight, such a healthy, mature ray of sunshine (and now I want her as a BFF!).
Evocation was different than both Dowry and Malice, which I knew going in, and though that initially had me a little concerned, S. T. Gibson quickly put my concerns to rest with how funny and witty the tone of this book is.
I had such a fun time and can't wait for the sequel.
Oscar Reyes remains one of my favorite audiobook narrators and did a fantastic job bringing this story to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for the next one! A deal with the devil leaves David Aristarkhov the victim of his family's curse. His old flame Reese is the only one he can turn to, however there is so much bad blood between them, and Reese and his new wife Moira are not exactly eager to help David. David and Reese also happen to be a part of a secret occult society and Moira is also gifted. As they begin to work together and paranormal activities start occurring, the three become very close and their feelings for each other grow intense. I loved the exploration of a polyamorous relationship. Also, the secret society and demonic possessions/exorcism is right up my alley. This was an amazing book!

DNF at 20%

At this point, I think ST Gibson and I are not meant to get along. 20% into this book, and I feel like nothing has happened besides a long drawn out conversation between some dudes. I've got nothing more than that.

I have wanted to pick up a book by this author (S.T. Gibson) for a while after reading so many good things about A Dowry of Blood and An Education in Malice and the premise of this book, with a psychic prodigy and a familial debt to a demon, got my attention. However, the book turns out to spend more time on the powerplays between the three main characters and their polyamorous relationship than the details and handling of the curse. Even in describing the main characters, the depictions have a cliche aspect from the precision of detail of David's clothing to the stitching of a cotillion dress to evoke Moira's southern origins. Most of the time spent in describing the secret society was either about the running for the position of the new leader or about the paperwork involved in being the leader, nothing really "magical". Perhaps this was just to lay the foundation for the magic of the society to be explored in the next book of the series, but in this book, they may as well have belonged to Phileas Fogg's reform club (from Around the World in 80 Days). What details the story did explore about magic and astrology, specifically with Moira, were handled well and were the parts of the book that I found most interesting. This book would probably be a good read for someone who is looking for a story of romance/ love-hate/ love triangle with a subplot of occult and magic.
I "read" this book as an audiobook and the parts of the narration where the story is being told (it was told in 3rd person) as narrative were good, but several of the voices that the actor used for the characters' dialogue threw me a bit. I've enjoyed other audiobooks where there are main characters of different genders and read by multiple voice actors so that the fmc is voiced in a more feminine tone. Also the choice in accents concerned me because the fmc has a southern accent, and a Hispanic character has a Spanish accent but a main character that came from Russia as a teen has no accent whatsoever is not accurate to my experience.
I received advanced access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, Tantor Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

ST Gibson excels at messy relationships between complicated, fully-realized characters. This is my third book I've read by the author and it's become apparent that her books are all very character focused; normally this doesn't work well for me as a plot-driven reader, but so far she's only written bangers. 4.5/5, rounded up!

Moira is an absolute queen and who I want to be when I grow up, ostentatiously purple furry coat and all.

I really really like the narrator for the audiobook. I think he's probably in the top 3 male narrators I've ever listened to (and I've listened to ~600 so it's been a fair few).