An incredible dark and gritty, sapphic YA horror
The Invocations is a dark and gritty, sapphic YA horror that centers fierce girls who refuse to give in to the patriarchy and will do whatever it takes to fight back.
This story follows Zara, Jude, and Emer.
Zara’s sister was murdered by a serial killer, and she is determined to bring her sister back from the dead. Jude’s soul is literally rotting away leaving death in its wake thanks to a bargain gone wrong with a demon. Emer sells spells to desperate women, but the cost is steep considering her former clients keep winding up dead. Together these three race against time to stop who is ever killing Emer’s former clients before they end up next.
First and foremost, this book is utterly gruesome and not for the feint of heart. Sutherland dug deep with the body horror, which left me a bit speechless at times. However, it really sets the tone of the serious consequences associated with things like necromancing and making deals with demons.
As far as the characters go, I enjoyed Zara, Jude, and Emer. They are all vastly different personality wise, but they really work well as a trio (which does include a budding romance between two of the leading ladies!). Of the three, I do think that Jude was favorite just because she has an IDFAG attitude especially when it comes to her magical family that wants nothing to do with her, and she literally is walking death. I mean…you can’t really get any lower than that.
The murder mystery aspect was a wild ride for me, and I did NOT see the twist coming. I don’t want to give anything away though because y’all need to experience the series of unhinged events for yourselves.
If you’re a dark academia fan, but you also want some grotesque yet thrilling occult vibes then you need to read this book.
Thank you Penguin Teen & PRH Audio for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
This story follows Zara, Jude, and Emer.
Zara’s sister was murdered by a serial killer, and she is determined to bring her sister back from the dead. Jude’s soul is literally rotting away leaving death in its wake thanks to a bargain gone wrong with a demon. Emer sells spells to desperate women, but the cost is steep considering her former clients keep winding up dead. Together these three race against time to stop who is ever killing Emer’s former clients before they end up next.
First and foremost, this book is utterly gruesome and not for the feint of heart. Sutherland dug deep with the body horror, which left me a bit speechless at times. However, it really sets the tone of the serious consequences associated with things like necromancing and making deals with demons.
As far as the characters go, I enjoyed Zara, Jude, and Emer. They are all vastly different personality wise, but they really work well as a trio (which does include a budding romance between two of the leading ladies!). Of the three, I do think that Jude was favorite just because she has an IDFAG attitude especially when it comes to her magical family that wants nothing to do with her, and she literally is walking death. I mean…you can’t really get any lower than that.
The murder mystery aspect was a wild ride for me, and I did NOT see the twist coming. I don’t want to give anything away though because y’all need to experience the series of unhinged events for yourselves.
If you’re a dark academia fan, but you also want some grotesque yet thrilling occult vibes then you need to read this book.
Thank you Penguin Teen & PRH Audio for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.