The Invocations is an interesting take on witchcraft, and the perfect Halloween read. Sutherland really brings to life the dingy and scary atmosphere of the novel, which I really loved. I also enjoyed all three of the main characters, Emer, Jude and Zara. I think all three are very relatable characters in their own way, and all of them have a certain charm to them. I also really loved how Sutherland portrays grief in Emer and Zara, with the deaths of their respective families.
However, this book is not without a few flaws. While I really loved the romance that was built up between Emer and Jude, I thought that it kind of took away from Zara's development and relationships in the novel. Zara had already started out as a kind of outlier at the beginning of the novel, with her being the only one who hadn't dabbled in real magic, and this is only exacerbated with two of the other main characters having a romance.
Another minor flaw I had with the book is an unexplained feature of the magic system; apparently when Jude's brothers killed the 19 women of Loch Leanne, the family fortune increased 19-fold. Why did this happen? Is there in fact a "God" in this universe who rewards witch-genocide? Hopefully these questions get touched on in a sequel, or later in the series.
Overall, I did really love reading this. The plot twists had me on the edge of my seat, and the characters were memorable. I can't wait for the sequel!
However, this book is not without a few flaws. While I really loved the romance that was built up between Emer and Jude, I thought that it kind of took away from Zara's development and relationships in the novel. Zara had already started out as a kind of outlier at the beginning of the novel, with her being the only one who hadn't dabbled in real magic, and this is only exacerbated with two of the other main characters having a romance.
Another minor flaw I had with the book is an unexplained feature of the magic system; apparently when Jude's brothers killed the 19 women of Loch Leanne, the family fortune increased 19-fold. Why did this happen? Is there in fact a "God" in this universe who rewards witch-genocide? Hopefully these questions get touched on in a sequel, or later in the series.
Overall, I did really love reading this. The plot twists had me on the edge of my seat, and the characters were memorable. I can't wait for the sequel!