Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it’s feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.
Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Flowers and insects die in her wake and monstrous things come to taunt her at night. If Jude can’t find the right someone to fix her mistake, she fears she’ll die very soon.
Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. But Emer has a dark past all her own—and as her former clients are murdered one-by-one, she knows it’s followed her all the way to London.
As Zara and Jude enter Emer’s orbit, they’ll have to team up to stop the killer—before they each end up next on his list.
- Title: The Invocations
- Author: Krystal Sutherland
- Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
- Publication Date: January 30, 2024
- Genre: Paranormal, horror
- Source: Print ARC provided by Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review
- Targeted Age Range: YA
- Content Warnings: body horror, vomit, blood, death of a loved one, mentions of domestic abuse, mentions of rape, torture, physical violence, murder, ritual sacrifice, parental abandonment, mutilation, necromancy, sexism and misogyny, grief, trauma, underage drinking
- Rating: ★★★★★
In 2021, I read Krystal Sutherland’s House of Hollow and was instantly gripped — I absolutely adored that book and gave it 5 stars (my review). Therefore, when Sutherland started talking about her next book, The Invocations, I put it on my TBR without knowing anything about it because I knew if she was writing it, I would love it. A huge thank you to Bookish First for providing me with a copy of this book because I am OBSESSED. Once again, Sutherland has created a lush, dark, magical story that pulls you in from the first page and holds you in its clutches until the very last sentence.
The Invocations follows three young women — Zara Jones, who is dealing with the grief and anger brought on by her sister’s murder the year before, Jude Wolf, exiled from her family and struggling to survive the consequences of a deal with a demon gone wrong, and Emer Bryne, the daughter of a witch who is hell bent on finding the men who murdered her family ten years ago. When the three girls find their paths crossing while on the hunt for a serial killer, they realize that the only way to achieve their goals will be to work together, even if it could lead to their own destruction.
If you’re looking for a book with female rage, please look no further. This book is all about women taking back their agency, coming into their power, and avenging those that have been abused and taken advantage of. There were so many moments where I found myself getting emotional while reading, because much of this book focuses on the every day fears that women experience — one of the things that really stuck with me from this story is that in this world, only women are able to use magic, and most of them are using and seeking out magic to protect themselves from predators. Magic could give them absolutely anything, and the only thing they want is to feel safe…that was just heartbreaking because of how deep and true that sense of self preservation is.
I loved the dynamics in this book. Zara, Jude and Emer’s relationship was so well crafted — the three of them could not be more different, but their differences are what make them work so well together, and I loved seeing them grow to really care about each other. They didn’t always agree with the others’ choices, but time and time again they showed up for one another, and I found that so touching.
The big reveal was so well done, because it wasn’t a huge shock that came out of nowhere. It was a slow unravel and just as it was about to be revealed you sat there and went, oh, because once the truth came out, it just made so much sense. I had my suspicions early on, but let me tell you, I didn’t want to be right about this one because it just made it all the more upsetting. I’m definitely looking forward to reading this book again and looking for all the little hints that Sutherland dropped throughout the book.
Something that is important to note if you’re interested in this book is that it is dark. The material and subject matter, the descriptions, the situations, everything is really dark and difficult. Now, that’s not surprising since House of Hollow also dealt with a lot of dark and difficult themes, but Sutherland really stepped it up with The Invocations. And the body horror…it was a lot, I definitely do not recommend eating while reading this book. Personally, I don’t really have any issues with body horror, and in a horror novel like this, the more grossed out I am the better, but if that’s something that is difficult for you to read, I definitely would approach this one with a bit of caution!
The Invocations really delivered on everything I was hoping it would — witchy and magical vibes, powerful female characters and relationships, strong depictions of grief and how we all cope with grief differently, and a story that chilled me to the bone. If you enjoyed House of Hollow and Ninth House, I would definitely recommend that you pick up a copy of The Invocations stat!
Links for The Invocations: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop
Krystal Sutherland is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of House of Hollow, A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares and Our Chemical Hearts, which was adapted into a film by Amazon Studios. Her books have been published in more than twenty countries and nominated for the Carnegie Medal and YA Book Prize, among others. Originally from Australia, she has lived on four continents and currently calls London home.
