While this didn't give me the same feelings as House of Hollow, I really enjoyed reading The Invocations.
This book is about girls taking power into their own hands by getting invocations.. basically spells that give girls powers by attaching demons to them in exchange for a slice of their souls.
I loved the whole premise of this book, and Emer was a stand-out favorite character right from the first page. She's a survivor and a fighter and brings so much to this story. I liked Jude and Zara well enough, but I could have read the whole story with Emer as the main character. I loved the magic, the gore, and all the surprising moments. Krystal Sutherland did a great job building the suspense and tension as we get closer to discovering who the murderer is, and when it's revealed I was definitely surprised.

I love Krystal Sutherland's books and I will absolutely be reading any horror books she writes.

Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book for review purposes

This book is an ode to women who take matters into their own hands against an unjust world. It captures so much of the fear, angst and rage that women go through at the hands of abuse by men, and feeds it into a “Good for Her” fantasy I think a lot of young women can relate to.

Krystal Sutherland is so good at giving a wide range of horror vibes in her books. She can do slower, more gross-out horrifying moments, as well as gut-punching jumpscares that leave you shocked and breathless. Yes, this book is YA, so maybe it doesn’t go as far as an adult horror would with the same subject matter, but it still gives me that uneasy feeling that no other YA horror author has for me.

Some other things I loved:
Jude calling her four older brothers “the Horseman” is such a good nickname that feels like something a real teenager would come up with, and also tells you so much about their personalities without spending too much time with them.
The demon characters and their bond with Emer, as well as some of the final reveals of their end goals really nail down the “Good for her” vibes as Emer got her revenge.

My only critique was personally, I didn’t love our main three protagonists as much as I did the Hollow sisters in House of Hollow. Jude a lot of the time is downright annoying, with her snarky commentary feeling a little forced. Zara is a bit better, but was lacking in the common sense department, especially with her eventual alternative plan to bring her sister back from the dead. Emer is the best of the three, who I instantly loved from her opening chapter; she’s smart, resourceful, a fighter, and her eventual self-destructive goals make sense from everything she’s been through. I didn’t really understand her and Jude’s attraction, and thought Zara and Jude had a better “straight man, funny man” combo going on, but I didn’t really need this book to have a pronounced romance at all for me to like it.
Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this book, and think this author is a standout in the YA Horror genre that everyone should check out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for providing a copy of this eARC for review.

I very much enjoyed this novel. It was a little more gruesome than I was expecting, and the content (especially with souls) a darker than anticipated. I loved those aspects of the story. I felt that the relationships and behaviours of the characters were believable, and the friendships formed were an interesting contrast of personalities. I felt that there could have been more information about the events and results after the climax of the story. The conclusion left me with some questions. I'm hopeful for a sequel, but it is an ambiguous end. It could certainly end there and it would be satisfactory, but I enjoyed the characters and wouldn't mind seeing more of their lives.

It took me a little bit to get into this story because I had to get used to, and keep straight, the different character POVs. Also, my e-arc had some weird formatting issues where some of the words had wonky characters, so I had to get used to that and not get stuck on it every time one popped up. I loved the demon aspect, and the magic in the story. Once I got the characters straight I really started to love them. I can't wait for my library to get physical copies of this book, I think that it's going to be popular with teens who want scarier magical components like demons! I wish this wasn't a stand alone because I would definitely go for more in this world/with this magic.

This is a dark YA horror thriller that follows three young women as they try to solve a murder mystery. The story involves witches and monsters and magic which honestly makes it a possibly good read for the winter. Has that bit of gothic touch to the story while it’s snowing outside I think is very fitting. This is also a very girl power kind of story, very feminist about strong female characters. This is also a standalone which are always very nice to read in between those long fantasy series so look out for this on the 30 of January.

I’ll start by saying that I set high expectations for this title when it was announced. With the blurb and verbiage around it, I expected “a girl walks alone at night, pursued by an unknown stranger, and yet she’s the thing feared in the dark”. I got that and enjoyed those aspects of the story immensely. Sutherland continues with her expressive writing style as it emphasizes the atmospheric edge and a true sense of place.

What struggles arose for me though came from the main female characters and their relationship to each other. In House of Hollow, you understand how integral the sister relationship is to the story and the characters themselves. Here, there is a push to establish the trio as a group that needs each other and at the beginning of a strong fierce bond necessary to complete the mystery. That’s not a consistent aspect of the story. When the girls connect for the first time, you feel the promise of something amazing about to transpire plot-wise, theme-wise, and character-wise. They’ll push each other, challenging expectations - you name it. I don’t feel that potential was fully realized. With the story being split POV of the three characters, some chapters felt indistinguishable in the voice and temperament of our characters. At times, I felt like the characters had watered-down qualities of the sisters in House of Hollow.

As it comes to the mystery, some aspects kept me hooked to continue to understand how everything weaves together. But, when the trio hit a roadblock or lost momentum I felt disinterested. Especially when character-building moments (just talking) are substituted for weaving in the character growth with the mystery investigation. For House of Hollow, the ending/reveal is very clear very early on if you have any knowledge of the fantasy stories at play. But, even though I knew the ending I was hooked because I was invested in seeing how the characters grow during the investigation and how the reveal would affect them. Because I did not have this investment in these characters here I was left without the needed intrigue necessary when the mystery was not as elaborate as I expected.

To add on, the queer storyline felt shoehorned. There is a world in which this storyline naturally fits within this context but unfortunately, I don’t believe in the relationship presented. Meaning I don’t see how any meaningful character moments occurred for those two characters to feel love for each other outside of lust.

The last thing that made it difficult for me was the way themes were presented. In my mind, I have concluded it to be “Baby’s First Men Sucks” book, and I don’t say that to be derivative but to point out at times how dated the concepts and conclusions the author reaches when certain narrative points arrive. It felt like a note was given to restate your thesis as much as possible when trust should be put upon its reader even as young as 13 to understand the subtext, motifs, or callbacks present. As such with this limited feminism lens imparted on the title, at times it felt exclusionary to the other identities that made appearances in the book. There are moments of assertion that all women experience violence from men (which I appreciated). Still, it’s unfortunate that a woman who becomes a suspect in this investigation is the only Black character mentioned. Her suspicion as a suspect imparting violence against other (mostly white) women left a bad taste in my mouth in those implications. When the characters’ biases are not addressed it felt like I, a Black woman, was not a part of this women’s unity theming. As such, this Black female character’s brief storyline is not fully fleshed out in the way it deserves.

All in all, though I enjoyed the story and the characters when they were by themselves I felt that the overall potential of the story was far greater than the product.

House of Hollow is one of my favorite books of all time and is never far from my thoughts. I love it so much that I wish frequently that I could read it again for the first time. So obviously my excitement for The Invocations has been through the roof since Sutherland announced it and I was overjoyed to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley. It lived up to all of my hopes and expectations and more! Gory, gruesome, beautiful, feminist, angry, queer, and magical: all of my favorite things. ❤️ This book does it so amazingly well.

The way that Sutherland takes the time to introduce you to characters in both HoH and The Invocations makes the reader feel so invested so quickly. I fell in love with all three young women so quickly because their back stories and the time and detail that went into them made me root for them and understand their choices and actions. You feel the anger, sadness, and isolation with them. You feel the kinship of the witches, but also of just all women and the terrors faced in their daily lives.

I loved the darker horror aspect of it and how Sutherland did not shy away from the grotesque and gory and the story was definitely better for it. Now I’m just sad that I have finished her new book before it even came out and have to wait years for another one 🤣

Emer, Zara, and Jude are three young women that are struggling, alone. Until they find each other. Then they're still struggling, but at least they have each other. Emer is hiding her dangerous witchy talents, Zara is determined to bring her sister back from the dead, and Jude is desperate to break the curse she placed on herself. But a killer is stalking women they know, and they'll be next on the list if they can't figure out how to stop him in time...

I absolutely adored this book! I loved House of Hollow so I had high hopes for this one, and fortunately I was not not at all disappointed. The three main characters are all excellently rendered, and the pace of the story moves along at a nice clip after the first 15% or so. I loved how dark and gritty this book was, and the magic system around invocations and demons was so unique. I didn't find the reveal of the killer to be super surprising (I, too, have a head for languages), but this didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. Great dialogue between the characters as well, especially Jude!!

I highly recommend this one if you like witchy reads, gothic vibes, and strong young female characters. Thank you to Krystal Sutherland, Penguin/Nancy Paulsen, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

The Invocations is a YA fantasy with both horror and thriller aspects! There is also sapphic representation. I love when books are multi-genre, this did a great job of doing that. While the big bad in this book was predictable, I really enjoyed this one. I already had a feeling I'd liked it since I loved the author's other book House of Hollow. I also really enjoyed the witchy magic in this one, as well as the switching POV's.

Thank you to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Nancy Paulsen Books. This book was amazing. I couldnt put this down.

This book felt like a roller coaster and I enjoyed the entire ride. House of Hollow was such a captivating read and I found The Invocations to be just as spooky and strangely charming. The three main protagonists, Emer, Jude, and Zara, all need each other to accomplish different things so they become an interesting, albeit slightly unlikely, trio. Their motivations are at first glance simple, but with a supernatural killer on the run, everything falls into mayhem. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, and while I did see the ending coming, I still thought it was a fun read with some interesting body horror thrown in. If you're looking for a supernatural YA thriller, I'd recommend trying this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for a review!

Thank you netgally Krystal Sutherland, Nancy Paulsen books for the advance copy of "The Invocations" by Krystal Sutherland; to say im excited is an understatement. I have been a Krystal Sutherland fan since Our Chemical heart. She makes wonderful young adult books and the cover of her books are always so beautiful.

I felt the beginning of the book was a little confusing to me with the 3 different characters pov because of similar names ( Jude and Jones) and remembering their situations I felt like I had to keep referencing previous chapters. After 100 pages or so the book progression I was able to understand better and the paces was flowing with each page.
Book containing magic are some of my favorites but the demon component was a little scary to me how they were being tethered to the people souls. I did enjoy the conclusion of the book.

This book is available January 30 2024.
Thank you again for the advance copy for an honest review.

The Invocations introduces us to three very different young women. Zara Jones is on a quest to bring her sister back from the dead. Jude Wolf is cursed, rotting from the inside out, and looking for a solution. After meeting at a crime scene, Zara and Jude seek out and meet Emer, a powerful witch that is unknowingly tied to a string of murdered women. Together they embark on a gruesome journey to put an end to the killer.

This is my second book by Krystal Sutherland and I am ALL IN. After reading House of Hollow, I knew Sutherland could be counted on to create a creepy, unsettling, immersive setting. Let me tell you I was NOT disappointed! Oh my god this was perfect. I feel like this book was tailor made for me. Necromancy with demons and body horror and witches, these are a few of my favorite things!

"Even the devil does not trust men to honor a bargain, so it does not deal with them." I was giggling and kicking my feet while I read that. Yes witchy female power! Inject it into my veins!

Sutherland has a GIFT with words. While I feel like categorizing this book as a "horror" would give the reader misleading expectations, it's hard to ignore the fetid, rotting, corpse in the room. The plot is addicting, the sapphic romance is so sweet, and still where I find the novel truly shines is in the descriptions of the death and decay our characters encounter. The pacing is perfect, the
story puts it's foot on the gas and doesn't let up. I wasn't surprised by some of the reveals, but it never took away from my enjoyment as things unfolded.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I haven’t read anything else by Krystal Sutherland, but I was familiar with the name when I was approached about reviewing her latest book. Mostly, I have vague memories of a YA dark fantasy that she released a few years ago that had a creepy but compelling cover. This one, too, follows in that line where, at first glance, it seems normal enough. But then you look closer…yep, creepy! I was also drawn in by the promise of witches and a mystery centered around tracking down a serial killer.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to. However, in this case, I do think a lot of it comes down to many of these tropes and beats simply not being to my taste. But let’s start with the good! Like I said, I was drawn in by the witches and the murder mystery, and from a distant perspective, I think both of these things were interesting. I liked the idea that in this world magic was only something that came to women. Through this lens, the book then had a lot to say about feminism and the ways that women experience society. I haven’t watched the “Barbie” movie yet… *ducks*…but I would bet that this has very similar vibes. That said, I also felt that some of the messaging was a bit heavy-handed at times. There were moments where it almost had an “after school special” feeling to it….”See?? The patriarchy!!” I found myself wishing for a bit more subtly on that front.

I also liked the serial killer aspect of the story. This book was definitely a lot darker than I was expecting, and I appreciated how much it committed to its themes, really diving into some of the body horror moments. Fans of dark fantasy and horror will likely appreciate the fact that the book doesn’t shy away from these more gruesome scenes.

However, I found myself struggling to remain invested in the story. While the action does pick up in the last 100 pages of the book, that’s always a bit too little, too late for my overall reading experience. I found myself setting the book down too often and having to force myself to continue reading. There wasn’t anything objectively wrong with the writing, but it didn’t grab me. It felt a bit to formulaic and simplistic at times to really give the book much of a unique tone. It wasn’t helped that it was written in present tense, a style that I always struggle to enjoy. That said, readers who are not bothered by this approach to writing may not come away feeling the same way.

Similarly, because the writing was on the more simple side, I struggled to truly connect to any of our three characters, as their chapters had a bad tendency of beginning to read the same as one another. I liked the idea of all three characters, I just didn’t end up really loving any of the actual characters themselves.

Overall, this was a bit of a middling read for me, but much of this came down to some of my own preferences on writing styles and the way larger themes are handled. I do think that it will connect for YA readers who are looking for a good, creepy witchy book, however, and if you’re a fan of the author, I’m sure this will be a hit!

Rating 7: Appropriately creepy and witchy, but I was distracted by what felt like heavy-handedness with the overall message.

Review will go live Jan 13. on The Library Ladies

It had a slow start for me, HOWEVER, the book is a banger. The magic is beautiful but devastating, the characters were amazingly complex and I just had an amazing time reading it. I was so engrossed in the story that when the big reveal happened I was as shocked as the characters despite it all being near painfully obvious in retrospect, and for that I applaud Sutherland.

At this point, Krystal Sutherland is my favorite new (to me) writer of 2023. The author is not afraid to “go dark” with the narrative, just like in previous works. In the story, there is a unique perspective on witches, and where their power stems from. There’s also a great intersection between feminism and pain among these teenage girls. One has lost her sister to murder, has accidentally cursed herself disgusting and even her dad‘s billions of dollars can’t fix it, and there’s a witch, who saw her whole family slaughtered by hunters. When the spell-writing witch finds out that the women she’s helped cast spells for our dying, if the rest these three together in a hunt for a killer.

This is for you if you like paranormal mysteries, queer rep, some body horror, feminism, found family, and girls saving the day (or themselves from their pasts.)

I started “The Invocations” on Christmas Eve morning, which wasn’t smart because I didn’t want to put it down to participate in all the family time!! Jude, Zara, and Emer are such compelling, fierce young women. Their individuals paths converge into one of the best supernatural adventures that I’ve read in a long time. This book is perfect for fans of Danielle Page and Kass Morgan.

4.5, rounding up!

THE INVOCATIONS, by Krystal Sutherland is the second book I've read by this author. Her phenomenal HOUSE OF HOLLOW is still a favorite of mine. While this book is quite different, it is no less intense.

We start out with three different main characters, and their individual stories: Zara Jones, whose sister was murdered and wants desperately to bring her back. Jude Wolf, a billionaire's daughter who messed up some occult spells, cursing herself to a slow death while her flesh. . . rots. . . She would do anything to stop or reverse her mistakes, but only a "real" spell caster could help, and even money isn't enough to find one in a situation where women with ANY type of power must hide themselves away in a patriarchal society. Emer Bryne, the daughter of a witch, and extremely powerful spell caster--living by hiding out from those that kill her kind. . . and those that killed her entire family before her.

I absolutely LOVED each of these characters! Getting to know them and their motivations before they collide, I believe was necessary to get a broader understanding of the entire "world" that the author created. Although it takes place in the "modern time", changes in the roles of men and women are pivotal, with women most definitely taking the "back seat" to the men in charge. Witches are viewed as evil because they provide women with power--something NOT accepted here.

This WORKED. Although I did easily guess the main antagonist, it didn't matter as much to me because the dynamics between the women, and the new world order they live in, were so all consuming. I went through all the emotions in this one.

I rated 4.5 (rounding up), solely because it took a while to get really invested in the story, and I felt that the women should have been at least 18. This did not feel like a young adult book to me, and I think having the characters a year older would have been a better move.

Overall, this author is now an auto-buy for me. Her creativity and depth of characters impressed me so much that I can't wait for what she comes up with next.

Highly recommended.

This book... Just occult perfection. I feel like every girl goes through a witchy phase, but I certainly wasn't trying to use demons to summon vast amounts of power. But would you if you could?

I enjoyed floating between PoVs, Emer, Jude, and Zara. They've each found themselves in this world for drastically different reasons... but of course nothing is as unconnected as it seems. I thought the foreshadowing was really well done, and the power variety was awesome! I liked how there were literal fire and lightning powers, but also more abstract ones as well. It's so different from House of Hollow, but the gothic vibes persist. This is absolutely securing Krystal Sutherland as an autobuy author for me!

*Thank you to Nancy Paulsen Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- Sutherland was an author whose works I’ve enjoyed, especially house of hollow. however, this book didn’t really hit the same as the previous works she’s put out, as the writing style felt very dry and wishy washy, with the characters also feeling bland and boring. i hate to say that i had to dnf this, as i was really looking forward to reading this book, but i ended up feeling bored by the story.