I knew almost nothing about this, as I was clearly enraptured by the author and the glowing reviews Dowry of Blood was receiving. I am someone who wants to know as little as possible about the book, before reading it. So that being said, this became my first book with polyamorous relationship.
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It has a gothic paranormal setting, with psychics and tarot readings and demons. But it took me almost 15% to get invested in the story, by 35-40% I didn't want to put it down.
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I loved the relationships, their intimacy felt so palpable, each lingering look was an indication of how much they cared for each other.
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“You’re the sun in my sky, Moira"
"When you love somebody, you only want what’s real. Even if it’s less pretty than that first date sparkle.”
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I loved the characters - Rhys has special place as he is the embodiment of every bookworm.
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The pacing felt off for me, the lack of conversations and slow pace in the beginning put me off. But I am glad I stuck through it, it was worth it. Also some parts felt not flushed out enough, I hope there wil be more of that in the sequels.
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LGBT
Polyamorous
Second chance romance
Cult, magic
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Rating : 🌟🌟🌟.75
Spice :🔥🔥🔥

After reading, and loving, both Dowry of Blood and An Education in Malice, I was really looking forward to reading Evocation. This is a different style for the author, there are still pervading elements of the supernatural and dark academia, with multiple character perspectives, but this time told in a third person format. However, despite not having the first person perspective, Gibson still manages to weave distinctive narrative voices for each character perspective, and builds a subtle undercurrent of tension that spurs the action of the story.

One that is not to be missed, an excellent addition to the genre, and a thrilling read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the e-arc

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of Evocation by S.T. Gibson! While Gibson’s work will always be an instant buy for me, this book wasn’t my favorite out of her current titles. Evocation is full of thoroughly entertaining characters, but the story relies too heavily on the “will they, won’t they” romantic dynamic to allow focus on the more major magic dilemmas. I think to introduce so many interesting magic concepts, but only scratch the surface of them, lets this book down a bit. Ultimately, still an enjoyable read and a book I would recommend to friends and family!

One thing about me and ST Gibson…if she writes it, I’m going to read it.

A Dowry of Blood blew me away and now I will read every single thing she writes so of course I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Evocation. And as expected, I was hooked from the very first page.

This book is so fast paced and so intriguing that it’s hard to put down! Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot Books for this ARC.

Undeniably beautifully written, yet it failed to resonate with me as much as I had hoped. Despite my desire to immerse myself in its pages, I found myself unable to connect with the story.

While the prose is elegant and the storytelling skillful, I struggled to fully engage with the narrative. Perhaps it was a matter of personal preference or timing, but I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting more from the book.

I still pre-ordered it and want it for my collection.

As a huge fan of S.T. Gibson's prior work, I have to admit, Evocation took me by surprise. It's not as a lyrical or poetic as A Dowry of Blood or An Education in Malice. I'm fact the writing style reminded more of Olivie Blake or V. E. Schwab.

This paranormal romance starts off strong. We discover the existence of an occultist secret society (a demon-summoning fraternity) that attracts the wealthy elite, were members bend the will of spirits for their nefarious purposes. However, we never truly go into any depth about its ongoings and influence on the world at large. Information I was craving throughout.

David, an arrogant psychic prodigy is being tormented by a demonic presence and seeks the help from fellow society member, rival and ex-boyfriend Rhys and his wife, Moira, a talented tarot reader and witch.

I really enjoyed reading from these three different perspectives. There's clearly a lot of tension bubbling under the surface and Moira is an absolute saint for understanding and even encouraging reconciliation between David and Rhys. We start to see the beginnings of polyamorous relationship and I look forward to seeing this develop and evolve throughout the series.

This ongoing series clearly has a lot of potential, as there are still many questions remaining unanswered after the finale. I felt like this book skimmed the surface of the story and gave us a taste of what's yet to come. Side characters such as Lorena, Leda and Antoni were interesting, yet rushed and under developed.

Evocation was an entertaining read and I will definitely be purchasing the sequel, however, this felt like a lengthy introduction to a larger world with endless supernatural possibilities rather than a fully formed story, which left me feeling a tad unsatisfied.

We love deals with demons and Evocation fits the bill. It features multiple POV which is a brilliant decision. I love a good exes who need to figure out their deal and in Rhys' POV we see him struggling to navigate the pull of David. The hold the past has on us even when we think we've moved on. We witness the sacrifices we make for people we can't quite let go of. Through David we are allowed to see him exploring the idea of family legacy. Do you love family drama? Then you'll love David's family and how they make sense of power. And in Moira's POV we are able to get to know David from scratch. We can see how she unravels the threads between David and Rhys as well as her own secrets.

"Evocation" is a slowly-paced, deliberate character study. There's a plot, but it's slight, and I would not call this one remotely cozy - the plot is just thin, and primarily hinges on making the three characters in the polycule reach a point of relative peace with one another. I did like "Evocation" overall, despite my issues with it. ST Gibson could write an adaptation of the phone book and the prose would be gorgeous, and all three of the main characters - Moira, Rhys, and David - are decently realized and their narrative voices are distinct from one another. I do agree with some other reviewers who indicate that Moira specifically is a bit underdeveloped - she's a little too perfect, too powerful, too... put to the side by the Rhys and David drama. I don't require fully healthy relationships when reading books, but Moira definitely has been written to be fully blameless and colorless; the tension stays more on whether Rhys and David are going to get together. Moira's marriage suffering for all of this feels very unfair; by the time the polycule is realized, it feels less like a decision for Moira than her being railroaded.

Ultimately, I could have used more plot, less character dynamics, but I'd recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind a beautifully written but meandering character study.

I really loved how this started and was very excited to read it. Unfortunately as the characters developed I just didn’t connect with them or like them. I loved Downey Og blood so I had high hopes for this one. This one wasn’t what I was hoping it would be. I didn’t love the relationships or how they were developed at all. The overall story was okay but I guess we can’t love everything.

Right from the off this storyline had me - the gothic, occult vibes and generational curses made for an exciting and dark storyline.

I found the character dynamics between the main trio interesting and complex - it’s messy and yet you’re rooting for all of them. Moira was an amazing character - I really admired her whole approach to what were challenging circumstances. The exploration around themes of fidelity and relationship dynamics were interesting and added an extra dimension to this dark story.

The politics of secret societies also made for fascinating reading and the rivalry between the main contenders in an already fragile relationship made for great reading.

Overall a great read from Gibson - loved it!

🥀Occult
🥀Multiple Pov's
🥀Exs to Rivals to Lovers
🥀 Polyamorous
🥀 Magic
🥀 Gothic

TRIGGER WARNING
🥀 Alcoholism

Evocation follows the lives of David, Rhys and Moria. David is a lawyer and medium. He has the gift of persuasion. He comes from a prominent magical family.

David used to be in a relationship with Rhys, a scholar. However their relationship ended as David was an alcoholic. Rhys then meets Morio, a witch whom he marries.

Rhys had cut David out of life, until David becomes magically sick and need his help. Old wounds are opened.

Rhys, David and Moria's relationship is constantly changing and growing but through it all the find each other and love.

Thank you netgalley and angry robot for the ARC. I truly enjoyed Evocation and look forward to the second book

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robotfir providing an ARC, this didn’t influence my review of the book!

Secret Societies, demon summonings, and tarot readings? Yes. Pretentious and ambitious occultists? Yes. Polyamory? Yes.

From the first sentence, this book managed to pull me in and not let me go until the last page. I haven’t been this excited about reading a book in a while and I was so immersed in the story, it truly didn’t even feel like I was reading.

The characters were all incredible and I loved them so much. They each had their own personalities and goals and were very well rounded. Even the supporting characters felt three dimensional and you could tell that the author put work into developing all of her characters.
The dynamic between David, Rhys, and Moira was so intriguing to follow and I loved seeing it change from beginning to end and I’m curious to see the direction it will take as the series progresses.
Furthermore, the relationship between Moira and Rhys was so refreshing to read about because there was just so much love, genuine trust and boundaries and it’s honestly one of the healthiest relationships I’ve read about lately.

Also, the nicknames. Little goddess. Indigo Child. Sign me up.

And the vibes. Immaculate. Slightly spooky, gothic, and dark but still funny at times.

One of my favourite things about this book is also the notion, that love can exist without the desire to have sex with someone, and I feel like that’s such an important message that I haven’t really seen represented in media, so it made me very happy.

My only critique is that I found the plot to be a bit weak. Generally it was very interesting but I wish there had been more scenes of them actually trying to break the curse and that we had seen more rituals and summonings and the likes.

Overall, despite my one critique, this book still deserves nothing less than five stars for what it gave me and I cannot believe that I now have to leave David, Moira and Rhys until book 2 comes out.
If you are interested in the occult and want a new series with amazing characters and great vibes, then this is definitely the book for you!

The Devil knows your name. David Aristarkov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now, he moonlights as a powerful medium for a secret society, while keeping a high-powered life as a lawyer. But with power comes a price and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. His days are numbered and death looms before him.

Finding himself on the brink of death from an ancestral curse he reaches out to the only person he’s ever truly trusted. An ex-boyfriends and secret society rival, Rhys, who may be the only person who can help him. But the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira, who has powers and secrets aplenty of her own. Thrust into each other’s lives again, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio try to figure out their feelings for each other while racing to find a way to break the curse. Before the Devil steals David away forever.

All told in the author’s signature prose while navigating complex themes around relationships, addiction and abuse. This book may have been slow to start off with while centring around intense relationships and character development. All culminating in a quick climax and an end that leaves the story open for the next instalment. This author will always be an immediate read due to the beautiful prose, epic storytelling and characters that are nuanced and lifelike. She navigates intense themes and topics in her books in an open and honest way that will speak to any reader. A perfect start to the series.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘖𝘯𝘦, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦) 𝘣𝘺 𝘚 𝘛 𝘎𝘪𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘯

thank you netgalley and angry robot books for an ARC in exchange of an honest review!

this was amazing! i loved the writing, and i loved the gothic themes as well as the spiritualism and the astrology aspects. understanding that this was character driven, while the pace was a little slow at times, there were moments that made it all worth it.

rhys calls moira his little goddess, goddess incarnate, witch of his heart… and honestly? i am obsessed with them!!!! i am obsessed with the three of them, i am obsessed with moira, i am obsessed with moira and rhys, i am obsessed with david, i am obsessed with david and rhys!!!

i will definitely come back to this book once it gets published and check for any updates or changes!

absolutely in love with this book and characters. the only problem with finishing “evocation” is that i have to wait years for the rest of the books to come out :((( i adored everything about this, the magic system, the different magic users, the way the magic was explained in such simple terms that it not only made sense but it felt like a natural, organic part of the world. this is how urban fantasy should feel like. and the characters? they were flawed and full of emotion, and i liked finding out things about them through the different pov chapters. the build up in the relationship was delicious, rhys and moira are the perfect couple but add david’s messiness to that and it just gets better. the prose? beautiful! the words flow out of the page and captivate you. gibson never misses with her prose. she never misses!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

S.T. Gibson is an auto-buy and auto-read author for me. She always writes compelling character-driven stories that tackle complex themes. Her writing is haunting and accessible, and it compels you to continue reading, time and responsibilities be damned. 😂

Evocation is sort of a gothic paranormal novel, set in modern Boston. It includes elements that are so outside my interests' zone. It's set around an occult society mainly featuring a club only consisted of men and how they delve into "magic". S.T. Gibson does a good job explaining how different groups of people view and practice their powers/magic as well as how they view the numerous labels of what they do. It didn't feel overwhelming nor abundant; it was perfectly described when it was needed. I was intrigued by Moira's point of view, that the term "witch" was what her foreparents used and felt comfortable with, that it was a cozy term that inspired warmth, instead of "medium" that inspired distrust and was used by many people who didn't wish to help others but wished to take advantage of them. I have absolutely no knowledge of the terminology or the terms' background, but in my non-knowing bubble, it felt intriguing.

Evocation is told by three points of view, Moira's, Rhys' and David's. I can't say that I disliked any of them, but truth be told, I didn't really "fall" for any of them, either. Moira started off as a unambitious woman who cared for her husband, her clients, and herself. Through David, she discovered that she was, in fact, ambitious, and that she didn't want to hide some of her abilities, that she could do more than she did. As usual with S.T.Gibson's writing, Moira has a compelling character development. She grows as a character and discovers new sides to herself. I found her journey to be delightful. I also loved how much she insisted on self-care; it was so refreshing to read, and it's so, so needed in our lives.

Rhys is a husband dedicated to his wife and his duty at that society club. He's also very conflicted with his feelings toward David, as in he knows he loves his wife very much, but he's also still in love with David. I think he's the character I liked the least because to me, it felt like he needed confirmation and approval for everything. I did like how ambitious he was and how hard he fought for his place, but he was also a little too set on his beliefs. And it was painfully obvious that he was still in love with David, but he needed Moira to say it first...

David was my favorite. He's hard and blunt on the outside, but he's so broken on the inside. He feels inadequate and worthless, like he ruins everyone who comes to his life. He is a recovering alcoholic who was severely traumatized by his abusive father. He works non-stop because it's been engraved on his very soul that if he doesn't work, if he doesn't succeed, he's not worth anything. And when the deal with the devil came up, he was in agony not only because he was to die, but also because it implied that his talents, him being a "prodigy", his charming personality were there only due to that deal. He was so pained by this because to him, what he could do was absolutely everything--since he ruined everything else. His broken soul spoke to me as it did to Moira.

S.T. Gibson writes complex characters with complex problems and complex feelings. I have nothing against polyamorous people/couples; I just haven't read any books with them, so I don't feel that I have any grounds to speak about if it was written well or not. As I said before, I also haven't read about the occult and the different views of it nor about astrology. However, I do believe that we should delve into the unknown and read books that are different from what we usually go for, and Evocation was that for me. I enjoyed it a lot, partly because of S.T.Gibson's compelling writing and partly because I rooted for David's survival.

S.T. Gibson offers a new compelling story about feminism, society's view of women, self-identity, self-journey, as well as fidelity, desire, love, and trauma.

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It's the monthly pick for a box, so... To Skip Or Not To Skip? RENEW!! Something tells me that this will be a stunning edition.

I really enjoyed this book! I love books about ghosts, haunting and the paranormal etc, but have never read one like this before - a really creative way to tell a paranormal story in a way that doesn't feel dated or tired, but really intriguing and exciting!

The book took me some time to get used to in terms of the heavy writing style, but once I was invested, I was so absorbed. There is so much attention to detail - really rich world-building with the society, the characters are so fleshed out, the whole world of the book is so vividly brought to life that I was completely immersed within it. It's definitely not a book I could have read half-heartedly or when tired, as it did require my full concentration, but I found when I did start reading, I would fly through pages at such a fast paced because the book definitely kept my attention hooked.

I'd say this is an equal mix of both a plot and character book so I really enjoyed that mix of both, getting to learn about the characters and their relationships with each other, as well as a rather eerie plotline too.

I'd never read a book by this author before and now will definitely want to read more of their books - I'll certainly be picking up a copy of A Dowry of Blood soon!

A fantastic atmospheric read, and I can't wait for it to come out to read it again!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! Education of malice wasn’t my cup of tea but this was a really good quick read! I enjoyed all 3 MCs as well

Thank you to Angry Robot for giving me access to an arc of this. While I did find this entertaining, I wish there would’ve been more of a balance when it came to the romance and the fantastical aspect of the story. I feel like I’m left with so many questions that I feel should’ve been answered within the first book but hopefully those get answered in the second.

Also this has been gnawing at me but I don’t appreciate the way that Moira was written. There’s something that’s lacking and her story and ambitions only seem to involve David and Rhys. What are her desires outside of them? I’m not exactly sure! I also, in the beginning, felt very weird about how Moira was portrayed as a Black woman. I also think that she was way too accepting of the fact that Rhys and David cheated and I don’t think there is enough time for her to actually process what happens.

I know she suggests that Rhys read that one book and how they can been healthy in this type of relationship but…I’m not sure that this was executed in the right way.

I got access to this book through netgalley and GOD IM OBSESSED.
I love everything ST Gibson releases, and when I saw this was coming on netgalley you better believe I ran SO FAST to apply. The way she writes her characters just makes me fall in love with them so quickly. I saw so much of myself in David - who pushes everyone away as a punishment to himself, and is afraid to let anyone near him in case they see how broken he really is.
Plot wise, it did go a bit slow. It takes a good bit for it to dive into the issue, and even with the slow burn sexual tension, at times it felt too slow. I wanted all three of them to just get together but it was so much back and forth between them like a delicate dance. I need the second one out now 💥💥