I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was a lot of fun to read! I particularly enjoyed the magic system and the fantasy elements of the book.

I will read ANYTHING Eileen Erin writes. Her work is well written and magical, and it's saved me in times of darkness in my life. I hope she never stops writing.

This is my first read from a very talented and skilled author and look forward to more of her work. It is admittedly hard to put down a book that starts off with an infestation of demons and an exorcism. And it does not disappoint from this spot on. The story is told mostly from the view of Samantha, daughter of a fallen Angel, who battles demons and saves sinners from their own failures and weaknesses. Great descriptions, lots of detail and world building, likable cast of characters who you can cheer for.

Aileen Erin’s "Invocation" presents an intriguing premise but ultimately falls short in its execution. While the novel has potential with its urban fantasy setting and magical elements, several key aspects detract from the overall reading experience.

The plot centers around a young protagonist who discovers hidden powers and becomes embroiled in a battle between mystical forces. While this concept is promising, the storyline often feels disjointed and lacks a clear direction. The pacing is uneven, with long stretches of exposition followed by rushed action scenes that leave readers struggling to keep up.

Character development is another area where "Invocation" could have been stronger. The protagonist is somewhat underdeveloped, making it difficult to fully invest in her journey. Her motivations and emotional responses often feel inconsistent, which undermines her relatability and depth. Similarly, the supporting characters come across as one-dimensional, with stereotypical traits that fail to make them memorable.

The dialogue in "Invocation" can be stilted and unnatural at times, detracting from the immersive quality of the story. Conversations often serve as info-dumps rather than organic exchanges, which can disrupt the flow and make the narrative feel forced.

Additionally, the world-building, while imaginative, lacks the depth needed to fully transport readers into Erin’s envisioned universe. The magical system is not thoroughly explained, leaving many questions unanswered and creating a sense of confusion. The setting itself, though rich in potential, is not vividly described, making it hard for readers to visualize the environment and fully engage with the story.

On a positive note, Erin’s writing shows glimpses of creativity and flair, particularly in her descriptions of magical elements and action sequences. There are moments where the narrative shines, hinting at the author’s potential to craft engaging fantasy stories with more refinement and focus.

Overall, "Invocation" is a novel with a solid foundation but numerous missed opportunities. With more cohesive plotting, deeper character development, and enhanced world-building, it could have been a standout in the urban fantasy genre. As it stands, "Invocation" may appeal to die-hard fans of the genre looking for a quick read, but it falls short of delivering a truly compelling and satisfying story.

My name is Samantha Catherine Lopez, and I am Nephilim. This is my story.

From the opening pages, I was immediately drawn into Samantha’s world. Aileen Erin seamlessly wove together a tale of good and evil that made it hard to look away. The characters came to life, even when they were dead. I love that Samantha runs towards danger and faces her fears, knowing it’s the right thing to do.

I have read books with paranormal creatures, heavenly and demonic creatures, and the humans they walk among, but Invocation is an original take on a familiar story line.

Invocation is a fast paced thriller that took my breath away and had me clutching my ereader, white knuckled, on the edge of my seat, devouring words before they could devour Samantha. She has friends all around her, but going to Hell and facing her father is something she must do alone. Talk about family problems….her father is a fallen angel and he wants her in Hell with him.

When Samantha and her father come face to face and her strength falters, who will reach out and bring her home?

At first I thought this could be a stand alone, no series book, but I was so glad to find out it’s not. I want more and I want it now!

I would like to thank Aileen Erin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Invocation.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.co

I had such a great time reading this book! I really fell in love with her sci fi series, but then it turns out I had some of her Alpha Girl series through NetGalley-and then I got this one, so I had to read all of the books! But now I've made it to this one, and I had such a great time reading it!

We did meet Samantha in the Alpha Girl series, she and Tess are related. But it was so great to have her star in her own series with the abilities that she has, and the whole thing with her dad and the demons. I just had to know more!

The whole set up with the ghosts and the demons, and the people that she has surrounding her, I absolutely loved it! And then you add in Phoenix, who doesn't know anything about all this-yet. I loved their simmering connection, it didn't quite fully bloom yet, but given the events of this book, it's probably going to!

A lot happened in this book, was setting up for future events of the series, and the way things ended has me really anticipating what is to come. That we got to see some familiar faces, yeah, that was a bonus. I'm just so excited for more!

This was such a great read and I can't wait to continue on!

I am super sad to say this, but I was not a fan of this book. I have read pretty much all other things by this author and loved them, but this title fell flat for me. The premise of the book was super exciting with the battle of good versus evil and demons and possessions with a girl standing as human's last defense, and even the beginning was exciting. And then, it just wasn't. Not a lot actually happened in the book, instead there was a lot of angst about the MC wondering if she was good enough to be loved, good enough to go to heaven, and then all her tons of friends telling her how wonderful she was. Also, the main endpoint of what should have been a cool action packed story was a romance, yet the couple in question barely interacted, maybe a total of like an hour overall and almost never alone and did not go on a date yet were in love... It was too much nonsense for me and not enough of what I was hoping for. Also this is the first in a series but I will not be back for a second helping.
Keep in mind that others will probably love this story but it was not what I wanted (which is seconded by my buddy read partner). I will still keep an eye out for more books by this author, just not this series.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for a copy of this wonderful story.

It has beautiful writing.
The chemistry is so good between Phoenix and Samantha. It makes me want to run laps.
The concept of Samantha and her ties to Hell are so cool.
I love the found family.

I’m so excited for the future stories of them by Aileen Erin.

I was initially very intrigued by the description of this book. However it felt extremely young. I know it is YA but it felt almost like grade/middle school level.

I also even begin to explain how over used any form of the word demon is used in the book. Yeah I expect it a bit when reading a paranormal book however there was points were it was use upwards of 5 times on the same page…

Ein exzellenter Auftakt für die neuen Serie von Aileen Erin. Ein fantastisches Slow Burn-Setup für den Rest der Serie. Ich kann es kaum erwarten bald weitere Bücher über epische Dämonenschlachten zu lesen!

I highly enjoyed this story. It was not what I was expecting at first but I came to love it and I also like the way the author wrote the realationships that our MC makes and how she handles everyone in her life. When I started the book I thought it was gonna be slow building up the world and our MC but when we meet our MC we just get dropped in the deep end of the pool and we swim with the information we are provided. It was such a great opening and I'm looking forward to book 2

At first, I was thrilled about the representation of Latinx characters, but the story was just not hitting me. The beginning had a good pace, but after a couple of chapters, I started to get bored with the content. It seemed like many things would set up future events, but most of those didn't go through. It was pretty lackluster in the action that it did have. I've read age-gap romances before, but there was something about the relationship between the main character and the love interest that didn't seem right to me. They also didn't have that much chemistry and the relationship seemed forced, even with the beginning setup. The main character was someone who I found not very interesting, she was just bland and lacked some character development. However, I thought that the side characters were pretty entertaining. They are what kept me reading the story.

I won't say this ends on a cliffhanger, but it definitely leaves you wanting more. I loved Sam in Tessa and Dastien's stories, but was so glad she got her own story here. Action packed and perfect.

Aileen Erin returns to the world of her Alpha girls books with the story of Samantha Catherine Lopez who was conceived by a father possessed by a major demon and as a result can open portals that can send demons back to hell. She lives on werewolf pack lands and works with them to prevent demon infestation. Invocation (paper from Ink Monster, LLC) tells of her rescuing a fae friend of the pack and also discovering her true love. Exciting and romantic at the same time, Further adventures to come.

While contemporary fantasy isn't my usual type, I really liked this book and the FMC. She's strong, even when she's scared, and while she may be a bit awkward at times, it makes sense considering that she spend a huge part of her developing years in institutions.

She's here to protect the humans from the demons, while trying not to get caught by her dad. As I said, she's scared, she feels hopeless at times, but she's a fighter and she's not gonna stop from doing what she believes is the right thing.

There is romance as well, and sometimes it feels a bit forced by the author and the MMC's actions don't make sense at times, but I think they can make a cute couple, especially in the next volume.

The ending is giving mixed emotions, because it just felt weird, but as the saying goes, you do you.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review

Stop what you're doing and Get. This. Book! Absolutely intriguing! I couldn't put it down! Sam is a badass through and through. Her abilities make her unique and not weird or psychotic. She has an incredible gift, maybe a curse, depending on how you look at it!?!? I can't wait for the next edge of your seat story in this series!

Thank you NetGalley and Independent Publishers Groupfor sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I think this is my favorite of the ARC’s I’ve gotten so far!! I raced my way through part 1 which serves to introduce you to Sam’s world and purpose with a peek into her history so far. I love being thrown right into the story without a ton of pre work and this was exactly that, you’re just thrown right into the thick of everything.

Then going into part 2, you get to know all of the characters a bit more. I wouldn’t exactly say that I would’ve liked the time jump to not exist at all, I think the book would’ve been way too long if all of that time was included, but I am intrigued by that gap and I think it would make a great novella maybe. But going into part 2, you’re once again thrown right into a problem as well as a reconnection. I loved the rallying of friends to get to the bottom of everything, how the characters sacrificed for each other, and every bit of the action.

The reason for some of the lost points below were mostly style things related to me personally. I tend to read young adult writing, specifically because of how romance is written for that age group (to be blunt, I’m not a smut girlie), but this was a little too YA at some points. None of it took away from the overall story, I am obsessed with this book, but that’s why I have a rubric system!

This was an absolute page turner and the description is definitely correct in that you don’t need to read the other works that Aileen Erin has done, but I have added them to my TBR list and I’m eager to see where this story continues!

**Initial Reaction**: 8

**Characters:** 9

**Setting:** 8

**Plot:** 9

**Pace:** 7

**Style:** 6

**Ending:** 10

**Enjoyment:** 10

67 / 16 = 4.1875

Rounded Rating = 4.25

Invocation is a story about a girl born to a human mother and a general of Satan, father. She is able to cross over to the spirit world at will and uses this ability among other vague powers to assist with exorcisms and in the cause of Invocation, to save a friend from Hell. Samantha is a strong willed character who just wants to be seen as a good person. Her story is fast paced with more action up front, set building in the background. This is the fist book in a series that has a few overlapping characters from a separate series. I enjoyed the story for what it was but did have a little trouble being pulled in completely. There seems to be details missing in the timeline/setting that I'm guessing are addressed in the other series and make me feel like there are some gaps in this one or that this one is more of a spinoff/side-story. Largely, I don't feel like there is enough time to really bond and get to know the main character(s) in this one. Due to that, the romance felt really forced. Kind of a sleeping beauty-esque situation that I couldn't really get into. I will say the story does flow really well! The main character narrates this story in a way that feels almost like you are listening to a new friend tell you their past rather than reading a book that you would feel immersed in. Not in a bad way at all! Just a bit more like Maximum Ride by James Patterson rather than say The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. The book does mention the human world's knowledge of supernatural beings and hints at it a little here and there with the friends of Samantha being a mixed crew of werewolves, fae and witches. This first book did fall a little flat for me but I'm still interested to see where it goes in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Ink Monster, LLC for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows Sam, an FMC who is the child of a human mother, and a demon father. Sam will be the one to protect humans from demon infestations all the whilst trying to escape the wrath of her fallen-angel father who is trying to bring her (back) to hell.

I feel as though this story had the potential to be great, and I had high expectations, but unfortunately it didn't deliver. I feel as though the author tried to create a quirky, bad-ass FMC, but delivered an awkward teenager/woman trying to navigate a crush and paranormal powers all at once.

There was little action in comparison to the romance aspect of the story. At one point even the priest was playing match maker for her??

I didn't develop any emotional connection to either of the characters and felt bored most of the time - although this could have been that I haven't read any of the authors previous titles. I understand that this is a spin off, but there were names dropped throughout the story that I had no idea about.

The execution could have been so much better than what it was. I'd definitely agree that the target audience of this book is VERY young adult.