Not exactly my style, thought it'd be more.

Good writing but couldn't connect with the story, unfortunately.

Will keep the rating on the middle because I wasn't the target for this.

This was an absolute hit for me. The writing was excellent and I loved the dynamic between the main characters. There were some great twists and turns and the world building also felt so captivating - the discussions around sorcery and secret societies managed to be fresh and unique, despite having been done many times before.

Always a fan of S.T.Gibson. I enjoy the magical aspect of the occult in his novel. The narrator was great. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC opportunity!

I love Gibson’s work, and I am so excited for this series to continue. This is a wonderful opening to a series that I know is going to be fantastic and full of drama, heat, and hope.

This was a SLOG to get through. The entire time I listened to this on audio, I could never—even for a second—get into it. The plot was completely uninteresting and anticlimactic to me. One of the three main characters, David, is possessed and he collaborates alongside his ex and his ex’s new wife, working through their thorny history, as they eradicate the possession. This had insta-love galore, a boring meandering plot, and characters that were difficult to connect with.

To me and my preferences, it's becoming clearer and clearer that Gibson is a one hit wonder. I miss the themes brought forward in her feminist, vengeful Dracula retelling, <i>A Dowry of Blood</i>. Where is that Gibson? Frankly, I don’t give a shit about stories centering men. At least <i>An Education in Malice</i> had its female leads going for it, and that was also a slog for me. But this didn’t work at all. We had Moira, who was great, but the deepest Gibson delved into making any kind of commentary on the sexism she established in her fictional secret society boils down to “women should be allowed to join us.” Which is shallow at best, but worse when you recognize that a man had to be elevated to a position of power to grant that possibility. Why couldn’t the previous priest sanction that? Why was it still happening in the first place given it is fucking 2024? Why was the paranormal sexism even necessary to the plot at all? Certainly, the trite, shallow resolution of that sexism wasn’t satisfying enough to necessitate it.

Overall, there were a myriad of issues with this. Thematically, this didn’t work for me. I struggled to connect with the characters. The poly romance, while great to see, was utterly undermined by the insta-love. The plot was boring and slow. Gibson’s releases have gotten lower and lower ratings from me and it’s honestly time I come to grips with facts—she had one good book. The rest is just simply not for me.

<b>RATING:</b> 1 star.

I love a good “deal with a demon” book and this did not disappoint. Add in anxiety, bi+, and poly rep? And a haunted house? I’m sold.
David was probably my favorite character. And Moira was a close second.
Oscar Reyes was a fantastic narrator for this story as well.

a hit and miss unfortunately. I was hyped for this from what others were saying but it didn't really do it for me, I couldn't get into the story and really didn't like the main character. it also started rocky for me to begin with, I just couldn't stand his character from the get-go.

Evocation by S.T. Gibson is a dark, atmospheric novel that weaves together gothic elements and emotional depth. The haunting prose and richly drawn characters create a mesmerizing tale of power, love, and betrayal. While the pacing can be slow at times, the eerie mood and complex relationships make this a captivating read for fans of gothic fiction.

Evocation by S.T. Gibson didn’t quite resonate with me. Right from the start I found it hard to connect with the plot or the characters. I struggled to find any emotional attachment, and the characters just didn’t hold my interest.

One highlight, though, was the narrator. The performance was excellent, and the voice acting made the experience more enjoyable, even though the story itself fell flat.

Compared to Gibson’s other books, which I found much more atmospheric and immersive, Evocation was disappointing for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the early chance to listening to the story, even though I didn't enjoy it.

I’m not much of an audiobook listener, but I was looking forward to Gibson’s newest book and I’ve heard great things about Oscar Reyes as a narrator. I was not disappointed. Reyes brings our three protagonists to life. each with with a unique voice, His narration serves to enhance the already-astounding novel.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The blossoming of the relationships that we see between the three main characters had me absolutely in a choke hold.

Moira is my absolute favorite, her southern bell attitude and take no crap from anyone had me screaming "Yes!" and, "You go girl!" whenever someone tries to tell her what to do,

4.5

Evocation follows David, Rhys, and Moira as they create and strengthen relationships ties while trying to decipher how and why David seems to be sick after an interesting seance encounter. David is a high-power attorney by day and a well-paid medium by night. After one particular seance, David's psychic powers seem to weaken and he begins getting "spell sick" throughout his days. The only person he knows and trusts to help him figure out the issue is Rhys, his ex-boyfriend and ex-friend. Rhys doesn't want to be dragged back into David's messes but after David offers to help Rhys' wife, Moira, strengthen some of her own psychic powers, they agree. David and Rhys fall back into a complicated acquaintance-ship quickly, but David and Moira have more in common than they realized and they get close very fast in their lessons.

I ended up listening to this completely on audio. I really love how S.T. Gibson's writing translates into the audiobook format. Gibson writes some complex characters that you eventually end up loving and feeling for even if you don't start out that way. It took me a few chapters to like each character but they grew on me fairly quickly once I had a bit more time in each of their heads. I think there is an interesting premise to the Devil Deal that David is dealing with and the way that the group attempts to solve the problem feels accurate to their ages (between 24 - 30 years old). I also really appreciated how Gibson let each relationship build and grow in their respective ways. David is brash and stubborn at first but his and Moira's connection really showed off his sweet side. Rhys gets completely lost in his own head and David seems to fill in some of the gaps that Rhys leaves between himself and Moira. Moira seems to be the glue holding everyone together. She's caring and kind and looking out for both men in the ways they each need but also knows when they're being stupid and need a good whack. I'm excited for what comes next in this series and seeing how these three relationship progresses and their attempts at solving their new problem.

As a teen, David Aristarkhov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now approaching his thirtieth birthday, he balances his life being a high-powered attorney and a powerful medium for his secret society. When David is scrying for a patient, he believes that he was possessed by a demon and that death is not far away. He reaches out to Rhys for help. Not only is Rhys a rival in their secret society, but he is also David's ex-boyfriend. Rhys promised himself never to fall for David again after a ritual gone wrong and things that David had said regarding Rhy's wife Moira. While working together, David and Rhys must figure out their feelings for one another, before it is too late.

I felt that Evocation was an introductory book for the characters and series. Not only does it introduce the situation David is in but focuses on David's past relationship with the occult and Rhys. The book does focus more on the relationship between the three characters, but I am hoping that more information on the different types of magic and the world of the occult will be in the next book.

I was not a huge fan of the narrator for this audiobook and ended up reading the physical copy instead. I found the narrator to be distracting to the story and the narrator often mixed up the characters voices.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the opportunity to review Evocation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You cannot convince me this is by the same person who wrote A Dowry of Blood. I am so disappointed by this one omfg.

My thoughts feel jumbled, so here are some bullet points:

- This really advertises itself as being about polyamory and yet, there's not one poly relationship in here?? By the end, there's an open marriage, but that isn't the same as poly technically. Also, it all begins with cheating and then just forces one person to get on board with it over time. Feels... like not super great representation.

- It was boring?? Based on the synopsis, I expected a great deal to happen. Magic. Occult shit. Deals with the devil. Dark family histories. Etc. But really we're just focused on this weird "throuple" the whole time. It isn't super dark or spooky which sucks.

- I didn't appreciate the way Moira's character was done. If you're going to take the time to add a WOC to your cast of characters, don't just use her as a crutch for two white men and have her make this huge sacrifice for them. Feels weird and wrong. She was just a pawn in their little chess game and I felt she deserved a lot more focus, attention, and care. Black sensitivity readers were nowhere to be found I guess?

- As far as the audio, I didn't enjoy this narrator much. The voice for David was fine, but Rhys and Moira felt like cartoon characters. They didn't match and I would have much preferred this full cast.

Overall, I am really disappointed by this. I love S.T. Gibson so I hate to be negative about anything she writes, but this just wasn't great for sooooo many different reasons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my very own.

This was a DNF for me. I wanted to like the book, but the narrator made it hard to really be engaged with the story, and I think the writing style may not be for me.

And S.T Gibson strikes again. Here we have another magical creepy romance with, queer elements.

Gibson just has the most beautiful writing style which just keeps you engrossed from the first page, or word.

the audio for this one was really strong, i felt the narrator did a good job embodying the characters and creating a non offensive tone for the female character, however i sometimes had difficulty in differentiating between the two male characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this ALC!

- Ancient curses? Dramatic attorney with a secret life as a medium? Secret societies of magicians? Pining? Polyamory!? There’s so much going on in this book and somehow Gibson does it all!
- The audio of this was so great, and I read this one so quickly because of how easy it was to sink into the story!
- I want so much more about this world, and there were so many interesting side characters too! The magic system was so cool in a dark academia way!
- I really wasn’t sure how the romance was going to go, but I’m obsessed!!

Ever thought to yourself, "I want a dark academia book with all the occult, but adult characters and more emotion, less angst"? That is what Evocation brings to you. Deeply emotional, character driven and all the occult senses that your grey heart desires!

Evocation is perfectly moody, with lovable imperfect characters - except Moira, Moira is perfection embodied. This book is about love, in all its different flavors, I love how emotional and moody this book is and how the author and narrator have given us while not crossing the line into angst. Watching the characters grow was the real story of this book, it was just wrapped in bacon-like plot.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I think that so many others will absolutely love it. But I am a plot goblin at heart and this story is pretty low on plot, it is more about emotion. I need world building and physical plot happenings to really love a book, which is why my rating is rather average.

To sum up: Moira for high priestess 2024! She was the star in this story and I enjoyed every moment with her. Thank you S.T. Gibson for creating this story that is both fresh and new, while still holds the mood and occult that readers love and crave.

Unfortunately, I just didn’t vibe with this book. I didn’t like the characters, I wasn’t impressed with the magic system, and the pacing was off. The audio production was just fine.

Thank you for an advanced copy.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this one. I went in without reading the synopsis based on the cover. I have absolutely no regrets. I was pulled right in by the awesome writing and story the author wove. All the dark mystery and drama. I needed to figure all the characters out and all the secrets. Moira was probably my very favorite. I just adored her! Of course I loved Rhys and David too. I cannot wait to read the next book. It is time to beat the devil. Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.