Member Reviews
๐ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฒ ๐.๐. ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง
๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ
โ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต, ๐๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฅ. ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ.โ
I am a sucker for fantasy stories with magic and psychics! This story sets up a unique world where secret societies for the occult exist.
The book is told from 3 perspectives: David, Rhys and Moira. David is the progeny of a famous family in the world of the occult. When something goes wrong during a job, he calls his ex, Rhys for help. Rhys has recently married Moira, and has great ambitions to become the new head of the secret society.
This was an interesting story. I personally felt like I couldnโt really connect to the three main characters because they lacked development. I wanted to love this book but it felt one dimensional. I think the plot could have benefited from some deeper flashbacks that help to set up the past relationship with David and Rhys.
Moira was probably my favorite character in the story. She loves Rhys so much that she tries to support him through him realizing he still cares for David. I like how she didnโt bow down to anyone, especially David.
The ending was a little lackluster and rushed. The bad โdemonโ really never had a presence in the book, so the ending scenes just felt empty.
The polyamorous relationship was believable in how it was developed but definitely seems rushed in the end. Both Moira and David loved Rhys so much that they devolved a friendship with each other.
๐๐ฏ๐จ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง releases on May 28th! The audiobook, narrated by ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ฌ was really well done! If you love audiobooks I can definitely recommend this one!
Overall Rating: 3.75โญ๏ธ
๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ด:
๐ฉถ ๐๐ณ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ด๐บ
๐ซถ๐ผ ๐๐น๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด
๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ
โจ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด
โฅ๏ธ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐น๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐บ
๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ต๐บ
๐ฅ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ค๐บ (1.5๐ถ๏ธ)
Thank you to Netgally, Tantor Audio, Angry Robot and S.T Gibson for providing me with this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was my first time reading S.T Gibson and Iโm officially a fan.
I was totally in my element as the story unfolded and dove into themes such as occult practices, possession, demons, and curses. The real focus were the relationships, specifically between David (psychic prodigy passed down from his family line), Rhys (a sorcerer specialising in demonology โ also Davidโs ex boyfriend) and Moira (Rhyโs wife who is a gifted tarot reader and astrologer.) As we learn more about the characters, itโs clear thereโs unresolved sexual tension between David and Rhys but underneath that sits a deep affection. While Rhys and Moira have an honest, loving, and nurturing marriage. As the story progresses and feelings deepen, we see their relationship transform into that of a polyamorous one.
The POC, LGBTQIA+ and โnon-typicalโ relationship representation was fabulous to see. We get to meet an array of eclectic and diverse characters, which was exciting.
The pacing was slower than expected and I would have enjoyed more supernatural elements and dramaโฆyou know, those โomgโ moments that keep you reading past your bedtime because you need answers asap. Unfortunately, I didnโt get that feeling. That being said, since there is a second book in the works, Iโm hoping this book was more of an introduction and we get more razzle-dazzle in the next one.
I received this as an audiobook review. To begin, I enjoyed the narrator, Oscar Reyes. I had no issue with his narration of multiple characters, including a female.
David is a Boston lawyer with a knack for the occult. He moonlights as a psychic medium preforming seances for a secret society. As David nears his 30th birthday he begins to realize his days maybe be numbered. He also recalls a hushed fairytale told down his ancestral line about a soul selling deal made with the devil.๐ชฆ
I thought the characters were interesting with a lot more than just their surface connections. Thereโs a depth of dark devotion, spice and sadness to the trioโs relationship. Their emotional connection was complicated due to the exes/rivals/lovers link between David and Rhys and the empathic connection between Moira and David. I really enjoyed the banter between Moira and Rhys regarding her crystals.๐ฎ
I enjoyed the incorporation of crystals, birth charts, tarot and mediumship. As well as scrying, channeling, and seances in the books. The shared education between the couples and use to their practices throughout was fascinating to read.๐ช
The dynamic of good and evil and the power of love made me continue to read the first book in The Summoners Circle series. Iโm curious to see what happens next and this was my first ST Gibson book.๐ค๐ค
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!
#Evocation #NetGalley
Thank you author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!!
Iโm gonna be honest I was excited to read this one cause I enjoyed Gibsons other books but I was honestly bored. It was so much about the politics of their magic society. Normally, Iโd feel like the description of clothes and things feels like dark academia but in between the politics and foot notes of ancient curses I was bored.
There were several parts where the character had dialogue that just described the story and I was likeโฆ what is this Scooby Doo?! Like Zoinks if we hadnโt found those clues weโd never have found out the Innkeeper was pretending to be a ghost! Ugh! WTF!
I received an arc audio copy of this book. I really enjoy ST Gibsons writing style and this book did not disappoint. The narrator was also very very good especially for a male speaking in female voices. Iโve never read anything about the occult but I really liked this story and the characters in it along with the side of romance. The characters were all likeable and I found myself smiling at their small moments of peace together. The only thing I wish wouldโve been different is the ending, I feel like it wasnโt as climactic as it shouldโve been and was hoping for it to be a little more eventful or drawn out. I also see there will be at least one more book and the ending is set up well for it but Iโm just not sure how the next book wonโt just be a similar repeat of this one. I am interested to see where this goes and how the author will bring new life to a sequel. Iโm excited to follow these characters on their next journey and keep reading more from ST Gibson.
This is my third ST Gibson book, and I have come to the conclusion that this author is not for me. While I enjoyed this novel more than Education in Malice because the characters were interesting and the representation of occult practices seems well researched, the focus on the inevitability of the MM romance took away from the actual stakes of the demon possession at the center of the plot. I also appreciate Gibson's representation of queer identities and felt that she does a fair job of depicting polyamory in a positive light.
In listening to the audiobook I had the most difficulty with how the narrator voices Moira. This book really needed a female narrator for her part. Instead of coming across as the strong female character Gibson writes, someone who knows herself and is confident with who she is, the voice acting by this man came across as much more of a stereotype for the woman who needs to be there to hold the men together. I actually stopped listening to this for a while an just read and that made me feel as though I got a better sense of her without the audio.
I do understand why fans of Gibson like here work. It is unique and rich with metaphorical prose. I am normally someone who enjoys character driven novels over tons of plot twists, but here I needed more from the story. At times I forgot about David's possession altogether, and the fix at the end was fairly predictable.
Thanks to Tantor audio and Netgalley for providing an early listening copy for review purposes.
Evocation follows David who is a psychic prodigy that becomes unexpectedly ill. He enlists the help of his ex-boyfriend Rys and Rhy's wife Moira to prevent an ancestral deal before time runs out. This novel is just okay; neither terrible nor spectacular. The backdrop for this novel is intended to be a male only secret society that is home to psychic prodigies, medium and other magical wielding men. The secret society and the magic is not well developed in this novel; it serves simply as a means for convenient plot progression. The two main male characters, Rhys and David, don't pop off the pages as independent entities. They don't have unique voices that clearly differentiate them.
Moira is the saving grace of this novel. She has a unique character, but this is likely because the rest of the female cast is sparse making only brief appearances. Overall, this novel lacks the magic and gothic atmosphere that I would expect from a novel with secret societies and magical abilities.
***Thank you to NetGalley, S.T. Gibson, and Tantor Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. All thoughts are my own.***
Sooooo, I just finished and I am grinning ear to ear. I LOVED it. I was hooked from the first chapter. I wasn't expecting it to be a modern supernatural story with a complex set of characters with messy history and an interesting entanglement. I wasn't expecting to get so invested so fast. Gosh darn it, I really loved this book. I'm apparently a really big fan of S.T. Gibson.
Like her other novel, an Education in Malice, this book does not have the poetic lyrical writing like a dowery in blood had in the beginning, to the point of almost seeming like someone else wrote it if thats the only experience you have with her writing. That was a bit jarring when I read an Education in Malice so I figured i'd point it out for people going into this expecting a similar writing style.
I dont know what else to say. Interesting plot but the characters are really what carries it. Love it!
S T Gibson did it again guys
Thereโs a polyamory representation that I've never seen in a fantasy book before, I was surprised but in the best way possible.
The plot works so perfectly, I was directly immersed in this story and I just wanted to keep reading.
As always, the writing of ST Gibson is splendid, a pure delight to read
thank you netgalley for the copy
This audiobook was perfectly preformed. The narrator did a fantastic job giving each character a voice. It was clear and easy to listen to. The story was complex and enjoyable. I specifically enjoyed David and Moiraโs relationship and bond. I would reread and recommend!
Unquestionably beautiful! S.T. Gibson never disappoints with their stellar romance and amazing character dynamics. I've never seen an author do such an outstanding job at crafting captivating and intricate relationships with diverse dynamics. This book features polyamorous relationships, and that is one of the best examples of polyamory in fiction. The characters are not perfect, and how to work towards the relationships.
Call through the main characters feature meaningful character traits and backstories. I really connected with David as we see how his upbringing and trauma led him to be the man he is today. He had a very difficult life, and we see that reflected in the way he treats others and himself. His development throughout the story is profound and meaningful. He doesn't have change for the sake of the plot; you see actual growth in his actions, especially towards Rhys. I love that the characters meant that they were bad for each other and needed this growth and time to be able to come back to each other.
So excited for more books in this world. I NEED to know what happens next!
I was very excited to get the audio arc of this work after reading the description, but I quickly realized I had been delusional about liking this book. The premise seemed great, but David's occult practice and his dilemma with the devil is really not what this book is about. The focus of this book is the developing and adjusting to a thrupple for David, Moira, and Rhys. Normally, I would be all about the topic, but that isn't what I was expecting, and it just left a weird effect.
The narrator was fantastic, and I can see the appeal for many other readers especially if they know the focus is not the paranormal but the romance.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the story and the chemistry between the characters. I'm so excited to continue the series. As always, there's just something about S.T. Gibson's writing that keeps you enthralled the entire time. By the end of the book, you feel so much for these characters and I'm so interested to see where their relationships go and how they address the big issue that is still hanging over their head. Highly recommend this book, and highly recommend the audiobook - the narrator does an amazing job.
"Evocation," the first installment of S.T. Gibson's new fantasy series, offers a darkly atmospheric and character-focused narrative that both intrigues and frustrates. As a fan of Gibson's previous works, I had high expectations for this book. While it didn't fully meet them, it still delivered on several fronts.
The story centers around David Aristarkhov, a former psychic prodigy turned Boston attorney who moonlights as a powerful medium for his secret society. With his thirtieth birthday approaching, David's life takes a dark turn as the Devil comes to collect on an ancestral deal. Desperate, David reaches out to his ex-boyfriend and secret society rival Rhys for help. However, to get to Rhys, he must first navigate his relationship with Rhys's wife, Moira. As they are thrust together, buried emotions resurface, and the trio must sort through their complicated feelings before the Devil claims David for good.
Initially, I found the slow start and occasionally awkward character dynamics to be detracting. The plot, while intriguing in premise, was rather weak and didn't become a central focus until the final chapters. This pacing made the beginning feel sluggish and less engaging than I had hoped.
However, as the story progressed, the characters' relationships began to develop more fully. Gibson's signature gothic atmosphere, dynamic characters, and complex romances are present throughout, which helped to draw me back in. Despite the slow build, the emotional depth and interactions between David, Rhys, and Moira eventually became the heart of the story, making it a more character-centered narrative than a plot-driven one.
The narrator, Oscar Reyes, did a good job of portraying the characters of David and Moira, but when it came to Rhys' dialogue I was always thrown for a loop due to the deep register he uses. It almost sounded like The Dark Knight's Batman at times, causing me to lose focus on what the character was saying.
While "Evocation" might not have lived up to the high bar set by Gibson's previous works, and a narrator who explored some interesting vocal choices for one of the main characters, it still has plenty to offer fans of gothic fantasy. The character development and rich atmosphere kept me invested, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the story evolves in the next installment. S.T. Gibson remains one of my favorite authors, and I'll eagerly follow her wherever her storytelling takes me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook.
Oscar Reyes does an incredible job narrating this book. His silky voice perfectly fits all three POVs that we follow in this book and makes for an audiobook that is really hard to pull yourself away from.
Gibson has written an incredible tale as we follow the lives of David, Rhys, and Moira and see the ways that their lives are intertwined with one another as well as following a through line of complicated generational trauma. This book does a really good job of both setting-up a world that will only acquire more depth as it goes on as well as working well as a standalone story. I am excited that we will be getting a lot more from the world of the Summoner's Circle in the future but feel content in what we have for now.
This was a unique take on magic. I haven't read a lot that involved mediums so this was a different dive into the magical realm. I loved the narrator on this one and his accents- even the southern accent was fairly on point, which is rare! I'm not sure if this one really needs to be a series, I think it was set up just fine to end where it ended, even with some items hanging over our trio, but overall I enjoyed this read!
Thanks to NetGalley for this audiobook!
I haven't been this quickly enraptured by a book in a LONG time! This is the first book I've read by S.T. Gibson, but I'll definitely be checking out more of her works. The story moves fluidly through different POVs, but I never got lost in the narratives or timelines. I loved how diverse each character was, and I always found myself looking forward to Rhys' and David's chapters, wanting to know their thoughts on the conflict.
ST Gibson is the queen! I am new to her writing, but have loved everything she has released.
This a great start to a series with political intrigue, creepy spirits, and characters you can relate to and be annoyed by. I love the bi rep in this book, as often I think the bisexuality is often ignored or portrayed poorly. I was hooked listening to this book the entire time. I cannot wait for book 2.
Thank you netgalley for the audio ARC!
"Evocation" by S.T. Gibson hooked me from the start. The story moves between three timelines, adding depth without confusion. The characters are fantastic. David, a lawyer and medium, has a complicated past with his ex-boyfriend Rhys, while Rhys' wife Moira is strong and independent. Their interactions, mixed with the occult elements, made the book hard to put down.
This was my first S.T. Gibson book, and it didnโt disappoint. Themes of addiction, trauma, and complex relationships were handled thoughtfully. Moira was my favorite; her strength and maturity were inspiring. Oscar Reyes did a great job narrating, bringing the characters to life.
"Evocation" isn't just about magic; it deeply explores relationships and personal growth. The slower start was worth it for the rich character development. The blend of dark themes with modern occult society made for an immersive read. I'm excited for the sequel and highly recommend it.
Evocation is definitely a book driven by characters and their relationships. I greatly appreciated the concepts here.
The representation on a demon inside of David felt like a metaphor for his traumatic childhood that wouldnโt let him move forward. He couldnโt outrun his birthright and his terrible fatherโs actions that led him to push away love and find solace in drinking. This story reflects the steps the character takes to claim his life for his own. It is slow in pacing but rife with realism in tackling trauma. There is a beautiful character arc that truly imagines how love can conquer oneโs demons. ST Gibson is a must buy author for me and every single book of hers has me under a spell.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an audio arc of this book!