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.🪦

I thought the characters were interesting with a lot more than just their surface connections. There’s a depth of dark devotion, spice and sadness to the trio’s 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.🔮

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.🪄

The dynamic of good and evil and the power of love made me continue to read the first book in The Summoners Circle series. I’m curious to see what happens next and this was my first ST Gibson book.🖤🤍

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!!

I’m 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, I’d 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 like… what is this Scooby Doo?! Like Zoinks if we hadn’t found those clues we’d 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. I’ve 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 would’ve been different is the ending, I feel like it wasn’t as climactic as it should’ve 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 I’m just not sure how the next book won’t 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. I’m 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
There’s 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 Moira’s 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 didn’t 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 wouldn’t let him move forward. He couldn’t outrun his birthright and his terrible father’s 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 one’s 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!

An interesting if predictable first part of a paranormal romance series. The three leads are likable and the dark forces are suitably intense. Brings in a bunch of different aspects of the supernatural and the differing viewpoints are compelling.

[3.75]

I am a big fan of A Dowry of Blood and I enjoyed An Education in Malice so needless to say, I was very hyped for this release. It was pretty good! Except, it is very different than what i expected, not in a bad way, just... different.

Gibson's previous work, especially Dowry, are very atmospheric and that's one of my favorite aspects of those books, so when I heard occult I was expecting the atmosphere to deliver but it's just not really there. We have some occult stuff happen at the very beginning, and at the very end but a good 75% of the book doesn't really deal much with the occult or anything else. It very much just read like a contemporary book with a touch of fantasy here and there (in my humble opinion). The plot is pretty much non-existent as well so if you want a proper fantasy with a goal, you are not going to get it here. The big plot point comes out near the end of the book so, for the majority of it, we don't feel any stakes at all, and when they come, you don't feel any urgency or worry cause it simply just wasn't built up.

Evocation is very much a character-driven story, it focuses on our 3 main characters, and their feelings towards each other, and their complex relationships between one another. If you don't fancy reading 400 pages of that, then this book is not for you. I personally enjoyed David as a character a lot, and his relationship with Moira was my favorite part of the book. Rhys, on the other hand, was such a bore.

While the lack of atmosphere and plot disappointed me greatly, I still enjoyed the book. I just like Gibson's writing and her characters, I find it so easy to go through. I went thru 85% of this book today and that almost never happens, i'm not the type who binges a book in a day. I don't think I will continue with the series, but I enjoyed it as a standalone well enough!

Thank you RB Media and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.