Member Reviews

Thank you to NetGalley, S.T. Gibson, and the publisher for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

I’m so glad that I got to read it. I personally enjoyed this prequel novella. It was nice to see their relationship before they were married and after. If you loved Evocation then I think you will love this as well. I do think it would be better to read Evocation first.

I highly recommend it!

Was this review helpful?

A quick and fun relationship in trouble novella with lots of magic.

I feel like the bi-phobia way is handled with a touch of authenticity. What I mean is, it's not "bi-phobia" in an ugly and aggressive way. Instead, it's something the characters are learning about themselves and are trying to cope with in a healthy but messy way

So give this a chance because some reviewers will cancel it; instead, read it for yourself to see how it's handled

I know the author is working on a longer book featuring these characters and I'm intrigued to see where she takes the story.

Was this review helpful?

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars! I love Rhys and Moira so much. Knowing what's happening to them in this Novella didn't take away from my enjoyment at all.
I wish we'd have gotten more of their past/beginning of their relationship, but we have more books in the Summoner's Circle to come so I'm holding out hope for more of their backstory.

Was this review helpful?

This is a bit of a weird book as it’s a revision of an indie published book from years ago. I didn't read the original. I loved Evocation and thought that this added a lot to the back story of Rhys and Moira but does it stand up as a book on its own? The jury is out. Basically their house is haunted/possessed by something and it turns out all they needed was marriage counselling. I really wish parts of this had made it into Evocation, the writing is good as always with Gibson, I’m just not sure there’s enough substance to this book to add another volume to my shelf.

Was this review helpful?

A quick, atmospheric read, with cozy autumn vibes. The blend of folklore magic with alchemy like sorcery was a fresh and intriguing approach that kept me engaged at first. I especially enjoyed the character’s backstory and the haunted house backdrop. Plus, I liked how the story begins with an already established relationship, however the constant back and forth arguing became a bit exhausting, dragging out what could have been a sharper narrative. It felt like we were there a bit too long before getting to the actual point of the story. That said, the ending was satisfying, and I appreciated how everything came together.

Was this review helpful?

Not a ST. Gibson fan But i devoured this book! This is written so well and it is intriguing! Thank you!

Was this review helpful?

Cute little prequel to Evocation. I think it probably could be read before or after Evocation but isn’t long enough to stand on its own without the main novel. I particularly appreciated the additional insight into Moira, who I felt like was the hardest to get to know in Evocation.

Was this review helpful?

Firstly just because I loved it so much.. HOW CUTE IS THE FREAKING COVER!!
I really enjoyed the concept of this novella and loved that it was rather short as it made for a good read for when I didn’t have much time but still wanted to get one in!
Although short the characters really leap out of the page at you, it was nice to be able to see the characters navigate their relationship while learning how to communicate.
I truly love the authors way of writing and hope to see more of them in the future.

Was this review helpful?

First time reading this author and I want to thank the Net Galley team for giving me the opportunity to enjoy st Gibson's prose.
I really liked the concept and for a short novella I feel it has a lot of an emotional charge and it would have benefited if it were longer to develop the end a bit better.
It's a story about finding your person and don't want to disappoint them, also about learning to communicate, not hiding things from your partner, the person you choose to spend your life with. It's about remembering why you choose each other in the first place.
All of this I get it, but fel too rushed and sometimes the characters instead of creating empathy, felt disgusted about them and almost wanting to dnf because the lack of communication between Moira and Rhys
I still want to read Evocation and enjoy more of the author's recent work and see how she grew as a writer.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own :)

When I read Evocation earlier in the year, I was obsessed. David, Moira, and Rhys positively leapt off the page, and their intricate dynamic as well as their relationships with one another had me absolutely enthralled. Of course I was thrilled when I received an arc of Odd Spirits.

Though this is a short novella, it packs an emotional punch. It was nice to get a look behind the veil into Moira and Rhys' marriage prior to the events of Evocation. That said, I felt like the short length of this novella did it a disservice. While the angst was, for lack of better word, angst-ing, I wish we could have sat with their feelings a bit more and have them unravel them in a slower, more meaningful way. To me, the ending was just a tad too abrupt.

I love S.T. Gibson though. Her prose is poignant and her world building always marries the real world with magic in such a seamless way. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series!

Was this review helpful?

I will forever adore S. T. Gibson’s style of writing and I was so pleased to be blessed with another arc. I have not read Evocation yet, but I found that this novella was a good introduction to these characters. The miscommunication between Rhys and Moira was quite frustrating, I admit, but I look forward to reading about them again.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for the eArc.

Odd Spirits is a nice prequel filler to Evocation which is where I first met these characters. In Evocation there are references to the main plot of Odd Spirits that I was interested in so it was nice to see it more fleshed out here. I particularly liked that Odd Spirits gave us a chance to know Moira a little better in all of her flaws. Evocation felt largely tipped to portray her as someone more two dimensional so it felt more satisfying to see her here as a person with more complexities, flaws, and insecurities than shown in Evocation. It was also satisfying to get a fuller glimpse of the relationship dynamic between Rhys and Moira as it was before the events of Evocation and actually made me care more about their relationship than Evocation ever did. All in all, Odd Spirits was a nice, brief foray back into the world of these characters. My one gripe would be that there were times that the miscommunication between Rhys and Moira felt a little forced to prolong something but that was a minor flaw in an otherwise smooth story.

Was this review helpful?

The more I read from Gibson, the more I fall in love with their way of writing. I love how character-driven this story is as Moira and Rhys face the challenges that come with married life. It is so rare that readers are treated to stories of domesticity between established couples so it was a real treat to get a whole novella where that is exactly the story that is being told. Gibson writes in a way that makes it clear that these characters have so much love and devotion to one another. I think all alloromantic readers will be able to relate deeply to the big feelings that are being explored with this story and especially will connect with the duality of almost feeling like you love someone too much and that creating a rift in the relationship.


By the end of this story, I found myself a little bit weepy. This was the kind of tears that come from beauty, I just really loved that Moira and Rhys had genuine interest and excitement in the things that brought each other joy. This is a book full of very swoony moments and it just makes me so excited that we have several more books featuring these characters to look forward to in the future.

Was this review helpful?

When I saw this pop up on my phone, I nearly screamed in the car!

I enjoyed this much more than the first one. I love the relationship both Rhys and Moria have, they’re a newly wed couple yet there is so much more they need to work on to continue growing their relationship, It was funny, tense, sweet, a little spicy and overall fun, very much looking forward to the rest of the series and what is to come.

Was this review helpful?

This wonderful prequel to Evocation dives deeper into Moira and Rhys' marrage and their early days. Full of wonderful witchcraft and occult magic along with a spirit causing havoc.

S.T. Gibsons writing, as usual, is beautifully magical and immerses you into their wold.

The story added dimension to Moiras character in a way that was well needed as this was my only issue with Evocation. You come to understand her and her emotions further with gives better understanding to her character in Evocation. You also learn more about her practice and business reflecting on how empathetic and caring she is as a character.

The story itself is haunting, broken up with loving story's of their beginning. Following the story in both characters perspectives shows how you can deeply care for someone but if you don't work on that relationship, emotions can snowball also how fixing a symptom does not fix the cause.

I wish there was more context to their dynamic with David at this point as it is mentioned he is banned from their house and there have been a lot of issues with him previously.

I truly cannot wait for book 2 of The Summoners Circle.

Was this review helpful?

i didn't read the old version but from what friends have told me, this seems to be a vast improvement (no biophobia). if you haven't read evocation already, this probably won't do much for you in terms of getting you to care about rhys and moira's marriage troubles (as well as the david mini-appearance). however, if you've had, this novella was just nice to read on my commute home. it's warm and familiar like a fall novella should be. (3.5)

Was this review helpful?

Honestly, this was so cosy and I'm so glad that I got to read this early, so thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for the eArc!

S.T Gibson has really cemented herself as one of my favourite authors of the year and everything she has written so far has been golden. Evocation was one of my favourite reads this year and it was great to see the characters again in a more compact story! I didn't know much about this going into this, only that people weren't so fond of the previous version of Odd Spirits, but I'm glad I could read this version instead. I think it's great that Gibson was able to go back and rewrite this in a way that fully encapsulates her skills as an author now.

Rhys is as always an amazing character who leaves me with a hole in my gut with how he makes me feel. I love Moira so much; her whole aesthetic and personality makes me wish she was a real person because I would LOVE to meet her. Their relationship in this novella was lovely to read about and how they navigated their miscommunication was great to see. I also enjoyed the small glimpse of David where he essentially walked in, fucked shit up, and walked out again. What an icon.

This has made me really excited to read the next installment, or essentially any other crumbs that Gibson tosses at me.

Was this review helpful?

4 stars

This book made me not like Moira. I liked her character in Evocation, but here she came out as whiny and not very understanding. I get that a lot of people complain about the old version of this book and how it was biphobic but luckily, that part was scrapped. Still, she's not the most likable character.
Rhys... he's still the same old Rhys who can't seem to able to fully communicate, but now we know why, and I get it.
Still, the star of this series (for me) is my sweet winter child, David. He makes his appearance, he messes with everything and everyone, he shines, and he departs. I love him. I'm definitely rereading Evocation during spooky season because this novel made me miss him.
Overall, this was a fun prequel. A "we now know more about our characters background" prequel, and it was a blast to read.

Thank you to Netgalley, ST Gibson, and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Really enjoyed seeing the early stages of Rhys and Moira’s marriage, and this side of their relationship. I remember David making comments in “Evocation” how the two had married too quick or how he didn’t get their relationship, and I’m glad I first read “Evocation” and “Odd Spirits” now. It makes me appreciate the character and relationship building and development more. Plus I’m now familiar with the lore and magic of the world, and I can focus on other things while reading. Rhys and Moira are such great and complex characters, I missed them so much.

“Odd Spirits” is captivating and quick paced. Exploring flawlessly themes of relationships, marriage, communication and vulnerability, and it’s done in a such a genuine way. Can’t wait to see where the story takes Rhys, Moira and David next ❤️❤️

Was this review helpful?

It was nice to get back into the evocation world even for just a little bit.

I am kinda disappointed that we didn't find out why
David was banned from the house and all the staying away as this situation wasn't even that bad it was just
David being his usual a hole self 😂 but I love him anyway he’s just a sensitive baby!

But nonetheless I love reading about Moira and Rhys and I love how we got to see how they met! 🫶
It was so cute and just what I would expect from these two lovebirds ❤️

I cannot wait for more books in this series!!! These 3 fictional characters have my whole world!😂

Was this review helpful?