The Invocations – Krystal Sutherland

Another buddy read is here! I’m hoping Chandra loved this one as much as I did – once I have her review I’ll be sure to share an updated post.

Thanks to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review

THE INVOCATIONS – Krystal Sutherland (Released January 30th, 2024)

You can check out my review for HOUSE OF HOLLOW here!

Book Description:

From the author of New York Times bestseller House of Hollow comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it’s feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.

Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Flowers and insects die in her wake and monstrous things come to taunt her at night. If Jude can’t find the right someone to fix her mistake, she fears she’ll die very soon.

Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. But Emer has a dark past all her own—and as her former clients are murdered one-by-one, she knows it’s followed her all the way to London.

As Zara and Jude enter Emer’s orbit, they’ll have to team up to stop the killer—before they each end up next on his list.

My Thoughts: 5/5 stars

When I picked up House of Hollow a few years ago, I knew that Krystal Sutherland was going to be an auto-buy author for me. I still recommend it constantly, so when I saw this book was releasing, I knew I needed to snag it ASAP. Then I saw the cover and loved the witchy vibes – some more horror just waiting!

What I loved about House of Hollow was how immersive the story was and how life like the characters were. You could connect with each of the sisters and you were thrown into their mystical and mysterious world experiencing all the horrors alongside them. Well, I’m happy to report that you get the same kind of mesmerizing reading experience here. This time we find ourselves trying to track down a serial killer that is specifically targeting witches that made pacts with a cursewriter to better their lives in some way. Of course, this isn’t without sacrifice on their parts, they must sell a part of their souls in exchange for the help.

We meet Zara, Jade, and Emer – three women that are now connected to each other on their quest to track down the killer and seek their vengeance. Zara is determined to learn necromancy bring back her sister who was a victim of the killer, Jade is the cursed heir to her billionaire family’s fortune and needs the help of a cursewriter to untether herself from demons, and Emer is the daughter of a witch that sells her spells in exchange for souls. The killer’s victims are all former clients of Emer’s and she is determined to put a stop to this before more of the women she’s helped meet the same fate. 

The female rage that radiates from this book is palpable and the driving force in their alliance. Hell hath no fury, right? Pair that with magic, witches, demons, sapphic love story, and some truly gruesome moments and body horror and you have a magnificent YA horror read. I was impressed with the body horror – definitely caught me off guard. Also wanted to highlight a moment I appreciated: in this book women are the ones that can access and use magic so when asked about trans women, a demon stated that they care about souls, not the bodies/vessels. I liked that little inclusion from the author and that did have an impact. Despite how much I enjoyed this, I think House of Hollow managed to squeeze out the win, but not by a large margin! The wait for her next book has begun.