Evocation has solidified that S.T Gibson is a favorite author for me. Something about her writing is so beautiful and easy to read. I loved that each character was well developed and had a distinct personality. While I think Evocation is more character focused, there was still a good plot that I can't wait to follow into future books. If I could read it all now, I absolutely would! As a first book in a series, it wrapped up nicely but definitely left me wanting so much more. I could follow these characters forever! And as a dabbler in the occult myself, I loved that this book touched on so many different esoteric practices and concepts without feeling overwhelming or infodumping. It was so magical in a modern way and I loved every minute of it.

I would highly recommend the audio for those who like to read via audiobook. The narrator did a wonderful job at giving each character their own voice.

I will read anything that Gibson writes because she is one of the best authors out there right now. Just what I came to expect from this magical book with characters that are lovable to me. I just can’t wait for the second book. I already have my beautiful copy from FairyLoot.

2.75 stars - rounding up

After reading S. T. Gibson's third book, I've found they are definitely hit or miss on whether I'm going to enjoy the story. I liked A Dowry of Blood but couldn't finish An Education in Malice. Evocation fell more in the middle of those two. I like Gibson's writing style but the storyline was a bit dull.

The main focus of the story was fixing the relationship between David and Rhys while also forming a non-sexual relationship between Moira and David. This is the start of a polyamorous relationship and I like how Gibson explored it.

Unfortunately, the magic and demon possession really took a backseat, and that's where I wanted more. I wanted more exploration of the witches and the summonings. I was so interested in the idea of a Chaos Magician, but it was so briefly mentioned that I still am vague on the details. The relationship between David, Rhys, and Moira was the focus. For some people, that will be enough, but I was interested in this book because of the "deal with the devil" aspect.

Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC.

The writing style of Dowry was so poetic and dreamy, although I wasn't sure about the plot of this book, I thought the writing would see me through. Unfortunately for me, I found the writing style very dry, very dull and the bland male character did nothing to convince me to keep reading it.

Evocation is the first book in The Summoner’s Circle series by S.T. Gibson. It’s my second book by this author in total. The first book of hers that I read was A Dowry of Blood, which I also adored. That’s why I’m so happy that I loved this newest one as well. Evocation was an amazing read that I completely devoured and loved. It was totally my kinda read and I can’t wait for the next one. There will be four books in total.

The story is set in Boston and told through three different points of view. There’s David, an attorney by day and medium by night, who comes from the influential Aristarkhov family. Then we have Rhys, who is David’s ex-boyfriend and a Sorcerer. And last but not least we have Moira, Rhys’s wife, who’s an astrologer and witch. At the start of the book David and Rhys haven’t talked in half a year, even though they’re part of the same secret society (and both vying for the position of High Priest), after David slighted Moira but there lives become tangled once more when a Faustian Deal from one of David’s ancestor’s comes to claim his life and soul.

The relationship between David, Rhys and Moira was messy, complex and I highly enjoyed the three of them becoming closer as they try to figure out how to get rid of the demon that’s harrassing David. I’ve got to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of David when I started the book but as the story went on I slowly but surely fell in love with him. Moira also wasn’t the biggest fan of him at the start, due to past things that had happened. But she also started caring deeply for him as both she and Rhys did everything they could to help David. Moira and David’s blossoming friendship was my favorite to read about, especially because they had magical lessons together. I also loved Moira and Rhys’s relationship as a married couple. I especially liked that Moira knew to set bounderies and communicated those with Rhys. The dynamic between all three was just the best. I really can’t wait for more of them all in the coming books.

The finale of the book was brilliantly done. It literally made my heart be faster because I was so worried for David and if he along with Rhys and Moira could defeat the demon. No spoilers, of course, but it definitely didn’t turn out how I thought it would but I can only applaud the author for making it all so exciting and unputdownable.

Overall, Evocation by S.T. Gibson was a beautifully written urban fantasy full of magic, the occult and complex characters that I absolutely fell in love with. I can’t wait to read more about the The Summoner’s Circle world and see where the story is going next.

3.75 rounded up. I still really enjoyed this, it just wasn’t as dark as I’d hope. There are dark topics but it’s written in a more fun(?) and snarky way. I did really like the main character David and liked getting to know Moira. I know nothing of tarot or astrology but it was very present in this book and makes me want to learn more about both. While not my favorite of all of their works, I still enjoyed the writing. I flew through this book quickly and had a good time. Looking forward to continuing the series.

This was so much fun to read. Just picking up the book was a joy. I did mostly want to read it because of the cover, but I ended up really enjoying it. The vibes were probably the best part of this story. I’ve always really loved reading about anything occult, so this was a serious hit for me. There’s an all-male secret society, different occult powers, demon possession and a polyamorous relationship between our three mains(David, Rhys & Moira).

I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the three different POVs for our main characters. They all felt very developed and different from each other. The first sign of the demon gave me chills and I couldn’t wait to see how it was dealt with. The relationship between the three characters felt so natural. I’d have to say Moira was my favorite! For being a shorter book, I got attached to the characters and can’t wait to read the next one!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Angry Robot for the ARC. A strong 4 stars from me.

Just not for me. Was hoping for more focus on the magic being done but really that felt like a vehicle for the relationship. Basically I was expecting more demons and spells and less tropes being checked off.

3.5 stars. This is apparently the first in a new series by the author of A Dowry of Blood. David is a Boston attorney who also happens to be a powerful medium. After a reading goes wrong w/ a client (basically David is possessed by something he definitely didn't invite), he knows he is in desperate need of psychic help. He turns to his ex-boyfriend, Rhys and his wife, Moira. They come to find out that there is a curse on David where his soul will be devoured by his 30th birthday. Which, of course, is imminent.
This quickly becomes a throuple-type situation. While I love Rhys and Moira's dynamic, it annoyed me that they just let David back in the mix. And there is a completely unnecessary (IMO) sex scene between David and Rhys almost at the very end of the book. Kind of like Gibson had to get that in somewhere. And even though Moira and David have a connection, I cannot imagine a strong, powerful Black woman allowing her husband to just do whatever he wants with his ex. Anyway, I'm interested to see where this story goes.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for this e-arc.*

I will post a more full review to socials in due course once I have had chance to sit with the Book a little more.

This is an urban fantasy romance, a genre which I am not normally drawn to – but with a brilliant cover and some peer recommendations I thought I’d check it out.

Delightfully queer, there’s a lot to enjoy in this book. The worldbuilding is nice and could be easily used in future books set in this world. My only qualm is with the actual characters, I found it difficult to like their actions – which isn’t a prerequisite, obviously, but when you are being asked to invest in a complicated romantic situation rooting for one or two of the three people involved would be a good idea ,

I thoroughly enjoyed the style and vibe of this, and look forward to the next novel – perhaps with some different characters!

This read differently to Gibsons other works, but still had that excellent character driven plot I've come to love. The characters here are a cacophony of chaos, they are far from perfect people but that's what makes them wonderful. You grow to love them and their flaws, and you really want the best for them.
~~~~~
when the Devil comes to collect on a deal David's ancestor made, he reluctantly reaches out to his ex-boyfriend Rhys for help. However, to get to Rhys, David will have to befriend Moira, Rhys's wife. The trio gets a little too close for comfort as they combine their powers to unravel the century-old curse, and if they don't break the curse by David's thirtieth birthday, he won't live long enough for everyone to figure out their feelings for each other.
~~~~~
Watching the characters figure out the world of curses and their feelings towards each other, and the politics of secret societies all at once is enticing and dynamic and made for excellent reading! The queer and polyamorous rep throughout was also an excellent addition and read so naturally it was a joy.
I'd highly recommend whether you're new to Gibsons work or an old fan! It's a beautiful plot and world, wrapped up in the just right amount of chaos

5 -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"I'd move heaven and hell for you...Tell me you know that."
"I don't want hell...I just want you."

Evocation is the first novel in the adult gothic paranormal romance series, The Summoner's Circle. The story centers around David, a high power attorney by day and a psychic prodigy by night. Yet as it looms closers to his thirtieth birthday, he begins to experience strange phenomena that harken back to an old rumour about his family...a deal with the devil that appears to be counting down. Not knowing where to turn to he finds himself calling to an ex-lover and sorcerer, Rhys. Their relationship ended tumultuously and David finds the only way to get through to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. As they work to uncover what is happening to David and how to stop it emotions rise between the three and they soon realize in order to save David they need to figure everything out soon...because the devil waits for no one.

Moira, David, and Rhys were a trio I could not get enough of! David has is demons...figuratively and literally. He is talented but his drive can be his undoing. I appreciated his self reflection and the realistic approach the was to his recovering for alcoholism. He is so use to pushing people away there were times I wanted to shake him but when he learns he can be quite endearing.

Rhys is a fun character with a whole lot of guilt around his feelings for Rhys. He never truly forgot David but his love for Moira is powerful and I adored his relationship with her. His honestly to her balanced his struggle to come to grips of the emotions he never fully processed with David. He is determined and can become quite involved in his work but his heart is in the right place.

The star of the show is Moira, though. She is powerful in a more subtle way I like how she got to explore that more with David. Her capacity for love is strong and I loved seeing how she navigated the relationship she saw unfolding while also forging one herself. I feel without her Rhys and David could never fully realize their connection.

This novel does contain spice - I would say 2 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. This novel has an established couple from the beginning but there is also polyamory and LGBTQ representation. The spice happens in the second half of the novel and focuses on the two relationships - the one already established and the one being re-explored. I felt it was well written and the lead up of their connections was well done and made the spice rewarding.

Both David and Moira were so close, close enough that Rhys could smell the vesitages of oat soap clinging to Moira's skin and see the details of the fine stitching on David's cuff. It would be very easy to kiss them both, if he wanted to.

The story itself is character driven with an overlying plot around what is happening to David and the inner workings of the occult Society. I enjoyed the characters and the relationships - the connections, the banter, and support had me smiling and feeling so much for them. I feel this introduced the world but I still have a lot of questions and felt some aspects were not fully investigated. There is a lot more to this setting that we didn't get to see. We get to explore family trauma, alcoholism, demonic summonings, rivalry for coveted positions, and just a hint of forbidden romance. The ending is a happily ever after for now which was such a relief.

Overall, I had no idea what I was expecting when I started this but I am so happy I got the opportunity to dive into it! S.T. Gibson has a way of weaving powerful character relationships into an eerie world that draw you in. I cannot wait to see what comes next!

Thank you Angry Robot for this arc!

I’m obsessed. S.T. Gibson Is an automatic buy for me from now on. It was a lil campy, a lil dark and super hot. “Yes High Priest” at this point it was indeed a 5 star read for me. S.T. Gibson gets it!


Thanks for the arc NetGalley

I thought this was a decent book. Dark academia is not my usual thing so it probably will appeal more to others than it does to me but overall, it was still a good read with interesting characters.

I'll definitely pick up books by S.T. Gibson again,

This review is for Evocation by S.T. Gibson which releases in the UK on the 28th May! Thanks so much to Netgalley and AngryRobot books for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read a lot of S.T. Gibson’s work now, and I think I can say for sure this is my favourite so far! I loved the wide range of diverse characters, and the unique world built in the novel. It’s set in Boston, specifically in the underground occultist networks featured in both high and low society. It features a wide range of magic users such as occultists, sorcerers, witches, mediums, and more. It’s overall super gritty and real, and I was obsessed. It was super easy to read, but does lack a little storyline. I felt it could have been so much more than what it was. The cover artwork is also super beautiful and can’t wait to have this on my shelf.

As I said, it features a wide range of diverse and LGBTQ+ characters and does explore a lot of the characters sexuality which was super interesting. Moira was obviously my favourite, and I hope they do come out with another book so I can see more of the main three characters dynamic. She is an incredible woman and I immediately loved her resilience and openness to the craziness they fall into. She is so different to the two male main characters David and Rhys, who are so ambitious and driven. The tension between all three of them is great, and came to the perfect ending in my opinion.

My only negative was the storyline, it just felt a little empty and felt like it could have been built up so much more to raise the stakes as it fell a little flat and felt a bit anticlimactic. However I did love it all the same, and hope there’s more after this book! Would highly recommend this to any fantasy readers out there.

Evocation is partly a psychic vs. demon fantasy-mystery, but mostly it is a polyamory ‘vee’ romance story, with David and Moira as the ‘metamours’ and Rhys as the ‘hinge’ that holds them together.

Which is slightly ironic as it is the David/Moira relationship that is most engaging here. Their enemies to loving friends journey feels like the most natural and healthy developing bond in the book, while Moira and Rhys feel like complicated couple goals, and Rhys and David are far too unhealthily co-dependent to be in a relationship with each other despite the feels.

The worldbuilding is interesting, taking a detailed and scientific approach to spiritualist practices such as tarot, tea leaves, palmistry and astrology, but also introducing spirit-calling, compulsion/charm magic and summoning of demons as more of a fantasy element. But all of this forms the background to the human tale of familial/child abuse, addiction, ambition and supportive, accepting love. This isn’t a story about saving the world – it’s about trying to save one troubled, difficult man (I do like David!). And how to balance work, family, friends, love and duty along the way, which is very relatable.

Expect a lot of angst, self-doubt and emotional struggle, with an incidental demon possession problem on the side (which felt analogous to either addiction or a wasting disease/chronic degenerating illness in the way it is portrayed).

There is a plot hook at the end to avoid any neat resolution to the story and lead the reader towards the next book in the series, which I hope will contain more of the occult mystery and magical worldbuilding, now that the characters have been introduced and developed into something of a working unit!

Vivid, gothic, twisted. A darkly delightful exploration of complicated relationships - set to the backdrop of an occult magical society and the threat of a mysterious, deadly curse.
Strong, stubborn and struggling David Aristarkhov reaches out to his ex, Rhys McGowan, when a routine psychic spirit summoning ends in possession. Little does David know the true extent of the problem... Meanwhile, Moira Delacroix - Rhys' wife - is determined to put aside past hurts to help both men, and together they race to find a solution that won't end in death (and/or heartbreak).
I loved the rich descriptions and that ST Gibson does not shy away from deep heartfelt emotions. The pacing felt natural and unrushed. I look forward to learning more about the three powerful main characters and their relationship with one another in the next Summoner's Circle book. This is a must-read for fans of Tamsyn Muir, C.L. Clarke, Veronica Roth and Olivie Blake.
Thank you to the publisher Angry Robot for providing me an ARC of this book via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

This is far from what I was expecting, but I loved it!
While the "occult" is definitely a theme that wraps around this story tightly, this is at heart a love story.
Mind me, I do not use the term love story lightly - this is not the typical romance book you find everywhere.
This is a story that feels real (not the occult part, but the relationship between the characters), even when uncomfortable.
A story that explores all the actual mess that can come around when deep, meaningful feelings are at play.
A story that conveys how liberating it can be to simply live your life, regardless of what others may think of you.
This is IMHO the best representation I ever read about polyamory , with a wonderful gloomy yet cozy background of dark magic in the shadowy city of Boston.
I am looking forward to the next book, thank you S.T. Gibson for opening a door into a world that - although not mine - always fascinated me deeply.

I really loved this one, and I think it’s probably my favourite S.T. Gibson book to date. I felt totally immersed in this compelling urban fantasy and while I enjoyed the historical settings of A Dowry of Blood and An Education in Malice, Gibson’s writing soars in a more modern (but still magical) setting like Boston.

David was particularly charming but his vulnerability is really what struck a chord. Rhys is the perfect academic rival, and I very much enjoyed Moira’s strength. As always with S.T. Gibson’s novels queer identity, polyamory and sexuality were explored in a realistic way rather than relying on stock characterisation, and I can’t wait to see what happens to this trio next.

<i>I would like to thank NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.</i>

Okkkk I'm going to get this out of the way first and foremost, because my feelings about this particular point was so vicious at times that I refuse to blame myself. Brace yourself.

Straight up this whole poly thing was a mess. For me, the relationship stuff read so flat that I could not have cared less who kissed who. So no, imo this book did not need a throuple with constipated energy and no sex appeal. Stop it. Daphne, Velma and Fred had more chemistry. I'm very much hoping that Book 2 will eradicate this nonsense and it will read like either Book 1 never happened, or just like a flashback of an "experimental college experience" that <i>RhysDavidMoira</i> don't talk about anymore but remained friends despite/because of it all. Ok I'm done thinking about this now.

But also...

<b>...here are some OTHER things I was uncool about:</b>

1 thinking someone is a "deity" because they wear shimmer in their makeup, can plot a star chart, read tarot and give great hugs is...an interesting take. Especially when the book is literally about a pact with an <b>"i'm coming for your soul-your body/brain is an inconsequential happy meal"</b> demon, and additionally features a haunted house that actively hates David and wants to kill him. That's the story I came for.

But stg throughout 75% of this book I was hoping a rift would open up at Beacon Hill and claim them all just so I wouldn't have to read the word <b>"goddess"</b> ever again. Moira reads tarot with some zodiac sparkle, wields crystals and cries when she sees dead people. Calm down. That kid from Sixth Sense was more put together than this caricature of a southern "daddy raised me right/meemaw" gal.

It was a lot.

For me.

And I'm a yoga-crystal-meditation-stevie nicks fan.

Yes, I white saged after this.

Moving on.

2 <b>The Tone:</b> There's a Secret Society that evokes both Victorian-occultist sentimentality and regular, ritualistic summoning of netherworld denizens (with a side of cigar and sexism), a demon possessed workaholic lawyer/<i>spirit medium & psychic intuitive</i> under thirty, a mansion with its own agenda, a surname in demon Collections...sounds marvelous yeah? Now slap some lidocaine on that, imagine making conversation with an upper echelon "Kitty" while wearing off-the-rack Target and recalibrate your mouth dreams to yearn for a pistachio latte from Tatte (Charles St. location in Beacon Hill). Everything will taste like ash in your mouth after that.

There's academia, there's library-core, there's prosecuting, there's childhood trauma.

But all of this landed like a derivative, <i>"dark academia meets bougie Boston"</i> pinterest board and I'm sort of mad about that. Because there was just sooooo much potential here. And though this wasn't the greatest read for me, I still really enjoyed the ending! And I definitely liked David Aristarkhov!

So I'm very much hoping S.T. Gibson will take the bones of Book 1 and do the opposite of what a series typically does and magic a 5 star Book 2, with or without the help of any and all demons or divine light beings or whatever (cringe) goddess is on call for bestselling authors these days! Definitely curious to read the prequel, <b>Odd Spirits</b>, and to see where this series goes next! There's still a demon to vanquish after all, and I'm weirdly invested in Gibson's secret Society occultists leveling up, and bringing some hellfire in the next installment to make up for everything that led to this less than sparkling review.