4 🌟 This was such a different kind of book from the S.T. Gibson books I’ve read so far but really enjoyed it! I loved the occult and astrology components and felt like they were really well done (I wouldn’t personally know but it seemed that way). Each character was so unique and the romantic and platonic relationships explored brought so much to the book. I can’t wait for book two to continue following these characters!!

Many thanks to Angry Robot for the advanced early copy!!

I absolutely loved this one and I think those who adore character-driven stories would (hopefully) agree. I personally love a combination of plot + characters, maybe even a bit heavier on the plot, but felt in this case that S.T Gibson's characters and their dynamic took over the story for me. David and Moira's relationship, specifically, was surprisingly my favorite part of the whole thing. I can't say I've read anything like it..

I think I may have been a little frustrated in the plot because there was a conflict/issue that seemed very obvious to the reader. I'm actually a bit taken back that the characters didn't reach the conclusion sooner, to be honest. HOWEVER, because the characters again were so dang enjoyable I didn't mind it too much in hindsight. David and Rhys' banter had me laughing out loud. Rhys' relationship with Moira was also so swoony (he calls her little goddess 😮‍💨). Not sure if this book is going to be an interconnected series, but I'll definitely be in line to read it!

Beautifully written characters with some John Constantine vibes going on. Love the way the relationships are developed and am hoping for a sequel.

Evocation is the first in a new series from S.T. Gibson, author of A Dowry of Blood and An Education in Malice (among others). It’s a queer urban fantasy with a perfect balance of character relationships, romance, and supernatural suspense.

Evocation’s plot was fantastic but my favorite part was the development not only of each character, but of the relationships between Moira, Rhys, and David. Rhys and Moira’s love for each other is sweet, and so deep, it actually gave me butterflies. David is a snarky jerk who is used to getting what he wants, when he wants it, but underneath his tough guy exterior is a vulnerable man who is terrified of the ancient curse placed upon his family. At the beginning of the book, Rhys and Moira are at odds with David, and he’s not too happy with them either, but as the story progresses, their feelings change in a way that feels natural and evenly-paced. The proximity is forced, but the slow-burn to the conclusion isn’t!

As for the story itself, it wasn’t until I hit about 10% of the book that I knew it was absolutely for me. I wouldn’t say the first bit was confusing, but there was some setup and I honestly didn’t know exactly where it was going. But once I got there, I was all in. I was truly engrossed as the trio attempted to break the curse threatening David’s life. I never would have guessed how everything came to a head! The ending was a great surprise, one that made me both excited for a sequel and beyond depressed that I’ll probably have to wait a long time for it.

This book really has it all: a spell-binding plot that leaves you excited for the next installment, unforgettable characters that defy initial impressions and surprise you with their depth, and a MMC who calls the FMC “little goddess.”

Evocation is a character-driven story featuring complicated protagonists. The focus of the novel is the characters’ complex (and messy) relationships with one another. The pace of the story is slow, and the underlying plot drags until later in the book.

There were moments that shined throughout the story, but I was a little bored at certain points. Perhaps, I was expecting higher stakes or more immediate danger.

Overall, I think this was a good story. Plot-driven readers be warned, this book definitely focuses more on the characters and their relationships.
My rating: 3.5⭐️

Thank you @NetGalley and @AngryRobot for the arc. Opinions are my own.

Absolutely incredible book, but then again, what else was anyone expecting from S.T. Gibson.

Definitely for fans of Leigh Bardugo (specifically more along the Ninth House route) but stands so well on it's own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Highly enjoyed!

"Evocation" is the first installment of "The Summoner's Circle", an adult fantasy series written by S.T. Gibson and currently in progress. More specifically, the book is a contemporary fantasy set in present-day Boston amid occultism, divination and secret societies.

I loved "An Education in Malice", the previous title by the author, and jumped enthusiastically on this her new book, convinced that it would win me over. But it did not. Right from the start I sensed a general lack of passion, of pathos, which prevented me from bonding with the story and especially with the characters. I found everything extremely vague, confusing, and superficial, and this left me rather disappointed. First of all, the system related to the occult, divination and secret societies serves as a mere backdrop to the interactions between the characters. Yes, it is present, there are scenes here and there and explanations with specific terms thrown in a bit randomly, but nothing is explored in depth, almost as if the notions are taken for granted. And sure, that may be okay being a strongly character driven story, but it felt to me like a really wasted opportunity. However, this is not what disappointed me. No, the main problem for me are the characters, the central focus of the book, around whom the whole story develops. David, Rhys, and Moira are the three protagonists of the novel, all with their respective third person povs. I found them to be extremely shallow, detached, and devoid of sentiment. A situation that in my opinion affects the relationship between David, Rhys and Moira in a negative way, making it appear rigid and cold. On the general plot level then reigns a certain lack of interest, with the mystery related to David's problem often forgotten and left out, until a sudden enlightenment comes from heaven. David, Rhys and Moira spend months doing research without discovering anything, conveniently forgetting about the threat, until someone puts the solution under their noses. This seemed absurd to me because okay, the book is character driven, but this is a danger that directly threatens one of them. And none of them really seem to care.

The bewitching, elegant and evocative prose and the seductively sinister atmosphere are the only elements I enjoyed so much! I love the author's prose, the settings she manages to create, and for that very reason I don't feel like giving it less than three stars. Despite the disappointment I plan to read the sequel, hoping for an improvement!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is not really what I expected but I really enjoyed it! Gibson is the queen of polyamorous books and this one is such a fun ride. The only thing I can complain about is that I expecter much more of supernatural action but it's fine. Defenetly you don't want to miss this book.

HIGHLIGHTS
~when you get brunch in the divorce and your ex shows up anyway
~many magics, pulled from real-world occult
~characters Actually Talking about their feelings!
~some people are just too wealthy
~what’s a deal with a devil you didn’t sign?

I’m not immediately sure what to say about Evocation beyond the fact that I enjoyed the hell out of it. A slightly slow start belied the emotional whirlwind Gibson swept her characters (and me!) up in, and I do think that’s where Evocation really shines – in its emotions, and its characters. This is a much more character-driven book than it is plot-driven – there is plot, but most of it doesn’t begin to feel very urgent until quite close to the end.

In other words, Evocation is for those of us who want the aesthetic, the vibes, and the delicious, meaty emotions tangling our morally-grey characters together.

Bon appétit!

>The minutes crawled by on bruised hands and knees.<

Not quite as decadent as Dowry of Blood, Evocation comes very close, and the contemporary setting might be more to some readers’ tastes than the historical one of Dowry. There’s an interesting contrast between the familiar everyday concerns of rush hour traffic and brunch, and the world of the occult lying just a breath away from them. The male-only Society David and Rhys both belong to was actually the least interesting aspect of this for me – it was a nice surprise to see that trans men can join, but I admit to having little patience for or interest in this kind of ‘old boys club’, especially in a modern setting, and the Society’s obvious High/Ceremonial Magic influences were actively boring. (Though I am not at all surprised at Gibson’s appreciation for the aesthetic or practice – it fits the interests she’s been very open about to a t!) Maybe Gibson realised that most readers aren’t going to be enthralled by descriptions of Ceremonial Magic rituals, because we actually see very little of it – if I remember correctly, we never get a full ritual on-page.

Much more interesting were the other magical players in this secret world – David’s chaos magician half-sister, for example, who I hope we see more of in future books; and of course Moira, who works with astrology and, like David, can see ghosts and spirits. I actually wish we’d gotten more astrological theory – a lot of the magic is sort of just presented to the reader, when digging into the hows of it all could have been fun. I’m a nerd for this sort of thing, though, so I don’t know if that’ll bother other readers.

(I do feel like Evocation expects readers to already be familiar, at least somewhat, with real-world occult practices and branches – if I didn’t already know how Ceremonial Magic worked, what it was, I really wouldn’t understand what the Society was on about, or how different what they do is from what David’s sister and Moira do. And that…not messiness, but mix of magical traditions, might be why the ending really didn’t work for me – it was all about magic, but what kind? How/why did it work like it did? Gah!)

>David had never been in a college frat, but he had been in a men’s acapella group at Williams, and that was basically the same thing.<

None of this matters that much, though. The magic is really just backdrop against which the characters shine. Even the struggle over the succession of the Society is really just an excuse to throw David and Rhys together (seriously, we never even see any attempt at campaigning or politicking from either of them), as is the mysterious curse on David growing stronger as his 30th birthday approaches. It all just serves as a great big mixing spoon to stir David, Rhys, and Moira together!

>she wanted nothing between them but darkness and devotion.<

Polyamory is difficult to write well, I think – maybe nearly as tricky as it is to live it! – but Gibson does a really excellent job in Evocation (unsurprisingly, since she’s written it excellently before). David and Rhys used to be a couple, but that was over a long time ago; now Rhys is married to Moira, who is hands down my favourite of the three. In trying to figure out David’s curse, Rhys starts catching feelings for David again (although did they ever go away, really?), and watching him and Moira talk about that and feel their feelings about it was just superb. Rhys feels guilty! Moira is unsure and upset, but open and honest about it with Rhys and with herself! David is a MessTM and also terrified of wrecking things between Rhys and Moira – and of wrecking his own relationships with them both! There are delicious, messy Feels everywhere, but paired with Actual Communication, which like a fine wine complementing a wonderful meal, raises the whole experience to another level.

(And I don’t even like wine!!!)

In a twist that I find kind of hilarious, my favourite line in this triangle of Feels is the one between David and Moira. Slight spoiler under the cut: One of my only real gripes about this book is that David and Moira’s relationship is platonic; I thought they had so much more chemistry than any other combination of these characters! But it is only a minor gripe, because at the same time, I really love their friendship, how slowly but genuinely it develops and how strong it is by the end of the book. And it’s nice to see polyamory where not everyone is in romantic love with every other person involved (which is usually the case in fiction, at least the fiction I read); metamours are a thing, and even if the word is never used in Evocation, it’s good to showcase them – and to showcase that the relationship between metamours can, ideally is, just as strong and important as any romantic and/or sexual connection.

I will say that I thought Rhys was the weakest of our three protagonists: Moira feels like a complete character, and David started strong and got better as he underwent emotional development over the course of the book – but Rhys…didn’t have a whole lot of personality, to me. I think we were told about him much more than we actually saw him being the things we were told; for example, we get this beautiful passage from Moira’s pov;

>She knew exactly what Rhys was when she married him, down to the darkest corners of his insatiable heart. She adored him like this, selfish ambition laid bare by his love for her. Truth be told, Rhys could be a bit of a monster when it came to getting what he wanted, but he was her monster, and what he wanted was her happiness.<

but we never actually see Rhys being ‘a bit of a monster’. (Which is a shame, because those kind of characters are often fascinating, and I feel like Gibson could nail it if she’d gone for show-not-tell.) Maybe because, if we did, we wouldn’t like him very much? I don’t know, because I have no idea what level of monster we’re talking about here. But I was left a bit sceptical that both David and Moira could love this man, because he just…left no impression on me. I wasn’t seeing what they were seeing!

>two men who had once been as close to each other as blood and breath<

The deus ex machina ending – the climax of David’s curse, basically – I loved all the Feels that went into it, but I didn’t love the magic, the actual ‘solution’, of it. I haven’t been able to stop turning it over and over in my brain since I finished reading the book, because it just doesn’t make sense to me. Mild spoiler: And the thing is, the groundwork could have been laid for that ‘solution’ so easily! If our resident chaos magician had suggested it, for example. But I find it really difficult to believe a) a Ceremonial magician would even think of it, especially last-second and in the heat of the moment, and b) could get it to work. It is stuck in my craw and I don’t like it.

BUT! None of of my nitpicking – about Rhys’ character, or the ending – changes the fact that I had a great time with Evocation. I said earlier that this book is for those of us who love the vibes, the aesthetic, and the emotions, and if you’re good with a low-plot, high-character development novel, with gorgeous prose and some truly glorious Feels?

Then you’ll have a great time with this one too.

4 stars

Loved how the characters were portrayed and how the plot was just so easily created. Gibson is always a guarantee, I love her writing style and how she is able to create a magical world building!

Rating: 3.75/5⭐️

I thought for a long while on how I should rate and write this review and in the end, I decided to rate it emotionally - like I do for 95% of the books!

I really liked the writing: it was the first book I’ve read from this author and I found it to be quite compelling. It starts slow but has a really nice pace, I really liked the initial love triangle vibes, I liked that all three main characters had their own POV and they were quite different and complex from each other.

The main story is interesting, we have this ‘unexpected’ possession of David and he must work with his past flame and his new wife to try and get his life back on tracks. There’s quite a bit of the occult, different times of evocations specialities which I though made the plot quite unique.

However, I found it to get a little bit boring towards the end which made me want to skip a few bits and I just wanted to reach the end and finish the book. The main reason for my rating was because I felt blind-sided about the polygamy relationship that evolves towards the end, which for me personally, was too much and I don’t think I would have picked up this book had I known.

Many thanks to the publisher for this galley and all opinions are my own

David, a psychic and attorney, is faced with death on his thirtieth birthday as the Devil comes knocking at his door. He turns to his ex and rival, Rhys, and his wife Moira for help. Emotions run high as they try to save David and figure out their feelings for each other. The occult, demon possession, power plays, and polyamory make for a wild ride! Complex characters, complex problems, and complex feelings make this a must-read.

It took me most of this book to realize what felt odd about it: Evocation reads like literary fiction, not fantasy. It's got the middle-to-upper-class vague discontentment, marriage issues, narrow focus, and plot where not much happens. The fantasy elements were super light, especially since David's demonic possession mainly manifested as flu-like symptoms. I absolutely loved the author's previous two books but this one didn't hit the same notes.

It was fine. I just expected a lot more from it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

This is the first book in a new urban fantasy series set in Boston that follows David, a medium prodigy; Rhys, a sorcerer and scholar (who turns out to be David’s rival in a secret society, as well as his ex-boyfriend); and Moira, a tarot reader and astrologer (who also happens to be Rhys’ wife). David and Rhys haven’t spoken for months when David begins to be possessed by a demon and finds himself having to ask Rhys and Moira for help, so the three are forced to work together to save David's life.

This is the third book I’ve read by Gibson and it confirms my opinion that the aspect I enjoy the most about her stories is her writing and her work character work. I really enjoyed the different dynamics between the three main characters and how the author explores a V polyamorous relationship in this book. The plot itself, while intriguing at first, made me lose interest in the final third of the story with a resolution that leaves things in an interesting place for the sequels.

Overall, this was a fun and entertaining read about occultism, curses, generational magic and exploring different kinds of love. There are aspects that didn't quite make sense to me, like when two characters didn't contact the third in days even though the latter almost died. But I liked it and I will definitely read the sequel when it comes out.

Oh my god oh my GOD!!!! Five stars five stars five stars someone hold me. I truly did not think my expectations for this book could be met, but they were succeeded!! The vibes? Impeccable. The characters? Would die for them. The relationship? So well-crafted I could talk about it for days. Run, don’t walk!! Preorder this book!!

Thank you a million to Angry Robot Books for gifting me an e-ARC from netgalley!

This book was everythiiiiing to me. It was funny, it was dark, it was twisty, it was emotional. The atmosphere was top notch, the setting was very fun (never knew I needed to read a book that mentioned specific Boston neighbourhoods before now), the plot was edge of your SEAT, and the relationships? So good.

If I wasn’t before (I was), this would make me an ST Gibson stan. Can’t wait for more from them, and more from the series!

Highly recommended.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5888865757
TikTok (more to come): https://www.tiktok.com/@littlebibliophile/video/7362255657153645829

2.75/5

I'm so disappointed that I didn't like this book. I'll certainly try any novellas Gibson writes, but her novels just seem to not be for me. I loved the beautiful, emotive prose in A Dowry of Blood and I loved the way it drew the portrait of abuse through a vampiric lens. It will continue to be one of my favourite stories, but I haven't found the same love for Gibson's other works.

I'm really struggling to put into words why I disliked this book because it's not an all-consuming hatred, there wasn't anything that made me spit out my hot chocolate in fury, I just didn't really enjoy any of it.
The characters began to grow on me a tiny bit as I read on, but I just didn't care about them and at times even found them annoying. They're meant to be complicated, fractured and even unlikable, but I just never warmed to them like the book wanted me to. There's also a strange focus on wealth without the criticism I expected of it, especially as there are academic aspects to this book and conversations around the tired structure of an all-male secret society. I felt it lacking here in its exploration of the characters and their dynamics.
I recognise that the character relationships were what drove the story, but it was hard to empathise when I disliked or felt apathetic towards them. This focus also meant that the surrounding plot fell very flat for me, it was sometimes dull and tedious, and other times far too obvious. (My biggest pet peeve in books is when an author treats a piece of information that's obvious from the beginning as a plot twist/big revelation later on... alas.)

I'm sorry for being so negative, I hate writing negative reviews, especially for authors I admire. But this one just really wasn't for me. Please look at other reviews and see how our reading tastes compare before putting any weight to my opinion.

Thank you Netgalley and Angry Robot for an e-arc.

Do you like tarot, demons, magic, haunted houses, and polyamory? I have a book for you! I read this in preparation for an upcoming TBR Lowdown interview with the author S.T. Gibson. This is such a fun read! It’s also the start of a new series! I’m going to need the next installment ASAP.

I read only 30ish pages. I really like it, but I have a baby now, and I just can't finish it . If it was an audiobook, I bet I would have lisin to it in a day .
I liked the dinamic between the characters, and I want so bad to know what happened between David and Rhys .
I give it 5 stars because I like it what i read , even if it was a little ,
S.T. Gibson is a really good author.

Take AHS: Coven, The Craft, and sprinkle in some reality tv spice. And you got Evocation.
And. I ate it up.
Moira is baddie, David is utterly chaotic, Rhys is phenomenal.
Evocation is a truly compelling, eerie and humorous witchy novel. The writing is stunning, the communication between our trio was just a delightful fresh breath of air, truly. Everyone’s emotions seemed really raw, and utterly human, even amidst all the occult madness. It made for easy connections with the main characters.
And lastly, this book is lowkey hot. Maybe high key. My jaw dropped at least 8 times.
Overall such a wonderful story. Moira deserves all the love, especially for being the light in the darkness for these two moody men. Can’t wait to read the prequel and hopefully a lot more fun adventures with the chaotically fun trio.
Thank you to Angry Robot for the early copy. It was a joy to read.