Evocation has a backdrop of mysticism, and it is initially presented in a manner that makes the ritualistic environment all the more atmospheric. The juxtaposition between the ceremonial occultism practiced by Rhys and David, and the more familial (and familiar, to me) magic practiced by Moira, is well written and interesting. As Evocation progresses, however, the detailed focus on mysticism begins to fade into the periphery more and more. Beyond initial exposition, relatively little detail is given to ceremonial and ritual spaces and processes, even as new systems of practice are introduced (e.g. Chaos Magic). This extends into the central conflict driving the plot– the Aristarkhov deal– which is given unclear terms and treated with little urgency until very near the end.

Evocation is heavily character-focused, and the relationships cultivated by David, Rhys, and Moira are very clearly the intended focal point of the novel. The ‘Polyamorous V’ centers on Rhys, which unfortunately feels especially undeserved by the end of the novel— though David and Moira do have incredible chemistry, albeit non-romantic. Moira is underutilized as a character, ultimately feeling as though her purpose is to accept the inevitability of, and to help facilitate, the romantic reunion of Rhys and David (after infidelity has already occurred).

Evocation is the first book in The Summoner's Circle series, so there is tremendous space for character growth and plot development in the subsequent novels, but Evocation does suffer from lacking this depth as the introductory novel.

"Evocation" by S.T. Gibson is a book that blends supernatural elements with human relationships. It focuses on the complex dynamics between its three main characters, David, Rhys, and Moira.

David is a powerful medium and Rhys, his ex-boyfriend, is ambitious but lacks natural magical abilities. Rhys is married to Moira, who is another strong medium. The book explores the trio's relationships, including themes of trust, rivalry, and buried emotions. The love triangle at its core adds tension to the story and underlines the motivations, strengths, and weaknesses - human nature – of each character as they navigate their personal lives, social expectations, and their past.

The plot revolves around magic, secret societies, and generational curses, which adds elements of mystery and suspense to the storyline. While I didn't exactly fall head over heels for "Evocation", I didn't dislike it either. It's somewhere in my 'STORY LIKES' category. It’ll be an excellent read for those who like character development.

Gibson's storytelling and use of vocabulary are elegant, although some of her word choices may require a dictionary.

"Evocation" is the first book in a new series by Gibson, and I am curious about what comes next for the characters and plot.

Overall, while "Evocation" may not be a book that I absolutely love or lands in my 'STORY LOVES' category, I did appreciate it. David, particularly, is my favorite character due to his growth throughout the story. Gibson’s smart storytelling and character-centric emphasis make it a book worth reading, especially if you’re into stories that prioritize character development and don’t mind expanding your vocabulary now and then.

Evocation” releases on May 28th. Please note that there are content warnings for off-page abuse and on-page anxiety and obsessive compulsion. Keep this in mind if you’re considering reading it. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy “Evocation”.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of "Evocation.”

STORY LIKES
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
3.5 rounded to 4

RECOMMEND
💳 yes

SPICE
🌶️ mild(ish)

I think at this point any book this woman writes I will end up loving it! no doubt about it

another great book
amazing book that I didn't want to put down

Having already devoured ‘Evocation’ by S.T. Gibson in a single sitting, I can confidently say it ranks among my top reads this year. Gibson captivates once again with their signature lyrical writing and gorgeous prose, creating an unforgettable experience. This book is a testament to their incredible talent in crafting vivid characters and narratives driven by them that resonate deeply

I think I just need to accept that ST Gibson is not the writer for me. Nothing is ever bad about her books, but they never live up to the hype created around them for me (I know they do for many other people).

Evocation is different than the vampire books - though there are some similar themes. This one is far less flowery, but still feels character driven.

The plot moved really slow for me. I think it all could've been addressed in this book and not needed a sequel. At the end, I was confused on timelines (it felt like David & Rhys had recently broken up but Rhys was already married to Moira?) and how somethings worked (if the demon comes to collect a soul on the 30th birthday why didn't it just leave when it was transferred?)

I've seen it thrown around that this is dark academia, but it definitely is not. Unsure if I will read the sequel.

I would recommend this to readers who want a cozy, dark academia story about friendship and a budding polyamorous romance but also a tale about deals with the devil, demon possession, and family secrets.

The characters
-David, Rhys, and Moira are a unique trio. I was first introduced to these characters in the novella, Odd Spirts. Returning to their world felt like coming home.
-Moira will always be my favorite. I love her vulnerability, empathy, and the fact that she isn't a push over. She knows who she is and refuses to be told what to do.
-I love Rhys and Moira together, but I'm sure that I love just Rhys. Outside of Moira, Rhys was a self-righteous jerk.
-David snuck up on me. I literally hate thus guy for 90% of the story but then by the end, he ends up being my favorite over David.
-That being said, it's very obvious that the author's favorite characters are the men. Moira gets sidelined in favor of David and Moira's romance. It felt like the only reason Moira had a POV was so she wasn't just a background character. I didn't feel like I really got to know Moira outside of the guys, except for the abilities she's been suppressing. Since this a series, I imagine this new side of Moira will be explored in the sequel.

The writing
The writing was done well in terms of descriptive details and setting the stage. The author did a great job of making the vibes feel cozy.
I loved the references to food and iced coffee. I felt immersed inside of the setting of spooky libraries and even the society politics. There were a couple of typos that I noticed but I'm sure they'll be fixed before publication.

The plot
I didn't love the pacing of the story since the story felt character-driven. It's 400 pages of character development with a low-stakes plot. The first book was David's story so I wonder if it would have been better to focus on him and than expand the POVs to the other characters later. The climax did feel a tad rushed and it will interesting to see what happens next after THAT new development.

Evocation was a atmospheric, slow burn, dark fantasy romance that really emphasizes the intimacy of three people with a complex dynamic (a married couple and a former lover that needs their help). I couldn't help but get wrapped up in the society politics, ex-boyfriend drama, and occult dilemmas. All the problems felt grounded despite the fantastical and supernatural elements.

Content Warning: alcohol abuse

Evocation is a dark tale about three psychics that get involved in mysterious events which will change everything for them and their relationship. Our protagonists are David, psychic progeny who also works as an attorney, his ex-boyfriend and scholar Rhys and Rhys's wife Moira. All of these characters are different in their own way and interesting, but I feel like I mostly enjoyed Moira's POV. For some reason, I couldn't get into David's passages and could only connect to some parts of his personality. Rhys, for me, was right in the middle, he didn't seem that special. The interconnected relationship between characters felt a bit odd for me at times, because it seemed to that the romance itself started very randomly, in my opinion, it lacked proper development and characters just jumped straight into it. That is why for me it was hard to believe, that Moira would be not only supportive of the whole thing, but also would encourage Rhys to pursue his old feelings for David. I liked the spiritualism parts and would have liked to see more examples of what this trio can do, but as this is the first book of the planned series, I'm sure it will be explored more in the future. Overall, I would say that the premise of the story was fulfilled quite well even if some parts didn't work for me.

Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. This book solidified S.T. Gibson as an auto-read author for me. While this was probably my least favorite of her books so far, that's really not saying much because I still liked this more most of the books I've read this year. I loved the magic system in this world and the three MCs were fantastic. She continued to absolutely nail the dark academia, secret magic society, along with the complex interpersonal relationships and queer romance. I was a little dissatisfied with the ending, but it also looks like this will be a series, so it's hard to knock a book for not tying up all the loose ends when its the first. I look forward to returning to this world and the characters and this book still stood on its own very well.
I think the reason it wasn't my favorite is that there was no plot just vibes, and it was very slow paced. There was a lot of great character and relationship development that made up for it, but it was still hard to get into a good rhythm with the book until well past the half way point.
It was refreshing to see a relationship dynamic evolve that was not expected or commonly portrayed and I thought she did it perfectly. I also love when an author is compassionate to their characters, even when they put them through literal hell, and Gibson really did this well. I really liked how real life tough subject matter like alcoholism, religious deconstruction, toxic relationships, and loss were addressed along with demon possession, and lots of complicated magic. Overall the vibes, the prose, the setting and the characters were perfect and I will be buying and recommending this book along with Dowry and Education in Malice to anyone who will listen to me talk about books.

3.5 rounded down.

If I had to rank S.T Gibson's books, this would sit firmly in second place. I had a lot of fun reading it, but there were a few niggles that bothered me too much to completely love it. I have to agree with other reviews that it felt like a book that bit off more than it could chew.

The strongest aspect of the book are the characters and their blossoming poly relationship. The sexual tension between them was so thick and delicious, but I have to say I loved David's and Moria's intimate friendship the most. Love Rhy but he could be a real pain at moments and no doubt would have been worse is Moria didn't lay down the law with him. This is not a plot heavy book, hell the plot seem suspended during the middle until it crashed in at the end, but I enjoyed the growing relationship enough to still stay hooked.

However, there are a few muddled elements of the neglected plot that held it back for me. First, the magic system felt a bit slap dashed towards the end. It's helped in the beginning by relying on real world practices like tarot and palm reading but then it threw in new stuff last minute like blood magic and chaos magicians, and I want to know more about what you can do with those but they're skimmed over. It kept talking about all these different magical rituals but I only got the vaguest sense of what they did. You get a shallow taste of a rich magical world, and I hope the sequels will delve more into it.

While David's demon possession is the driving force of the plot, you don't get much information about it or how they're going to deal with it until blood magic is suddenly thrown in. It mentions David getting visions of a deal made with the devil centuries ago, and I wanted to see more of that. Don't tease me with the devil and not show him, that's just cruel.

Overall it's filled with fantastic characters, intense relationships, great aesthetics and a luscious poly romance. If you've enjoyed Gibson's other works, then check it out if you're happy with a slim plot.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Angry Robot for an ARC of Evocation!

Evocation truly did live up to the hype I had for it. After a complex relationship with the authors previous work An Education in Malice I was slightly hesitant going into this, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Evocations beating heart is the characters and their relationships. David especially became my favorite out of the trio in this book. He's messy, tries his best to look like he has his life together even if he doesn't and denies himself a lot of joy for the sake of his work. A true Leo sun + Virgo moon man at his finest. I found his journey throughout the book so fun to watch unfold and while hes not a completely changed man at the end of the novel, he's very much himself but elevated and changed in ways he very much needed, His beautiful friendship with Rhys's wife Moira was my favorite relationship to read about. It's not very often you find books that treat a friendship with the same veneration and depth as a romantic one and I found it so refreshing to read. Their steady journey to learning they relate on a level that others wouldn't understand is so applicable to real life deep friendships it struck a chord with me and every scene with them was like a warm hug. They work so well together and I really hope in the future we get to see even small glimpses of them.

Rhys and Moira are like a package deal for me and out of the two Moira was my favorite. She is so sure of herself, knows what she wants and doesn't stand down when things get rough. She is the woman we all dream of being as a child and if I was younger I for sure would have had her as someone to look up to. Rhys on the other hand, while I related to his Catholic guilt and his constant need to prove himself, I felt like he was a tad stagnant as a character. He didn't really change or even go beyond the straight laced, by the book kind of man he was for the whole novel and if anything I wish we could have seen him loosen up a bit more. He does open up when it comes to their three way arrangement but aside from that aspect, it felt like he was the same man at the beginning and at the end which isn't a bad thing but it also felt like he could have had somewhere to go in terms of development but ultimately didn't and my investment in him as a character waned because of it. I did enjoy his dynamic with both Moira and David however.

I deeply enjoyed the world and the things that were set up for the rest of the series here. It has just enough that you understand the basics of the occult world you are inhabiting while also leaving things open enough for further development down the road, and with the taste we got here I can't wait to see what the full meal looks like when the series is done.

Gibsons writing as always is lush and beautiful, deeply funny and conjures up some truly stunning imagery. The way emotions are described is so poetic and so on the nose at times but I felt myself seeing with full clarity on both sides. This book also being written third person I think benefited the writing much more than in Gibsons previous work as it allowed for more flexibility in terms of how things can be described and written about. I did however notice a crutch I picked up on in AEIM and also here, and that is still the slight use of 'showing rather than telling' when it comes to characters and their feelings. Gibson is such a talented writer and I do wish there were times where their character's actions can speak for their feelings rather than just relaying to the reader how the character feels when there hasn't been anything in the narrative prior to truly support it.

All in all though, I deeply enjoyed Evocation and will be waiting eagerly for the series next installment. Gibson is such an amazing author and this book proves that they have incredible staying power in the adult fantasy genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

I really enjoyed this arc. It’s set in a dark academia/ secret society setting. It also has a paranormal element. A poly relationship as well.

I have never read anything like this before. There was so much drama and intrigue. I’m definitely curious to see where the story goes from here. I honestly loved how strong the relationship was between the married couple. That’s not always present in books. I thought the FMC was amazing. She was so strong and confident. I love seeing that in books.

I highly recommend it!

Evocation is a modern day, occult book set in Boston. It follows David, his ex-boyfriend Rhys, and Rhys’ wife Moira. The three of them pair up after some reluctance to help David lift the curse upon his family.

I went into Evocation expecting a character driven book with supernatural vibes and it delivered. I loved the dynamic between the three main characters, the secret society, and witchery. Overall this was such a fun read and would have been 5 stars if we had a little more character development and the ending wasn’t so rushed. Still a 4.25 star read and I’m looking forward to book two.

Thank you Netgalley and Angry Robot for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

S.T GIBSON CAN DO NO WRONG!!!! I adored this, I had so much fun, I am SO excited to see how this series progresses, I thought this was a fantastic opening book of a series and sets everything up VERRRRY nicely and I will absolutely be awaiting the sequel and picking it up straight away! This IS different from Dowry of Blood and Education in Malice so please don't go in expecting similar vibes or you might be disappointed, this is FANTASTIC in its own way and really gripped me and made me fall in love with all the characters and everything just felt perfectly paced and perfectly laid out.

evocation follows david, who needs his ex and his ex’s new wife, rhys and moira, to help him lift a curse placed on him. as old friends and new come together again, the three of them are forced to confront their feelings for each other.

while the writing wasn’t as lyrical as gibson’s previous work, and the story took some time to get interesting, i still really enjoyed evocation. the dynamic between david, rhys and moira was very interesting and truly special. and something I really appreciate in gibson’s writing is her lack of filler chapters, every chapter is important for the story, giving a nice flow to the story.

I would have liked the poly relationship to be established earlier on, as i was really excited to read about one. so manage your expectations about that.

Dark Academia and occult themes - sign me up! I recently was introduced to S.T. Gibson when I read An Education in Malice and my goodness what an amazing follow up release this is!

The dynamic between the three characters is such a delicious mess. A messy family curse and a secret society rivalry drags me in. Whilst this doesn’t have a massive academia vibe due to being focused on the curse aspect, but the way it flows - I have 0 complaints and I can’t wait to see the shenanigans that will happen in book 2.

The entire book is a lot more personal than other fantasy stories, as if you are involved and due to that it is hard not be invested in the characters and their feelings.

I want book two to hurry up! I cannot wait to find out more and see how this throuple relationship develops.

#currentlyreading #bookreview #bookreader #bookstagram #bookstagramer #ilovebooks #fantasyreader #romance #netgalley #darkacademia #Evocation #STGibson

This was an addictive story everyone should jump on. Blending the occult with magic and possession, a story about the intricacies of working within a society whilst maintaining challenging relationships is explored. Add a generational wager and things get pretty complicated. I couldn’t put this book down and can’t wait to purchase a physical copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for granting me a wished e-ARC in exchange for an honest review (I'm beyond delighted!)

As soon as I saw this beautiful cover, I knew I was hooked. I loved the writing style, the POVs from the three characters, and third-person narrative has always been my favourite. The writing was flowery and poetic but really added to that enchanting vibe that I was looking for. I found myself hooked onto all three characters and the complex and intricate dynamics between them.

I'm so excited to read more!

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the Arc!

I really dragged my feet in writing this review because I was SO excited for this book. Legitimately PUMPED and jumped for joy when my wish for the ARC was granted! I've been following the author on twitter and the more I saw, the more I wanted (I mean, have you SEEN THIS COVER?!).

That being said... *whispers* I didn't like it. *sobs*

It started so strong, The world. The characters. The visceral feel of being in David's head. Oh, I was hooked. I was here for it. I loved how each POV was delightfully unique. The male characters were inherently male without being stereotypical.

It was half way that lost me. And I was so bummed. (Also there was a point where I nearly screamed "I GET IT. YOU LOVE YOUR WIFE." if Rhys frothingly brought it up one more time. It was incredibly annoying.) It stopped having the magical feel, even though we were talking about a secret magical society. It could've been any boring political fraternity and it was a bummer.

Also, it's supposed to be poly. It's all setup to be poly. But with Rhys constantly screaming at the reader how much he loves his wife (which kind of felt weirdly superficial. Hell, David and Moira had more chemistry than Rhys and Moira) and how much he hates David for 50% of the book, all the chemistry was gone. I honestly didn't want them to get together anymore. They sounded terrible together and I'd lose respect for both of them. (Don't even get me STARTED on the kiss. Don't want to spoiled it but it was the worst way to attempt to kick off a poly relationship and I am mad.)

What I dd LOVE. And I mean L.O.V.E. was the friendship between David and Moira. IT WAS AMAZING. I could feeeeeeel the friendship chemistry. She was so good for him and he needed her friendship. Loved. It.

So when I hit 70% and I have Moira and Rhys feeling like the parental figures David needs to get his shit together, the last thing I wanted was for them to bone. I didn't want them to get together. And when I hit the spice between Moira and Rhys, all the titillating spice felt bland like reading about my friend's parent having sex.

After that, all motivation to finish the story died. And I couldn't get into the book again no matter how hard I tried. Which sucked, because there were several amazing moments. I'm so sad.

But please, read it. Maybe you'll feel completely differently. The author is so talented is so many ways that it's worth a chance.

After enjoying both A Dowry of Blood and An Education in Malice, I was very excited about this arc. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I never felt connected to any of the characters which made it hard to care about anything that they did. I still consider this author one of my favorites, this was just a miss for me.

I demolished this in 2 sittings, unfortunately I had work 😂
I had never read a book by this author before, but I'll be purchasing .ore of her work as soon as I can!
Absolutely blown away, I have nothing bad to say about it.
The story was woven so well, the plot wasn't hastened, it flowed with ease and intrigue, she built the characters up enough, but not too much in each chapter their pasts untangling bit by bit, the supernatural elements were amazing, it's made me want to start researching tarot and astronomy! I adored Moira, she was sweet but with dark undertones, a true representation of our own inner clashing of morals and empathy, David was the same, I related so much to his struggle to appear at his best at all times, and Rhys, so complex and just wonderful!
I am terrible at describing things, but it was just the most enjoyable read, it had great representation of healthy polyamory.
The whole book made me feel like I was reading a poem, beautifully worded.
10/10 would recommend!