A delicious fall read, with such a unique and wonderful writing style.
Magic, spirits and so much more! Just awesome.

In this novella we follow the story of two characters:
Rhys, a sorcerer, and Moira, a witch. They are married, but lately their relationship is a bit conflictual and weird stuff is happening in their house.

The story focuses on their relationship issues (miscommunication trope).

There are flashback chapters to when they first met. It was a bit confusing because it's not explicitly written at the beginning and sometimes it happens in the middle of a chapter.

It was a bit stressful, but addictive, to follow the investigation about what is happening in the house, and it was also a bit scary (I'm easily scared though).

I did not get all the references, but it's probably all explained in Evocation.

I liked discovering those characters, and it was an enjoyable quick read.

This was my first read of S.T Gibson works. Evocation is on my shelves and I'm glad I could read this first, so I was introduced to David (can't wait to read more of him!).

This book was first independently published in 2018. It was republished this year on the 8th of October in hardback, matching the pretty Evocation edition!

The designs in the book were pretty: there's a tarot card at the beginning of every chapter, it's different for each character.
There are also some beautiful illustrations throughout the book.

The perfect prequel to evocation, giving the beautiful story of how Rhys and Moira first met and their struggles with early marriage. Giving more insight to characters I already love, seeing what they went through and how it affected them was perfect.

This was a nice little intro into the Summoner’s Circle series & it’s MCs. It’s a perfect read for this time of year & I am looking forward to starting Evocation now

Odd Spirits by S.T. Gibson – A Mixed Bag with a Strong Atmosphere

"Odd Spirits" by S.T. Gibson is an intriguing precursor to The Summoner's Circle series, providing a closer insight into the characters that fans may have become familiar with from Evocation, but I have yet to read it. Set against the backdrop of a marriage between two modern-day magic practitioners, the novella delves into issues of love, trust, and the problems that come when mystical forces are involved. While the mood and mystical setting were well-rendered, I struggled to connect with the protagonists, Moira and Rhys, leaving me conflicted about the plot.

Odd Spirits ♦ S.T. Gibson - A Review

Opinion

The novella's strength is its atmosphere. Gibson creates a world steeped in ancient mystery, where every shadow in Moira and Rhys's home appears to carry a secret, and the air is rich with magic. Their ritual descriptions—Moira's tarot readings and Rhys' ceremonial magic—are rich and engrossing, drawing you into their elaborate practices. The tension that builds as the malignant thing begins to meddle with their life creates a gratifying sense of discomfort. Gibson clearly has the ability to create an environment that feels both magical and scary, as if the supernatural is just around the corner.

However, while the location drew me in, the people did not have the same impact. Moira and Rhys are an unusual couple—a tarot witch and a ceremonial magician with vastly different approaches to their art, which creates an engrossing dynamic on paper. However, in practice, their friendship lacked depth. Moira's portrayal, in particular, was problematic for me. Throughout the novel, she exudes openness and tolerance, establishing herself as someone willing to accept Rhys' uniqueness. But as the story progresses, particularly near the climax, it becomes evident that she has deeper fears and a reluctance to be vulnerable herself.

This lack of candor is particularly disheartening given her character's initial promise. Moira's reluctance to accept her own weaknesses destroys the balance between her and Rhys, making their relationship appear one-sided. Rhys, meantime, is torn between his feelings for Moira and the ghosts of his past—literally, with the arrival of a psychic ex and his involvement with a secret organization. His hardships were more relatable, but his restrained demeanor made it difficult to fully appreciate his point of view.

The interaction of their opposing magical styles—Moira's intuitive, fluid approach and Rhys' organized, ritualistic methods—had the potential to generate additional tension and complexity. Instead, it felt unexplored, overshadowed by the malignant entity's outward conflicts. The story hinted at deeper flaws in their relationship, but it never went deep enough to be fulfilling.

Conclusion

Overall, "Odd Spirits" is a decent prequel that catches the creepy, mystical atmosphere of The Summoner's Circle series, but it lacks character development. Moira and Rhys' troubles with their relationship and the supernatural components had a lot of potential, but it missed the emotional depth I was searching for. Fans of S.T. Gibson's prior work may appreciate the additional context provided by this novella, but it felt to me like a plot that never really delivered on its promise.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a novella following the marriage of Rhys and Moira. This is a prequel novella which wasn’t a long read at all and was well written. I enjoyed this story and seeing the love between these two form. The pacing was fast and the story was just overall great. You get to learn a bit more of the characters and I feel like it’s a great starting point to the series. This edition is also very pretty with embossing and foiling. There’s character art and pretty endpapers. Get this book and read it before starting book 1.

*this book was sent to me by the publishers to give an honest review in return*

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

This was a nice little novella/story about the characters, and to get to see their backstory.

It was really cool to see the beginnings of Rhys and Moira in this, and how David and the Society fit into their lives. I think this look at their foundation really makes Evocation a lot more powerful! Love a good prequel novella.

I think i could never love a book where Moira and David hate each other but HERE I AM! I l loved Evocation, and now it all acquires a more subtle and layered meaning. Moira is really my favorite charachter, she's so great!

This cute novella was a fun little addition to the summoner's circle universe. This series has magic, tarot, ghosts, secret societies, and a slow burn love triangle that I just can not wait to see how it pans out!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot Books for the ARC <3

My God! First of all thank you for letting me have a look at this ARC! I did not even dare put this down at all, their dynamic had me in a grasp from the first page on. Did I immediately want to grab Evocation and read it in the same breath? Yes, yes I did.

Careful spoiler:

The paranormal being a manifestation of their struggles and the wall they build between them was an incredible way to show the struggles of a married couple that is unsure of how they can manage to work through the tensions in their home. Love love love!

This is technically a prequel to Evocation but I think it reads better after having read Evocation as you understand the characters better. It's a nice little pre-story for David and Moira and how they got together and the early days of their marriage. It's a very short story but a nice addition! Seeing the characters overcome some of their insecurities and flaws in this and learn how to communicate like adults was a good bonus (even if Moiras biphobia was extreme and hard to read at times). And I loved them explaining a bit more about their magic and occult practices and getting a deeper look into that. A nice wee bonus but honestly more of a bonus book/excerpt kind of feel than an actual book and not necessary for future books in the series I feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot Books for this ARC! All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

I read Odd Spirits right after I finished Evocation. Both are character driven books. This novella is a nice addition where we can learn more about the characters that we came to know in Evocation. In Odd Spirits, the storytelling is done from Moira and Rhys's pov - past (how they met) and present (1 year after they got married hence pre Evocation). From the first reviews that I found, I learned that the original work (the one I just read is revised version then) had quite serious backlash regarding biphobia from Moira's pov towards Rhys. I can't comment on that, but I understand from the reviews why that would be triggering. If this is a revised version, I would love to have had more detailed insight into the characters. Why they did the things they did. Why they are the way they are. Even for a novella length.

As for me, I am still not really won over by Rhys and Moira's characters. There is just something that annoys me yet I can't pinpoint it. It felt silly to me how hostile they were towards David and the Society members. You needed help, you asked for help, you ARE receiving help mind you, yet you give them such a bad attitude. Are you for real? Also, there were subjects that should have been talked over as a couple BEFORE the marriage. Like please, communicate even about the simplest things. No one likes to be vulnerable but if you want to have a good relationship, you have to communicate.

As for David, he was my favorite in Evocation, so to see him here as 'his old self I guess' was entertaining enough. Alright, there is one more thing I want to add. I though that when Rhys said to Moira that he was the one to wish ill to *** was just... I wanted to face palm myself.

At the end of the day, Odd Spirits gives as a story about a messy relationship with fictional elements and beautiful illustrations.

I'm a big S.T. Gibson fan, newsletter and all. She's an autobuy author for me and I have loved everything I've read so far, which was why I was so excited for the chance to read Odd Spirits as an ARC. So thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity.

I really enjoyed Odd Spirits. I've rated it 3 stars because it didn't hit the same notes as Evocation did for me, but I think that is mainly because it's a smaller novella. I liked learning about the beginnings of Moira and Rhys' relationship, how they navigated this difficulties and David's role in this (chaos coordinator).

I truly admire the amount of research and hard work that has gone into this book in terms of information about the occult, spells, religious, tarot etc. I learned a lot myself and have found this a really interesting topic.

As always, it is fabulously written. I just didn't find it as captivating as I have with the other works. But again, I feel that this is because it's a back story rather than the full depths of a novel.

I enjoyed it and will purchase a physical copy to add to my S.T. Gibson collection 😊

I just realized I did not post my review yesterday! So sorry!

Oh my goodness! I absolutely loved this. While I knew the gist of what was happening because of reading Evocation, seeing Rhys and Moria go through this trial in their marriage with how loving they are with one another was such a wonderful deep dive into the relationship. You can really feel their connection. This was a fun, quick read. I am so ready to learn about more of these characters as this series continues. It’s been a while since I read Evocation, and I had really missed Rhys, Moria, and David. They really have worked into your heart.

This is just my opinion, but it reads really well after Evocation. Having the story of the characters in the full-length novel just gives it something extra because you already care about these characters and you already know where they’re going.

ST Gibson It’s just an automatic read for me at this point. Fantastic author.

Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for giving me an eARC copy to read!

Phew. I feel like I just experienced every emotion under the sun 😂

This book was the definition of the miscommunication trope. Which I hate in books.

BUT HEAR ME OUT. Because this was perfect.

This book was a great example of the power of anxiety and panic. Neither Moria nor Rhys felt that they could say anything first, be the vulnerable one, show fear, show weakness, and this was a really great portrayal of that. It was about preconceived notions of what a man should be, how one should control their emotions, how to bottle everything up tight, and the consequences of your actions.

It was also about David

lmao

David was such a dick in this and I loved it.

I have read Evocation and while this is a prequel, I actually recommend you read it after Evocation! I feel like you’ll have a better understanding of the characters.

I also had quotes highlighted for this review but my kindle library seems to have deleted the book, so f you kindle, this is the second time you've deleted one of my books.

Thank you to Angry Robot and the author for providing me with an eARC and a gorgeous finished copy!

This was such a fun sweet quick novella, I loved seeing inside of their marriage and seeing them actually communicate

I love anything that S.T. Gibson writes and I was so excited to read a prequel novella for Evocation! Odd Spirits was a great look into the characters before the events of Evocation and helped me understand them more as characters. This is a quick read and feels like the perfect companion to the main story.

As it's a novella, Odd Spirits is easy to devour in one sitting and I relished spending more time with the characters of the Summoner's Circle series. I loved David, Rhys and Moira in Evocation, and it goes without saying that I couldn't resist additional insight into these characters. Odd Spirits was an intimate look at the early stages of Rhys and Moira's relationship and marriage. It shows two characters, whose magical styles are polar opposites, how they struggle, and how they choose to commit to each other again. It also provides insight into David and Moira's backstory.

Pick this series up if you love character driven stories, diverse characters, dark academia vibes and the occult. Evocation and Odd Spirits can be read in either order - and once you've read both, you can look forward to another three titles in the series, which have been announced! I'm here for it all!

A stunning re published novella, as a prequel to Evocation and the following series.
Was fantastic to see how the relationships started and learning more about Rhys and Moira backgrounds. Felt like ST Gibson introduction to the magic.
Love how she writes, the characters feel so real and gives us a look into the magic and occult life's context.
Attebded the author event this year and she took us through the next 4 books in the series, each one focused each of the characters, will but them all.
The special edition handbook of this novella is absolutely beautiful, great designing publisher Angry Robot.