Evocation Book I in The Summoner’s Circle by S.T. Gibson ⭐⭐⭐⭐︎⭐︎

(Warning, I don’t spoil the plot, but I do talk about some elements that might ruin the story.)

I can’t decide if I don’t like the characters, or if I don’t like the way the author wrote these characters. Moira especially seems like she should be one of the most dynamic characters, walking multiple worlds while growing from a people pleaser to someone who asserts her boundaries. The way she’s written, though, she comes across as whatever David and Rhys need for plot development. That could be said for David and Rhys too, but they’re so unlikable that I never really cared. I never got the sense that these are three complete people who grow against and with each other, but that they’re mutual plot devices for each other. I always knew what each of them would do, and that made the story more bland that it could have been.

Moira does get her own story in the sequel, so maybe she’s rounded out there. Maybe the sequels also delve more into the occult societies and magics that somehow exist in modern day Boston. If so, I’d likely rate them higher than this book.