Evocation is an urban paranormal book with a polyamorous relationship that really emphasizes its wonderful character dynamics. 

David Aristarkhov is a physic prodigy whose has been leading a life as an attorney and medium for a secret society. All of his ambitions have culminated to him reaching for the position of High Priest of his society as he reaches thirty. However, his ex Rhys also wants the position, and they have had a rocky relationship since they broke up. When David suddenly finds a malevolent demon has entered him, he must reach out to the only person he trusts, Rhys. Rhys and his wife Moira, a powerful witch work together to safe David's life, but find that feelings are starting to build and must figure out how to untwist their relationships. 

This was definitely a very character forward book that really focuses on the development and feelings of all three main characters. Due to that, it was a little tough for me to become interested at first, but over time the book definitely won me over and I was invested. The pacing felt relatively slow at first and also tended to pick up and slow down throughout the book. The setting itself was atmospheric and very urban, with a dash of paranormal and witchiness. In this world, the paranormal is quite real and people have many different skills regarding that, whether that is seances, evocation of sprints, intuition and more. 

Again, the characters here are just absolutely amazing, and the way that the author writes them just wins over your heart. David is a bit of an asshole, but he truly does care about Rhys and grows to truly care for Moira. He's just a lonely guy who has struggled with his upbringing and has to learn to trust others. Rhys is just someone who is so determined to protect those that he loves and Moira is the true sunshine in this book. All three of them really complement each other and the way that they support each other and grow with each other was beautiful. 

It is a polyamorous relationship, but I believe that Moira and David are more platonic, but do love each other. I love how comfortable the book depicts their relationship and how seamlessly they are able to be with each other. The book didn't end with everything resolved, so I am interested to see how they will continue to grow. I'm excited for the sequel!

Thank you to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! 

Foul Lady Fortune expands on the universe that was set in the previous duology with better characters and romance.

Rosalind Lang almost died after the events that took place in These Violent Ends. She is saved, but in doing so she now has the ability to heal from all wounds and doesn't age. She uses her power to become a Nationalist assassin, under the code name Fortune. With a Japanese invasion looming and strange deaths taking place in Shanghai, she is assigned to spy with another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong. Orion and Rosalind have to pretend to be married to infiltrate a Japanese newspaper, but they discover there is more than meets the eye with their mission and each other. 

I really enjoyed this! I felt the plot was MUCH better than the previous duology. I felt more immersed in this book and it was easier to catch my attention. It's definitely a switch from the previous series, with less focus on gangs and more on the politics of the current climate. You have lots of spying from all sides, as the Japanese, Communists, and Nationalists all have different motivations in the city. I found that setting pretty interesting, but I will say there are some strange inconsistencies. Orion is the famous son of a Nationalist leader in Shanghai, but is able to start working at a foreign newspaper under cover without any suspicion? I just think there were some plot holes in that regard. 

Despite that, I found the romance much more believable and I liked how it grew over time. It is very slow-burn and they truly don't exactly get together. There is lots of banter as they don't like each other at the beginning, but over time they grow and learn more about each other. If anything, I'm really excited to see how that pans out in the next book. I will be picking up the sequel and I'm excited to finally get to the novellas as well. 

The Taking of Jake Livingston tackles hard themes in a horror and high school setting, but I'm not entirely sure this was for me. 

Jake has felt like a loner for a long time, due to the fact he can see ghosts. It's not a fun power, and he often sees people dying over and over and ghouls leeching off people's sadness. When a next door neighbor is murdered, he realizes an angry ghost beyond the veil is terrorizing his town and Jake's life, with the intention of possessing him. 

I have mixed feelings, I felt like the character development was well done. You can't help but root for Jake, due to the discrimination he faces and the society he lives in. Sawyer (the murderous ghost) is doing everything he can to destabilize Jake's life and it works. Overall though, I found that I liked his character and his overall motivations and decisions made sense. Jake grows into himself and gains confidence, as well as finally learning to make friends and rely on them. 

I think I struggled most with the plot. For some reason, it took me a while to feel invested in this book. The plot was pretty jumpy from point to point, and it never felt fully realized and very rushed, especially the end! I also wish we had more development from other side characters, with the majority of this book focusing on Jake and Sawyer's perspectives. I think the ending didn't really make sense? Like as a whole, a LOT of things weren't wrapped up and there were consequences that were never really explained. Overall, this book tackles heavy themes and I would recommend that anyone reading this checks CWs.