I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Odd Spirits by S.T. Gibson Series: The Summoner's Circle #0.5
Published by Angry Robot on October 8 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 200
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A fun prequel that delves into themes of marriage and communication, Odd Spirits incorporates magic, spirits and emotional ties, all wrapped up in a beautiful package.
Odd Spirits is a prequel novella to Evocation, which I read earlier this year, and focuses on married couple Moira and Rhys. At just over a hundred pages, I found this to be a perfectly paced, sweet story—with a bit of edge and tension—dealing with a lack of communication and how it can ruin a marriage if not tended to. The intent of a prequel is to tell a story that happened before the main event of a novel, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should read the prequel first. In this case, I would definitely start with Evocation so you can meet and get to know the characters and the magical world Gibson has created. Reading Odd Spirits after will make much more sense and, in my opinion, will be a more rewarding reading experience.
Rhys and Moira have been blissfully married for a year, but lately Moira has noticed that they’ve been disagreeing more than usual. At the same time, odd occurrences start to happen around their house, and they suspect they might have a ghost or demon haunting them. The rattling doors and windows, misplaced objects and flickering lights are becoming annoying, and when the bathroom mirror shatters by itself, Rhys knows something has to be done.
He asks a few of his Society friends to come over, hoping they can figure out what they’re dealing with. Rhys’s best friend David is a powerful spiritualist and immediately senses a presence in the house. He also senses that things aren’t quite right between Rhys and Moira. Can the two be connected? And if so, how can they banish the spirit for good?
Odd Spirits focuses on the relationship between Rhys and Moira with a close look at how opposites can coexist if only the lines of communication are open between them. Both practice magic, but their methods are quite different. Moira comes from a folk magic tradition, using nature, tarot cards and astrology to help her clients, while Rhys’s magic is more traditional and rigid, based on ritual and precise rules. David’s revelations force the couple to take a closer look at the way they communicate, and to open up about things they haven’t been able to share with each other.
Of course, this breakthrough occurs only after the spirit stirs up a bunch of trouble, including a dramatic scene where David attempts to communicate with it. Gibson strikes just the right balance between tense action scenes and thoughtful commentary about relationships and marriage. The author includes flashback scenes showing how Rhys and Moira met and got together, which were sweet and romantic.
We also see some of the tension between Moira and David that was introduced in Evocation, and in fact this novella explains why the two don’t like each other at first. David is sort of a jerk in this book—his appearance is very brief, luckily—and I’m glad I read Evocation first, because I actually liked his character a lot in that book. This time it was Moira who grated on me a bit. She’s quick to blame Rhys for their problems, and her stubbornness gets in the way of any hope of communicating. Moira and Rhys felt real to me, though, and their reactions made sense. Marriage can be rocky at times, even between two young people in love who share a love of magic.
And I can’t end this review without commenting on the beauty of the spectacular first edition hardcover. Angry Robot poured their heart and soul into the production of this book, with a glossy, embossed naked cover and full color illustrations throughout. It’s a little gem of a book that I’m thrilled to have a copy of.
If you’ve read Evocation, Odd Spirits is definitely worth a read, an emotional and entertaining peek into the private lives of two people who love each other no matter what.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
I’m so glad this turned out to be a good read! I loved these characters so much in Evocation so I hope to get my hands on a copy soon. Also didn’t realize this is already releasing tomorrow. I keep forgetting about books and their dates of release. Where is my head at lol
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Book Blitz: Magic Unleashed by Delta James
Ha ha October is already going by way too fast!
I am glad you enjoyed it! I saw some pictures around of the book and… Wow! It is beautiful!!
If I took better photos I’d include some in the review, lol.
Yay! I’m happy to see this was as good as I hoped it would be!
Rebecca @ Powder & Page recently posted…Wisteria by Adalyn Grace – Review
I hope you enjoy it!
You’re right, we do have different opinions about reading order preference haha. Honestly, though, either way should work just fine. Glad you liked the novella!
I can definitely see it working both ways:-)
This does sound good, and give me added incentive to try Evocation!
I think there are going to be at least three more books in the series, and I’m excited to see where it goes:-)
Thanks for sharing. I would enjoy these I think and I’m glad to have heard from you the best order for reading them. That cover is lovely.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Books of My Heart 7+ Year Blogoversary @BooksofMyHeart #Blogoversary #GIVEAWAY
I think the magic system is so interesting, it’s a big draw for me.
Very good to know it’d be better to read Evocation first. Thanks much for that.
I’ve heard other opinions about the order to read it, but I’m sticking with what I said:-}
Evocation is already on my endless TBR list so it looks like I’ll have to add this one to read around the same time too. Glad you enjoyed it 😀
Pages and Tea recently posted…Book Review: Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King #2) by Rachel Gillig
It would be fun to read Evocation and Odd Spirits back to back:-}
How lucky to get a finished copy of such a stunning book I didn’t realise it had full colour illustrations too, how wonderful. The two differing magical approaches of this one sound pretty intriguing and have caught my interest. Although first I really want to read Dowry as that’s the book by the author I’m most curious about. Lovely review and I’m glad you enjoyed this.
Thanks Charlotte. Dowry of Blood is very different, and i love that the author can switch gears like this.
Such a beautiful book and very happy to see it worked well for you.
Lynn 😀
Lynn Williams recently posted…Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
It’s one of the prettiest books I own:-)
This one completely slipped by me! I’m intrigued by the idea of a prequel though, since the main book had so much backstory.