Came for the sapphic vampires and stayed for the plot of 1920s Harlem on the verge of something. In a lot of ways this is an intense book, but a deeply interesting one throughout. The main characters, Elise and Layla feel so strong and end up representing the kind of ‘two-sides’ through that (humans vs reapers). It was personally a little bit hard for me to get into at first, especially because it’s not a short book, but I was really interested in the story throughout, and I’m super interested in seeing how the story continues in the next book!

The world of THIS RAVENOUS FATE is sumptuous Jazz Age Harlem, with an empire of human hunters and a crumbling hotel of reapers (vampires). Our main characters are childhood friends to enemies to reluctant partners to…maybe something more. But they can’t quite focus on their feelings with something curious happening to reapers around the city, and y’know, Prohibition and all that. There’s family drama, friend drama, potentially mafia drama, romantic drama, and all of the things along with it. And the deeper the reader gets into the book and thus its world, the more complex everything becomes. It’s a bit hard to describe the story that Hayley Dennings has put together because it’s so nuanced, and yet so interesting along the way that I couldn’t really stop reading, even at a slower pace.

I think that this book definitely lived up to my expectations for it while also surprising me along the way. And I will so be back for part two of Black sapphics and vampires in the finale to this duology!

I really like the premise and time period this story is set in, but it just didn't grab me. I felt it was lacking chemistry between characters and there was not much happening. I felt like the world building took a long time. I'm sorry to say it didn't work for me!

This Ravenous Fate is a sapphic fantasy set in Jazz Age Harlem. The regal world-building is intertwined with the threat of vampires and a mysterious affliction that haunts them. Elise and Layla have a very complicated relationship that is slowly revealed. The chemistry between them is intense, especially as the truth of their connection is rekindled. The pacing felt a little off at times, with some reveals being glossed over too quickly or at times lacking momentum. Still, this was an intriguing debut and I’m excited to see what happens in the sequel!

Thank you to Hayley Dennings, Sourcebooks Fire, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The concept was so interesting, but this wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I felt confused at times and wanted more from the plot, characters, and world. There were some things that happened in the end that I wasn’t expecting.

Thanks to Sourcebooks for an eARC of this book.

What a fun debut! Gangs/Vampires/Vampire Hunters, friends>enemies>reluctant allies, wlw romance, in 1920's Harlem, NY? So much happening.

Elise Saint returns from France to take over her father's vampire (reaper, in this novel) hunting empire. After a mysterious murder, Elise is forced to team up with someone from her past to solve the crime. As expected, things get tense. There is a lot of betrayal, lies and half truths, and ulterior motives from everyone involved.

Overall I really enjoyed this read. I think the 1920's setting was a perfect blend with the more fantastical elements of this book and Dennings used a lot of historical context to propel the plot points of her story.

As other review's have pointed out, the romance aspect of this story felt a little confused for me. There was clearly a strong connection with Elise and Sterling and while Dennings makes it clear that they are just friends, more like brother and sister, there are still a few points where Sterling is talking to Elise and it almost seems like he secretly wishes it were more? Lots of brushing hair from her face or other kind of intimate gestures like this that feel slightly more weighted than a casual touch. It never felt like Elise wanted more/had deeper feelings, but it does beg the question of if he knows she's interested in women? Just food for thought.

I hope Elise continues to grow in book two. She is pretty selfish, if I'm being honest, and we see that in a few key scenes of the book where she either says or does something that she sees no issues with but it really hurts those around her.

SPOILER ALERT: I do wish Elise became a Reaper during THAT scene. It would've felt really full circle but maybe in book two.

This Ravenous Fate is the story of two African American women living in 1920’s New York. One has returned home from several years abroad studying and playing piano in France. The other is a vampire dealing with clan politics and loyalties. These two former best friends are now enemies and must work together to solve a mystery regarding a newly turned vampire who was not a vampire at the time of his death.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately, while this book has many things going for it and to support such as a sapphic main couple, a debut author etc, this book fell short for me.
I wasn’t engaged with the main storyline and none of the characters were appealing enough for me to care what happened to any of them. I am giving this book 3 stars and will not be discussing this book on my social media at time of release in August.

Y'all, this was SO DAMN good!! It was a little slow in the beginning for my taste, but it's so worth it!

1920s, women of color kicking ass, sapphic romance, tackling the injustices of the time period, and just beautiful language used throughout. I think the way the author realistically added in what was going on in the 20s was perfect. Even with the fantasy aspect, there was no shying away from how people of color were treated. It grounded the story telling to truly push the narrative in the injustices that were happening outside of people's skin colors. That it just showed how it was if we can't understand how POCs felt we could understand how the reapers felt. Thus helping and teaching with what we could not understand due to the privilege we may possess.

THIS RAVENOUS RATE by Hayley Dennings is set a the world of the 1920’s New York; a world filled with fantasy and mystery

The authors writing was captivating from the very start, absolutely poetic. I found it hard to stop reading.

There was so many deep complex and vulnerable layers to her characters especially Elise and Layla. I loved that we got both of their POV’s and see as they worked through their inner struggles. The backstory of their history was beautifully executed and compelling. I admired both of their growth as the story progressed, it was amazing to witnessed. Despite the years that separated them they had incredible chemistry and passion. They both felt so real and relatable, I felt connected to different aspects of them.

And that ending!!! Despite wanting more world building and the pacing being a bit slow! The ending made me excited to see what the author has in store next for the next book in this series

Great lesbian rep. Sultry and decadent. Black vampires prove that everything is better black. Can’t wait to read more by this author. A dazzling debut.

I wanted to start off by saying it wasn’t the worst book ever. I think with some fine tuning, this authors story telling could be great. It hooked me enough to keep reading. However, I found myself intrigued more by Layla. I think this book does itself a great disservice by making it dual pov. For one, Elise is completely boring, I’m sorry. All her chapters is her repeating the same inner turmoil and never learning from it. But she still expects Layla to abandon every trauma or connections she’s made outside of Elise, without doing the same in return. I feel like that was on purpose to then come up with a sequel, but no offensive but I wouldn’t read it. Now second, from her personality to her motivations were inconsistent and not in a fun way. She kept doing damaging things to Layla thinking this was her moment of being strong or standing up for herself when it wasn’t. For example, (spoiler alert) her killing Valeriya, and saying “whoever threatens her sister dies” and yet letting both Stephen Wayne and her father live. Then there was her little breakdown in the rain trying to confess her feelings like girl… this is manipulation not love. You are just as abusive as your father but more in a glasslighting sort of way. Elise just wanted Layla to have nothing and be all about her while she kept her vices (her father and her hatred of reapers). I high key wanted her to become one and repent for all the damage she caused Layla. All in all, just know I hated Layla soooooo much.

Next, I didn’t feel the chemistry, I am so sorry. I felt it more between Elise and Sterling. It was so angsty at times that I was wondering if they were gonna be a thriple. I think that might have helped in terms of the story of them all growing up together. I understand (kinda, not really) why Elise and Layla hated each other. But Sterling hating Layla didn’t make sense. I’m not saying he had to be in love with her but, he would have bonded over how they both had no parents and were obsessed and reliant on the Saints for validation of their lives. They would make more sense than all these scenes of Sterling and Elise crying and saying how much they love each other. One scene of that fine but like 3 is unnessesary. As for Layla and Elise, it was just toxic and not a fun toxic but in a “send help” sort of way. Elise refused to under Layla. Layla believed she had no sympathy but at every turn she left room to understand and left Elise feel and Elise did not reciprocate that same courtesy.

This book just left me frustrated. It’s 480 and I wish it would have allowed itself to change and evolve and not rely on the same plot and action scenes to hold up for the whole book. If it wanted to be outlandish and crazy then it has to really take it there. Not start crazy storylines and chicken out at the last minute with a rushed and chaotic ending. Overall, not my favorite. I think I would have dnf’d had it not been a netgalley arc. If the author is able to make real changes, I might read something from her in the future.

This was a really fun one. Looking at the change in reapers, the vampires roaming the streets of Harlem, the hunters are having to adapt their methods. When a strong of murders is pinned on one of Elise's old friends, they end up investigating together.

As they search for information, they rekindle their friendship, but neither can be sure if it's enough to mend what's been broken. More importantly, can they figure out what's going on and keep the people of Harlem safe?

4.25 stars

Black Sapphic vampire x human in 1920s New York with an enemies-to-lovers arc trying to figure out a mystery is an amazing premise!

This book is a dark fantasy journey, and Layla is an incredible character to read. Her conflict over her reaperhood (vampirism) and her love-hate relationship with Elise were stunning. Elise did so many things that made zero sense, though. She doesn't think things through, and she alienates all her allies at every turn even when she knows better.

The pacing is very long throughout the middle and then rushes at the end, and the ending left several questions which is good setup for a sequel but not very satisfactory for reading. There would have been some benefit in condensing or rearranging some scenes throughout.

There were some parts I really loved, and I hope the sequel delivers on the setup.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

The renaissance of vampires, with the addition of sapphic vampires, makes my little queer heart so happy.

This book was so good? The Queer black vampires just kept you intrigued and held throughout the story. The relationship between Elise and Layla was just so cute. I also loved the underpinnings of female rage.

I need a physical copy for my vampire sapphic shelf like right now.

This book was not at all what I went in expecting, but I ended up loving it!! The 1920s setting was amazing and I felt so immersed in the time period. It had vampires and action and mystery to keep you on your toes. Very well done romance.

I gotta say I didn't like Elise. The amount of times she betrayed Layla after everything they went through! At first I was like "ok, she is being manipulated" but at the end the truth was in front of her. It just didn't sit right with me how Layla kept going back after all even though I understand the love they have for each other and the circumstances of Layla's existence. Because of the ending I understand there is a 2nd book which I'm looking forward to read, I wanna know more about reaperhood, the beginning of it and see if they find a cure.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The author is quite talented, I applaud her for it. The characterizations and the plot were so beautiful. It’s rare to see characters this raw and polished. I’m not the biggest fan of fantasy in modern world, but this one was great that I didn’t question it.

I’ve been seeing the author on my social medias way before the cover reveal and it’s great to see someone so passionate and talented getting their work out in the world. You can feel the effort and enthusiasm that was put into this work.

However, it was hard to follow. I kept getting distracted and losing the track of the story. I believe that it’s more of an editing issue than a writing issue. I understand that this is an ARC so it may be changed later in the future before the official release. It made it hard to follow and I found myself frustrated rather than enjoying the story. I also think that the mystery part was poorly done, which took out a lot of enjoyment from the book in my opinion since it’s a huge part of the plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Hayley Dennings' debut novel is a compelling read and a wonderful addition to the historical fantasy genre. The chilling atmosphere, engaging prose and interesting characters made for a great read. Occasionally the plot meandered and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pacing, but overall this was a solid debut novel that will be enjoyed by many.

This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings is a sapphic vampire romance and the start of a duology. This is Elise and Layla‘s story.
 
I absolutely love how this book is a refreshing take on vampire diaries with poc protagonists and it being sapphic. The romance between a vampire and hunter creates the perfect enemies-to-lovers situation. And that in combination with the stunning historical setting in the 1920s Harlem Jazz Age gives you this stunning story.
 
Elsie Saint comes from a family of vampire hunters and after coming back from Paris, she starts her training. At first, she is a bit reluctant but gives in to fulfill her family‘s obligations. Layla lost everything the night she was turned into a vampire and has since done everything to survive. But there is something weird coming on with the vampires and Layla is framed for some mysterious and brutal killings that she didn’t commit. That however brings her back on the radar of the Saint family. Both characters are lovely and looking to find a place in this world. Their relationship develops beautifully from enemies to friends to lovers. I loved how they finally got together but there are obviously a lot of obstacles in their way, and I can’t wait to see how the story continues.
 
Overall, I highly recommend checking out This Ravenous Fate and I can’t wait for the next installment. 4,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

“I still feel you under all of my scars. It still hurts.”

“This Ravenous Fate,” by Hayley Dennings

1926 in New York and the city is dealing with reapers, once-human vampires, who are a danger to the people because of their ravenous hunger. The Saint family is running a successful reaper-hunting enterprise, and after five long years Elise is back from Paris to join them in the family business. The Harlem reapers wanted her dead for all these years. Layla is a reaper that was once best friends with Elise. She holds a lot of hatred towards her once best friend but now that there’s been strange killings, they join up to find the culprits.

This book wasn’t for me. I felt a lot of things just dragged on and I got bored. I liked the concept and the scenery though. 2 out of 5 stars.

-Multi POV
-Reapers
-Friends To Enemies

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I loved this book so much. From the beginning, it was really interesting and gorgeously written. One of my favorite aspects of this book was the tension. A lot of times, the dynamics between enemies don't quite hit right, but this one definitely did. Layla and Elise had so much history fueling the tension between them, it was palpable from their first interaction well into their last. Their chemistry was undeniable and I loved them. The two were amazing and I absolutely adored reading this book as much as I did partially because of them. And then of course there was the story itself, with a plot that really kept propelling the story forward and sucking me in the further I read. The setting of this book is 1920s Harlem, and that setting made this all the more fun to read. The world we're drawn into felt lively and electric. There were a lot of side characters, but the ones who stood out were great additions to the story.

Really, the only reason I didn't give this a firm 5 stars was just because the middle was a little slow in some spots and some scenes went on a little longer than I thought it needed. Also, sometimes the main antagonists slipped into Disney-villain mode and it took me out for a bit. But honestly these are minor gripes as this story was so fun and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel!