“Drinking from my throat will be faster. Hurry up before your food gets cold.”
-
3.5 stars!! so happy to have been one of the lucky ones to have had the chance to get an arc on Net Galley (terrible timing though)!! I loved everything about this and how could I not when: 1) it’s set in Harlem in the 1920s 2) there are POC vampires/reapers 3) it's a SAPPHIC LOVE STORY with a murder mystery storyline??? need I say more?? the chemistry between the two MCs drove it home! I loved how the act of biting/getting bitten became very euphoric & blended into their love story, definitely always a favorite quality in vampire stories! the lively and bustling energy of the jazz era, especially in Harlem, did not disappoint and made the stakes even higher regarding race relations!

however, the partners-in-crime dynamic felt flat. I would’ve LOVED for more suspense, more tension, and more….detective work. it felt like the two leads completely forgot what forced them to work with one another.

besides that, I thought that this was a great debut, definitely can’t wait for the physical release! <3

I was so excited when I got my hands on this ARC! Vampires, sapphic romance, jazz age Harlem, and mystery - it sounded right up my alley! The pacing felt a bit slow to me at first, but it picked up around halfway through and really took off at about 70%. While I did like the book, I would have loved to see more action and a deeper exploration of the romance. The investigation could've been more detailed too. I appreciated the portrayal of Elise's OCD and anxiety, which were depicted quite well. Elise's dad Tobias gave off major Hiram Lodge vibes, but more sinister. Layla's character was a favorite of mine, along with some of the side characters. I also appreciated how the book tackled important issues like race, class, and family.

Overall, I'd rate it 3.5 stars, and I'm curious about the sequel to this duology.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I'm honestly....VERY,very conflicted about my feelings here.

To be frank, I feel like the probably was truly me at the end of the day. I am ROOTING for the author's success in the book realm, especially as a Black author. Watch her Book tube videos front he beginning of her online journey is something valuable to seeing her flourish into a sophisticated writer.

It's just, possibly, the writing style that is making it difficult for me to finish the story. It should have not taken me two months to finish this ARC. But, I kept putting the book down after reading in increments due to the lack of interest.

I loved a good enemies to lovers novel, and I do enjoy a good fantasy/paranormal novel...but I'm still confused on what exactly went wrong for me here.


Regardless, I recommend giving this novel a whirl, for the girls and the gays, for the black people who can finally see themselves in books, or simply just for yourself.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy of the book.

Hayley Dennings' debut novel has drawn a lot of interest and rightfully so! Sapphic vampires during the Harlem Renaissance is an intriguing concept.

I enjoyed following the stories of our two main characters, Elise and Layla. Their hate and tension towards each other were clear, but I could also feel the underlying attraction they were trying to hide from one another.

This book gave me gore and I loved it! When I read a Vampire story I want to see their blood lust and the rewards/consequences of their desires. Dennings did not hold back on that factor, so readers should proceed with caution if they are not a fan of blood and gore.

I was genuinely interested in the characters. Some were easy to root for, and some were easy to hate, but there were a few character elements that left me a little confused.

The major element that was lacking for me was the overall mystery of the story. Some aspects seemed a bit too obvious, other sections left me wanting more details. I realize this is the first book in a duology, so it may have been intentional, but at the moment it felt more forgotten than purposeful.

Either way, I applaud the author for this work and will be recommending the book. And I'm very interested to see where Elise and Layla find themselves in book 2.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Ya’ll………….

WE NEED MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS WITH DIVERSITY!

I absolutely LOVED it.

Black Girl Magic for sure!!!

This Ravenous Fate is YA historical fantasy that reaches into the past atrocities of experimentation on Black people which resulted in the creation of vampires they call reapers. Elise is the heir to the Saint Empire in 1920's Harlem who is forced to ally with her childhood friend turned reaper to solve the mystery of why reapers and others are suddenly being murdered. Insert generational family drama, horrible father figure, questionable household friends/employees, white vs. black politics, prohibition, and two girls who have been in love for ages but never admitted and you have the recipe for an intriguing supernatural who-dun-it.

Sadly, the pace of the book was very slow, it seemed like finding out what the real problem was could happen whenever they got around to it, there was no real urgency. Even the prospect of reapers disappearing wasn't all that motivating, and other than lots of blood and fangs always piercing lips ang getting in the way (seriously?), not much happened. It was pretty obvious there was desire under the surface for both Elise and Layla, so that was no surprise yet it still fell flat when revealed. At the same time there was a very weird lover vibe happening between Elise and Sterling, which was odd based on the scientist Thalia (Sterling's long lost love) who appears and then dies almost immediately. it was also obvious who the bad guys were. I guess take away all the blood and carnage and you have a basic cozy mystery.

The 1920's Harlem didn't truly come through for me. The things were there, the speak-easies and the gangsters running alcohol, but it felt out of place, unnatural. Like at any moment someone was going to pull out there cell phone, or turn on the color TV, I didn't hate it, and there's someone out there who will love it. Just not for me.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the e-copy, this is my honest review.

arc provided by netgalley, WOW this was such a breath of fresh air! absolutely loved the vibes on this and i will be eagerly awaiting its official release, some of the best friends to enemies to lovers i’ve seen in YA in a WHILE with incredibly rich worldbuilding and setting, and a really intriguing mystery at the heart of it all! (vampires are so back!!!)

This novel was good. Not great, but fair. I will say that I really enjoyed it though. I went in expecting a cheesy vampire romance, but this exceeded that expectation. I wouldn't put this on my favorites of all time, but I would recommend it to people who need to scratch that Twilight itch...

Thank you NetGalley, Source Fire Books, and Hayley Dennings for this ARC.

Jazz age in Harlem

Vampires

Strong Black Women and LGBTQ Rep.

and an awesome story line. What more can you want.

I love this story. Layla Quinn is a young reaper and Elise Saint a Human.

Both embark on a journey to prove something is not right between the Humans and the reapers.

Full of twist and turns. I cannot wait for the second book to come out. I wish I can tell you me, but I dont want to ruin the fun. Please read this book.

I could not put this down. I was truly invested. A great read & I highly recommend this book. Top tier for sure

childhood best friends to lovers with vampires!!! YES PLEASE

loved this book! can't wait for the next one :)

10s 10s across the board. I love a good fantasy with romance and adventure. This book was so fun and empowering, I didn't want it to end.

LETS GO BLACK LESBIAN VAMPIRE THAT LITERALLY HAS A KNIFE TO THE THROAT SCENE WITH HER LOVE INTEREST A BLACK LESBIAN VAMPIRE HUNTER!!! this is truly all you need to know, if this isn't enough for you to read it, then idk how else to convince you

I loved the thought of This Ravenous Fate and what it could have been. But it just didn’t cut it for me. I feel as the book was decent but just didn’t grab my attention enough to keep me from putting it down.

The time frame 1920s Jazz era in a world full of humans and reapers with a murder mystery to solve involving a human turned reaper who turned back to human. Not sure why they are called reapers and not just vampires especially since they are two different types of characters. I felt we could have gotten more backstories or flashbacks of the characters to help us connect better in the book. The murder mystery wasn’t even something that kept me guessing it was apparent from the start and the MC just went around casually asking questions until they were surprised to find out who did it all along.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

Summary: Elise Saint returns to Harlem five years after her former best friend-turned-reaper Layla Quinn almost ripped her throat out. Elise’s father has built an empire on the business of reaper-killing steel-bullet production and training reaper-hunters. Elise, a pianist and musician at heart, wants none of it, but to protect her younger sister, she takes on the mantle of heir as she is thrust into an investigation into the inexplicable murders of Saint personnel. To make matters worse, she is forced to work with the very same reaper who nearly killed her- her ex-best friend, Layla Quinn. Neither are happy about it, but as they start investigating, both realize there is more to this than meets the eye; and to solve it, they’ll need to trust one another. Can they overcome their past to protect the people they love?

Review: Hayley Dennings has created such a lush and vibrant world as the backdrop for Elise and Layla’s story. Given this is only the first book, and the hints we were dropped in this first book, I am beyond excited for Dennings to expand the world we’ve been given thus far. This world never felt confusing, far-fetched, or unrealistic. The characters truly feel like a part of their world, instead of the world being a backdrop they’ve been placed into for a story. It adds to the entire experience that I should really start talking about even though I have such praise for it!

Characters! Elise holds a special place in my heart. As the daughter of a father with high expectations, much of Elise’s plight with her father in this book felt that much sharper. As the eldest daughter to a younger sister that I want to give the world to, Elise’s decisions and determination to do something she otherwise wouldn’t have felt so true. In this house we hate Tobias Saint.

Layla is such an energetic, likable, and angry character- and she has every right to be, given reapers killed her family, turned her, and she lost everything she’d ever known. She’s snarky, she’s capable, and she’s empathetic to the plight of fellow reapers, even to a fault. She’s the person who helps you find out after you f around. She refuses to take shit, and she gets shit done. Layla and Elise’s banter is so amusing, and true to their situation. The way they fall back into one another is messy and it happens in starts and stops because neither is sure if the other will catch them, but they do, time and time again.

In short, I love Layla and Elise and I’m so excited to see where their relationship heads, especially after the ending…

As for the other characters, I find Valeriya so interesting. Josephine is adorable. Sterling I was rooting for you so bad. I wish there had been more Mei! :,)

This is such a riveting introduction to a dazzling world and splendid characters. This was a genuine treat to read! Thank you again to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

In “This Ravenous Fate,” Hayley Dennings spins a captivating tale set in early 20th century Harlem, where race, identity, and the supernatural collide. Dennings blends fantasy and historical fiction against the backdrop of Harlem's lively streets and jazz clubs. What really got me was how the characters, like Layla and Elise, grapple with their identities as women of color and part of the LGBTQ+ community – it added so much depth to their narrative. Layla and Elise deal with the drama between humans and reapers, which mirrors the struggles of real-life marginalized communities. The book throws in some classic tropes like enemies-to-lovers and a touch of Romeo and Juliet. It felt a tad long, but overall, it was a solid read. Shoutout to Netgalley for the ARC! 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sapphic enemies to lovers set during the Harlem Renaissance with vampires and great black representation? This book should have been a slam dunk for me, but unfortunately it didn’t hit as I hoped it would. I really struggled to get through this one.

First off, the good. I really liked our two main characters as well as most of the side characters. Layla and Elise both had really clear motivations that I found believable and well written. The premise, atmosphere, and setting were also well done and very immersive. The discussions of race and the themes of medical exploitation that have often been inflicted on black bodies throughout US history was compelling as well.

The biggest issues for me with this book was with the pacing and the writing. The central conflict is surrounding a mystery that forces Layla and Elise to work together. This ended up making the plot pretty circular where we would see them meet up to try and unravel what is going on, have some banter, and then go back to their separate worlds for the fallout of whatever mischief they caused. And then it went on in that exact order for a couple hundred pages. The writing was sometimes clunky and awkward and there would occasionally be moments where certain phrases in dialogue would be overused. There were often times when a conversation did not flow very well and that made it hard to stick with.

Also, for an enemies to lovers book, there was so little tension built. I believed that they hated each other, even though it wasn’t explained why until MUCH later into the book, but there wasn’t much done with that aside from repetitive bickering, so the romance fell short for me.

Overall I was impressed by the concept of this book but the execution was a bit lacking. I would definitely see what Dennings does in the future, because I’m sure her writing will only get better with time.

The description of this book was highly appealing to me, but I gave up on it about a 1/4 of the way through. I wasn't interested in the characters and was distracted by grammar stuff. It was too slow. I hope other readers' mileage varies!

Lots of fun and entertaining character dynamics, leaves you with lots of things to think about. Would’ve liked to see more of the time period, but it was great!

3.75- rounded up; I loved the premise of this book and the plot. It was right up my alley and I felt like it was easy to get sucked in and enjoy it. Where it started to lose me a bit was towards the end and how things were finished just because it didn’t exactly feel like it was complete. Would still recommend it to anyone who wants to read about black sapphics and be in the fantasy/murder mystery realm and I definitely plan on getting my own copy when it releases. I also can’t wait until the second book because I’m pretty sure it’s a duology and will tie in any lose ends from the first book.