Author Hayley Dennings' storytelling is incredible. This Ravenous Fate, written so poetically, so lyrically, will wistfully pull you along through this fantastical world built on top of 1920s Harlem, and then deviously hand you blood-drenched scenes where you're rooting for the one who caused the catastrophe.

Childhood friends to enemies, black queer vampires, a mystery, and a wonderful plot! Dennings' ability to convey the intense longing between characters, vividly portray emotions, acurately depict anxiety and the stress of an overbearing parent, as well as weave real-world issues throughout the story is simply impeccable. This book is exceptional. I pre-ordered it as soon as I finished chapter 2! I received this as an ARC and I'm truly honored I was able to read it ahead of time! I cannot wait to read more books by Hayley Dennings! Oh! And the twist had me pacing my kitchen with my hand over my mouth. The depth of the characters had me in tears and wishing for a book of the character Valeriya's life. I cannot praise this book enough!

This Ravenous Fate
This is a book about Layla and Elise friends who turned enemies set in 1920s era New York, this was a very good book very detailed and a great plot the story was very easy to follow and very well executed. A Great read and would definitely recommend

I was so excited to read this book because there aren't many YA fantasy books that center sapphic black women . While it was predictable in some parts, mostly due to the formula this genre tends to stick to, it was still really enjoyable. I would be interested in a sequel and delving deeper into this world.

I have some mixed feelings about this book, because there were some things I liked and others that just fell flat. I really liked the concept, vampires (or reapers, as they're called here) in 1926 Harlem? Sounds awesome! However, I felt like the atmosphere I expected from that wasn't delivered on, and I wasn't really immersed in the world, unlike in other books I've read set in 1920s NYC. I also didn't feel much connection in the main romance, other than the typical vampire x vampire hunter angst, which wasn't enough for me to really enjoy it or believe in it. The relationship I did enjoy reading (enjoy is a strong word, I was more intrigued by it) was between Elise and her father, head of the Saint family of reaper hunters. It was messed up and I thought it was interesting and compelling.

Not a bad book, I just didn't like it as much as I had hoped.
3/5

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

The cover of this book is really pretty and I always look forward to reading novels from debut novels.

I felt that the beginning of this book was the strongest and where I felt the most immersed into the story. The writing is easy to follow. It did start to drag for me towards the middle. The conclusion was wrapped up well. I just didn’t feel an attachment to the characters and that may be a me problem.

This book has so many great components: sapphic romance, 1920s New York setting, vampires! I really enjoyed the romance element, and the simmering tension between Elise and Layla made for a fun read especially with the dual POVs.

There were some parts where the pacing felt off and the dialogue was clunky, which threw me out of the story a bit, but overall it was a quick and engaging read.

These Violent Delights meets First Kill in this fantastically fast paced sapphic vampire book. I loved the chemistry and history between the leads, and how much inner struggles they opened up about and grew from. Such an amazing book, omg. I NEED THE SEQUEL ASAP.

First, thank you to NetGalley for this wonderful arc!

Set in 1920s Harlem, the story follows two young queer African American girls as they navigate a tricky path to solve a murder. The catch? They have a troubled history and would rather kill each other than work together. Oh, and of course, one of them is a vampire while the other is mortal.

While this was phenomenally written and I thoroughly enjoyed the book , it was too slowed paced and drawn out for me personally. That being said, I’m intrigued to see what happens in book two of this duology!

This Ravenous Fate has an extremely promising and fun premise, but execution fell a little short for me. The main hiccup for me was the dual POVs, Elise's pov came across extremely weak while Laylas really shined through. Great chemistry, however. That said, I really didn't care about anything that was happening.

4.25 stars

Romantasy, especially with sapphic representation, is quickly becoming my favourite genre. So This Ravenous Fate very quickly became one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I was not disappointed by it.
Our main characters Layla and Elise were childhood friends in the past, before Layla became a reaper. While Elise’s family has created a successful business protecting people against the reapers. Now at the start of the book after years apart they are forced to work with each other to solve the cause of deaths in the city. The writing style made the book a very quick and easy read that I didn’t want to stop reading. My only criticisms was that the ending felt rushed and some side characters felt a little bit two-dimensional but overall I enjoyed reading it and I already can’t wait to read the sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

This Ravenous Fate

There were a lot of elements in this book I really liked! The relationship between the two protagonists was compelling, and the enemies-to-lovers relationship was written really well and convincingly. The family dynamics were also great, particularly within the Saint family. I loved the variety of relationships that Elise had with her sister, father, mother and best friend Sterling. I liked the plot twists, with one in particular that I thought was cleverly foreshadowed, and the resolution of the main plot was full of justice and female rage which I loved! The dialogue was written well, with each of the characters having distinct voices, and there were a lot of humorous moments that I enjoyed. There was loads about this that I liked, and I adored the main romance.

However, there were a few things that brought this down to 3.75 stars for me. The world-building could have been stronger and I have lots of questions about the reapers and how they exist within society. The murder mystery element of this book was intriguing and I liked the way the two protagonists were forced to work together to solve it (forced proximity is one of my favourite tropes). However, I thought the mystery was a bit confusing and it was hard to follow what they were trying to figure out at any one time or exactly what the motivations of the antagonists were. My biggest qualm with this book is its ending. There were some character decisions in the last few chapters that didn’t feel natural, and some elements seemed a little forced to create tension for the sequel. There was also a moment at the end of a chapter where a character is in one place, and then immediately at the start of the next chapter, she is somewhere else, with no explanation of why or when she went there. I had to reread the section a couple of times to get my bearings, which was the first time I’d had an issue with the writing

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot, especially the relationship between the main characters. And, let’s be honest, lesbian vampires solving murders in 1920s New York is never not going to be a compelling story. I would definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy interesting characters and complex relationships.

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

Elise is a compelling character grounded in her music and her will to protect her family, she isn't 'badass' in a one dimensional fashion. Elise cries and feels and I love that she is allowed the complexity to be intelligent and feeling. Layla, love her, and her entire arc throughout the story. I will say the relationship dynamics both romantic and familial really got to me.

Thanks to netgalley for this arc.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc! It was already on my to read list so this was perfect.

What if the repressed vampire and vampire hunter were in fact lesbians? The answer is yes of course it made the whole concept better. Bonus points for the ancient vampire who is simply tired of having to deal with it all. Honestly my only negatives is I wanted more of Mei and Sterling and I think they deserved better. Also Talia tbh. Justice for side characters!

Also the ending is really odd? I get setting up for the next book but I'm not even sure what was going on there. I think it could have ended possibly slightly earlier? Or later? As it stands it sets up without explaining any of the set up for the second book. Definitely adding it to my list of sequels to wait for though!

When I first saw this book pitched on Twitter it sounded right up my alley. Sapphic vampire/vampire hunter romance? Sign me the hell up! Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my hype.

There was very little in terms of world-building. The rules of these Vampires, oh sorry "reapers" are never truly explained well enough for me to get invested. There are interesting hints of how they came to be but it's never fully flushed out. It's set in the 1920s but that adds nothing to the plot outside of a couple of mentions of the cotton club, prohibition, and jazz music. Harlem's Renaissance era was such a lush beautiful time in history, that could have added to the overall feel of the book but instead, we're left with a pretty bland setting and two main characters who talk and act as if they have iPhones in their pockets.

The two main characters Elise Saint and Layla Quinn were the most developed of the cast but that's not saying much. The supporting characters felt like cardboard cutouts of old gangster movie troupes. The obnoxious little sister who acts far too childish to be 10 years old. I believe the mother might have been a robot "My daughter is missing and my husband is near death, I surely won't sleep tonight". The dialogue is clunky and so very repetitive. Lines like "Good morning to my beautiful family" and "Elise Saint, daughter of my favorite business partner" had me rolling with laughter because they sounded like something Tommy Wiseau would say.

The writing was a huge problem. The book gave off the feeling of being unfinished. As if these were just placeholder scenes waiting to be beefed up in another pass. It's amateurish and felt like it was just going in circles. The number of times words 'lair' and 'gangster' were used could be a drinking game. She lived in a hotel stop calling it your lair! The romance, which is what I was most excited about just didn't hit. The banter felt forced and awkward. Barely any chemistry. Didn't care or want to see them get together.

The ending was RUSHED and confusing. I found myself rereading parts trying to figure out just what was going on. I still couldn't fully explain it.

This was a great premise that just wasn't pulled off well. I'm sure there is an audience out there for it and with some retooling, it could be good.


Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for giving me this ARC! This book sent me on a roller coaster of emotions. The beginning was a bit of a struggle to get through. It felt as if the author had written all of these individual scenes but the transitions between each of them were rough. I didn't feel like the beginning of the story flowed well. I also think that the author could have used more descriptions. There were some instances in the beginning where I felt like the author was telling us rather than showing us how characters felt. It was hard to really buy into the depth of the emotions these characters were feeling.

Somewhere along the second part of the book though the story really picked up. I absolutely loved the way the author wrote the relationship between Layla and Elise. The sapphic longing in this story was delicious to read and I felt every ache that lay between these characters. Aside from the rough beginning and a few typos throughout the story, I definitely would recommend this story as a must read for anyone looking for more sapphic content! I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!

Black queer vampires in 1920s Harlem! This book is everything! It’s mystery and romance and female rage. Black bodies have been experimented on creating reapers.
The Saint family has built an empire based on eradication of reapers. Elsie Saint and her childhood friend turned reaper have to team up to solve a murder. Reapers are mysteriously dying. It’s a whole vibe! I also love how the author seamlessly weaves intricate and thoughtful prose addressing racism. And the metaphor of love as cannibalism is chefs kiss.

“You tried to rip my heart from my chest, but you’ve already had my heart; it’s always been yours—”

A sapphic love story wrapped up in horror, grit and gore; what more could you ask for? Set in the 1920s, This Ravenous Fate offers a unique and fresh take on vampirism, giving a new level of complexity to an age old horror while also delving into how race plays into both vampirism and society at large. Elise and Layla, human and reaper, have a relationship that is fraught with past hurts and distrust that threatens their forced partnership and stirs up complicated feelings.

This is a long one but 100% worth it! Elise and Layla are incredibly well-written characters with so much nuance and depth. Elise’s need to please and earn love is such a heartbreakingly perfect companion to Layla’s yearning and intense loneliness. Really big fan of their romance being based in vampirism as well! It’s one of my favorite tropes and adds that much more symbolism and gravitas than the standard.

The pacing works really well in allowing both Elise and Layla’s relationship to grow alongside their escalating investigation. Beautiful writing makes it easy to become just as invested in the character development as well as the plot. One of my favorite aspects by far was the reaper lore and the allusions to race and sexuality that went along with it. Such artfully woven and impactful messages about medical malpractice against the Black community and the othering of those we don’t understand.

The only thing that’s keeping me from giving this 5 stars was the development of Sterling and Tobias Saint. Both felt a bit cartoonishly evil in their final arcs compared to how they behaved earlier in the story. Additionally, Valeriya and Josi came out of nowhere in the end and I was left wishing we got to know a bit more of what was happening with them during their time away.

This is definitely one to be on the lookout for and I can’t wait for the next one in this series!

I liked the premise of This Ravenous Fate and was on board for a sapphic, dark vampire tale. In some ways the book did deliver, as the story held my interest throughout, but the pacing wasn't always great, feeling a bit slow at times, and I was left with several questions in terms of the world building and set up that were never fully answered, and that kept pulling my attention from the story as I pondered them. I am therefore giving this book 3.5 stars. It wasn't bad, but there were a few aspects I felt could have been tweaked to make it better. Recommended if you are looking for LGBT fantasy tales.

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

I definitely enjoyed this writing style! It was a good read! Love the inclusivity and diversity displayed !!! the female rage was strong and i can’t believe i enjoyed the 1920’s setting! I would pick this up again :)

I first heard of this book on TikTok which I’m sure many have, and it’s one I’ve been excited to read for a while now. The book had a very strong opening that immediately caught my attention. It usually takes a little while for me to start meshing well with the writing and caring for the characters, but in this case, it was immediate. I was instantly intrigued and that continued up until the very end.

The writing is amazing, and the author has a talent for making her characters incredibly likable. She's also got a talent for keeping you on your toes. This is absolutely one of the better written vampire books I've read, if not simply one of the best books I've read. I found myself with a lot of questions while reading this, and I was pleased with the answers I got and the way I got them. Every bit of information felt natural and didn't veer toward info dumping, which is incredibly impressive considering there's a whole new world we're being introduced to.

All in all, this book far exceeded any expectations I had going in. Dennings has a wonderful world she's built up and even more wonderful characters. This book hasn't even officially come out yet and I'm already so excited to see what more she does. She's absolutely an author you should keep your eye on.