I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit slow in the beginning. Halfway through it started to pick up and I was on the edge of my seat reading through all the twists and turns. There were funny moments and some of gut wrenching. My emotions were all over the place! I really enjoyed the main characters and can’t wait to see what happens in book two!

This Ravenous Fate felt uncomfortable to read and I think that's due to two reasons: the first being that racism and our country's history of slavery is and should be an uncomfortable topic, and the second being that the use of vampires was not my cup of tea. Hwoever, I commend Dennings for her unique story.

a solid debut novel from Hayley Dennings. i've been following this author on twitter for a few years now and it's so great to see her first novel being published! i'm excited to read more from her in the future.

3.5⭐️ I enjoyed this book but at times it just felt too long and that the pacing was a little slow. Nonetheless I think the writing was really good and that I might have been even more invested if I listened to the audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc🤍

Absolutely gorgeous, stunning and beautiful. Black Vampire perfection truly cannot reccomend it enough. The mood and aestheitc Dennings is able to capture with this is unlike any other

I really loved this story! The setting, plot, and characters were written amazingly. I could picture everything so vividly in my head. I absolutely love historical fiction and this book had the perfect mix of historical fiction and fantasy. Who doesn’t love vampires?!

I enjoy reading about the relationship between Layla and Elise. The characters were written really well and I felt like the world building was solid. I can’t wait to read more from this author after this debut!

I don’t know that I’ve ever been so happy to have a book in my hands. This novel is perfect and has so many wonderful elements for a debut. The pacing is a bit slow in some parts but overwhelmingly it comes together.
Denning builds characters and relationships I care intimately about. I gasped, I yelled, I cheered. Diversify your reading and look into this beautiful black novel featuring sapphics, vampires, and second chances.

Queer vampire historical fiction of adventure, and action, with a dash of romance!
I love fantasy books set in the 1920's there's just something about the style of the 1920s that plays well with fantasy and vampires. Then you mix in queer and you know I am going to give it a read. Overall, this is just a fun read. It wasn't like super complicated, or high fantasy. It's just an easy book to be entertained by.
Elise Saint is an interesting character she is back home after five years in Paris. Her family the Saints are very high profile people. I found her family so interesting and wanted to learn more about that.
Childhood friends to enemies turned allies blooming into lovers. Such a slow burn! The angst, wit, and banter were sprinkled throughout and were fun. I know this is book one so hoping to see more of Layla and Elise's relationship grow and develop.
An engaging sapphic Black vampires full of action and drama!

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast paced and fun, and the characters were believable. The relationship between Elise and Layla was fun to follow with their back and forth that continued all the way through the end. I'm giving it four stars because some of the decisions at the end felt like they didn't match the character development or were purely being used to push the plot along. Otherwise, I highly suggest! I would love to see where this story goes, especially with where we ended with Elise at the very end!

Thank you so much for the ARC!
The writing was amazing and I loved the relationship between the two protagonist. I’m not usually into historical fiction, but the setting was very interesting to me.

Thanks, Sourcebooks Fire, for the arc!

I’ve decided I’m a big fan of vampire books in the 1920s. Maybe it started with my love of The Originals and all the flashbacks to that era on the TV show? THIS RAVENOUS FATE by Hayley Dennings is a fantasy set in Jazz Age Harlem, and it’s the humans vs. the vampires, aka reapers. I always love when an author finds a new name for fangtastic beasts. Elise Saint, the heir to one of the strongest human organizations, is forced to work with Layla Quinn, a reaper with a vendetta against the Saints and a past with Elise.

It took me a bit to get into the story. It wasn’t until Layla and Elise were forced to work together that I really started to enjoy it. There were a couple of unnecessary characters unless they will play an essential role in the next book. Otherwise, their interactions with Elise and/or Layla were just filler to me. Then there were the people I wish we had more time with, and it was just like sprinkles of time, so I hope they appear more in the next book.

Would I reread this? Yes. I want to try it on audio because I think it would be an awesome listen. Am I excited for the final book in the duology? Yes! At first, I thought this was going to be a standalone and cleaned up all nicely, which I wasn’t really feeling. Then, the last few chapters changed things up and left me with an excellent cliffhanger that excited me for book two!

Content warnings: (per the author in the book) This book includes scenarios involving emotional abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, suicidal ideation, violence, murder, and mentions of racism and a race massacre.

Queer black vampires in Harlem. And it’s everything I could have ever wanted. The saint family is very anti reaper and has built an entire legacy on that fact. Elsie saint must team up with her old best friend turned reaper to stop nefarious deeds. The writing style elegantly addresses racism and weaves a beautiful mystery.

I NEED BOOK TWO ASAP! The characters were amazing, the plot was fantastic, and the era the book is written in, EATS!!! I LOVE the Harlem renaissance, so this was right up my alley! Once again, an amazing author who is goals for me!

I really enjoyed this book. Sapphic black enemies to lovers. I need more black lesbian love! I can’t wait for book 2

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this book, in exchange for an honest review. This book was one of my most anticipated books of the year, so many individuals on book twitter have been buzzing about it for a while. As a queer woc, I was so excited to dive into this world! This book had the potential to be amazing but the pacing didn't work for me. The themes were fantastic, and the characters were interesting, but I wanted more going on between our two protagonists. The book is marketed as a sapphic vampire romance but there was barely any romance. I adore friends-to enemies-to lovers, but I just didn't think that there was enough context to believe that they wanted to become lovers. I didn't hate the story, I just think that it could have been executed more neatly. I won't give up on this series or Dennings, I think that This Ravenous Fate was a noble start.

3,5 I was intrigued by this immersive tale of sapphic Black vampires set in 1920s Harlem. The author explores themes of racism, class and wealth, offering a unique perspective.

*Key Strengths*

- Unique blend of historical fiction, fantasy and LGBTQ+ representation
- Thought-provoking commentary on social issues

*Areas for Improvement*

- Editing refinement for smoother pacing and authorial voice
- Potential for further character development

*Overall*

A compelling read with immense potential! With refinement, this book can soar.

Loved these violet girls so much. The writing and story is super exciting, atmospheric, well thought out, and left me excited to continue into book two!!

This is one of my favorite reads of the year! It automatically kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat from the very beginning. Who doesn't love a book about vampires and humans with some romance!

Thank you for this arc!

I absolutely loved this one. The overall setting was so cool because we got so into the history aspect of the 1920s in the United States and we went into race which mixed with the vampire/reaper aspect was done so well. The sapphic romance was also to die for (pun intended).

This was really really good !!

I loved the vampire lore, how it is mixed with Black History, and i am so excited for the sequel of this duology, as we will surely get more 👀

Elise and Layla's emotions really pierced through to me. Especially Elise with her familial issues and anxiety. I actually had to put down the book for a while because of it.

The dynamic between the two is compared by the author to couples like Vi and Caitlin (Arcane), or Catra and Adora (Shera). I definitely saw the latter, as I'm more familiar with them, in Elise and Layla. It was so entertaining, and I will always love an Catadora type couple for sure 🙂‍↕️

For the few negative issues, there was just some syntax that didn't make sense to me sometimes, some moments that were too strechout. Towards the 60-70% mark there was a slow down moment, there was a sort of tangle of plot and emotions that confused me a bit. (Full disclosure tho for the negatives : english is my second language.)


Overall a very poignant and entertaining read, that got me excited for the sequel 🥰

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, I'm so glad i could read one of my most anticipated read of the year early !