I was hooked from the first page. I still don't fully understand what happened in the past but I'm intrigued. I enjoyed both of their characters and I'm looking forward to how they grow in the next book.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I downloaded this arc when it was free in the Read Now section of Netgalley. It was my mistake because in the moment I wanted to read this book badly and I was excited due to the author being a youtuber I had watched before. However, this book was reminiscent of These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (derogatory) meaning that the idea and thought of it was great, but the author's execution did not live up to the hype.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it exceeded all of my expectations. I loved this book so much that I genuinely don’t know how to write a review that does it justice.

I absolutely fell in love with both main characters, they are so well fleshed-out, seem so relatable and utterly human, you can’t help but root for them. Layla is so angry and bloodthirsty — and has every right to be — and I loved the theme of female rage reflected in her character and her actions throughout the book. Elise is more of an anxious and perfectionist girl that is weight down by all the expectations her parents have for her as the heiress of their family empire.

I loved the sapphic childhood best friends to enemies to lovers romance sub plot between Layla and Elise and how they have so much shared trauma that they can only really open up about with each other.
The representation of mental illness, specifically OCD, anxiety, PTSD and suicidal ideation, was done so well, I loved how the book handled each of these mental illnesses and how accurate the two main characters’ struggles felt.

The world building was so interesting and I thought it was ingenious how the author connected the origin of the “reapers” (the vampires in this world) to Black American history and how the segregation between “reapers” and humans reflected racism in America.

I also really enjoyed the whole mystery plot of this book and am glad it didn’t end on a total cliffhanger. I couldn’t be more excited for book two!!

This one was slow going at the beginning. Lots of exposition dumping mixed with some bloody vampire rage that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. The book does pick up about 1/2 way through for a while. I was able to become invested in Layla and Elsie even though I didn’t really like either of them. But things start to. fall apart again for me towards the end I think this was just too much and not for me

Thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for an e ARC for review

This Ravenous Fate | 3.75 stars!

If you are craving:

- YA
- Slow-burn sapphic romance
- Friends to Enemies to Lovers trope
- Vampire hunter x Vampire trope
- Murder mystery
- Slow/Medium pace
- Dual POV

The vampire aspect of this book feels fresh and not just a rinse and repeat of the genre. It's one of the shining stars of this book.

Then you add in the 1920s Harlem setting, the politics & organized crime, trauma, and navigating familial expectations - you've got a good plot in your hands.

Some things didn't fully work out for me within the book which is why it didn't hit 4-star territory for me. The ending felt a little weak in comparison to the pretty killer last half of the book.

A critique I have for the book is the character development. Most of the characters fell pretty flat for me and I would have loved to see more dimension added to them throughout the novel - especially since it's almost 500 pages long. I am looking forward to reading the sequel because I am hoping that it's just bigger character arcs and we will see more dimension in book 2!

Also, I loved Jaime the most out of the cast of characters we met and I'm looking forward to seeing more of his plotlines!

I tandem read this book with the ARC I got from Netgalley (thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks!) and also grabbed the audiobook! The audiobook narrator for the chapters I read via audio was great!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this arc, in exchange to write an honest review.

I read the synopsis and thought this book was going be intriguing, but it kind of fell a little flat for me and the book definitely needed some more editing. I have to say it was a cute read for what it was.
I love vampire books and thought it being based in Harlem in the 1920's, it could of been an interesting read. It was a little slow for me to get into and couldn't really connect with the characters. I do love a good YA novel, but I feel like I'm just growing out of that category. It could of been the writing style I didn't enjoy too.
I do want to read and find out how the second book will turn out though.

If Chicago and Rebekah from Vampire Diaries combined. There’s vampires, sapphic romance, mob bosses running bootleg liquor, mad doctors, and let’s not forget the vampire hunters. Seriously everything you love about these two worlds all mixed together.

# This Ravenous Fate
# 8/23/2024 ~ 8/27/2024
# 4.0 / 5.0

Hmmmm what to say about this book.

ON PAPER
This book has it all. Black Vampires in Harlem during the 1920s?! PERFECT. The premise is golden and was bringing me back to my reading vampire YA days.

However,
Something fell flat. I had a very hard time connecting to the characters and even really understanding what was going on? Like I got it but like the pacing was just a little TOO clunky for my taste. Characters all felt a little 2D to me. Could be because it literally is a YA novel and I am in no way the target demographic but...

I. Found it really hard to get into this book. I tried multiple times and end up DNF’ing each time. Unfortunately this book is not for me

3.75/5 Stars, rounded up to 4.

I have some conflicting feelings about this book. I really loved the concept, but I feel as though the execution fell a little flat for me. I think another round of editing could have smoothed things out even more. There were several aspects that weren't very well fleshed out, which caused several of the bigger plot twists to not hit quite as hard as they could have.

I absolutely loved Elise and Layla as characters. You could really tell just how much history they shared, and how much that history hurt them both. I really enjoyed watching them grow and come to terms with their past. However, most of the other characters just seemed one-dimensional. It would have been all right if these characters didn't show up much, but they were pretty integral to the story.

Overall I enjoyed the time I spent reading this book. I think Dennings did a good job weaving in discussions of class, race, and privilege without it getting too in your face. I look forward to seeing more of Elise and Layla in book 2.

This book was just really bad. Honestly if it wasn’t an ARC I would have DNF it but I was really trying to give it a chance. The plot seemed all over the place and the dialogue was very choppy. I just felt like I was reading a book that still needed another round of revisions. The concept had really intrigued me but in the end it just didn’t live up to my expectation.

2.75 stars?

Noooo I’m disappointed 😭😭. I’ve followed this author for years and have been so excited for this book, but I found myself so bored for the majority of it. About 50% of the way through it was hard for me to even want to continue. I think it had all of the right elements, but something just didn’t click. The scenes were chaotic typically, yet felt so slow and energyless. By the end I was kind of just skimming, and now I realize this wasn’t a standalone. I don’t have interest in the second, honestly. While I think a lot of the elements of this story were interesting reading this has single handedly almost put me into a reading slump. I found the experimentation plot really interesting and wanted to know more about it, which I’m sure will be a decent part of the next book, but even so I was still not grabbed by the storytelling.

I really liked Elise as a character. Layla was decent, but otherwise I didn’t really care about the other characters. I felt like they had so much tension that by the time they actually kissed it had dulled out. It would’ve been better to me if they kissed in the scene where all of the chaos ensued and Layla had to feed on Elise. There was so much passion in that scene; I was waiting for it to happen…then nothing.

All in all, I think this had the makings to be a great book, but it just didn’t hit the mark. I’m so sad, but I do think this author’s writing is beautiful and that because this is only her debut novel she has a lot of time to improve in other ways and make a story I could enjoy much more in the future. I’ll still be keeping tabs on what she puts out despite not having much interest in the next book in this series.

Unfortunately I had to dnf this book because I was not liking the writing style. I have had this problem before with new ya books were the writing style feels juvenile. I might attempt this again in the future but I’m sure someone else will enjoy this more than me!

This was such a well crafted debut and exactly what I needed in life. I feel like Hayley Dennings did an amazing job with the setting, the fantasy aspect & the characters. I was really invested from start to finish. I can't wait for the sequel & I'm going to pick up a physical edition of this book asap.

I was really excited for the release of this book as I’ve been following the promo for it for months. It has the makings of everything I’m interested in: historical fiction, sapphic, vampires, enemies to lovers, and Black. Unfortunately, it fell very flat for me.

Starting off with the setting. I was looking forward to having a vampiric fantasy set in 1920s Harlem, but the environment had no bearing on the story. To be honest, it could’ve taken place anywhere or anytime except for the occasional references to “gangsters”, jazz, and the Cotton Club. I wish the historical aspect had more of a role in the story because I was intrigued by it.

The plot itself turned out to be a basic murder mystery that I really didn’t care to see solved. The two main characters were the most fleshed out in the book, but that’s not saying much. Every other character felt like a shell of a person with no depth or nuance. I also felt no chemistry between our supposed couple. They were a friends to enemies to lovers tale which SHOULD have been intriguing, but we never explore their initial friendship enough for me to care about the rest.

Finally, the pacing was just bad. I was so bored for the first 50%, and it only just barely improved after that. I only finished because this is a buddy read. There were long stretches of absolutely nothing happening. Additionally, a lot of the dialogue felt clunky and unnatural. Quite frankly, this seems like an editor issue. This book had the bare bones of something great, but it feels like a draft that needs to be looked over another time or two.

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This follows Elise, musical prodigy and eldest living child of the Saint vampire aka reaper hunting empire. She returns home from studying piano in France to visit her family to find Harlem more dangerous than when she left. Her father has named her younger sister heir to the empire, but Elise wants nothing more than to protect her sister, so she makes him a bargain he can't resist. This puts her in harms way and back in touch with her former best friend Layla who was turned several years ago. Layla has a vendetta against the reapers, but when she is framed for a crime she didn't commit she must work with Elise to uncover what is going on in reaper territory and causing chaos on her turf. The former friends uncover more than they bargained for as they learn about what happens behind closed doors between the reapers, the Saints, and those with deep pockets to keep the city running.

I found this to be a bit too long, and while I can appreciate a longer book with a slow burn plot this didn't keep my interest. There wasn't enough action, character development, or paranormal elements to keep me invested in listening to the book. This had all of the elements of a novel I would normally be very interested in vampires, a mystery element, morally grey characters, a romance; however the execution didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between Layla and Elise, I would have preferred the repair their friendship before delving into a romance.

Overall, I think this has all of the elements to be a great book and series, however it missed the mark for me. I think younger readers will really enjoy this. I think the slower pace paired with the author trying to tackle alot of topics in one book made it hard for me to focus on what was going on. The author does tackle some heavy and important topics, but I lose track if there are too many at once. This book reminded me quite a bit of These Violent Delights as it has some similar elements and is about the same length. I really enjoyed These Violent Delights, and while there are some major differences between the two tales if you liked one of these you may enjoy the other.

I love a good mystery. Especially one that keeps me hooked for a good chunk of a book. So for a lot of this book, I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the complicated tangle that was Elise and Layla’s past. I kept reading to find out what could have happened to put such distance and pain between two best friends. And this book did a beautiful job of relaying not only what happened between their families, but also what is happening in the wider city around them. This isn’t just a sapphic vampire story.

I enjoyed the fresh take on vampires in this book. They weren’t your classic vampires you’re used to. They’re called reapers, and their affliction came about through less than natural means. I also really enjoyed the setting. I don’t get to read much historical fiction, and the 1920s is a period that has always fascinated me. I liked seeing a different side than just the glittering roaring 20s. Because that’s not what it was like for everyone.

I think my biggest complaint is that the ending fell flat for me. The pacing of the plot could have used some work so that it didn’t lose me partway through. By the time everything started coming together I was kind of over it. And it lost some of the nuance I had been enjoying for the rest of the book. And while I felt there was chemistry between the two characters in the beginning, it felt forced and like I was simply being told there was chemistry in the end.

Overall the beginning was strong, but it lost something in the middle for me. I’m still very curious about some of the plot points that were left open, so I’ll definitely be picking up the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher for my arc!


I had a horrible time trying to get through this book. I think it was just the writing style for me and how each character really just flowed into another and they all sounded the same on the page. I couldn't distinguish Elise from Layla at all.

I am a fan of vampire books and this one doesn't change that.

We follow Elise Saint and Layla Quinn. Elise is the daughter of Tobias Saint. Tobias has built his empire on killing off reapers. Elise, works hard to gain her father's approval, she is blinded by the systemics of the Empire. While Elise and Layla were best friends when they were children, Layla is turned into a reaper during an outing with her family. After two important part of the empire are killed, Elise fights to become the heir to the Saint Empire, she teams up with Layla to get to the the truth behind the murders.

This book had me in a chokehold. There were aspects that pushed me back a bit with this book, but overall I loved. Bringing in an important part of US History in this book and two best friends who lost their way finding each other again, this book deserves more than 5 stars.

This is not a fast-paced book, and it's not one that I would rush to read again. There were some great parts, but overall I found it to be slow-moving and not engaging.