Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. There are only two things that I would warn any reader about. The first is that it is not a fast-paced story, the plot moves along rather slowly. I would say that this book does fall under the category of character driven. The second warning is that this book was more gruesome than I had expected. The beings in this book are not quite vampires. While they do rely on blood for survival and can drink it, there is a lot of tearing of throats and ravaging bodies.
I enjoyed the character development in the story. I did care more for Layla (more growth, in my opinion), but Elise is also a likeable character. The two were best friends, but the divide between Reapers and humans tears them apart. I feel that I can say we have some Romeo and Juliet vibes here. Layla has lost her entire family and prefers to be alone, but does have some reaper friends. Elise has a very strained relationship with her father - I’d say borderline emotionally abusive and I didn’t like him at all. There is an overall theme regarding family on this book.
The romantic side of things in this story fell a little flat for me. There was a considerable amount of tension between the two characters, a good back and forth of love and hate between the MCs, but I had a hard time feeling a truly deep romantic connections between them. I really like to feel it and I didn’t get any warm and fuzzy feelings.
I enjoyed the 20s feel of the story and liked that we get a point of view from persons of colour.
The mystery element, the reason the two friends-to-enemies must unite, was interesting. However, there wasn’t much of a surprise for me.
I didn’t love this book, but I can still safely recommend it. I would recommend it to people that enjoy vampire books and don’t mind them being on the gorier side. Also, if you are looking for a sapphic read, this could be a good choice - it is friends-to-enemies-to-maybe friends again-to-lovers.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an e-arc of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book was not what I was thinking it would be like but so much more. I loved that it takes place in the 1920's in Harlem. You will find vampires/reapers, humans, gangs and of course vampire hunters. You will also find romance, heartbreak, action, drama and so much more. I thought the authors did a great job with the pace of the book, it was a little slow in the right places and then fast. The plot was well written, and you can tell that the author thought out everything. I liked that you will see different layers throughout the book and to see/understand what it was like for black characters in this time period. You will see the complexities of racism, class, and wealth. You will be swept away in this book; the way the author writes you can picture everything and see what it was to be on the streets of New York.

I thought the author did a great job with the characters. They were well thought out, you can tell that the author cared about how her characters came across and you can see their inner struggles, their growth throughout the book and their complex, compelling personalities. You will meet Elise and Layla who are the main characters. Elise just got back from Paris where she went to school after the death of her sister. Layla who was turned into a reaper and her parents killed; she is left to the streets until she finds a safe place with other reapers in a hotel. Elise and Layla used to be best friends when they were younger but after a horrible incident they haven’t talked in years, until Elise comes home, and her father throws a party. You will go on an adventure with these two and other side characters as they try to uncover some truths about what is really happening to the reapers and is there really a cure or not.

I liked that throughout the book you will see these two once friends turned enemies become closer again and are trying to understand their feelings that they’re having for each other. Their chemistry and the tension between these characters will have you devouring the book. You will not find two unforgettable protagonists.

I can’t wait for the next book, to find out what will happen next.

I want to thank NetGalley and sourcebooks for the opportunity to review this book.

“You weren’t just my best friend, Saint, you were my best person, my best everything.”

In the Harlem Jazz Age, the Saint family rules over New York with their promise of protection against reapers, the once-human vampires created by experiments. Teenage heir Elise Saint has just returned from five years in Paris, where she moved after becoming the target of the Harlem reapers. Five years ago, Layla Quinn became a reaper, losing her parents, the protection of the Saint family, and her best friend, Elise. When Layla is framed for a vicious attack that left a reaper turned half-human, she’s forced to work with Elise, whose betrayal five years ago cost Layla everything. As they investigate the string of murders, the two once again grow closer while uncovering dangerous secrets that could change everything.

This Ravenous Fate features the perfect blend of historical fiction and urban fantasy. The glamor and danger of the Jazz Age in Harlem made it the perfect atmosphere to incorporate vampires. I feel like more and more vampire novels are starting to emerge again, and this novel stands out from the rest. Hayley Dennings truly created a beautiful setting and a captivating slow-burn romance between Layla and Elise. As queer black girls living in Harlem in the 1920s, they both have the world against them, but Elise has the privilege of money and status, while Layla is a reaper scorned by the world. Dennings highlighted so many important issues, making it feel that much more real. It’s been so long since I’ve read a YA romance that was a true slow-burn and enemies-to-lovers. I loved how Layla and Elise had such a long and complicated past because it made their relationship feel much more personal. Layla despised Elise for all she had done, yet she still protected and tried to help her when she was in danger or suffering from an OCD episode. Both characters had such complex feelings about the other, and Dennings portrayed that perfectly. I also found the investigation intensely interesting because so much was at stake for Layla and Elise. This novel was a standout debut that had me hooked from the very first page, and I can’t wait to see what Dennings does in the sequel.

Gosh this book was absolutely amazing. Lived up to all my expectations. Layla Quinn is possibly one of my favorite characters ever and Elise Saint is up there too. The vibes were immaculate, the writing was lush and really brought the jazz age setting to life. The intrigue and mystery kept me at the edge of my seat in the best way. And the mutual pining between Layla and Elise was just ugh so good. Tragic, but in the best way! This story is going to stick with me for awhile

Whew, that ending! From 60% on, this book was a whirlwind - a fantastic build-up that I wish was spread throughout the entire novel. I think the writing and pacing had a bit of a frustrating ebb and flow. But with these criticisms, I enjoyed the book overall and will 100% be reading the sequel.

I actually don't recommend the audiobook as I don't feel the narrator fully captured the tone of the work.

Now the premise and setting were so interesting and compelling. Dennings' Harlem Rennaissance inspired work is compelling, devastating, and thrilling in equal measure. I believe this book is on par with a debut author and I'm excited to see how Dennings grows with her next work.

If you want a thrilling, vampire/gangster filled mystery with high stakes and morally grey lesbians, this book is for you!

The premise of this was incredible but the execution fell flat to me. It felt like it needed an extra round of editing to fully reach it's full potential. The characters were a bit dull and needed some fleshing out, while their motivations were lacking.

DNF'd at 30%

I kept not wanting to pick this up which for me means it's time to say it's not for me. The premise was fantastic. The writing isn't bad at all for a debut. I think i found the world building a little meh and just wasn't engaged by the set up. I kept waiting and waiting to be pulled into the story.

I wasn't as obsessed with this as I thought I was going to be, but this was still a solid read and debut! I enjoyed the premise and a lot of the ideas and themes in it. It just wasn't a homerun for me. I have no doubt that others will love it though!

This was a good fantasy, an interesting plot line and some very interesting concepts and characters. I felt like it needed another round of editing. I really don't fault the author because it's not the only time I've seen this publisher push books out too quickly rather than giving them the developmental time they need.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I'm sad to say it disappointed on multiple levels!

First, this could have endured another round or two of editing. The amount of repetitive verbs and phrases, such as reapers biting their own lips until they bled, became distracting. Dennings' prose needed a bit more fine-tuning—as it stands, I remain somewhat confused about many things in the book, and I don't believe in authors writing duologies or trilogies that are incomplete reading experiences with the expectation that you continue on with the series. The ending of this novel is unresolved, not because the story is to be continued, but because too much time was spent on interactions and conversations and descriptions of things that truly do not add to the overarching plot, nor do they guide the reader toward answers for the questions presented.

The mystery part of this story was not at all mysterious, and it is immediately obvious who the true villain is here, and who is helping them. Despite bodies dropping like my hopes for this book, there is zero urgency to solve this mystery, and it makes the plot move along unbearably slow. The reapers (vampires) are not scary or cool or anything we've come to know vampires as in media. In this story, it is similar to True Blood in that vampires are the Black People™️, cursed to live on the outskirts of society, largely not accepted by most people, but it doesn't work because Black people are the center of this story, and they also experienced racism in the past. Dennings does attempt to (heavy-handedly) introduce social commentary surrounding this, but the parallels do not connect at any point. It makes it feel like these characters just so happen to be Black, and they are happy to no longer be the lessers in society, so they are happy to have reapers take their place, as opposed to having them have a steadfast refusal to participate in the othering of another group of beings. This also meant the atmosphere was not atmospheric, despite being placed during the Harlem Renaissance, because that would require the Black Americans in this book to acknowledge that they were once in the societal standing that reapers are in, but they've done nothing to stop history from repeating itself. This becomes even more disturbing when the subplot of doctors performing experiments on reapers is presented, which, as we know, is what was done to Black people and, again, they are happy to allow this to happen because…it's not happening to them? And not only do they allow it to happen, they're the cause?! Nah, that doesn't sit right with me, and wasn't handled responsibly enough for me to feel comfortable with it.

I am not queer, but I felt like the sapphic romance aspect of this story deserved better development and more time between Layla and Elise where they go from enemies to lovers in a more natural progression. As it is written, you cannot convince me that once the adrenaline wears off, these women will still want to be around each other even five years from the ending of this novel. It very much felt like they bickered, trauma bonded, reminisced, made up, and decided they go together now.

I really enjoyed the dynamic and genuine love between Elsie and her sisters, and that is why this was not a one star read for me. I have sisters; I love me a sister subplot. I wish their mother had been allowed to be present and helpful instead of falling into the role of mindless, spineless housewife until it was much too late. Elsie's relationship with her father was the typical this-girl-doesn't-know-he's-awful-because-she's-a-sheltered-widdle-sheep that a lot of YA fantasy does, and it doesn't add anything new to this trope. The side characters are one-dimensional, uninteresting, and underdeveloped, and I've already forgotten most everyone's names.

The inconsistencies in tone were jarring, and this is where more editing could have helped. This Ravenous Fate is at times incredibly flowery and proper, and at times more casual. I don't think Dennings' writing style is for me, and I won't continue on with this duology, but I am glad I saw this through to its inconclusive end.

I also didn't care for the narration. The narrator did some frustrating voice acting when it came to reading for male characters and characters who are meant to come across as young or naive—I just wasn't a fan.

Thank you to RBmedia | Recorded Books, Sourcebooks Fire, and NetGalley for providing an ARC and an ALC!

2 ⭐️s

Stars: 3.5/4.0

I was so excited for this book and I'm glad to see that this is just book 1 in a series! That being said, I do hope that there is another round of edits for the next book in comparison to this one. It was a good book, but there were some elements that I didn't enjoy/wish were done differently.

Overall premise, loved the idea of 1920s Harlem with Queer Black vampire/human enemies to lovers in which also complex topics such as systemic racism and class issues are explored. I wish the plot twist wasn't something I had already seen within the marketing of it, but it was a good way to explore a real life fact (sorry I'm trying to keep it vague, but give some context!) Besides that fact, we get to watch the developement of Layla and Elise through the story as they interact more with their society around them (and in this leads to other topical conversations).

This also may be just a personal preference, but if a book is in a series and it is enemies to lovers, I wish we can explore more time in the "enemies" before we progress into other stages. It felt like we had barely any interaction between Layla and Elise before we see their dynamic change. Actually, as a whole, the pacing is what primarily needed another round of edits.

All of this being said, this was a good debut and I'm now once again testing my ability to be patient for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This Ravenous Fate was an interesting debut. Bold in its decision to use vampirism as a vehicle for commentary on race, class, and scientific experimentation on the Black community to advance whites’ position of power. It managed to do this quite effectively, and I also appreciated the sense of community between those excluded and segregated from mainstream society. The writing itself was quite good, especially for a debut novel. I wouldn’t have thought it was the author’s first published work whilst reading.

However, I did have some issues with the characterisation. I don’t think many of these characters were well fleshed out, which means it made it difficult to be invested in their stories AND made their relationship dynamics with others less complex. I think the story could have been richer had they established the dynamics a bit more strongly at the start - particularly those between Elise and Josi, Elise and her father, Layla and Valeriya. This could have given us a lot more insight into the context of the world, and primed us for different perspectives and dynamic shifts later down the line. I also think we could have built up the Saint empire a bit more at the beginning to truly understand the weight on Elise’s shoulders. The scenes between her and her father all seemed to be repeated of each other without giving us further depth in any of them. Her relationship with Josi was her main driving factor during the book and yet I was not convinced. There were multiple opportunities sowed within the story for Elise to grow and her worldview to expand and by the end, it did not seem like she learned anything about her privilege. Layla’s pov was a lot more full and enjoyable to follow. Her friendship with Jamie was more natural than Elise’s with Sterling. Her perceptions of the world were insightful and thought-provoking and she was a fun character to follow around.

I am optimistic that the sequel will show improvement in some of these areas. The writing and storyline are strong, we just need to delve more into the characters to pull out their full potential.

*Note: Page 296 has a typo: “we’re” instead of “were” in the sentence “He might have been honest about wanting to protect us, but his means to do so were just as sinister as his fear of losing us was intense.” This may have been corrected in the final published copy.

For me this book is a new adult, queer friendly, paranormal fantasy romance with a PG-13 rating in terms of level of spice. Thanks to the publisher for letting me read this early.

I quite enjoyed reading this book. I literally flew through the first 40% in about a day however, the latter half of the book began to get a little confusing. There were many instances of time jumps made keeping track of the timeline of events a little difficult. I somewhat enjoyed the two main female characters. There villains that presented themselves throughout the book were super one dimensional. The side characters were entertaining. The plot was able to weave in mentioning realistic events that happened in the area and around America during the 1920s.

Sometimes the steamy situations that happened in this book, which is why I’m calling it a new adult over a young adult book could be distracting to the overarching plot. The characters are 18.

I do enjoy the fact that this was written in third person point of view. It was very refreshing because sometimes the plot got wild and I was just as confused as the characters were and it just worked for me. I do think the book could use a little sprucing because the book didn’t need to be over 400 pages.

I got to read an early copy of this, and it's fantastic! A sapphic romance between a vampire and a vampire hunter = the ultimate enemies to lovers, and as a bonus, it's set during 1920's Harlem. The author also gives her vampires a unique twist, as they're the result of a government experiment gone wrong, now in search of a cure. A gripping read!

Story: 3.5⭐ (rounded to 4)
Spice: .5⭐ (Kissing/Touching, closed door)

Thank you so much Sourcebooks Fire for the approval of this ARC of This Ravenous Fate.

I had a hard time rating this book. I'm currently in a slump and I'm not sure if I'm reviewing based on how I feel or the story. I really loved the 1920's Harlem setting and the unique spin on vampires. Like, really enjoyed the vampire part. It was just so different then all the other vampire books. I also liked the subplot of romance, but it feels like the middle of the book was just kind of boring. I would also check your trigger warnings as there is a lot of gore (obviously) but also emotional/mental abuse (by a parent).

If you like 1920's Harlem, Sapphic romance, vampires, and unlocking mysteries then look no further!

3.5⭐

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing free advanced copies of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Overall I think this was a solid fantasy debut. It's definitely a slow burn, with a more fantasy & lit fic focus that marketed, but overall I really enjoyed the story and themes!

I think one thing that will hurt this book was the way that it was marketed. This was pitched time and time again as a sapphic enemies to lovers romance. And while that is *technically* true, there is little to no actual romance in this first book.

Instead the focus is really on the themes of racism, classism, and privilege with the backdrop of 1920's vampires.

Elise is back in New York after running away to France to study music after the loss of her sister and best friend. And she is determined to save her youngest sister from having to take over the family business. She sacrifices her own future to take the title as heir, finding herself in a sea of mystery, lie, and deceit.

And it all becomes worse when she has to team up with her ex-best friend Layla, who is the vampire that nearly killed her 5 years prior.

From friends, to enemies, to reluctant allies, to attraction - these 2 get caught in dark mystery about what is happening to the vampires, is there a cure, and who is behind it all.

The plot itself is very slow moving and deeply explores who society chooses to help and how.

I loved the discussions and themes, I really loved how brutal and dark this book got at times, and I even enjoyed the progression of the girls' relationship. But the actual reveal was lackluster and honestly disappointing. Since it's the exact person you think it's going to be from page 1....

While this isn't going to work for everyone, I did have a good time reading this and do plan to continue with the series.

3.5 stars

I loved the premise of this, as well as the setting. Alternate history coupled with POC main characters and vampires is a great combination. I liked the main characters and their push and pull romance. Layla is pretty awesome and definitely the star for me. She's been making the best of an awful situation and I admired how much she cared for her friends.

The mystery was kind of confusing and a bit unclear. The pacing is slow at times and I think the story could have been a bit shorter overall.

I enjoyed reading this and will check out the sequel in the future!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the copy.

I believe I let the hype get to my head on this one. I wanted more from the atmosphere and the characters. I wish it would have given more into the Harlem Renaissance era. It's mainly what drew me to read this, but it was only briefly given a few mentions.

I wasn't a fan of any of the characters here and that made this a chore to get through. Elise and her family were too much and all she and Layla did was fight and kind of make up. I didn't feel any chemistry or like them together.

All in all, this was not a winner for me.

This was a good fantasy, an interesting plot line and some very interesting concepts and characters. But I'm going to echo another reviewer in saying this felt like it needed another round of editing. I really don't fault the author because it's not the only time I've seen this publisher push books out too quickly rather than giving them the developmental time they need.

This Ravenous Fate takes the glitz and glamour, and the secretive edge, of the New York Jazz Age and adds the bloody violence of vampirism.

This sapphic dark fantasy gives you all the tantalizing and dark features we know and love from traditional vampires, and throws them into the seedy underbelly of a gang-ruled New York. I loved every second of it!

No matter how you think this story will end, these pages may surprise you, as they did me. The writing is lovely. The action is heart-pounding. The romance is exciting! And the commentary on historic racial issues is poignant, but not overwhelming.

In a beautifully built world that weaves fantasy and history, This Ravenous Fate is a vicious delight. Dennings writes tension you’ll want to sink your teeth into. This book is a gory masterpiece wrapped in the decadence of fringe and sequins.