2.75

I wanted to love this so badly. It's sapphic vampires in a 1920s alternate NYC with a friends to enemies to lovers romance. On paper, it was going to be a new favorite read. Unfortunately, while the ideas are all there, I think this needed another round of edits.

I like a lot of what this is doing thematically. Dennings is able to pull in a lot of conversation related to race and class and wealth and privilege, which are all relevant to today but were also big topics of conversation during the Harlem Renaissance. In that respect and in the way Dennings was able to build a believable historical Harlem that had vampires, I was completely sold.

That being said, there were some writing choices and plot/pacing choices that left me feeling pretty meh about this book. For one, I mostly listened to the audiobook which might have caused me to notice it more than I would have if I read the ebook, but there was a repetition of "character name said" that became grating and made the conversations sound stilted. Though in some cases it felt necessary because the audiobook narrator didn't differentiate much between the voices. I also found some of the plot development felt a bit stilted. There were moments were a person's reaction felt super out of left field and then there would be something in the text indicating what changed to cause that reaction and I would have rather seen the event than been told about it later. I also found the ending incredibly rushed and rather disappointing despite what should have been a major cliffhanger.

I don't think this is a bad book, but I don't think it met my expectations and I had some pretty major issues with the execution. Most of my issues can probably be chalked up to being a debut, so while I probably won't pick up the sequel/finale of this duology, I would be interested in seeing what Dennings writes after this.

Vampires are not always my favorite to read about, but the premise of This Ravenous Fate drew me in. The 1920s Harlem setting, set the a perfect tone for the story. The fantasy, the mystery all worked well together to create an interesting story that kept me guessing while also rooting for Elise and Layla. It also interwove themes of racism and classism in this supernatural mystery that made the stakes higher in the story.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I still have to read the last 30% of the book (mood reader things), however I’m really enjoying the FMC Layla and Elise. Tobias is a yuck for me. Do not like him at all. I will be leaving my full review up on Goodreads when I complete the book!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the early review copy! I commend the author for the inventive twist on oft-trodden ground, but I unfortunately never felt fully invested in THIS RAVENOUS FATE. That said, I do think some high schoolers I work with may fall into Dennings' prose, blood-soaked terrain, and the promising development of the sapphic friends to enemies to lovers arc in the sequel.

In an alternate 1926, vampires known as reapers are on the rise in New York. The Saint family hunts them, giving them more power than those in organized crime. Now home after five years away, eighteen-year-old Elise Saint is the reluctant heir and target for all of the Harlem reapers. Layla Quinn became a reaper five years ago, betrayed by Elise herself. Some reapers are turning human again, and they leave brutal killings behind. When Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers her a deal she can't refuse: work with Elise to investigate how these murders might be linked to shocking rumors of a reaper cure. Now the former friends must work together to discover the truth behind the threat that endangers them all.

This Ravenous Fate is the first book of a duology, with a world where vampires are hurt by specific kinds of steel and they're an everyday menace for police and hunters to deal with. Elise is traumatized by the attacks that sent her to France, but she refuses to allow her ten-year-old sister become the heir to the Saint empire of bullets and research into reaper treatments. The Saints want to eradicate all reapers, and the human-reaper alliances will fall if they get their way. In addition to the difficulties of reapers, there are prejudices and outright racism against Black people, the poor, and those that stand in the way of those with something to gain the most by the reaper cure. It doesn't help Elise's anxiety that her father is austere and interested in results and his empire. There are secrets that her father keeps, that his associates keep, and that the older reapers keep as well. Elise is caught in between too many people, and her emotions are used against her to keep her in line. The various plots are all in play, and Elise knows very little about most of them. This is a bloody, dangerous world, and the love Elise and Layla develop here isn't enough to keep the worst of it at bay. It's likely the next half of the duology that will.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Oh my goodness, where do I even start with this book? From the absolutely gorgeous world building to the plot twists, it truly has everything you could wish for! Oh, and don't forget the Black girl magic and sapphic enemies to lovers vampire story. Like, how can a story honestly have it all?!

I think my favorite part of this book is how unique it makes the world of vampires (reapers in this story). It takes such a familiar (and sometimes overdone) story idea and turns it into something so glittery and new that I truly could have convinced myself this was my first vampire book. That was incredibly refreshing and made me enjoy everything all the more.

My complaint was that it did feel like it started a bit slow, but it really got going once the girls were finally working together. I feel like it might have gotten a bit more interesting had they been forced together sooner. And then the ending threw me for a loop a bit, and I'm not sure in a good way. It felt so rushed that I truly didn't get the full impact of the plot twist at the end and the ensuing arguments/tension.

I loved the romance though and the way that the angst just makes it all the more intriguing. I feel like I can't say much without giving things away, but trust me when I say that you will be swooning! Not to mention the self growth that they both go through and the commentary on worthiness and love for yourself.

This was a wonderful debut and I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here!

Vampires are on the rise and I am living for it. This was a fabulous historical debut with some complex characters at its core. The dynamic between Layla and Elise makes this so intriguing, with the will they won't they of their past and current animosities. Very much looking forward to the sequel!

I read a great deal of this book so i feel like I can still review. Ultimately it got to be a chore to read so I decided to DNF. This had all the great pieces to be a delicious addictive novel but unfortunately the slow burn was way too slow. I feel like the pacing could have been better but honestly there was nowhere to improve because this whole novel is slow.

The characters *sigh* ok so the two MC’s names are totally different. One is a reaper and the other is human, but why couldn’t I differentiate between the two? Could it be for lack of character depth and personality. No one was likeable bc quite frankly who are these people?

The setting, this felt like now. Instead of the 1920’s and for one of the greatest moments in Harlem history the most exciting thing was the cotton club.


This fell short for me, and U hate that because this seemed so great.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the Kindle ARC of this book. If you like a YA Fantasy/thriller that takes place in the roaring 20’s with reapers (vampires) this book is for you.

Reapers are a big problem in NYC in 1926, and the Saint family empire is trying to keep them under control. The Saints have w some scientists working on a cure without luck so far, then a young man just turned reaper seems to turn back to human. Did that happen when he died or before?

Young Elise Saint, the heir to the empire is asked by her father to pair up with her once best friend, Layla, who has been a reaper for 5 years to investigate what is happening in the city. Elise and Layla hate each other - or do they?

Layla is a young black gay woman trying to survive in a world she never wanted.

Looking forward to more from this author..

DNF — I really wanted to love this! The concept sounded right up my alley, but I just couldn’t get into it. I found the beginning a bit confusing. I stuck it out for a bit, but I wasn’t feeling invested in the characters.

This is the beginning of a slow burn enemies to lovers romance and this first book really doesn't have much romance in it, so be aware of that going in. There's nothing more classic than vampire versus vampire hunter. This book was a bit predictable, the people you dislike from page one are the bad guys. I was so excited for this sapphic Black vampire, knife to the throat, only I get to kill you romance. This is historical paranormal, I would not call it fantasy, and I would definitely not call it romantasy. The writing ultimately just did not pull me in any step of the way.

ultimately this came down to lack of personal interest for me. it thinks its a really great book, just not for me. i think I came into it expecting something different. the vampire aspect of the novel didnt really have the effect on me that I was looking for which again is another personal preference. the pacing for me was a bit slow and it didnt really pick up until around 50%.

3.5 rounded up. Very promising debut but had some pacing issues in the first third. Once the setup was done and the plot picked up it was a fun read. The writing was repetitive at times with describing emotions and there was more telling than showing for emotional backstories which prevented readers from fully immersing in the story. Loved the last 10% and am excited to read book two.

This Ravenous Fate is an urban fantasy novel with a bit of mystery. Set in 1920's Harlem you follow two childhood friends with some bad blood that have to work together to solve a murder and clear the name of the Harlem Reapers as a group.

I was so excited to read this book and rightfully so. I loved the world building and most of the characters, the few characters I didn't like were ones that you weren't supposed to. I really enjoyed Dennings' writing throughout this book especially her descriptions, they were so detailed and the word choice was amazing. I loved the mystery aspect although I was able to quickly pick up on some of the details. I have never read a vampire book so that might have been something in my favor as I haven't read nearly enough of the genre to compare it to anything else or be tired of the portrayal of vampires. I absolutely adored the platonic relationships in this book I thought that was a nice touch as a lot of books focus heavily on the romance and tend to forget about platonic ships (and while I know some people prefer that I personally prefer there to be a nice combination). I loved all of the drama and side-plots that ended up all tying together. I did do a tandem read of this physically while I listened to the audiobook and I have to say I didn't necessarily love the audiobook, although I think it was just the narrator that I wasn't entirely fond of as her voice didn't seem to fit with what was going on in the story. I can't wait to read the next book.

I would recommend this to anyone looking to get into urban fantasy or anything paranormal especially if they are already a fan of mysteries because while this has paranormal/fantastical elements they aren't so dense that a beginner wouldn't know what was going on or where to begin.

Trigger Warnings - Blood, Death, Gore, Racism, Emotional Abuse, Torture, Medical Trauma

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an advanced copy of this book as well as RB Media for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lesbian vampires!! I'm obsessed. Only a Monster x Ace of Shades.

What I liked:
- Layla and Elise have an absolutely electric relationship. Their past friendship and the night it fell apart drives every choice that either one of them makes, but in a way where they both feel three dimensional.
- The dynamics are less of enemies to lovers than exes to grumpy allies to wait a sec we're still in love
- Layla in general. She's Fanon Kaz Brekker, in that she's ruthless but still is kind and loving at heart.
- Generational racial trauma represented through vampires is kind of a stroke of genius.
- Harlem renaissance setting is iconic

What I didn't like:
- There was a lot happening all of the time...the plot is intricate, but not enough time was spent on the machinations of various people for me to get everything.
- More Jamie pls. Given the focus on the impact of violence and discrimination against Black people, I think it would be interesting to compare and contrast that with Jamie, who is white but has an Irish name. It would've been cool to dive into discrimination against the Irish.
- The good and evil people, for the most part, were obvious, and the characters trying to understand their motives to be frustrating.
- There are about a million stupid things that were unbelievable, especially revolving the whole Saint family business. They didn't affect my reading experience, but were a bit baffling looking back.

This book has several layers. On one level, it’s a YA historical fantasy mystery with a side of sapphic romance set in prohibition era New York with manmade vampires. On another level, it’s a commentary on race relations, personal identity, and an exploration of what it means to be loyal to family (biological or found). It gave me a lot to think about.

This is a book that I had high expectations for that fell a bit flat by the end. I was very intrigued by the concept and plot (1920's Black, sapphic vampires!!) and in general this book was pretty exciting and entertaining. I love a good murder mystery and friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance, but while on the surface, there was A LOT to love about this one, once I got a bit deeper, I lost interest. Too much of this book felt like it was still in the early stages, versus a finished published book. Repetitive conversations, plot points that got a little lost, scenes that popped up without a ton of flow. Unfortunately, all of these small things really added up and took a toll on my enjoyment of this book.

his Ravenous Fate is a sapphic fantasy set in Jazz Age Harlem. The regal world-building is intertwined with the threat of vampires and a mysterious affliction that haunts them. Elise and Layla have a very complicated relationship that is slowly revealed. The chemistry between them is intense, especially as the truth of their connection is rekindled. The pacing felt a little off at times, with some reveals being glossed over too quickly or at times lacking momentum. Still, this was an intriguing debut and I’m excited to see what happens in the sequel!

Vampires, gangsters, prohibition era speakeasies, and murders all come together in this book to make a fascinating mystery. Working together to solve a crime, Elise and Layla end up finding out a lot more about the going’s on in their neighborhood of Harlem. The childhood trauma both experienced, and the different lives these former best friends lead, make for a compelling story on their own, add in the murder mystery, and the criminal underbelly of the 20s, and you’ve got a great story.

This was on my radar as soon as I heard it was Black sapphic vampires. I didn’t need anymore info than that. It sounded like everything I wanted in a vampire book. (Some of you may know I’m not usually a fan of them lol) And although this one wasn’t perfect, I did enjoy reading it.

Ok so what I didn’t care for was the world-building. For this to be promoted as a 1920’s book, it just didn’t FEEL like one. I know there was some piano playing and some talk of the club, but besides that I just didn’t feel like it was set during the Harlem Renaissance. And as someone whose blog was partly made because of her love for settings, i just wanted more.

The main characters were cool tho. To me they never felt like REAL enemies. I did think that Layla was the better character tho. Because she was more believable. She wasn’t taking no shit from Elise and wasn’t letting her forget what she did. It took her a lot to trust Elise and I don’t blame her at all. I would have been the same way. Elise on the other hand was the sheltered person I thought she was. I was surprised by her actions in the very end tho. I was not expecting her to choose that.

The vampire thing was cool, but I also thought it could be more here too. We see a lot from Layla’s POV, but I think I wanted more from Elise’s. She wasn’t nearly as scared of them as she should have been. AND THEN, it was like they didn’t even really show up while they were trying to find out what was going on. It felt too convenient. I guess i wanted more of the scary ones and more times when Elise had to show that she wouldn’t hesitate and that she would shoot/fight them if need be. I didn’t understand how this was a vampire book but they were barely around to create that fear. I guess this goes with the world-building too. The prologue had me all set up ready for some weird ass vampires that were powerful, but we only saw one powerful vampire and she doesn’t even really fight them until the ending. I think I wanted the same energy from the prologue.

This wasn’t bad, but I think it could have been better if there was some more editing and tighter amount pf pages. I don’t think it should have been this long. On the plus side I was very entertained so I won’t say that aspect was too upsetting. I will still be on pins and needles for when the next one comes out.