This Ravenous Fate

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this!

It's 1926 and reapers, the once-human vampires with a terrifying affliction, are on the rise in New York. But the Saint family's thriving reaper-hunting enterprise holds reign over the city, giving them more power than even the organized criminals who run the nightclubs. Eighteen year-old Elise Saint, home after five years in Paris, is the reluctant heir to the empire. Only one thing weighs heavier on Elise's mind than her family obligations: the knowledge that the Harlem reapers want her dead.

Don't walk, RUN to pre-order this!

When going into a book with a lot of expectations, you often set yourself up for terrible disappointment. This was the opposite. This book has met all my admittedly high expectations and far surpassed them. When I read the first page I said "This might become my top read of the year" and it is, it really is. The writing style is absolutely gorgeous and really draws you in right from the first sentence. The characters too are beautifully crafted. I really couldn't name a character that felt flat or unnecessary to me. And what is always important to me in a book that contains romance but isn't primarily a romance: The romance feels important to the plot but doesn't overshadow or take away from it. I love the way their past weaves into their present when it comes to the difficulty of their feelings for each other, and everything just develops so perfectly fitting. Last but not least, the setting of 1920s Harlem is not just beautiful but also given so much importance in the story and is just perfectly chosen.
Honestly, I was so blown away when I finished this like half an hour ago that I'm proud of myself for even writing semi-coherent sentences. It may only be March, but I am definitely calling this as my book of the year and will now go on to recommend this to everyone I know (prepare to be sick of me).

I loved everything about this! A queer black vampire in the 1920’s! It was absolutely delicious. This author’s writing style is beautiful, poetic and descriptive. I cannot wait for book 2. Please don’t make us wait long! Thank you for the opportunity to read!

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. Because oh my god, This Ravenous Fate was a freaking masterpiece. Queer Black girls?? Vampires?? 1920s New York?? Check. Check. Check. From the moment I read the first page, I knew this would be a book I would enjoy. Hayley Dennings' writing is stunning and the way she writes is so engaging, you will literally not want to put down the book. I had to force myself to take a break, even though I didn't want to.

The amazing writing style was the perfect way to get lost in the dazzling darkness of 1920s New York, as portrayed in this book. I think this book would make such a great TV series, especially if it was animated, Castlevania-style. And it is in this city that we find our main characters, Elise and Layla, former friends turned enemies on the opposite sides of a secret war plaguing New York. The two are forced to work together, investigating a series of brutal killings. Their reluctance plus the burning intensity of their chemistry as they work together was just incredible.

Both their personalities really shine on page and it was so interesting to see their opinions of each other shift at the same time. Elise and Layla are both complex characters, with conflicting motivations and they play out on page wonderful well. Truly, I think this book is a stunningly crafted debut.

And that ending....just....wow....I'm speechless in a good way. This Ravenous Fate was an incredible read and I enjoyed it a lot. Now, I will wait (I'm)patiently to get my hands on book 2 because I need to know what happens.

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.