This was a very interesting story with a lot going on and being set up. It also is very interesting in how it talks about racism and mixing it with the vampire aspect. I liked the two main characters. I’m not usually a 1920’s era reading fanatic, but i am interested in what happens next.

When I first heard about this book, it was probably a couple of years ago on the author's youtube channel so when I found out it was going to be published - I was so excited for it.

However, it may be time for me to realize that maybe being interested in a book doesn't always mean I would like it. I think this had huge potential and the concept is really great, but I wasn't able to connect with the writing which made it hard to continue this book further.. Although this was a DNF, I know this book will be a great one for YA readers and I can't wait to see what the author does next!

This book was good and for her first book ever it was a fantastic debut novel. I am excited for this series to continue and the characters were easy to like.

1920s, vampires, lbgtqia representation, what is not to like about this? It is a very layered story with so much going on that keeps your attention at all times! Definitely will need to get the next installment, I need to know what happens!

I feel like this debut is one that has a lot of potential but it didn't work for me completely. There are a lot of elements of this book that I feel like with a little extra tweaking I would have loved. I would give this author another shot.

I don't know why it took me so long to sink my teeth into this (all pun intended) but one it had it's claws in me, I couldn't stop. Layla and Elise, top tier enemies to lovers. There is so much distrust between the two of them that I was on the edge the whole time to see how things would fall. Elise, I wanted to scream about your dad every page but I know why you held onto those rose-colored glasses for so long, I'm glad they're finally off. Layla, my love, you're not a monster, but I cannot wait to see you take on this leadership role more.

A fabulous debut that draws you in and devours you whole. This Ravenous Fate had me on the edge the whole book with gorgeous and vivid details coupled with astounding character development and plot twists that I never saw coming.

Thank you Sourcebooks for my advanced copy!

I lreally enjoyed everything about this! A queer black vampire in the 1920’s! It was wonderful to read. This author’s writing style is beautiful, poetic and descriptive. I cannot wait for book 2!!! So excited to read it

The longing??? Both of them loving each other but resolving to hate cause that's easier ?? Chef's kiss.

I think Dennings has a brilliant way with words and I'm excited to see what comes next for her. I enjoyed the 1920's backdrop and the whole Slayer organization. I must say I'm intrigued by the Reapers and wanted a bit more on them especially the ancients(I suspect by book 2). I did find that some parts tended to drag and it me out of the story because we are supposed to be at Point X, how did we ended up back at Point C??

<spoiler> absolutely hated Elise's daddy and I can't wait until he dies 🫶🏾. Like that is a sick man. </spoiler>

What a good start to what I hope to be a great series. The chemistry brewing between Layla and Elise is delightful, and while some characters made me want to pull my hair out, that's the mark of a good writer. There were some pacing issues for me personally, but even the sections I thought could be sped up were still great prose and the amount of detail and flesh given to the world made up for any possible small issues.

I really liked the concept for this book and I believe the author has a lot of potential. Mostly, my problems with This Ravenous Fate all result from not being able to fully connect with multiple parts of this book. The biggest one for me was the main relationship. I did not feel much chemistry between them and I did not find myself rooting for them to be together. The backdrop plot also just felt like it could use some more workshopping. I think Dennings is a great technical writer, but more editing and style could make future books much more enticing.

I really wanted to enjoy this book and I loved the plot idea, but I think either I’ve outgrown YA or this was just a mega miss for me. I didn’t like how the plot was buried under the romance and it felt like they were two different stories, and I didn’t get a feeling of the historical atmosphere very well. The ending was also predictable in ways, but I did appreciate it being unpredictable in others.

This book sounds soooooo good and I’m definitely keeping it on my TBR!! Unfortunately, I just haven’t been in the mood for this genre lately and that’s made it extremely difficult to even start let alone finish books like this. It is very much a me problem, though, and says nothing about the book itself.

LESBIAN VAMPIRE X VAMPIRE SLAYER??!!! SIGN ME THE F*** UP!! I absolutely loved this book!!! I NEED THE NEXT ONE NOW!!! I ate this book up, the tension, the setting, the confessions… “she’s mine” …ugh, i couldn’t ask for a better vampire book.

I really liked the concept— black female leads, vampires, and all the dark, atmospheric vibes were totally up my alley. But the writing just didn’t hold up. It felt like it was trying to do too much without really pulling me in, and I found myself losing interest fast. Ended up DNF-ing it. Cool ideas, but the execution just wasn’t there for me.

I'm a little unsure how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I was really enjoying it for the most part, even if it took me a long time to get through it. On the other, by the time we got to the ending, there was so much happening in so little time and in such a confusing way that I finished the book completely dumbfounded.

So, here's a little breakdown of my thoughts:

I enjoyed the main characters and their friends to enemies to lovers slow-burn romance. Even though we still didn't get much on the romance front (points for the slow-burn, because we're all tired of "enemies" that stop the hate part at the 25% mark of a book), I enjoyed what we got. There was real hurt and yearning and complicated feelings between Layla and Elise, and it was the high point of the book for me. The pain of a broken friendship, the tension from being on opposite sides of the reaper-hunter war, the years of suppressed feelings coming to play... It was good. We love some sapphic yearning mixed with Jazz Age Harlem vampires, we need more of that.

The other characters... Well. So, everyone apart from our main characters sucks. That's fine. It's not usually a problem for me, I get that we're looking at a world where everything and everyone is corrupted and twisted in some way. Except for the fact that all these other horrible characters weren't that complex or well-developed, they just sucked. Besides, the other people that don't completely suck also [died horrible deaths (hide spoiler)] so there was no escape. In some ways, it was interesting, because Layla and Elise are also not exactly good people, right? But by the time [Elise injected Sterling (aka her former best friend) with a venom that I'm pretty sure she didn't know exactly how it worked, only that it KILLED people, and led him on a murderous spree of all the other reapers (who I'm guessing you wouldn't call innocent but who are also not guilty of anything), I was just asking myself if not being exactly good people meant being downright evil. Except, this is never quite questioned by anyone as a bad choice, or an evil one, even thought for me it was the worst thing she did in the entire book. It was horrible and (hide spoiler)] I didn't get it. Which leads me to:

The plot was slightly convoluted to the point where the ending was just plain confusing. I'm telling you, I was okay with everything that was happening, with the many players on the board, with the shifting alliances, with the characters constantly being offed when I started getting attached. It was fine for most of it. Until we got to the last 20% stretch where everything started happening at the same time. I stopped following, I'm so sorry. It was so mind-boggling, I read those last chapters with my brain only being able to produce question marks. There were so many confrontations that didn't seem to lead anywhere, [people shifting alliances and then on the next chapter trying to blame it on someone else (Valeriya saying she wanted the reapers gone and later saying Layla is the one who betrayed them? What? Did I miss something?), Elise constantly aligning with Layla and then GOING BACK HOME as if nothing happened, stupid decision-making and killing people left and right without going after the ACTUAL guilty (why are we killing the doctor and not the white man?) and honestly just the fact that suddenly Sterling is evil and unable to see what Tobias Saint was doing as wrong. I truly didn't understand that. (hide spoiler)] I'm curious if I'm the only one that felt this way (please let me know if you also couldn't keep up), but this is what brought the rating down for me. I won't give spoilers, obviously, but like... What?

This Ravenous Fate had me hooked on every page. It's genre-breaking use of vampirism to highlight every day horrors is one that left me contemplative, reflective, and wanting more. I fell in love with both Elise and Layla, and in love with their heartbroken twisted love for each other. I'm very excited for its sequel!

Set in Jazz age Harlem, This Ravenous Fate is a must-read for those who love period pieces and vampires! 3.5/5

My Rating: 4.25 stars



I received a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review



CW’s: violence, suggestive content, racism, drinking/substance abuse, racism (allegorical and literal), threats/calls for genocide by side characters.



The book started off really strong, and the atmosphere of the book really, really intrigued me from the get go. It usually takes me longer to get into a book, but this time I was able to really dive into it almost immediately.



Right off the bat, I thought the mythology and world building was pretty good, it was a bit info-dumpy, but I think it’s really hard to avoid info-dumping in fantasy novels.

I loved the two main characters right off the bat as well.



I think it’s key to point out their relationship here. It was somewhat cheapened by the “miscommunication” trope but I’ll admit to liking a bit of angst.



There’s definitely some graphic scenes, but it isn’t gratuitous or unnecessary to the plot, it’s just a lot to read when I’m not particularly into reading about violence.



Elise and Josi’s sisterhood was a bit bizarre, I don’t know if I’d be so close to my sibling, maybe it would be different with neglectful parents.



The setting was incredibly vibrant and immersive. Jazz age Harlem came alive in the book.

I loved the mentions of natural hair too!



The reason behind Layla’s hatred for Elise was, honestly, really conflicting. Part of me gets it, but I think blaming Elise for what happened was wildly unfair. I get what she went through, but I just think it’s unfair.



The issue of race was really well done too, especially for the time period. The author is BIPOC, so it doesn’t surprise me how well she handled race and how much time and effort was put into realism with the historical background. The era was well represented and proved to be pretty on par with the era, even the dialogue felt very genuine.

As for their relationship, it was sweet, no matter how much Layla claimed to hate Elise, the moments where she thought of Elise and her before the murder of her family, before all of the pain, were happy ones. She also calls Elise “My Saint” which was adorable. I love a protective GF. Doesn’t work so well with men, but women? Wonders

The writing was definitely the star of this book, it was just so beautiful and intoxicating. It felt like a lot of the old YA books about mafia’s and gangs in paranormal romance, fantasy, and dystopian settings that I loved so much. I shouldn’t find teen romances so swoonworthy, but the way they truly cared for each other, no matter how much they hated each other.

All in all, the author did a wonderful job with plotting, characters, and writing. I did find Josi a bit annoying, and some of the plot points felt like they dragged, but a 4-star read nonetheless.

Good introduction of Hayley Dennings' craft with Layla being a gem of a character to read. Jazz Age Harlem + Black vampires is a delicious recipe and beside this lavish setting, there's a serious story that has issued real world issues both modern and historic. Excited to read the second book when it arrives.

I read this book last year and i ABSOLUTELY loved it !!! I now have the physical copy , I've gave this book 5 star rating , if i had my way i would have given it 6 star rating .