I enjoyed this a far amount, mostly for the queer/sapphic representation, the vampires, the 1920s! It was good. My biggest issue with the story was the pacing, to be honest. I think that the core plot wasn't fast-paced enough to really keep readers in the story. It was also a pretty long book, I picked up the hardcover when we first got them in and it's not a short book. I almost think that there was definitely some room to edit the plot down and make it a bit tighter, without necessarily sacrificing much of the core part of the story.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange of a review.

Non-spoilery review first:

4.5 stars because I saw some of the twists coming, but there were SO many, that I loved to be surprised by this book. Let me begin by saying that I'm so glad vampires are finally making a comeback and Hayley's book was the right place to start with this new trend. If you love enemies to lovers relationships, vampires and 1920's settings then this book is for you :)

Now, for the spoilers:
This book and its premise immediately drew me in, and I believe it delivered what was promised in several aspects. Overall, I loved the worldbuilding, setting, characters and relationships. Although my favorite characters were Layla and Elise, Sterling and Jamie also came close.

This book has a dual POV so it's interesting to see both Layla and Elise's perspective on the politics and world of the reapers and the different characters they each interact with (also how they slowly come to accept the feelings they have for each other). I believe both of them are strong and well-developed characters that show growth throughout the story and an interesting arc. I really liked Sterling and Elise's friendship, and I was so torn when they broke apart :( I hope they somehow find their way to each other in the next book. Jamie was also a very likeable character, and I really liked his friendship with Layla from the start.

I love how the author didn't shy away from making these like the vampires from old movies where we could see how vicious they can be. There were also many interesting new takes on reapers and how they differ from every other vampire book I've ever read.

My only complaint is that I saw <spoiler>Valeriya's betrayal coming from a mile away, but there were many things I didn't see coming that it all was a nice surprise.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and I'm excited to read the sequel.

Blog review: https://www.tumblr.com/youarethefirstdreamofmysoul/759349889702543360/book-review-this-ravenous-fate-by-hayley?source=share

This Ravenous Fate is set in Harlem during the 1920s jazz age. The city has been plagued by reapers and Elise Saint’s family is leading the charge in reaper hunting. After her sister is killed by reapers and her childhood best friend, Layla, gets turned into one, Elise works to prove to her father that she can be the heir he always wanted to take over the Saint reaper hunting empire. To do this, she must work alongside Layla to figure out the mysterious uptick in reaper attacks on humans and how the supposed cure that Mr: Saint is funding actually works. Is there an actual cure to reaperhood? Can Elise and Layla work together without killing each other?
This book has the sparkly intrigue of the jazz era and prohibition, along with vampires, a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers trope, female rage, lesbians, and a minority rep.
Definitely check this out if you’re looking for a new vampire story

I really struggled to get through this one. I love vampire books normally, but I don’t know- there just didn’t seem to have enough going on to really hold my interest. I also felt like it was almost 200 pages too long. I really wanted to like this one but unfortunately it just fell really flat.

THIS RAVENOUS FATE is a much-needed book in the YA realm. Queer/sapphic rep! Queer black girls! Vampires! 1920s Harlem! Nefarious deeds! I had some issues with the book's pacing, but that concern is incredibly mild compared to how worthwhile and lovely THIS RAVENOUS FATE is as a whole. We need more books like this in the world. I can't wait to recommend it to students.

Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS FIRE and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

First, I want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review. This Revenous Fate by Hayley Dennings was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. And I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about it.

First thing first the characters. I loved Layla Quinn. The kind of characters I fall in love with. She lost everything and wants revenge. They made her a monster, so she’ll be their monster. No “I can fix her” with her, more like “I can make her worse”.
Elise Saintn was a bit too naive at some points, but she still is an interesting character. The oldest daughter of an empire with so much pressure on her shoulders, and a best friend trying to kill her. And their relationship? Hell yes!
The other characters were pretty good, but some felt rushed in their writing. Because what do you mean he just changes like that? What is this development?

I also like the metaphor between racism and being black in 1926 New York. Okay, it has been seen repeatedly, but when it’s well-made, it's not a miss. The mystery was really interesting and got me hooked up pretty easily.

But, I think this book needs a bit more editing, especially regarding the pacing. Some parts of the story made me bored, and some felt more than rushed. I went into the book thinking it was a one-shot, so you can guess my surprise when I reached the end.
Overall, a good book, with good main characters, I will read the second one, but it may need a bit more work.

2.5/5

A young adult fantasy novel about a reaper (aka vampire) and a heiress of a reaper hunter empire, solving a murder(s) mystery together. Add a childhood friendship between the two that ended tragically and the romance from their animosity. Did I mention that both of them are Black girls, and it takes place in Harlem during the 1920s?

There was so much potential in this story, so many intriguing components concerning the reaperhood and how it started in the first place, and the backstory between Layla (reaper) and Elise (heiress). Also, the time period and place made the book stand out from other ya fantasies. Unfortunately, I found the book aggressively dull, and the reading experience felt like a chore. There were too many repetitive phrases and words (take a shot every time the word "empire" is mentioned. Please don't!), which made the book feel tiring and too long for no reason. It didn't help that the mystery had nothing mysterious about it, and the characters lacked any real urgency to solve it.
As for the characters, I liked Layla way more than Elise, who annoyed me too much. I don't have much to say about their relationship; it didn't keep my interest, and the love confession was overshadowed by the backstory infodump. There were also villains, who were obviously the bad guys without any real mystery behind them.
Lastly, I would like to mention the atmosphere of the book. It was elusive; unless a speakeasy was mentioned, I kept imagining the present time. I must say that it was pretty gory, which added to the vampire vibes of the book.

Overall, better editing would have helped the story to shine and meet its potential. I highly doubt that I'll read the sequel.

**Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.**

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

✔️childhood friends to enemies
✔️queer black girls
✔️vampires
✔️political
✔️murders
✔️rival gangs
✔️vampire hunters

Hard to put my finger on this one, I didn’t dislike it but didn’t love it. It was okay.

The beginning felt the strongest, it had me hooked and immersed into the story, but the farther I got into the book it seemed to just drag around Act 2

It takes place in the 1920’s but had nothing to do with anything. This could’ve taken place at any point. Would’ve liked to see the elements from that time frame tie in the story. We unfortunately don’t get immersed into the jazz/Harlem scene. We also hardly get to see Laylas passion for dance which is sad since it was brought up several times.

The romance was VERY lack luster. One moment they’re “enemies” then Elise tells Layla she loves her?! Idk…..I think the author could’ve done a better job establishing their past relationship and give it more substance. Would’ve loved to see more longing and pining etc. This book is heavily advertised as a sapphic romance and that fell flat.

This is not a true enemies to lovers book

The investigation portion had me bored and lost, why was there no urgency to solve a murder? Why did it draaagg on?

Things are brought into the story but then never repeated, example-OCD

Predictable bad guys

Elise’s dad is a gaslighting fool
Sterling is dead to me now

Overall I do think this is a successful debut for Hayley, she has beautiful writing. There are areas of the book where I needed MORE substance and areas of the book we could’ve cut down. Curious to see where book 2 will lead us next.

I have very conflicting feelings about this one. The concept itself is good and has great potential. Still, the execution fell short of my expectations and I feel like this could have really used another pass with a developmental editor. Some things aren't fleshed out enough, which means many of the bigger twists/reveals/plot points/whatever-you-wanna-call-them don't land quite like they should.

I don't want to get into spoiler territory, but one thing that bugged me tremendously was that aside from the 2 POV characters (which I think were fairly well fleshed out), most characters were extremely one-dimensional. This is fine for characters who show up once or twice and don't have that much relevance to the plot, but that was not the case with this book.

The book had its positives, however. I liked how the book weaved in discussions surrounding race, class, and privilege, although I would have liked to see more of how certain dynamics played out in terms of the human vs reaper(vampire) population.

TL;DR: Some inconsistencies plot-wise, but I still thought this was a fine, enjoyable read overall and the romance, which is the main focus anyway, was fairly well-developed too.

Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book, but it took a bit for me to get into. The beginning part of the story felt a bit slower, but once I hit the 60% mark it was off to the races! I was on the edge of my seat as I watched the twists and turns. The story took me on an rollercoaster of emotions. There were moments of laughter and some of heartbreak. Elise and Layla were interesting MCs.. The setting of Jazz Age Harlem was a cool one. As this is a duology it ends in a cliff hanger and I look forward to see what happens next!

This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings is the book for you if you are looking for a historical fiction novel including a Jazz Age setting, vampires and LGBT romance. I found the book on TikTok so the algorithm must have known what I was looking for in a book.

The book’s setting is the nightclubs and homes of Harlem during 1926. While it is a historical fiction book, it also fits into the fantasy genre. The book has a nice balance of history and fantasy.

The book’s setting is the nightclubs and homes of Harlem during 1926. One of the main characters, Elise Saint, has returned from Paris after five years. The reader gets glimpses of why she went to live abroad. We are aware that her family was attacked by vampires or reapers. Layla Quinn, a former friend and current reaper, has been waiting to exact her revenge on Elise.

The relationship between Elise and Layla Quinn seems adversarial at first. They have a history but we won’t know until later about all of the pieces to the puzzle. Elise and Layla end up having to work together to figure out the reason for a series of attacks.

This isn't my usual YA read but I found it intriguing and captivating. I love the setting and time period, thats what originally drew me in, and really enjoyed the story. The characters were well written and the story kept me hooked. Looking forward to the next one in the series!

Well, this book is hopefully my way out of a reading slump, so my thoughts may also be a bit messy to express, but I'll do my best.

I'm one of the readers who heard about this book on Hayley's booktube videos, and I was so pleasantly surprised! For the most part, the writing was really good, I liked the world and the themes, and the whole idea of Layla and Elise's relationship.

I was a little hesitant going into TRF because it's a YA but it reads more like a new adult book. I gave this only four stars because sometimes I wasn't fully feeling the romance between Layla and Elise (I think it might just be ne struggling with a reasing slump), sometimes the scenes end a bit abruptly in my opinion, and something in the stories of Sterling and Valeriya felt a bit loose.

I think it's such a solid and good vampire book and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.

Lastly, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an open access to this ebook.

Lush and captivating. This was a new take on vampires and vampire hunters, with a bit of star crossed love in the mix. There is plenty to still discover in the sequel.

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.