Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored the concept of this book. If it has queer vampires, I'm automatically on board. Add 1920s Harlem and I'm even MORE on board. This book was such a fun read despite not feeling quite fleshed out as much as it could be.

I think what disappointed me the most was the pacing. Some parts were very slow and dragged on, and other parts were very quick, so much so that I felt like I missed important information. Avoiding spoilers, the end was VERY sudden and felt so rushed. I felt like it jumped from scene to scene drastically in the last 10% of the book, and I was left confused enough to re-read portions to understand what had happened.

All this being said, I am quite enchanted with the love/hate relationship between Elise and Layla. I found them to be wonderful characters with a lot of depth, especially as they grapple with mental health issues, familial issues, racism, sexism, classism, and loss. I look forward to seeing where the sequel takes them and their relationship.

Publication date: 6 August 2024

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

The premise of this book is amazing, and I absolutely love the Jazz-Age New York setting.
The prologue also had me hooked, so I'm quite sad that I ended up DNFing.

The writing style was the biggest downfall of the book, it felt clunky and the dialogue didn't feel natural. I had a hard time immersing myself in the setting.

I was also confused by the character dynamics, and wish there had been more explanation of the backstory between the two FMCs.
Maybe it follows later in the book, but given that it is already a very big plot point early in the book, I personally felt like it would have been necessary to have a better understanding of their connection.

I'm sure this book will find its audience and I would definitely give the author another try in the future.

I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. The potential was definitely there, just feel like it lacked in places.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I had high hopes for this book but it was not for me. For me, it was a slog to get through the portions of Layla and Elise's emotions. The plot itself was interesting but not enough to keep me engaged. I kept putting off reading it because I did not engage with it. The historical context was phenomenal for how the reapers were created and I did enjoy the worldbuilding. It was not enough for me to recommend this to anyone else. 2 stars.

Thank you both Haylet Dennings and Sourcebooks for the eARC. All reviews and thoughts are mine alone.

Are you looking for a fantasy book with 1920s Harlem vibes? If so this is the book that you need to run and read. This book gives you all the vibes of humans, vampires, reapers, gangs and even vampire hunters. The world building was incredible and i felt like i could see the area in my mind like a movie. This book is heavy heavy on alot of the topics it presents from segregation to systematic racism.

While heavy on topics it was also light and easy to keep up with, The plot was interesting, the lesbian romance was different than most, how the characters and story developed was slow and steady. The relationship between Layla and Elise was one for the books. They were opposites, shouldn't have worked at all but did. Sure the relationship was complicated, with them being two different beings.

Overall i did like the book but i felt like the execution wasn't the best. It had a great concept and great potential, i am giving it a 4 star, cause i was able to get through it and stayed interested. I just felt like some parts dragged and some didn't feel necessary but it was by no means a bad book!

⭐️⭐️.5

🩸Sapphic
🎹Vampire X Vampire Hunter
🩸Friends to Enemies to Lovers
🎹Set during the Harlem Renaissance
🩸Female Rage

This was an ALC and E-ARC.

I really really wanted to love this one. I love sapphic romances and then add in vampires I was ready to devour. The build up took a long time. The last 5 percent was the best part of the book as far as action and shock.

The storyline was very predictable. There is a bit at the end that leads up to their being a second book. I don’t really feel any closure for first part of the book.

I think that this book was just not for me but I know a few book besties that would love it.


The narrator did an amazing job! They conveyed all emotions and kept me focused. I would definitely listen to more by this narrator.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me, mostly due to world building and a need for edits on characters.

This was SO cool! I loved the vibes of this- rich black vampires in the 20s is possibly the coolest concept for a book I've ever heard. This was a lot of fun, and the romance was so cute. I think this is such a strong debut- it's got good vibes, good dialogue, and a great cast of characters. My only complaint is that it moves pretty slow. I'm hoping the second book is a little better paced. Overall though, totally worth the read!

DNF @ 15%.

I was incredibly excited for this and hope that I can return to it with enjoyment at another time! I'm not sure why this didn't gel with me currently, but the writing style was different to what I was expecting. Will return to this another time (hopefully).

I'm going to start this review by saying that the strongest part of this book is the characters. The characters are so likable and strong that if you, like me, read a book mostly for the characters, there's a great chance that you're going to eat this one up. Especially if you, like me, are a sucker for vampires (heh sucker). What can I say? I unironically like Twilight. Anyway, all that said, there are some things that could maybe be improved in this book. It felt like there were some plot lines that could have been tightened up, and the pacing felt a bit off in different places.

DNF 30%
This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and unfortunately, I just didn't love it. The world nor the main characters Laylor and Elise made me want to keep reading this book. I love vampires, I love historical settings, I love reading books with Black sapphics but something about this book wasn't for me. Sometimes I like pushing through but in the case of me not even liking the main characters, it's better for me to DNF than to finish.

Too slow for it's own good. A planned duology it could have been a nice 400 page-ish standalone (I'm assuming) with some editing, focus, and tightness in the writing because conceptually I was pretty excited about it but then I couldn't muddle through the story when things were connecting snappily enough.

There's a new wave of vampires from the middle grade humor to the [book:A Tempest of Tea|59406549] but it didn't hit the right notes though the historical setting provided good atmosphere.

When is the second book coming out? I love everything about this book. The world building was excellent. The author brought the Harlem Renaissance alive with her words. I love the tension between the characters. Will they or won’t they get together in the end? And I want to know what happened with her little sister? Where is she? And her father was just plain nasty. I wish I could read again for the first time.

The plot was interesting and the characters had a lot of personality, but I felt like the efforts to create period dialogue felt forced and clunky. Overall I really enjoyed the story!

Intrigued enough to continue the series and appreciate the cool 1920s Harlem, rich Black vibes with vampires.

Such a fantastic read! I couldn't step away once I got started! Thank you to NetGalley for providing this fantastic ARC!!

Vampirism is making a comeback, and I couldn’t be happier. There is not a queer vampire book out there that I wouldn’t be interested in reading, and This Ravenous Fate was no different! I saw this compared to First Kill, which was a show I loved and am still mourning. Needless to say, I was very excited to dive into this one.

There was a lot of tension between Layla and Elise that was fun to explore. The trope of enemies to lovers was fascinating because they used to be best friends before they became enemies, which added a whole other dynamic to the situation. There were a lot of mixed emotions between the two; a lot of that went unsaid. This begins to build towards the final act of the novel. The animosity between the two eventually changed to a sexual tension that was well-written, and I definitely think the two had good chemistry. The romance was the highlight of the book, and I enjoyed getting to switch between their different perspectives.

I was intrigued by the different name given to vampires in this story—reapers. I wish the way vampirism worked was explored more, but I enjoyed hearing about the different experiments that were happening towards the end of the story and the whole science of the world. I would like to know more about the supernatural in this world. Are there only reapers or other creatures too, and are they all man-made? I was enticed by one of the villains and wish she took more of a focus from Elise’s father. I’d love to know more about her story as a reaper!

I think this was a strong debut and would definitely recommend it to fans of vampires. I enjoyed the different take on vampirism, and I'm looking forward to seeing more from the author!

unfortunately i was unable to complete this arc. i couldn't get into it, there needed to be further revisions and edits prior to publishing. it just felt incredibly juvenal

This Ravenous Fate is a queer vampire novel following Layla and Elise, ex-friends during 1920's Harlem renaissance. As a debut, I was impressed with the intricacies of the plot. We example heavy topics like racism and classism and for a YA novel, I believe it was done sensible. The dynamic between our two main characters, Layla and Elise, is very interesting. There is a clear history between the two and the tension it brings to the page is palpable. The complexity of their relationship and their perspectives is unique and what is truly special about this book.

I loved the richness of Harlem, the clear racism and classism.
The writing just went to all over the place for me. Lots of repetition- Layla's anger is a major focus of the plot but overdone.