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katherinareads's review against another edition
4.0
i went into this book blind, as i usually do with my reads, and let me tell you, i have a knack for picking books based solely on their cover. i mean, just look at it – it's gorgeous! and the story lives up to it. it's dark and compelling, drawing me in right from the beginning. blood manipulation, a fascination of mine, was woven into the narrative, along with an exquisite magic system including blood and death magic, and a sinister underworld infiltrating the living.
when i say this book is action-packed, i mean it. there's never a dull moment in its 400 pages. you'd think with that length, there'd be some stalling, but nope. once you start, you simply can't stop. the main character never seems to catch her breath, but that's mostly by choice. what i mean is, unlike most main characters who tend to be boring, easily pushed around, and play it safe, rovan is unhinged. she acts on all her impulses, even if it lands her in trouble. you can never predict what she'll do next, and honestly, it's captivating. i lost count of how many times i wrote down 'you go girl.' she's a rebel, and a funny one at that. i laughed out loud multiple times at her jokes, which were usually poorly-timed and unhinged.
i thoroughly enjoyed the romantic aspect of the book. the main character's proud and open embrace of her pansexuality was refreshing. she confidently acknowledged her feelings without hesitation, and the support she received from those around her was heartening. speaking of which, the FOUND FAMILY in this one is PHENOMENAL.
the downside: this could have been a duology. the world was incredibly rich, filled with numerous captivating characters begging for deeper exploration. the ending felt rushed, as if the goal was simply to wrap things up hastily. plus, certain character decisions seemed abrupt, leaving me puzzled as to why they suddenly endangered themselves.
when i say this book is action-packed, i mean it. there's never a dull moment in its 400 pages. you'd think with that length, there'd be some stalling, but nope. once you start, you simply can't stop. the main character never seems to catch her breath, but that's mostly by choice. what i mean is, unlike most main characters who tend to be boring, easily pushed around, and play it safe, rovan is unhinged. she acts on all her impulses, even if it lands her in trouble. you can never predict what she'll do next, and honestly, it's captivating. i lost count of how many times i wrote down 'you go girl.' she's a rebel, and a funny one at that. i laughed out loud multiple times at her jokes, which were usually poorly-timed and unhinged.
i thoroughly enjoyed the romantic aspect of the book. the main character's proud and open embrace of her pansexuality was refreshing. she confidently acknowledged her feelings without hesitation, and the support she received from those around her was heartening. speaking of which, the FOUND FAMILY in this one is PHENOMENAL.
the downside: this could have been a duology. the world was incredibly rich, filled with numerous captivating characters begging for deeper exploration. the ending felt rushed, as if the goal was simply to wrap things up hastily. plus, certain character decisions seemed abrupt, leaving me puzzled as to why they suddenly endangered themselves.
annuhfloor's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved this book, i loved lydea even though her chemistry with rovan was lacking. However the last part felt too much as if it was for pushing the story forward.
rebecca_dee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
betharanova's review
3.0
Another middle of the road read, less from indifference than from the vast chasm between potential and execution.
In the Ravenous Dark follows Rovan, an irreverent young woman in one of the only habitable places left in the world: fantasy Greece. She's been drinking, dallying, and hiding her inherited ability as a blood mage. When the secret comes out one day, she's hauled off to the palace, assigned a ghostly guardian, and betrothed to a prince. This is where the summary waggles its fingers, promising a romance both with the unwanted guardian and with a feisty princess.
All of these characters were intriguing but remained shallow over the course of the book. Whatever impression you form of a character at their first appearance will be correct. All the antagonists are simply evil for the sake of it, so you needn't have any moral dilemmas. Someone's a jerk to Rovan? Look no further: it's because they're evil, so feel free to hate them immediately. Rovan's companions are brimming with potential but offer little besides beauty (which we're reminded of constantly) and unquestionable loyalty to Rovan that I'm not sure how she earned.
Even Rovan was a doozy to pin down, and she narrated 98% of the book in first person. Part of the trouble was that for a good portion of the book, none of her thoughts lined up with her actions. She would think about the situation, arrive at a plan, and then do the complete opposite. Constantly. I didn't like her very much. Later, she got the hang of making decisions and acting on them. It made her vaguely more likeable, but I still couldn't really tell you who she was by the end of the book.
The worldbuilding was very enticing. However, the pieces didn't fit together into a coherent whole. There was misogyny, but not when it was inconvenient. Blood mages were powerful, except they didn't do anything the whole time. Death magic got vaguely hand-waved a lot. The internal rules for society and magic simply didn't line up if you tried to think about them all at once. And you had to swim through a considerable amount of exposition in the first half. That said, it all made for an interesting world to play around in.
Side note on that: the world is set up as very sex-positive and open to different proclivities. So the scene where Rovan and her friends have a conversation about gender and orientation, especially when they explain these concepts in baby-step detail, felt... inorganic? It wasn't bad, but we could have learned it along the way, as we got to know these characters. Instead they sat around and listed their pronouns and sexual orientation like they were in the introduction channel of a Discord server. Also, it's fantasy Greece. I doubt you'd have to gently explain bisexuality in this world.
And the romance, ah. It used such good tropes, and I felt nothing about it. A couple of the characters grew on me, but the chemistry didn't come through. There were 400 pages in this novel, by the way, and Rovan spent a lot of time with each of the characters in question. I should have felt something about the make-out scenes, but I didn't. Perhaps because, like I said above, the characters stayed shallow; perhaps because their tenderest early moments were interrupted by pages of exposition; or perhaps because I couldn't figure out why anyone else liked Rovan. Because all the romance hinged on her. This book promised polyamory, which I guess is what happened. It was more like everyone fell in love with Rovan. Technically polyamory, but I prefer my poly ships with all-around mutual love. Or at least ships where everyone involved has said more than two things to everyone else. A couple of the people involved meet each other at the end of the book, even as they're all declaring their love. Your polycule sucks.
I know I've done nothing but complain about this book. But I love the concept of the guardians from beyond the veil. I like the Skylleans. I love Japha. (Even if they weren't allowed to contribute much of anything beyond, somehow, in a very gay book, being the gay best friend.) I enjoy Ivrilos. I thought the revenant stuff was fun! It just wasn't delivered in a way that had nuance or chemistry. It didn't work for me. But I sense this will be a big hit with a lot of people, and I wish them the best with this one.
In the Ravenous Dark follows Rovan, an irreverent young woman in one of the only habitable places left in the world: fantasy Greece. She's been drinking, dallying, and hiding her inherited ability as a blood mage. When the secret comes out one day, she's hauled off to the palace, assigned a ghostly guardian, and betrothed to a prince. This is where the summary waggles its fingers, promising a romance both with the unwanted guardian and with a feisty princess.
All of these characters were intriguing but remained shallow over the course of the book. Whatever impression you form of a character at their first appearance will be correct. All the antagonists are simply evil for the sake of it, so you needn't have any moral dilemmas. Someone's a jerk to Rovan? Look no further: it's because they're evil, so feel free to hate them immediately. Rovan's companions are brimming with potential but offer little besides beauty (which we're reminded of constantly) and unquestionable loyalty to Rovan that I'm not sure how she earned.
Spoiler
Seriously, she becomes a blood-drinking monster and no one bats an eye. Not that anyone cares Ivrilos literally eats souls. Existential crimes are fine if a good character does them.Even Rovan was a doozy to pin down, and she narrated 98% of the book in first person. Part of the trouble was that for a good portion of the book, none of her thoughts lined up with her actions. She would think about the situation, arrive at a plan, and then do the complete opposite. Constantly. I didn't like her very much. Later, she got the hang of making decisions and acting on them. It made her vaguely more likeable, but I still couldn't really tell you who she was by the end of the book.
The worldbuilding was very enticing. However, the pieces didn't fit together into a coherent whole. There was misogyny, but not when it was inconvenient. Blood mages were powerful, except they didn't do anything the whole time. Death magic got vaguely hand-waved a lot. The internal rules for society and magic simply didn't line up if you tried to think about them all at once. And you had to swim through a considerable amount of exposition in the first half. That said, it all made for an interesting world to play around in.
Side note on that: the world is set up as very sex-positive and open to different proclivities. So the scene where Rovan and her friends have a conversation about gender and orientation, especially when they explain these concepts in baby-step detail, felt... inorganic? It wasn't bad, but we could have learned it along the way, as we got to know these characters. Instead they sat around and listed their pronouns and sexual orientation like they were in the introduction channel of a Discord server. Also, it's fantasy Greece. I doubt you'd have to gently explain bisexuality in this world.
And the romance, ah. It used such good tropes, and I felt nothing about it. A couple of the characters grew on me, but the chemistry didn't come through. There were 400 pages in this novel, by the way, and Rovan spent a lot of time with each of the characters in question. I should have felt something about the make-out scenes, but I didn't. Perhaps because, like I said above, the characters stayed shallow; perhaps because their tenderest early moments were interrupted by pages of exposition; or perhaps because I couldn't figure out why anyone else liked Rovan. Because all the romance hinged on her. This book promised polyamory, which I guess is what happened. It was more like everyone fell in love with Rovan. Technically polyamory, but I prefer my poly ships with all-around mutual love. Or at least ships where everyone involved has said more than two things to everyone else. A couple of the people involved meet each other at the end of the book, even as they're all declaring their love. Your polycule sucks.
I know I've done nothing but complain about this book. But I love the concept of the guardians from beyond the veil. I like the Skylleans. I love Japha. (Even if they weren't allowed to contribute much of anything beyond, somehow, in a very gay book, being the gay best friend.) I enjoy Ivrilos. I thought the revenant stuff was fun! It just wasn't delivered in a way that had nuance or chemistry. It didn't work for me. But I sense this will be a big hit with a lot of people, and I wish them the best with this one.
rizzamaeac's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
abutler's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
batsbooksandtea's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
emmascr's review against another edition
5.0
This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I requested this book because I saw it was going to be a monthly book for Illumicrate and I loved the cover. The blurb really intrigued me too, I love a good YA fantasy!
There are quite a few characters in this book and it did take a little while to work out who's who.
Our main character is Rovan. Rovan is a fighter. She's had a few struggles in her life and is very bad at dealing with her issues. She's also strong, smart and never gives up. Rovan isn't looking for friends and doesn't care who she upsets. Rovan is an easy main character to love. I think we all wish we could be a little bit like Rovan.
Japha and Lydea are fantastic supporting characters. I love Lydea's attitude, she really is formidable. If she wants something she finds a way to get it. Japha is the first to make a connection with Rovan. They are kind, caring and fabulous. Japha is an excellent friend, they are extremely loyal and
Ivrilos is quite the character. He is mysterious and secretive with some really witty lines at times.
The beginning of this book is quite slow with quite a bit of world-building. This is done well. Strickland explains everything in the right level of detail without boring you. There's quite a bit to learn but none of it feels torturous. The second half of the is very action-packed. At the halfway point I wasn't sure everything would be wrapped up as it seemed so much still needed to happen.
This book is an excellent story that will have you thinking about it for long after you have finished.
There are quite a few characters in this book and it did take a little while to work out who's who.
Our main character is Rovan. Rovan is a fighter. She's had a few struggles in her life and is very bad at dealing with her issues. She's also strong, smart and never gives up. Rovan isn't looking for friends and doesn't care who she upsets. Rovan is an easy main character to love. I think we all wish we could be a little bit like Rovan.
Japha and Lydea are fantastic supporting characters. I love Lydea's attitude, she really is formidable. If she wants something she finds a way to get it. Japha is the first to make a connection with Rovan. They are kind, caring and fabulous. Japha is an excellent friend, they are extremely loyal and
Ivrilos is quite the character. He is mysterious and secretive with some really witty lines at times.
The beginning of this book is quite slow with quite a bit of world-building. This is done well. Strickland explains everything in the right level of detail without boring you. There's quite a bit to learn but none of it feels torturous. The second half of the is very action-packed. At the halfway point I wasn't sure everything would be wrapped up as it seemed so much still needed to happen.
This book is an excellent story that will have you thinking about it for long after you have finished.
jow_ass's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5