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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to love this book so bad! And well, I just didn't.
I'll start by saying that the world Hayley Dennings has created is one that I'd love to explore some more, so I will be reading other installations of the series, but I couldn't really get behind the writing, especially when it came to dialogues. Something kept bothering me about it, and when I was about halfway done with the book, I realized it reads at times like a script for a TV Shows rather than a novel.
Some of the dialogue is clunky and it is highlighted even more by the cartoonish "reasonings" of the morally grey characters uttering these words.
I wanted to like this book and even had pre-ordered it because of the promise of black sapphic vampire/hunter dynamic, and I have to say the book did deliver on that front! The historical background as well as the duality of the racial and species tensions made me fear a bit for a story à la Romeo & Juliette, but my fears were unfounded.
The deep love (both romantic, familial and friendships) experienced by the main characters was a driving force that kept me reading.
The themes of chosen family, the complex relations between class and race, creation of art, and a few more were also broached in this book. I'm still unsure if it gave it more body, or made the overall story more confusing. I guess I'll let you be the judge of that should you chose to read it.
Overall, I think a bit more refined editing would have helped the novel.
In conclusion, I'm curious to read the rest of the series, but wouldn't recommend it unless I know for a fact the person wouldn't have (too many) issues with the things I mentioned.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
FINISHED ALL 23 BOOKS OF MY YEARLY GOAL YAY!! love some sapphic vampires, the book wasn’t everything i thought it would be, but still really good!!
TW: racism, eugenics, child abuse/neglect, panic attacks
I really liked this, but I thought it was slightly too long. If we took about 50 pages out, this would have been solid 5 stars. I am intrigued in what Hayley does next, and what happens with Elise and Layla
I really liked this, but I thought it was slightly too long. If we took about 50 pages out, this would have been solid 5 stars. I am intrigued in what Hayley does next, and what happens with Elise and Layla
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-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
3/5 ⭐️
I was so excited to read this book as it contains sapphics and vampires, sign me up!
It was a long read for me because while I was very much engaged in the first half, the build up was slow and I began to lose interest.
The main characters Layla and Elise are strong characters and they are the ones that really allowed me to finish the book but I still felt like it was dragging out.
Beautiful writing, but I felt it was too wordy at times and some of the conflicts in the books just didn’t really make sense to me. You have reapers vs humans, the race elements in it as well, I felt it was too convoluting. Like why Valeriya wanna wipe out her kind all of a sudden, I don’t know. It didn’t make sense to me.
I also understand that this is the beginning of a series, but yea… to me the ending fell flat.
I was so excited to read this book as it contains sapphics and vampires, sign me up!
It was a long read for me because while I was very much engaged in the first half, the build up was slow and I began to lose interest.
The main characters Layla and Elise are strong characters and they are the ones that really allowed me to finish the book but I still felt like it was dragging out.
Beautiful writing, but I felt it was too wordy at times and some of the conflicts in the books just didn’t really make sense to me. You have reapers vs humans, the race elements in it as well, I felt it was too convoluting. Like why Valeriya wanna wipe out her kind all of a sudden, I don’t know. It didn’t make sense to me.
I also understand that this is the beginning of a series, but yea… to me the ending fell flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence
The tension could really be cut with a knife, loved the backstory and set up but I often found myself asking "why are we doing this?" I really hope this is a series because I'd love to see Layla & Elise's relationship re-blossoms & what they do about the Saint family-mayor-reaper cure situation.
I'm not sure if this was on purpose but I also found myself not really caring about the worldly stakes outside of the romance, maybe I was reading too quickly but I was also confused by some of the ending events.
Lastly there were times were I felt like the author showed injustice & then explained it, I think it's more impactful so just show it because it shows up in the plot- I'm not sure if this makes sense lol. I also think there's times when Layla is trying to explain injustices to Elise- which I understand is to get Elise to acknowledge her privilege because she's well off, but it's like babessss ur white & shes black. I'm pretty sure if she wasn't in a trauma hellscape she'd have her eyes more open to the outside world.
Fairly low in spice. So happy that there's more sapphic representation in fantasy!!
I'm not sure if this was on purpose but I also found myself not really caring about the worldly stakes outside of the romance, maybe I was reading too quickly but I was also confused by some of the ending events.
Lastly there were times were I felt like the author showed injustice & then explained it, I think it's more impactful so just show it because it shows up in the plot- I'm not sure if this makes sense lol. I also think there's times when Layla is trying to explain injustices to Elise- which I understand is to get Elise to acknowledge her privilege because she's well off, but it's like babessss ur white & shes black. I'm pretty sure if she wasn't in a trauma hellscape she'd have her eyes more open to the outside world.
Fairly low in spice. So happy that there's more sapphic representation in fantasy!!
dark
tense
fast-paced
The vibes were great, loved the tension between characters, but I found the pacing of the plot to be a bit wonky at times
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"I want her dead, for what she did, she deserves death."
"I have no reason to trust you."
"A hopelessly yearning soul with nothing to pour her affection to."
Thank you to NetGalley, SourceBooks Fire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this ya sci fi fantasy to an extent, the premise of the story captivated me and I was very curious with the plot and the characters. Elise and Layla's relationship and the dislike they shared for one another was written very well. This was truly a perfect example of enemies because their banter was refreshing in a way because as the reader the feeling of disdain and dislike was so evident and it was never a question of their dislike for one another. I like the setting of this fantasy that was filled with humans and vampires (reapers.) This addition to the story added more interests for me as I was reading that story. I loved how descriptive the author used words to describe the reapers when they bite someone and the effects it has on them as a reaper and the humans. The intense attraction and subtle shift of feelings between Layla and Elise was written very well.
I will say this book could have been a lot shorter, I feel like some scenes were not needed and that sometimes it felt like nothing was happening for a few chapters. The pacing of the book was not steady at all, it felt like some scenes were very slow and then some parts were sped up at the same time, but most of the time it was a slow pace. There were a few moments where I was planning to dnf it because I became bored at a lot of parts within the story.
"I have no reason to trust you."
"A hopelessly yearning soul with nothing to pour her affection to."
Thank you to NetGalley, SourceBooks Fire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this ya sci fi fantasy to an extent, the premise of the story captivated me and I was very curious with the plot and the characters. Elise and Layla's relationship and the dislike they shared for one another was written very well. This was truly a perfect example of enemies because their banter was refreshing in a way because as the reader the feeling of disdain and dislike was so evident and it was never a question of their dislike for one another. I like the setting of this fantasy that was filled with humans and vampires (reapers.) This addition to the story added more interests for me as I was reading that story. I loved how descriptive the author used words to describe the reapers when they bite someone and the effects it has on them as a reaper and the humans. The intense attraction and subtle shift of feelings between Layla and Elise was written very well.
I will say this book could have been a lot shorter, I feel like some scenes were not needed and that sometimes it felt like nothing was happening for a few chapters. The pacing of the book was not steady at all, it felt like some scenes were very slow and then some parts were sped up at the same time, but most of the time it was a slow pace. There were a few moments where I was planning to dnf it because I became bored at a lot of parts within the story.
2 ☆
I fully expected This Ravenous Fate to be a new favorite of mine, or at the very least, an enjoyable read. As someone who loves vampires, the premise of this book intrigued me, especially with the combination of feminine rage and sapphic angst. However, I found This Ravenous Fate to be quite disappointing.
I have been following Hayley Dennings’ social media for a while, which fueled my anticipation of the book. She constantly talks about “true enemies to lovers”, among other topics of that nature, and as someone who is often disappointed by that trope, I was hoping her book would deliver. I had quite high expectations for the characters and their relationships, but to my surprise, they were nothing like I assumed the author meant. While there is an enemies-to-lovers plot line and the characters are morally grey, I found them to be superficial at best. Elise and Layla's relationship, which Dennings described as angsty, had the ingredients for such a relationship, yet I felt very little from them. Their dialogue felt inauthentic, and the banter felt forced. It also felt like we were thrown into the book suddenly, with the expectation that we already knew these characters. Their toxic backstory and reason for being enemies were there but weren't fully explored, and I wish there were flashback scenes to help us get to know them and their history better.
When a string of murders is brought to light, Elise and Layla are forced to work together to find out how they died. The murder mystery aspect of the book seemed suspenseful, but there was a lack of urgency. Despite people being murdered, the plot moved at a snail's pace and hardly anything happens. The book is 480 pages long but could have been shortened, given the amount of overwritten and unnecessary scenes. The big reveal and who the villain was wasn't surprising, especially because of the small cast of characters.
Overall, This Ravenous Fate did not live up to my expectations. I was very excited to read about Black sapphic vampires and I had hoped it would be a refreshing read due to the unique premise, but the approach was generic and like plenty of other books in the fantasy genre. Unfortunately, this book was not for me at all, however, it reminded me a lot of Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights, so if you enjoyed that book, you may like this one.
I fully expected This Ravenous Fate to be a new favorite of mine, or at the very least, an enjoyable read. As someone who loves vampires, the premise of this book intrigued me, especially with the combination of feminine rage and sapphic angst. However, I found This Ravenous Fate to be quite disappointing.
I have been following Hayley Dennings’ social media for a while, which fueled my anticipation of the book. She constantly talks about “true enemies to lovers”, among other topics of that nature, and as someone who is often disappointed by that trope, I was hoping her book would deliver. I had quite high expectations for the characters and their relationships, but to my surprise, they were nothing like I assumed the author meant. While there is an enemies-to-lovers plot line and the characters are morally grey, I found them to be superficial at best. Elise and Layla's relationship, which Dennings described as angsty, had the ingredients for such a relationship, yet I felt very little from them. Their dialogue felt inauthentic, and the banter felt forced. It also felt like we were thrown into the book suddenly, with the expectation that we already knew these characters. Their toxic backstory and reason for being enemies were there but weren't fully explored, and I wish there were flashback scenes to help us get to know them and their history better.
When a string of murders is brought to light, Elise and Layla are forced to work together to find out how they died. The murder mystery aspect of the book seemed suspenseful, but there was a lack of urgency. Despite people being murdered, the plot moved at a snail's pace and hardly anything happens. The book is 480 pages long but could have been shortened, given the amount of overwritten and unnecessary scenes. The big reveal and who the villain was wasn't surprising, especially because of the small cast of characters.
Overall, This Ravenous Fate did not live up to my expectations. I was very excited to read about Black sapphic vampires and I had hoped it would be a refreshing read due to the unique premise, but the approach was generic and like plenty of other books in the fantasy genre. Unfortunately, this book was not for me at all, however, it reminded me a lot of Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights, so if you enjoyed that book, you may like this one.