Reviews with content warning for Murder - In The Ravenous Dark

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

In The Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland

23 reviews

oliverreeds's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

honestky it was very predictable which isn’t bad if there’s a twist. if the characters are unique. if i can feel for them and if the plot doesn’t feel contrived. but in this book that wasn’t the case. the writing was good. the world building was okay. the characters were great but the plot was lacking in substance. the magic system didn’t have clear boundaries and laws, at times one person would die in a way and then the next person just wouldn’t? which was confusing. the plot twist didn’t feel like a twist bc it wasn’t hinted that it was possible so instead of emotional it felt silly. the end of the book as well didn’t quite track for me. our main character is brought through hell and back only for everything to just be okay? no mention of the lasting trauma. the fear. the emotional duress these people were under. it was like it never happened. i wanted to be SHOWN the family dynamic as well. i don’t want the narrator to tell me she has a family. i want to come up with that from watching them. anyways. i still enjoyed reading it.

Content Warnings

abbyschalupa's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

natcat's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was something of an odd duck. The world building started off fascinating, and then I thought it lagged and also got bizarre. The first two thirds were dark and depressing, and the last third was much more upbeat

(in a murdery spree kind of a way)

and absolutely bonkers. I spent the last third delightedly going

“OH she’s going a-murdering - OH SHE’S TURNED HERSELF INTO A VAMPIRE - HOLY SHIT THEY’RE ALL A MERRY UNDEAD POLYCULE!!!

, it was truly a wild ride.

I thought the book really missed a trick in not actually engaging with the exploitative scenario it had set up, where Bloodmages are forced to bond to spirits and (as it turns out)

end up getting fed off to sustain the undeath of those spirits, and also that almost everyone who dies in the city either gets eaten by one of these spirits or trapped in a ghastly underworld (long story)

, and instead of really wrestling with that or with Bloodmages oppressing other Bloodmages and perpetuating these abuses, the book boils it down to

this system has been set up by two evil undead kings and they’ve been wrecking everyone’s lives ever since, and things can be fixed by killing them

which I found sort of disappointing as an ending. It was all very exciting and I enjoyed Rovan and co really getting to flip their shit and destroy stuff, but I felt like it left a lot of more interesting questions and consequences completely ignored.

I did love the queerness of it all, and I adored Japha, and loved that all of the main characters were queer

and also the ending for them, personally

. But I did find it overall a little unsatisfying, and I was left with a lot of “but what about - “ and also I think I sympathized with the semi-antagonists

(not the evil undead kings, but the various Skylleans, and the other Bloodmages

a lot more than the book wanted me too. I also didn’t find Ivrilos either compelling or enticing as a love interest, and him becoming all lovey dovey in the last quarter or so made me significantly less interested in his character. Ivrilos the revenge driven asshole kind of worked for me, but that sort of got completely left by the wayside.

Definitely a curate’s egg of a book!

Content Warnings

ludetorrance's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I have been complaining for ages that no book has a pansexual main character, and when I say this one does, I mean it. The way I feel so represented with this book as a pans/poly person made my little bitter heart flutter.

Rovan, a hidden bloodmage with a drinking problem makes a mistake, and she's found out. She then is suddenly thrust into a world full of schemes, luxury and betrayal, Rovan will need to learn how to navigate the royal palace without losing her head. A dead ward, an alluring princess, and a secret that is poisoning the world. What could go wrong?

⭐️- World building and background characters
0.75- Plot
⭐️- Main character
0.75- Love interest
0.25- Tension

The world building and background characters in this book are amazing. The detail, representation and how complete they are makes literally half of the allure of the book. The idea of the plot is amazing, and throughout the whole book is very well developed, is just the ending I didn't like too much, but it wasn't bad. Rovan as a main character an amazing character and a good representation (in my opinion) of a pansexual (the chaos pleaseee that was so on point). The love interests are lovable and the dynamic between all of them was good, I just feel like they fell in love out of no where. And the tension (which for me, s one of the most important things in a love story) was lacking. The story was so good I could have forgiven anything but this. But overall, a very good book that left me satisfied.

Content Warnings

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

I really enjoyed the ravenous dark, it’s an amazing book! These are the reasons I loved it:

Characters
I really enjoyed the characters some of theme are precious little beans that should be protected others are plain evil. The writer navigates these extremes with ease and really shows off her talent of writing multidimensional characters.

Plot
The plot is a bit well predictable, and this sounds weird, in a good way. It’s a real fantasy with a girl finding out that she had magical powers and now she has to save the world but in a gothic kind of way.

The plot is dark and before you decide to pick this book up you need to check the triggerwarnings. The writer doesn’t shy away from harsh subjects so be safe.

Writingstyle
This book is fast paced and I would consider it to be an easy read. It’s a book to finish in one setting and while I did precisely that. Did I finish it at around 2 in the morning? Yes… do I regret it? No…. Who needs sleep anyways?

Recommendations
Yes I would for sure recommend this book. I just don’t really know to whom. I think readers who are looking for a darker story with a pansexual polyamorous main character would really enjoy this one.

Content Warnings

lettuce_read's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

Content Warnings

rorikae's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

'In the Ravenous Dark' is a deliciously dark story that celebrates queerness.
It centers on Rovan, a bloodmage in the city of Thanopolis, who has been hiding her powers ever since her father was killed. When she discovers that her father's death wasn't quite what she thought and her powers are discovered, she is forced to come to the palace to be bound to a shade. As she learns more about the bloodmages and the world that surrounds her, all while also falling for a princess, she begins to question what is going on in the world and how she can free herself.
A.M. Strickland creates a decadent world wrapped up with intriguing characters and a fascinating magic system. Their extravagant writing matches with the gaudy setting, all while creating a captivating story. Two of the things that stand out the most to me are the characters and the writing. Strickland's world comes to life under her lush prose that provides great detail in a world that is dripping with intricacies. Settled down into this world are characters, some that you love, some that you hate, and others that you may not like but still care deeply for. Rovan is a complex and flawed heroine but I never once stopped liking her, even when the story got especially dark. The queer love stories and the polyamory were perfectly matched to the world.
The only hiccup is that there were some moments where the love stories felt like they moved a bit too quickly though this didn't bother me a great deal. Strickland has created such great characters and the bonds of friendship and family are so strong that things moving too quickly only barely caught my attention. This is such a great book though incredibly dark. I will definitely be picking up more of Strickland's writing.

Content Warnings

tazrean's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

really loved the polyamory and pan rep, frustrated with main character

Content Warnings

izzybeereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Overall, I really enjoyed this back! I loved following the main character, the various LGBTQA+ representation, the world, the magic, everything! My only gripe, and why I ultimately gave it 4 stars, was the pacing. From my understanding, this is a standalone! I actually think it would have greatly benefited from being at least a duology. A lot of the plot, character development, and relationships felt unnaturally rushed to me. I would have really loved had the book slowed down and went further in depth! Despite that, still a wonderful and entertaining read!

Content Warnings

wrenxavier's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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? N/A

3.25

Content Warnings

More...