Take a photo of a barcode or cover
maddielikestoread 's review for:
This Ravenous Fate
by Hayley Dennings
“You tried to rip my heart from my chest, but you’ve already had my heart; it’s always been yours—”
A sapphic love story wrapped up in horror, grit and gore; what more could you ask for? Set in the 1920s, This Ravenous Fate offers a unique and fresh take on vampirism, giving a new level of complexity to an age old horror while also delving into how race plays into both vampirism and society at large. Elise and Layla, human and reaper, have a relationship that is fraught with past hurts and distrust that threatens their forced partnership and stirs up complicated feelings.
This is a long one but 100% worth it! Elise and Layla are incredibly well-written characters with so much nuance and depth. Elise’s need to please and earn love is such a heartbreakingly perfect companion to Layla’s yearning and intense loneliness. Really big fan of their romance being based in vampirism as well! It’s one of my favorite tropes and adds that much more symbolism and gravitas than the standard.
The pacing works really well in allowing both Elise and Layla’s relationship to grow alongside their escalating investigation. Beautiful writing makes it easy to become just as invested in the character development as well as the plot. One of my favorite aspects by far was the reaper lore and the allusions to race and sexuality that went along with it. Such artfully woven and impactful messages about medical malpractice against the Black community and the othering of those we don’t understand.
The only thing that’s keeping me from giving this 5 stars was the development of Sterling and Tobias Saint. Both felt a bit cartoonishly evil in their final arcs compared to how they behaved earlier in the story. Additionally, Valeriya and Josi came out of nowhere in the end and I was left wishing we got to know a bit more of what was happening with them during their time away.
This is definitely one to be on the lookout for and I can’t wait for the next one in this series!
*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review!
A sapphic love story wrapped up in horror, grit and gore; what more could you ask for? Set in the 1920s, This Ravenous Fate offers a unique and fresh take on vampirism, giving a new level of complexity to an age old horror while also delving into how race plays into both vampirism and society at large. Elise and Layla, human and reaper, have a relationship that is fraught with past hurts and distrust that threatens their forced partnership and stirs up complicated feelings.
This is a long one but 100% worth it! Elise and Layla are incredibly well-written characters with so much nuance and depth. Elise’s need to please and earn love is such a heartbreakingly perfect companion to Layla’s yearning and intense loneliness. Really big fan of their romance being based in vampirism as well! It’s one of my favorite tropes and adds that much more symbolism and gravitas than the standard.
The pacing works really well in allowing both Elise and Layla’s relationship to grow alongside their escalating investigation. Beautiful writing makes it easy to become just as invested in the character development as well as the plot. One of my favorite aspects by far was the reaper lore and the allusions to race and sexuality that went along with it. Such artfully woven and impactful messages about medical malpractice against the Black community and the othering of those we don’t understand.
The only thing that’s keeping me from giving this 5 stars was the development of Sterling and Tobias Saint. Both felt a bit cartoonishly evil in their final arcs compared to how they behaved earlier in the story. Additionally, Valeriya and Josi came out of nowhere in the end and I was left wishing we got to know a bit more of what was happening with them during their time away.
This is definitely one to be on the lookout for and I can’t wait for the next one in this series!
*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review!