This Ravenous Fate: a decadent romantic fantasy set in Jazz Age Harlem!

By Author / Illustrator

Hayley Dennings

Genre

LBGTQ+

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Hodderscape

ISBN

9781399727129

Format

Hardback

Published

06-08-2024

Synopsis

These Violent Delights meets The Gilded Wolves in this historical romantic fantasy! 'Sweetly vicious' Gabi Burton. 'Deliciously dark', Ava Reid.

Sometimes true love defies death itself.... New York, 1926. Reapers - once-human vampires - stalk the shadows. The Saint family has reigned over the city for years, protecting its inhabitants through their thriving reaper-hunting enterprise. But reluctant heir Elise Saint faces a chilling threat: the Harlem reapers want her dead.

When new reaper Layla Quinn was turned, she lost her parents, the protection of the saints, and her humanity - and she'll never forget how Elise Saint betrayed her. Now reapers are inexplicably turning part-human, leaving grisly murders in their wake. And when Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers a deal she can't refuse: work with Elise to discover how the murders might be linked to rumours of a reaper cure.

Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and Layla explore the city's underbelly, confronting their feelings for one another and uncovering sinister truths that threaten both reapers and humans alike.

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Reviews

Clair

This Ravenous Fate is set in 1920s Harlem and is the first book in what will become the This Ravenous Fate duology. It will appeal to young adults who enjoy vampire fiction and is perfect for fans of The Gilded Wolves and These Violent Delights. The hardback copy is beautiful.

Hayley Dennings's writing creates a stunning ambiance. It crosses several genres; fantasy, historical, romance and murder/mystery. Essentially, This Ravenous Fate is a story of monster vs monster hunter but exactly who the monsters were in some cases was debatable! The mystery element adds intrigue to the story.

There are two main characters, Elise and Layla, both of them likeable. Elise is the reluctant heir of the Saint family who run the reaper hunting enterprise and Layla Quinn is a newly-turned reaper. Both Layla and Elise are strong personalities and forces to be reckoned with. They are persuaded to join forces to see if they can uncover the truth behind the brutal murders that have taken place. As they work together, the budding romance between Elise and Layla becomes very tender.

This Ravenous Fate has its fair share of tense edge-of-your-seat action scenes. Author Hayley Dennings champions queer Black voices. Layla is a black reaper, so faced discrimination on two fronts. It is also interesting to see the privilege that Elise was brought up in compared with Layla's lifestyle.

This is an enjoyable read. However, the back-story recapping made it feel a little like I was reading the second in a series and had missed the some of the action of the first book. Perhaps this will leave it open for a prequel?

Content of note: Emotional abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, suicidal ideation, violence, murder, racism and mentions of a race massacre.