This Ravenous Fate by Hayley DenningsMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was provided both a print and an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
This follows Elise, musical prodigy and eldest living child of the Saint vampire aka reaper hunting empire. She returns home from studying piano in France to visit her family to find Harlem more dangerous than when she left. Her father has named her younger sister heir to the empire, but Elise wants nothing more than to protect her sister, so she makes him a bargain he can't resist. This puts her in harms way and back in touch with her former best friend Layla who was turned several years ago. Layla has a vendetta against the reapers, but when she is framed for a crime she didn't commit she must work with Elise to uncover what is going on in reaper territory and causing chaos on her turf. The former friends uncover more than they bargained for as they learn about what happens behind closed doors between the reapers, the Saints, and those with deep pockets to keep the city running.
I found this to be a bit too long, and while I can appreciate a longer book with a slow burn plot this didn't keep my interest. There wasn't enough action, character development, or paranormal elements to keep me invested in listening to the book. This had all of the elements of a novel I would normally be very interested in vampires, a mystery element, morally grey characters, a romance; however the execution didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between Layla and Elise, I would have preferred the repair their friendship before delving into a romance.
Overall, I think this has all of the elements to be a great book and series, however it missed the mark for me. I think younger readers will really enjoy this. I think the slower pace paired with the author trying to tackle alot of topics in one book made it hard for me to focus on what was going on. The author does tackle some heavy and important topics, but I lose track if there are too many at once. This book reminded me quite a bit of These Violent Delights as it has some similar elements and is about the same length. I really enjoyed These Violent Delights, and while there are some major differences between the two tales if you liked one of these you may enjoy the other.
This follows Elise, musical prodigy and eldest living child of the Saint vampire aka reaper hunting empire. She returns home from studying piano in France to visit her family to find Harlem more dangerous than when she left. Her father has named her younger sister heir to the empire, but Elise wants nothing more than to protect her sister, so she makes him a bargain he can't resist. This puts her in harms way and back in touch with her former best friend Layla who was turned several years ago. Layla has a vendetta against the reapers, but when she is framed for a crime she didn't commit she must work with Elise to uncover what is going on in reaper territory and causing chaos on her turf. The former friends uncover more than they bargained for as they learn about what happens behind closed doors between the reapers, the Saints, and those with deep pockets to keep the city running.
I found this to be a bit too long, and while I can appreciate a longer book with a slow burn plot this didn't keep my interest. There wasn't enough action, character development, or paranormal elements to keep me invested in listening to the book. This had all of the elements of a novel I would normally be very interested in vampires, a mystery element, morally grey characters, a romance; however the execution didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between Layla and Elise, I would have preferred the repair their friendship before delving into a romance.
Overall, I think this has all of the elements to be a great book and series, however it missed the mark for me. I think younger readers will really enjoy this. I think the slower pace paired with the author trying to tackle alot of topics in one book made it hard for me to focus on what was going on. The author does tackle some heavy and important topics, but I lose track if there are too many at once. This book reminded me quite a bit of These Violent Delights as it has some similar elements and is about the same length. I really enjoyed These Violent Delights, and while there are some major differences between the two tales if you liked one of these you may enjoy the other.
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