Review Detail

THIS RAVENOUS FATE was a lush and riveting YA fantasy. The story follows Elise and Layla, who were best friends until everything changed with the death of Layla's parents and her subsequent attack on Elise. Layla had been turned into a reaper, essentially a vampire. She wants nothing more than to be human again, something her parents had been working on before they were killed due to the actions of Elise's father. Elise is an heiress to her father's business of getting rid of reapers, something she does not want - even though she cannot help but seek her father's approval.

Now, Layla finds herself in a tough spot, accused of deaths she did not commit. She agrees to work with Elise to investigate the case and secure her freedom - only Elise knows that Layla is not supposed to make it out alive. As they investigate, they begin to learn about dangerous dealings among the Saints (Elise's father's business dealings), the gangsters, and the reapers that could change everything. At the same time, their old feelings begin to grow.

What I loved: This was a fast-paced and consuming read that kept me eagerly turning pages. The beginning builds the characters and their conflicts well. The world-building was lush and explained things well, including how reapers are made and what it is like as they turn, as well as how they are treated by society, and the interplay between gangsters, corrupt politicians, and wealthy businessmen who have used their status in different ways for their own ends.

This also overlapped with race and those prejudices, microaggressions, and related violence that is parallel to the reapers, especially since they share much of the same past, but stands on its own as well. The discussions that this creates were particularly important with parallels to the present and how these societal structures can trap and form the ways that people are able to build themselves and react (or not). Other themes around complicated family, corruption of wealth/power, friendship, betrayal/trust, and generational trauma are also quite thought-provoking.

Layla and Elise were both really compelling characters who grow and change quite a bit throughout the story. Layla is fueled by her hatred and thirst for revenge (understandably), but things grow complicated in the course of the story, and she begins to think more of other futures. She is also dealing with self-acceptance issues, as she detests being a reaper and would like to become human again more than anything. Elise has been separated from her father and his empire for years. She is driven by a desire to protect her sister and seek her father's approval. She really has a coming-of-age arc as she begins to question what she knows and who her father really is- but most importantly, who she wants to be. The romance was also really great and built throughout the story well.

Final verdict: THIS RAVENOUS FATE is a consuming YA fantasy with strong world-building, powerful themes, and compelling characters. Highly recommend for readers who enjoy a good mystery and forbidden romance in their fantasy.