This Ravenous Fate, by Hayley Dennings
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.
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.
I admit that I heard a lot about this book before I started it. The author was determined to write a good book about black vampires. Like most authors, she was nervous about how it’d be received.
She doesn’t need to worry.
As some of you may know, I’ve been reading vampire books voraciously since I was a pre-teen (blame ‘Dracula’), and have seen all the ups and downs in the genre during the past decades. This genuinely feels like something new and innovative, while building on past foundations to craft characters and a world that the reader is drawn into. It does not stop moving until the very last page.
Yes, there’s aspects of a queer Romeo & Juliet, or ‘enemies to lovers’ - but the relationship between the protagonists is allowed to breathe (heheh) so that the genuine life-or-death challenges these girls face can be worked through.
I found myself thinking of a book I’d read recently that suffered from the ‘post it note effect’ - where if a character simply left a note explaining things, half the problems in the book wouldn’t happen. This is the opposite of that! Because these girls talk. They argue. They make up and fall out again. Their world is messy, confusing, and most of the adults and authority figures are lying or misleading them. There aren’t enough post-it notes to cover it, and that makes for an intense story that unfolds beautifully. It’s never clear what’ll happen next because nobody has all the information, with clues only appearing after major disasters. The ground is constantly shifting and I genuinely did wonder - after a character I really liked was killed - if either or both Elise and Layla would survive (Romeo & Juliet, remember?).
So we have a messy queer relationship. Add vampires. Racism. Family politics. And Harlem gangs in the 1920s, so Prohibition too. Drink can poison or kill you. Existing with a certain skin colour makes someone a target. Is there a cure for being a reaper, or is that akin to a solution (yup) for being black or poor?
If anything, there’s so much going on that it’s sometimes a little hard to figure out. It’s a growing jigsaw puzzle where new pieces appear and others don’t quite fit where you expected… I found it best to not try and solve the mystery, but go along with the ride. It certainly reflects the basic confusion of being a teen, let alone with all the above issues that must be dealt with in order to survive.
This Ravenous Fate stands on its own, but the ending hints at more to come in this dark world, and I’ll be here for it. I’m certain this book will find its audience and hope that this generation of women (whatever their colour or orientation) will see the strength and perseverance of the heroines and hold them in their hearts.
I’m so glad that Hayley Dennings was determined to get her words out into the world. This white middle-aged British woman is certainly cheering her on!