In the Ravenous Dark Book Review

In the Ravenous Dark Book Review

In the Ravenous Dark Book Review

Hi friends! I’ve had quite an exciting week this week. In case you missed it, my Read Better Book Club was featured in the New York Times! So while I’m still reeling from that, I decided to review one of my favourite books of the year so far. Here’s my In the Ravenous Dark Book Review!

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54017941Title: In the Ravenous Dark

Author: A.M. Strickland

Rating: 5 Stars

Genre: Fantasy, Adult/NA

Content Warnings: Death, parental death, blood, vampirism, murder, gore, forced marriage and pregnancy (off-page), rape (off-page)

Format: eARC

Publisher: Imprint

Date Published: May 18th 2021

Goodreads Description: A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead.

In Thanopolis, those gifted with magic are assigned undead spirits to guard them—and control them. Ever since Rovan’s father died trying to keep her from this fate, she’s hidden her magic. But when she accidentally reveals her powers, she’s bound to a spirit and thrust into a world of palace intrigue and deception.

Desperate to escape, Rovan finds herself falling for two people she can’t fully trust: Lydea, a beguiling, rebellious princess; and Ivrilos, the handsome spirit with the ability to control Rovan, body and soul.

Together, they uncover a secret that will destroy Thanopolis. To save them all, Rovan will have to start a rebellion in both the mortal world and the underworld and find a way to trust the princess and spirit battling for her heart—if she doesn’t betray them first.

I received a review copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Purchase Links

Purchase Links can be found here.

Review

I’m not going to hide the fact that this book, while maybe not perfect, is amazing. I’m sorry if this review is just me raving about it, but it was just THAT GOOD.

Characters – 9/10

Rovan, our pansexual bloodmage, feels like she’s my spirit animal. She’s smart, a wise-ass, and so determined. I loved reading from her perspective. The way she deals with her grief and her emotions just feel so real and I truly felt sorry for her. We follow her POV throughout the story and it just kept me hooked. She does not pull her punches and I love that.

Two other stand out characters were Lydea and Japha. The representation in this book is amazing. The entire cast is queer and I am here for it. I think a Lydea or Japha POV would have been fun, but only because I couldn’t get enough of them.

And then we have our brooding bad boy, Ivrilos. He was a hoot to have around. I loved his dry humour and his wit. It was fun seeing the relationship between him and Rovan develop, and I love how we avoid the obvious love triangle. I would have wanted to dive deeper into Ivrilos’ past, but the mystery was satisfying enough.

Atmosphere – 10/10

The worldbuilding is one of the best parts of this book. The concept of the underworld and the blight just works so well. They link together in the best way and it all just flowed so naturally. It’s not difficult to understand the world and it feels so lived in.

Writing – 10/10

In my opinion, the writing is flawless. I was hooked from the first page. Here’s a cool graphic I made of one of my favourite quotes in the series. I’m telling you, this is the book we all need right now.

In the Ravenous Dark Book Review

Plot – 10/10

There were multiple conflicts to this story and they all played out so well. Events happen naturally and are largely driven by the characters. You can clearly see how Strickland weaves together intricate details and everything that was set up paid off.

Intrigue – 9/10

I think it’s fair to say that I was intrigued. I finished this book in two sittings, which rarely happens for fantasy books, so that should give you a clue. In the Ravenous Dark was just amazing.

Logic – 10/10

The magic system is fairly easy to understand. Blood magic is for the living, death magic is for the dead. Sometimes you can use both, but at a cost. I like harder magic systems with rules and this one is so unique. The way blood magic is written on your skin and passed down through generations is such a cool concept. Visually I think this book would make an epic movie.

Enjoyment – 10/10

The problem with good standalone books is that I always wish I had more. Fantasy standalones are truly a work of art, In the Ravenous Dark included. I enjoyed this immensely. If you want a satisfying, well-crafted fantasy standalone, this is it.

Let me know your thoughts on In the Ravenous Dark Book Review.

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17 thoughts on “In the Ravenous Dark Book Review

  1. Ummm wow wow WOW! This truly sounds like a spectacular read. Nearly 10/10 all around? I’m so impressed! I’ll have to add it to my TBR for sure. Ohhh and congratulations on the New York Times feature. That’s spectacular!

  2. I have this on my TBR too! It sounds great so far! Now I’m looking forward to reading it.
    Thanks for sharing your review.

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