Rovan is a blood mage in hiding. Her powerful magic she inherited from her father becomes too strong to hide though and she’s discovered and taken to the palace. There she is bound to an undead spirit and forced to remain within the palace to learn how to use her magic. While there she uncovers a secret that has dark consequences.

This book was really great! It’s dark and bloody but with plenty of witty characters to lighten it a little. Rovan was pretty funny, I loved her outlook and attitude when things went wrong. It was fast paced with a really interesting magic system. There were some brilliant friendships and I loved the romance. A great standalone fantasy!

In the Ravenous Dark was such a fun and addictive book that kept me on my toes throughout! I loved the whole idea around this magic system and it wasn't long before I fell in love with the world that Strickland has created. I loved her writing style and I will definitely be picking up her books in the future.

Whilst I enjoyed this book and the characters I do feel like this book could have easily have been a duology. By being a duology I feel like we could have seen an expansion on the relationships in this book, which is the only thing that I felt let me down. The relationships were rushed and honestly didn't care for them much.

Overall this was a great fantasy, with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat!

Featuring:
Pansexual, polygamous relationships, f+f, f+M, non-binary

Warnings:
Does contain graphic violence, blood

Can I start by saying that I am gutted this was a standalone. I happily could of read more from this world. This LGBTQ fantasy follows our main character through a rough world for someone with magic. When she sacrifices herself by releasing her magic she has kept hidden for as long as she can remember to save the girl who has her heart, her whole world spirals out of control.

I loved the main character: Roven, she was quirky, quick witted, ballsy and just a pure rebel. I loved the relationship she also built including the banter with 'deadman'. I also had a soft spot for Japha, who is an amazing character, they are a character I would love to have as a best friend.

I loved the magic system, I mean the blurb had me at bloodmages. The whole idea would make for one amazing video game. I loved how the author cast a pansexual as her main character and had a range of LGBTQ characters. They were well planned out and I would love to see more of them. My only issue is that it would have been amazing as a duology because of the way things happened in the last quarter and how many questions were still unanswered.

Solid 4.5 rating and one of my favourite reads of 2021

DNF at 20% Unfortunately the writing style was a deal breaker for me though the story had a good deal of promise.

This is simply a personal preference and i would still recommend giving this a try if you like greco-roman settings, unique magic systems and fierce heroines.

A love triangle where the girl pick them both! This book was just what I was looking for and so much more.

The characters growth is a perfect pace and with how it is written you care for these characters like family. The storyline was chef kisses can't wait to read more from the writer

I had a feeling I would love this book and OH BOY did it not disappoint! I dove into this headfirst and fell in love with our main character Rovan, I thought that she was a unique character and even better she's queer!

I was always annoyed to have to put it down to sleep as I just wanted to binge it so badly. It wasn't just Rovan that made this story so great but the other characters too, I really liked the way that they developed and how they all seemed to bounce off each other, it was just perfect. I really enjoyed the plot of this one as well, I was sad to see it come to an end, the relationships within this book as well were on point, there was a lot of lgbtq+ rep inside, lesbian, non-binary, polymorus, pansexual, I'm sure there were more but brain fart!

I hadn't read from A.M Strickland before but she is now on my radar!

Nope. Not for me. For something that was such a chaotic mess, it was as dull as a box of hair.

The focus seemed to be more on queer teen sexcapades than a decent plot and story and I can't believe it took up until the we're-pretending-they're-not-really-vampires-but-really-they-are boning the ghost in the underworld for me to go "wtf am I reading!".

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.

This is absolutely fantastic! I didn’t expect anything like this, it took me by surprise ! In the Ravenous Dark follows Rovan, a bloodmage that has been keeping her abilities secret since she was born.There are such a great casting in this one! Rovan, Lydea, and Ivrilos are some of my top! It’s fast paced and dark. It’s the first time I’m reading a book with so many interesting characters! Roman is pansexual and there is also lesbian and asexual characters.And a f/f/m love triangle . This is definitely a book you have to add on your tbr!

This book was everything my queer, classical-Greek-loving heart could've wanted. I adored the darkly magical world, our pansexual disaster heroine, and the brilliant cast of supporting characters. And don't even get me started on the fantastic, snarky VOICE! I totally lost myself in this story and I really hope we get some more books set in this world in the future, I'd love to read more about Skyllea in particular.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So I'm writing this review a bit late, and unfortunatly I forgot quite a bit about this book. I do remember it had great lgbtqia+ rep and a badass heroine. I enjoyed it at the time, but maybe a bit forgettable for me. But, I'm interested in reading some more from this author.

trigger warning
<spoiler> kidnapping, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, rape, suicide, trauma, grief, gore, alcoholism, tortured </spoiler>

Thumbs up for an author who gives content warnings in their own review of the book!

Drunk on wine and on being young, Rowan accidentally outs herself as bloodmage, and gets brought in and bound to a ghost who is supposed to babysit her, while around her, the coutrly intrigues of Thanopolis are played out.

Graeco-roman inspired setting, and the author did their research and didn't put anyone in togas. (Hint: togas are a Roman status symbol only worn by a few people, but here the fashion is Greek.)
This world knows two kinds of magic: Bloodmagic like our protagonist Rowan is trying to hide, because it would mean conscription, and deathmagic for which you need to enter an order full of people hell-bent on nearly dying themselves, because only if you're withered and malnourished you can wield it. Everyone tries to avoid deathmagic, can't imagine why, this sounds like so much fun.

We don't know how many mages this city-state - the term polis is used - has, only that the deathmagic user numbers have been declining. Bloodmages are brought in and bound to a ghost who is both advisor and guard. They're fittingly called guardian, the mage themselves being called ward.
As Rowan is thrown in there without preparation, she sets out to find out more about her guardian and the whole system, to find a loophole she can exploit.

Rowan quickly makes friends in the royal court, because yes, there are jerks, but a few of the royals are nice and trapped like her. They form a bond. I especially loved the non binary person Japha, they're faboulus and here to destroy false views about Greek fashion.

It is a fine, well crafted ya fantasy novel, 3,5 stars. What it lacks is probably simply emotional, subjective to each reader. I can't find any obvious flaws apart from the protagonist being stupid, but well, humans <i>are</i> stupid.
Would read more by the same author, though I'd not go out of my way to find further books.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS IF YOU LOVE:

Dark fantasy
Intriguing plot/mystery
Cool and unique magic systems
Underworlds (of any kind)
Ghosts (sort of)
Queer relationships!
MY THOUGHTS:

This book is wildly insane and incredible! I haven’t ever read a book like it and I really wish there were more out there! I’m not even sure where to begin with this review!

Okay, let’s start with the world and it’s magic system. In reality, the world of this book is quite small. Set in one city in one country, with mention of another bordering nation, there’s not a lot of ‘world’ in this book. But, what really created the story was the magic system, which is based around this idea of bloodlines, or inherited magic that literally paints itself on the bloodmages skin. To gain the ‘bloodlines’ the previous owner of them had to pass it onto their children, and in the process they die. It’s dark! Alongside bloodmages are those who practise death magic, which is just about as dark as it sounds. The magic in this world is so woven with the plot and the characters that it almost feels like a character in itself, and it definitely doesn’t feel like an add on because everything that happens in this book revolves around it.

Now onto our characters…

Rovan is such a great main character. The story feels a little bit tropey at the start with Roven being thrust into a world she’s tried to hide from all her life. The story starts with her losing her father (who is from a neighbouring Kingdom) because he is a bloodmage who has tried to hide from the authorities, before the story skips to thirteen years later when Rovan accidentally reveals herself to also be a bloodmage and is taken to the palace to be registered. It could have been a very trope heavy book. But her character itself very quickly shoves that to the side. She is rebellious and reckless and doesn’t try to make friends with anybody. She’s in it to win it and she makes sure that everyone around her knows that. I was laughing so many times at things Rovan did or said because she’s just so bold. She’s also selfish, but not in a villanesque kind of way, but rather in a way that makes you realise just how human she really is. She’s loyal to those she loves, but isn’t afraid to take what she needs or wants.

Japha and Lydea are the two royals that befriend Rovan. Japha is such an interesting character from the beginning. They are introduced to the reader as someone who just wants to be them in a world that determines everybody’s place within it. I loved how Japha was so open and honest and so willing to be Rovan’s friend, even when Rovan was at her most prickly. Lydea is the opposite of Japha. She’s brutal and wicked sharp, but also passionate. We are first introduced to her through Rovan and her having a drunken makeout session at a ball which kind of sets the tone for their relationships for quite a bit of the story.

Ivrilos! The Guardian! Bound to Rowan because she is a bloodmage. Honestly, I hated him at first… HATED with a passion. But I think that was the point. As the story progresses and so many of the secrets in this story are revealed I couldn’t help but come to love him. Without a doubt in my mind he is one of the best characters in the book!

What I really enjoyed about almost all of the characters is that none of them are trying to be anything they are not. They are so unapologetically themselves, and that really creates a strong bond both between the characters themselves but also between the readers and the characters. Mix into that the horror that Strickland puts some of her characters through and its an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

I think what really draws this whole book together is the trope of the found family. I’ve seen it so many times and quite often it feels a little forced, but in this book I wanted the characters to come together long before they did which shows just how cleverly Strickland constructed their personalities and their ultimate bonds. There are romantic relationships in this book, and for me what really makes these great is just how natural they are. There are f/f relationships, our main character is pansexual and there are lots of characters who don’t follow the ‘norms’ of society. But it never feels forced and it doesn’t feel put on. It fits with the characters and the world. Although the book didn’t end in the way I expected (like at all!) it was everything I could have hoped for.

WHY IT WAS A 5-STAR READ FOR ME:

This is a book that took the idea the author had and completely rolled with it in the best way possible. I loved how epic and fantastical this story felt whilst also being held within a single book. It is exactly what I look for in a standalone fantasy: the epic story in the bounds of a few hundred pages. It definitely left me wishing that there could be more!

This book was incredible! This was my first book by this author and I was not disappointed, I loved the diversity and it was all around a solid fantasy!

When I heard ‘pansexual bloodmage’ that was all I needed to know to be FULLY convinced to pick this one up!

We follow Rovan, who is a strong a feisty character, hiding her magic from her home city who would seek to control her if they knew. When her magic is accidentally revealed, she is trust into a climate of court politics and deception, caught between romance with the Princess and a dark spirit.

Full of angsty romance and rebellion, this is a really unique story with a WONDERFULLY queer cast of characters. I totally fell in love with one of our side characters, Japha, who is non-binary and so vibrant in personality - I really loved them and wish I would read more about them!

I do feel like I would have loved to see this be a duology, rather than a standalone as I felt like sometimes how compact the story was impacted on the ability to develop the world and the characters, and to connect with those characters and their relationships with another. I think given the page space of a duology this story could have been taken to another level. I just felt like I struggled to really get attached to the MC, the world, and the plotline with the lack of development that was caused by the length of this novel and it being a standalone. This really impacted by ability to fall in love with the book, even though I loved the concept wholeheartedly.

But, if you love court politics like SJM books and Shadow and Bone, or queer fantasies like A Dark and Hollow Star, then this absolutely NEEDS to be on your radar!!

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read and review this book!

In Thanapolis magic is rare and people with it are controlled bu undead spirit. Ever since her father died to save her from this fate, Rovan kept her magic a secret, but an accident exposes her powers and she's brought to the royal palace, thrust into a mess of intrigues and lies and secrets. Drawn to Lydea, a rebellious princess and to Ivrilos, a spirit she has been bound to, they discover a terrible secret that could destroy everything and everyone. To save them, Rovan will start a rebellion in both mortal and underworld and she will have to trust Lydea and Ivrilos. Will she succeed or betray them?

I loved reading In the ravenous dark. It was my first book with a pansexual main character and I loved it so much. Rovan is a fantastic, complex and brilliant character. I loved everything about her, her stubborness and courage, her magic, her attitude. The worldbuilding is magnificent, the descriptions are so lush and vivid it was like I was there with them in the city, in the palace and discovering secrets and lies. A dark fantasy with secrets and intrigues, rebellion, dead and spirits, power and danger... The story is thrilling and the love triangle was really good, even though usually I'm not fan of those. This one was well written, doesn't stop or slow the story, but it's well assimilated and it gives more to everything.
Really really good.

These past couple of months have been spectacular for YA books and this is no exception!! This starts off slow but halfway through? Buckle up and grab snacks because you will not be able to put it down!! I feel like this could’ve been longer and wish it was but I’m just selfish….please, pick this up and enjoy the rollercoaster!

!! This review may contain (small) spoilers !!

Oh wow, I really enjoyed this rollercoaster ride of a book. About halfway through the book some thing started happening and I knew I just had to sit down and FINISH this book. Also I'd like to take this moment to say I appreciate the way the main relationship(s) in this book went. I was kind of scared it was gonna be the typical love triangle stuff that I'm 'used to' in YA books but this went a completely different direction and I LOVED it!

One thing I do have to say, though, is that I think that this book could have been a bit longer in order to flesh out the last couple of chapters a bit more. I felt that the final battle was kind of rushed and maybe if the book had been longer (or even if the book had been split in half and it had been made into a duology) it would have been a bit nicer.

I'd heard much about A.M. Stricklands first book so I was very curious about this next book that had a pansexual mc. It all sounded great with queer characters, blood mages and greek influences. But nowhere did it really grab me.

In the Ravenous Dark we follow Rovan who is gifted with magic. In her lands she is then forced to take on a bond with an undead spirit that will guard and control them. For many this seems like a gift for more power but for Rovan and her family this is punishment. Unfortunately to safe a friend she exposes herself and is swept up into court politics and bound to a spirit.

It has a very interesting kind of plot with the forced bonding to undead spirits in their lands. And that part ended up being decently developed. But the basic reason why she gets forced to bond with them is her magic and I feel like that was not delved into enough. It just didn't feel like it was a proper part of the whole, more like an afterthought.

The further we went into the story, the more I felt detached. The plot didn't quite work for me in places. (Like the story around her father or the arranged marriage) There were elements to like but I could never really get into it. It was just a story. I read it. The end. That might be more of a me thing than it was the book.

The great thing about this book though were the queer elements. I didn't much care for the characters themselves but A.M. Strickland certainly didn't shy away from adding great queer elements. Rovan is pansexual. She starts a polyarmorous relationship. You don't find that very often in YA! There is also a nonbinary character and an asexual character. The queerness was casual, as it should be.

All in all In the Ravenous Dark wasn't my kind of book. But if you enjoy a queer romance with a darker plot with undead spirits this is for you.

This book was absolutely everything that I wanted it to be and more. It was the first time I’ve seen a pansexual main character in a fantasy book and it was amazing to see someone like me in my favorite genre. This book had me on edge the whole time I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The ending really shocked me as it wasn’t what I was expecting but I loved how it came to an end.

I loved Rovan’s character as sh was really head strong and didn’t back down no matter who was talking to her. She knew what she wanted and who she was and wasn’t going to let anyone change that. The romance within this book was so beautiful to watch develop and it was nice to see a polyamorous relationship within a book as it’s something I’ve never read about before in a book. I haughty recommend this book and I can’t wait to read more books from this author as their writing style and way of telling a story is something I really enjoyed.

I absolutely loved this book! It has so much representation and the fantasy, magic and world building is some of the best I’ve read this year so far, I can’t wait to read more by Strickland, this book has put her on my Insta buy list!

Book description gripped me instantly “A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead”

Thank you so much for the advanced copy.