This dark fantasy was everything I could have hoped for. The representation in it is really appreciated and I love that authors are thinking about this more when writing and are more accepting of it. The world building was something else, I feel like the idea behind this book was something I've never read before and loved. The characters within (as I mentioned before) are inclusive and each have their own personalities that just fit. 5 star read honestly.

A dark and magical fantasy standalone, filled to the brim with queer representation, vibrant characters and gore.

The story follows Rovan, a weaver who is coping with her fathers execution by sleeping around and drinking, all while hiding she's an unregistered blood mage - just like her father was. In Thanapolis, blood mages are mandatory to be drafted into the royal elite army, and have a spirit bound to them to in order to control them and their magic. When Rovan accidentally reveals herself, she is taken to the royal court in order to be enlisted.

I loved Rovan's character. She's pansexual, unapologetic, witty and impulsive. Overall, she had a lot of chaotic energy and a beautiful arc throughout the story. I think the author did a great job to make a character who could be unlikeable, extremely likeable.

The side characters were also a delight. My favourites were Lydea and Japha. They were strongly defined and deeply vibrant. Both are members of the royal court. Lydea, sister to the crown prince, is a lesbian and a blood mage like Rovan. Japha is asexual and non-binary and simply a great character who added much charm and heart to the story. I really loved how their queer rep was established and how the characters are allowed to express their own sexual preferences/gender identity in a way that never feels forced.
I didn't feel as connected with Ivrilos, but I liked that he had his own agenda and the way his past influenced the story.

I also can't express how much I adored the found family trope in this book. For me, their connection made up for what the plot sometimes lacked and it really pulled this story together. The way they relied on each other ramped up the emotional aspects of the book and was one of the main reasons why this read was so compelling.

The world building was good. The setting is loosely based on Greek society. It did feel while reading as if we were only scratching at the surface of the world, but I honestly enjoyed this approach as it works really well enough in this story.

I think the plot could have been improved (there were quite a few conveniences that sometimes pulled me somewhat out of the story and the ending was more than a little hectic), but overal the pacing was quick enough, filled with all the action and twists that made me fly through this book while not being bored for a second.

The weakest part of the story for me was the romance, but only in the sense that it developed really, really quickly. I do think it worked considering this is a standalone novel, but it was a bit hard to believe the love declarations between characters that didn't seem to know each other very well.
It also didn't help that Ivrilos was quite the stereotypical YA strong-and-brooding love interest.

All in all, this book was a strong 4,5 stars. There were a few things that weren't perfect, but to be honest, I had so much fun while reading this that I'll probably round it up to five in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am happy to report this novel lived up to its gorgeous cover! I am loving the gothic ya fantasy that is taking publishing by storm! It is easily one of my favourite genres.

We follow Rovan, a pansexual bloodmage, who is very gifted in her magic. She grows up with this secret after her father was captured and killed for possessing the same magic and not turning himself in to the palace.

Unfortunate for Rovan, she is discovered and thrust into royalty with a dead guardian she despises and a princess and her cousin (who is non-binary and asexual) that she befriends but cannot fully trust.

Soon Ivrilos, the guardian/handsome spirit, and Princess Lydea fight for Rovan’s heart. Meanwhile, Rovan is planning to betray them.

This was witty, angsty, and tense! I absolutely loved this but oh my gosh I wish there was more! The magic system was unique and the politics really set the stakes.

In the end, this is a great story of found family. I loved seeing how close these characters became and how they fought their individual battles. I also adored all the unquestioned queer representation!

This book was wonderfully dark and had absolutely amazing representation. The plot was also really fun and I enjoyed reading through it. I especially loved how well the pansexual and polyamorous representation was handled, so I'd definitely recommend it to people interested in that. The main reason I'm not rating it higher is because of the characters. Although I loved the idea of them, their bonding seemed to happen off-page and due to that their relationships felt rushed and unrealistic. This is especially true with the romantic relationships, one of which seemed to be more sexual than anything else, and the other I felt nothing for. I really wanted to fall wholeheartedly into this book but it didn't completely work for me.

I absolutely loved Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland, and after reading this one, I think it's safe to say I've found a new favourite author. This one was again so good, and so queer. I often have a hard time getting into fantasy, but this one was so accessible and had me crying in the prologue. I absolutely loved Rovan as a main character, and her dynamic with the other characters, which often made it a really funny read as well.

This story was incredible - intricate and creative. I read it despite being in a really busy time at work - little by little in every break I had because I couldn't stop without finding out what happened.

The main characters of the novel are representative of a variety of orientations and help a young adult reader explore fluidity of gender in an empowering way. I feel like a little too much of the novel was focused on this, however, despite how likeable the characters were.

I wish the mystery lasted longer or was more intricate, but the concept was very intriguing and the story was very readable and enjoyable.

Full review live on my blog on 21st June 2021.

Content Warnings: major and minor character death (including parent death on and off page), suicide (off page), violence, blood, gore, body horror, alcohol addiction, forced marriage and pregnancy, threats of rape and abuse.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.

I think I might have an ongoing emotional crisis over this book for a few weeks. I knew, I just knew from 'polyamorous pansexual bloodmage' that I was going to enjoy this book but I totally underestimated just how much. This was just so good. I absolutely loved the characters first and foremost, but A.M. Strickland also created a world that was so vivid and brutal that I was utterly immersed. This story is dark and awful in parts and I loved every single second of it. I listened to the entire audiobook in one day because I couldn't stop, even finding myself extra chores to do so I could keep listening. I'm so glad that I ordered A.M Strickland's BEYOND THE BLACK DOOR a few days ago because their writing is so beautiful and their characters so excellent that I already know I'll love to read more from them.

The worldbuilding is interesting and unusual in lots of ways. Things were well explained for a YA standalone without dragging the story down or infodumping, and I never felt like I was out of my depth as information unfolded throughout the story. The magic system is super interesting. I'm a sucker for anything that includes blood magic and this was an unusual way to go about it. The blood magic allows mages to control anything living, or that has ever been living. It's a hugely powerful ability and therefore is heavily monitored and managed. That made for a super interesting dynamic where the main character was, very early on, hugely powerful. Rather than our usual YA fare of 'protagonist fights to get strong enough to overpower the Big Bad', IN THE RAVENOUS DARK instead felt like a story where Rovan had to take on complicated political factors and moral debates before she could choose what side to take. The bloodmages are 'managed' through the use of guardians, spirits that are tethered to each mage to keep them from going rogue with their power, and that made for the kind of complex and messy relationship that I just love to see.

And relationships bring me onto one of my favourite things about this book. It's so, so, so queer. SO queer. We have a central polyamorous relationship. The main character, Rovan, is pansexual, her love interest Lydea is a lesbian. Her best friend is a nonbinary asexual delight (they might be my favourite character) and the whole world is gloriously queer. The only time queer relationships are challenged are when they might impede heirs and succession, it never felt homophobic or transphobic. I am so in love with all the queernorm fantasy I'm reading lately. The characters were well fleshed out and very real, and I felt like the relationships developed very naturally. I liked that the polyamorous relationship developed openly, and with two very different types of attraction - one of trust and closeness and intimacy from the start, the other a complicated hate-to-love attraction. It made each feel like a strong relationship in their own right.

This book started so so strongly for me, I was sure of it being a 5 star read. However, as I continued it gradually declined, with too much information dumping and further explanations of said info dumping, despite it being very clear the first time we learned things. I remember specifically at the end of chapter 19 there was far too much contradiction for it to be cohesive and despite the magic system and the world building being incredibly interesting and brilliant, there were also things in the plot that just didn’t make sense. I was so disappointed as I was really loving this book at the start. 2.5/3 stars from me.

Blood magic? Ancient times? Death and darkness and open-minded society regarding sexuality? I was soo pumped to read this.

I am instead so confused about this book.
The themes and events are really dark, the content a bit explicit, the swearing is at comical levels, yet the ... vibe was very childish? Something rubbed me the wrong way.

I have never read a book with so much dialogue. Yap yap yap! Honestly usually dialogue is my favourite part of books, those sweeet interactions that are so revealing and telling yet this is all that this book did. Tell tell tell. This was a prime example of tell instead of show.

And when it did show , all I saw was a main character that was so overpowered she became a caricature. At one point I thought this might be a satire because it was all so over the top and dramatic.

I appreciate the romantic elements here, although just a tad hard to believe how accepting and indulging society was, the inclusivity was well done.
But all conflicts, romantic or political, were always resolved very quickly, almost on the same page.
There was a LOT of death, yet little grieving. 
The magic was so cool, yet we didn't actually get to learn how it properly works.

Overall this book had a very interesting premise and a lot of potential, but it needed more time for things to develop, be explained and build relationships.  Sorry but you can't declare you love someone, multiple someones(!) after spending one month with them.

Okay, obviously first up this has a lot of dark elements in it. Right from the very first chapter (which, btw, is enough to suck you in and have the story living rent-free in your head already) we get a look into the chaotic world Rovan lives in where every bloodmage must be accounted for. It’s a perfect set up to the rest of the book, but there is a lot of blood, violence and gore throughout.

After the first chapter we get a time skip and we’re introduced to our 19-year-old, pansexual Rovan who is instantly getting herself into trouble. I won’t lie, I loved her from the beginning. She’s straight-talking, sassy and sarcastic, clearing trying to keep people out so that she doesn’t end up hurting them. (But secretly loves others with everything she has and is a bit of a secret cinnamon roll, so I loved her even more.)

'It takes a monster to hunt a monster.'

Before I go into the characters though, the world-building and magic system is just plain awesome. I’ve pretty much been a fan of any story with mention of shades in and death magic/necromancy since Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh, so I kind of went into this story expecting to fall in love with it just as much. And it didn’t let me down! Blood mages are basically tied to guardians, who are the undead spirits. Rovan sees this as unnatural and disturbing from the beginning but… after a little hiccup she ends up with her own guardian – against her will.

The city of Thanopolis is described as having statues of the Goddess, depicted as the mother, maiden and crone. And alongside descriptions of clothing it came across as a very Ancient Greek-inspired type of world. Rovan ends up in the palace early on too and it’s described as being full of flowers everywhere, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d love to visit a place like Thanopolis (but I’d skip the tour of the necropolis, I think that might be too creepy even for me).

The main characters are absolutely what makes this story though. Rovan, as mentioned, is basically a sassy badass. She goes through a lot during the story but her character growth is clear to see. There’s Lydea, who is a bisexual princess but does not agree with how things are run in Thanopolis and wants to run away from everything. She’s beautiful and has the heart of Rowan from the beginning. Rowan’s guardian, Ivrilos, is another great source of character growth and as we learn more about him you kind of can’t help but fall for him. And then… Japra. Japra is non-binary and asexual and full to the brim of sass, I loved them from the second they were introduced and for the most part they’re such a breath of fresh air for Rovan!

“You’re a wildflower in a garden of rose-covered thorns.”

As you might be able to tell from the above, one of the big strengths is definitely diversity and representation. There’s a polyamorous relationship too and it’s quite endearing to read that happen.

In short, I adored this book. I absolutely can’t wait to read more of Strickland’s work too!

I really enjoyed this. Deliciously dark. Full of non-binary, pansexual, lesbian rep it was refreshing and a lot of fun to read. I loved all the lore. The only thing that I didn’t like was that it felt too short. I think the story would have benefited from being a bit longer or maybe even being a duology. Some of it felt rushed and there were some big info dumps in the beginning that whilst they didn’t detract from the story as a whole made me have to go back and read them a few times to take all of it in. Other than that this was very good!

What a fantastic book. I was hooked from page 1. You honestly cannot guess what is going to happen because it just keeps changing!!! Each character was written so well and had so much depth to them.

I loved all the plot twists and things that were normalised, that you don't normally read about (which should be more common in books)

The romance is one reason this loses a star. I didn't buy it. I wanted to!! But it just fell flat for one particular couple. Also, i felt like this would have been better as a duology, but its definitely my favourite standalone!

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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3.5/5 Stars
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Review:

In the Ravenous Dark is a new release from A.M. Strickland, author of Beyond the Black Door. It is set in a unique fantasy world, with interesting world-building elements. The main character, Rovan, is a pansexual bloodmage who teams up with several other characters, both living and dead, to rebel against the corrupt royal family of Thanopolis. This book has a unique magic system and does a good job of explaining its complexities and histories to its readers.

This book has non-binary, pansexual, asexual, and lesbian representation. While parts of the storyline were well developed, some of the relationships in the book felt extremely rushed and under developed. The central character, Rovan, seemed to change their opinions of other characters quickly, leaving me questioning if I had missed something. At one point, she went from being at odds with a character to romantically involved with them in the span of a few pages.

That being said, the storyline is compelling and presents original ideas. There is a strong sense of found family. While it’s listed as YA, I’d classify it as more of a New Adult novel. All in all, it’s a compelling standalone fantasy novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I loved this book - it was a lot of fun and featured some really important representation for pansexuality and gender non-binary issues. I liked the spin on the vampire mythology and the protagonists were great characters. A great standalone fantasy novel - I look forward to reading more from Strickland.

In the Ravenous Dark is the gothic Greek queer story we all deserve.

In In the Ravenous Dark we meet Rovan, a bloodmage who teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion amongst the living and the dead, to free the city of Thanopolis from an ancient and cruel ruler.

I had no idea what to expect from ItRD, so it was a very pleasant surprise to realize the world is very heavily inspired by ancient Greece. A gothic version of it, at least. The world is well described, with an interesting magic system and amazing characters.

I loved all of them, even the cruel and evil ones - for being the great villains they are. And the queer representation is absolutely on point. There are pansexual, lesbian, non-binary and asexual characters.

The story itself is quite predictable at times, but very enjoyable nonetheless. The characters are real and flawed (though at times a bit too flawed - which made their actions feel more annoying and unbelievable than anything else), and the romance is a very interesting one.

The one thing ItRD could have benefited from, are more pages. Especially in the beginning there were huge lore dumps, and not enough quality time between characters to build believable and reliable relationships. If this book had been a third longer, it probably would’ve solved this issue for me. It just needed a few more pages to really solidify the world and the characters.

That being said, I enjoyed reading ItRD, and I could barely stop reading once I reached the halfway point. Highly recommend it.

A.M. Strickland has taken the staples of the YA fantasy genre – a badass heroine, loveable characters and the overthrow of a corrupt institution – and combined them with a fascinating and distinct magic system, queer characters galore and sexy ghosts to create an utterly unique and gloriously queer story. In the Ravenous Dark was fun, angsty and kept me on my toes the whole way through; it’s a gripping and unapologetically chaotic rollercoaster of a book.

It is no secret that I’m a sucker for the found family trope and In the Ravenous Dark delivered! Rovan’s love for her friends and lovers is really what motivates her and pushes the story and I really loved this focus. And there’s only one thing better than found family – queer found family!! Once again, this book really excelled, with an almost entirely queer cast, including a pansexual main character, lesbian love interest, nonbinary asexual best friend and central polyamorous relationship.

I also really loved the magic system. In this world, blood mages are able to manipulate anything that lives or has lived, including blood. Power is passed down through family lines in the form of red tattoos but the true extent of the power can only be accessed by one person and will kill the previous bearer to pass it on. This power and the governing of it played a large role in the political conflict of the book and I found this really interesting. I also just enjoyed all the different ways it could be manipulated, especially the further into the book I got as the concept of death magic was introduced as well. However, I would say that this ability made everything seem really easy for Rovan, as she very quickly became almost all powerful.

My main criticism of this book is the lack of development of characters’ relationships. This is essential in every book and something I personally adore reading but I felt that it was lacking here, which is especially an issue as the concept of found family was the main motivator. It meant that Rovan’s motivation and her actions were a little unbelievable as her relationships to these characters she was supposedly doing everything for hadn’t been developed enough. Rovan was initially warned away from and highly suspicious of everyone at court and detested her guardian but seemed to suddenly be best friends or even involved with them. I almost felt like I’d missed something with how sudden this shift was and the relationships in this books suffered from a lot of telling and not enough showing to properly build and develop them. In a similar vein, I felt like this book could have done with being longer or having a sequel in order to further develop the plot as it felt rather rushed at times.

In the Ravenous Dark packs endless action, interesting politics and a unique magic system into a fun, unapologetically queer standalone fantasy. If you like a bit of chaos with your books, then you are sure to enjoy this one!

Dark & delicious! This gothic infused tale kept me up into the early hours. Every page packs a punch!

In The Ravenous Dark is a young adult fantasy featuring a pansexual, polyamorous blood mage in a dark and violent ancient Greek-inspired world. I had so much fun reading this book, and although there were parts that didn't work as strongly for me, I'd still definitely recommend it. As a former emo teenager, the vibes were immaculate.

Blood mages are controlled by undead spirits in Thanopolis. To stay free Rovan has had to hide her magic her entire life. When her powers are revealed she's forced into the royal palace, bound to a spirit, and her family threatened to keep her controlled. There's a dark secret lurking inside, one with the power to destroy Thanopolis, and Rovan finds herself tied up in a rebellious plot to secure her freedom.

I adored the atmosphere of this book; it balances horror and fantasy fantastically. With blood magic, violence, betrayal, and undead spirits this truly is a gothic dream. Don't worry if you're not a horror fan though, other than a few disgusting details this isn't a particularly scary read. There's a lot of friendship and power in these pages too.

I also enjoyed the worldbuilding and how a lot of it was linked heavily with the secret history of Thanopolis. I'm a huge fan of secrets that disrupt everything a character thought they knew. Although the start is relatively slow, the second half of the book is filled with delightful plot twists and reveals.

The LGBT+ representation in this book was fantastic. Most of the cast are queer and incredibly open about it. Lydea, a princess, is a lesbian. Rovan is pansexual. Japha, another one of the royalty, is non-binary and asexual. This isn't a queernorm world, but they join together in their support of each other. There's also a polyamorous relationship in this book that's handled amazingly.

This leads to the main reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. A lot of the relationships seemed a little hollow and unbelievable. I think that's because most of the bonding between characters happened off-page. Due to that, everything moves quickly; they go from strangers to best friends to in love without demonstrating that development to the reader. Rovan and Lydea's relationship seemed to be more sexual than anything else (which is totally okay!), but where are the emotions they say they have for each other? Rovan and Ivrilos's relationship was particularly boring to me. I didn't understand the chemistry at all; it seemed to come out of nowhere. On top of that, I think I'm just over the teenager dating someone who's hundreds of years old trope.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this book, but it's sadly not a new favourite. I just wanted a little bit more depth. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this one more if it was a duology rather than a standalone, though I do think the ending wraps up well. I'd still recommend this to people who enjoy dark, queer, YA fantasy because I think a lot of people will love this one.

Thanks to @Hodderscape and @Netgalley for the ARC! Have you ever been addicted to a book? Because that’s how I felt about In the Ravenous Dark, I couldn’t put it down at all. A fast based, short standalone about Rovan, daughter of a powerful bloodmage whom she saw brutally murdered. In Thanopolis a place where blood magic and death magic has been allowed to intertwine. When Rovan is found out as a bloodmage, she is quickly engaged to the crown prince, and given an immortal, undead guardian to suppress her magic. Despite this she’s in love with her betrothed’s twin sister Lydea and possibly her undead guardian mentor, Ivrilos. Discovering a secret which threatens both Thanopolis and the Underworld if the King isn’t taken care of but she also can’t betray her lovers. I loved the way this book tackled consensual polyamory and Rovan being unapolagetically pansexual, with both a f/f and f/m relationship. There was a lesbian princess and a non-binary, asexual royal! The plot was crazy and constantly escalating, you expect one thing and in the end you get vampires and politics. I wished it was longer, the world and magic was so rich, but I wanted more. There were so many little time skips that while they made for a fast-faced read made the romances too fast. I’m sure they have feelings, but it seemed too fast. The ending was all too convenient and typically YA, but it didn’t take from my enjoyment. The characters really shone for me, Rovan is easily misguided due to her lack of knowledge and when she makes a decision herself you’re shocked. She starts as a burdened, selfish child and grows into a spunky, thoughtful young adult. Japha, Lydea and Ivrilos are the perfect companions for Rovan, they all compliment each other with intelligence and confidence. I also loved how sex-positive but non graphic it was without any stigma. Strickland gave humour to the book that I couldn’t help but laugh at and her writing was just as decadent and seducing as the cover. A truly delicious older-YA book that will please anyone who wants a bit of dark fantasy and blooming romance.

I was interested in this book due to the main characters sexuality.
Unfortunately I didn’t love the romance within the book but was able to read it all due to the wonderful storytelling and the incredible plot!
A truly interesting read!