So I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the universe, the magic system ; the descriptions of the setting, the dresses and so on were aesthetically pleasing to picture ; the diverse representations were good.

But it was hard for me to love the main character, Rovan. We met her as a young woman who drinks into oblivion to forget her past - especially what happened to her father. I liked her at the beginning - she’s quite different from other ya heroines, she’s never at a loss for words and she’s really flirtatious which was fun to read - but she annoyed me really quickly.
As for the side characters, they were interesting but I feel like we didn’t get the time to see their and Rovan’s relationships built, they met and they’re already friend and it lacked something in my opinion (and insta-love is definitely not for me anymore). But I’m so used to fantasy series in which we get to see the characters and their relationships change over many books - which I deeply adore.

Also, throughout the whole book, I had this weird feeling that didn’t leave and I hated it. I can’t help it, it’s here or it’s not. But I don’t see this one as a bad book - at all! - because the world building was surprising, it wasn’t my cup of tea, that’s all - and I guess I still prefer series over stand alone.

I was really looking forward to read In the Ravenous Dark after the first glimpse of the summary, because it sounded all the way up my alley and it did not disappoint. It was just fantastic!
It's dark, brutal, morbid and full of creepy magic. I would definitely consider it more of a New Adult read.

This book has such awesome, complex worldbuilding in an ancient greece inspired setting with a really cool magic system. I was especially intrigued by the lush descriptions, the dark and gloomy atmosphere and the impressive broadness of diversity and representation that felt very natural and well-explained.
I had so much fun with the highly relateable cast of queer misfits and morally grey characters. Especially the protagonist Rovan who is a super sassy badass, with somewhat of an alcohol problem and a tendency to cause disasters, stole my heart from page 1.

The relatively simple writing style made for a quick and easy read. The plot is fast-paced and full of action and twists. It's not a short book, but I wasn't bored for a second. In fact so much happened that some things felt a bit rushed, especially the romance. I had the impression the book could have easily be split up into multiple volumes, which I personally would have preferred, because so much intense stuff happens that would deserve more time and detail in my opinion.
But nonetheless I enjoyed this book so much, I couldn't fathom giving it less than 5 stars, even if it has its flaws. I was gripped right away and just couldn't put it down.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher Hodder&Stoughton for giving me the chance to read an eARC of this fabulous book!

This was one of the 2021 releases I was super excited to read and I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for gifting me a copy of this book to review. This book is amazing and I was shocked by how much I loved it.

I wasn’t sure about this going in as all I really knew was that it had a Pansexual main character, plenty of guest characters and blood magic. I was excited dot read it for that alone. The first chapter starts off so good and before I knew it I had finished the book. The plot and pacing were both good but I won’t say much about it as I want to keep this review spoiler free. The world took me awhile to understand and the magic was the same. However I did find it interesting and the twists were what kept me interested.

The writing was okay, it was easy to read and I found it a quick read. There’s emotional ups and downs, twists and turns and of course a great ending. The representation in this book is so good, there’s pansexual characters, f/f relationships and some of the characters explain their sexuality and what it means to them which was something I haven’t read in many books.

The characters were okay. I liked them but I wouldn’t say any of them are my new favourites. The main character is Roven who is a little bit of a disaster and has a little alcohol problem. Roven is a blood mage who is untrained and unmarked, she gets caught using the magic to save her friend and gets caught by the royals who like to use blood mages and collect power. Roven fights for what she believes in and the people she cares for.

Lydea and Japha are another two royal characters who become close friends and in Lydea’s case maybe something more with Roven. I really liked how their friendship was built up. I enjoyed how they talked about their sexuality. Then we have Ivrilos who gets bound to Roven by the royals to keep her in check and he’s a shade (dead). I know a lot of people will like Ivrilos and I thought he was okay.

Overall this was an exciting fantasy read with blood magic, death magic and lots of queer characters. I know people will love this book and I would recommend it if queer fantasy is your thing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Woah, this was a RIDE AND A HALF. I know its a stand-alone but I can't help but want more of our disaster gays. Especially Japha. I want more of them, please.

IN THE RAVENOUS DARK follows Bloodmage Rovan, except she's determined to hide her powers... until she slips up trying to save her lover. The book then follows Rovan and her journey in a dark, creepy, and corrupt Royal court filled with magic, secrets, blood, and death. Will she be able to navigate this new world and control her powers?

Strickland has created a fantastic Greco-Roman inspired world, filled with magic, disaster, and plenty of humour weaved into the pages of this book.
The diversity is pretty good - we have a pansexual main character, an enby/ace side character, and sapphic side character, and multiple f/f, and m/m relationships throughout, as well as a polyamorous relationship.
The book itself is quite fast-paced, and some things (the romance, ahem) I feel are slightly rushed, but overall its a really, really good book with premise for some spin-offs.

I'd definitely say this is maybe on the older side of YA, maybe even bordering into New Adult Fantasy due to some of the content.

Overall, a fantastically weird and gripping read, 5/5.

I was drawn to this book mostly because I love dark fantasy and the rep in it sounded so good. I did enjoy reading this book but I don't think it was quite as good as it could have been. This is a YA book but it is very dark for the genre, its more suited to the older end of YA. This book is very bloody and has more sex than the typical YA but not in huge detail. There was so much that was done well about this book which made it much more enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the magic system with the bloodmages and death magic, it was all really interested and I loved how it worked. The world building was also done in a very good way for a standalone which made it easy to quickly understand the world and the politics.

I did like the exploration of sexuality in this book there is a lot of representation and for things we don't see quite so often such as polyamorous relationships, a pansexual main character and a nonbinary asexual character. I did really like the fact that this book also showed that sex isn't always mind blowing and amazing, Too many books for younger people gives unrealistic expectations so I'm glad this book highlighted that its not always good and theres nothing wrong with that. I did feel the relationships developed very quickly and could have been a bit more in depth but it is a standalone and there was a lot of other things going on.

My main issue was the writing style, particularly the sentence structure, I found sometimes sentences could have been worded better and it was difficult to follow. The pacing was also a bit off for me, the middle was a bit slow and the end was a bit too much all at once. I really enjoyed Rovan as a character, she felt realistic and you could feel her pain. She was quite a sassy type of character but actually done well. I also like that we see her flaws a lot, she is certainly not perfect and isn't always making the best choices. I loved how dark this story was and I loved the magic system so much, it was dark, creepy and gory. The plot also took me by surprise a lot and I wasn't really sure what to expect. .

I am still super excited I got an eArc via Netgalley and could read this early because after finishing »Beyond the Black Door« in January this became one of my most anticipated releases of the year.

I think A. M. Strickland could easily become a favorite author of mine. I really love how she tells her stories and that they are standalone fantasies.
»In the Ravenous Dark« felt a bit similar to »Beyond the Black Door«, it has a few of the same elements. Which is on the one hand good because I loved BTBD but on the other hand it felt like I read this story before. I still liked »In the Ravenous Dark« a lot but I think I would have loved it more if I hadn’t already read BTBD.

What I love most about A. M. Strickland‘s books is how casually queer they are. We have a lot of queer characters in this one; a pansexual main character, lesbian love interest, non-binary asexual best friend... it was great. I adore how the author writes such queer worlds.
But I couldn’t connect to the characters very well. I don’t really know why but I just didn‘t feel the relationships Rovan forms with Lydea and Japha and Ivrilos. I love the idea of the relationships and what the author was doing with them but I wasn‘t really rooting for them, if that makes sense. The emotions weren’t there for me, I was told that Rovan liked/loved someone but I didn‘t felt it, if that makes sense.

The story itself was fast-paced and interesting from the first chapter. I was instantly hooked. The world was explained really well without info dumping which I always appreciate.
It got a bit... okay, a lot darker in the ending. It was gory and bloody and I loved every second of it. But if you‘re squeamish I would recommend checking out the trigger warnings for the book that the author has in her goodreads review. But I really really liked how dark this book was without being too gruesome.

Hold on a second. Man, hold on a second. I've been sitting on this for days now because I don't know how to write a review. I'm not conflicted about my feelings - I just don't know how to express just how very, very much I loved this book. Start to finish, I adored it.
This review is probably going to be useless, because it won't mean anything to anyone except the few people who know me, but - this book. This book was for me. It has things I love in books. It has the kinds of characters I love in books. It has a worldbuilding interesting in a way I love in books. It has things I didn't even know I loved in books until I read it. I couldn't read it fast enough. I couldn't read it slow enough to savour every page. I cannot wait to read this again immediately as soon as it's out and I can hold a physical copy in my hands.

But allow me to say this - this book has one of the things I adore most about certain books - a title that tells you exactly what's going to happen. But you have to read it to see it. It's right there under your nose! But you only *get* it when you read it. I've been holding my head in my hands, eyes glistening, with just how brilliant it is. It's wonderful. It's beautiful. I've been screaming into the void nonstop and I'm going to continue screaming.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of this book. But mostly, thank you to the author for writing it

A.M Strickland’s new YA Fantasy stand-alone is Magically lush and Captivatingly dark;with a masterfully written ,Greco-Roman inspired setting and a witty heroine-with the willpower to defy a tyrannical king and take back her freedom.

“I am going to ensure my mother is safe, but I’m also going to look people in the eye as I plot to escape them.”

When her father dies, Rovan Ballacra is determined to hide the blood magic that got him killed and for 12 and a half years, she succeeded. Until a public incident reveals Rovan’s powers to the very people who took her father from her. In order to control her Bloodmage ability the king has tethered her to an undead spirit and to keep her obedient he’s imprisoned her mother.

But Rovan will not surrender without a fight, seeking vengeance she joins forces with her spirit “guardian”, Ivrilos. Together,they can spark a rebellion- between both the living and the dead.

It’s weird,it’s bloody and unequivocally brutal,but oh so spectacular, with as much action and more blood than a game of thrones episode. The characters are full of depth and the LGBTQ+ representation is phenomenal- Our main character is Pansexual ,has a lesbian love interest (as well as a spectral one in a polyamorous relationship) and an Asexual,Non-Binary bestie- with fabulous fashion sense.

I’d have to say this is definitely at the older end of YA fiction simply for the subject material (death,violence,blood,gore,mild substance addiction, off screen mention of rape and threat of rape and abuse). So, if none of that scares you off and you love dark fantasy with a powerful female protagonist, I thoroughly reccomend to give this a read.

I would also like to thank Hodder&Stoughton and Net Galley for the digital ARC.

This book was sensational. It kept me interested from the first to last page, I'm utterly destroyed it's a standalone and I just adored the complexity of the world. Tales of the undead rarely do it for me. Remember what a hit Gideon the Ninth was? Nope. Didn't work for me. So my expectations for In the Ravenous Dark were pretty low with a premise not too dissimilar in theme.

But the blurb had me interested. Because it's not often that we get stories about bloodmages making friends with undead spirits and rebelling against both the living and the dead. And that might be enough to get you hooked at first, but you're probably sceptical about the execution of something which promises to be so good. It is that good.

Thanopolis has a number of gifted individuals, blessed with magical abilities and dead spirits who guard them. Of course, no relationship is one way and the spirits stand to gain something from this job too. Rovan quickly finds herself thrown out of her normal life and thrust into a complex battle against a corrupt system which wants to marry her off for her bloodline.

The story is enormous. Frankly, it feels like there are multiple books tied into this single book. What starts off as a story of self-discovery for Rovan transforms into a battle in the mortal world and, later, a battle in the underworld too. The transition from the living world to the dead is seamless and works so well - I loved getting to follow the dead into the underworld, and the explanation of how the living body and the dead spirit were separate entities getting to live out their living or dead lives in either eventuality.

Rovan however is the best part of this book. So often I find myself thinking that the way characters react to a situation they don't want to be in just isn't realistic; it's difficult to strike the balance between just being too ferocious with being too meek. Rovan does everything I would have done in her situation, or would like to think I would do if I was brave and badass, and the author explains things exactly when I was thinking, "okay, but what about this?".

It's fascinating. I couldn't put it down. I'm just so sad to see there won't be a second. Read it.

ARC provided from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reading other reviews, In The Ravenous Dark seems to be quite the favourite, so I had high hopes for this one and the cover is gorgeous! Unfortunately though, I really struggled on this one. The themes in this book are pretty dark, we’re talking torture, gore etc, suggesting a more adult audience, and yet the writing itself just isn’t advanced for that. Key points or scenes have a habit of ending with Rovan simply blacking out and you then find out what happened without the first person experience of it, which feels pretty dissatisfying. The ending feels unrealistically wrapped up (and I mean unrealistic for a book that essentially has the undead in it!) and the characters just have no growth or adequate depth to them.
I did think the concept was good though and the world building was interesting both in life and the afterlife.

I really appreciated the LGBQT representation in this book, pansexuality isn’t something I am personally familiar with and I appreciated these open discussions in the book, particularly when Japha was on the page. That said, I did not enjoy the romance in this book, mostly because there just wasn’t any. Rovan knows next to nothing about Lydea, and hates Ivrilos, her guardian, but you know both are attractive because that’s all Rovan thinks of them, Lydea is stunning and Ivrilos’ cheekbones, his hair etc, then the word ‘love’ is suddenly being used, there’s no tension, no progression, no chemistry (and therefore no intimacy in the sex scene) and I did not understand what anyone saw in each other or what Rovan actually contributed to the pairings because she’s actually pretty awful and treats badly the 3 people who love her in this book. Rovan constantly says she’s selfish, that she’s a monster, she seems to be ashamed about both these things briefly, and yet she continues to be selfish and act like a monster, she literally murders guards, tortures someone, licks the blood off them, overpowers and feeds off someone and then the next moment she’s sizing up to people who suggest she’s uncontrollable. She betrays both people she loves and yet when it comes to forgiving these actions, there’s no conversation of personal growth, they just accept her. Acceptance for who you are is a big theme in this book and I appreciate that but she literally just does what she wants with no regard or kindness and people have to just take it.

Kineas, the crown prince, is suggested to be a predator to women, has a rumoured reputation of hurting women, and yet we experience very little of him on the page, he’s a pig when he taunts Rovan and when they spar he tries to take her out even after she’s won, but he’s not the villain in this book and yet his punishment is dragged out like some sort of vengeance. Kineas wasn’t a character remotely bulked out and formed and it felt wholly unnecessary to be routing for Rovan when she ultimately confronts him based on actually very little, particularly as she had both taken consent from someone herself and killed before confronting him. The characters just didn’t feel real, the author wanted things to happen and the characters to do things and the book read like a bullet point serious of events without the emotional lines connecting them. But that is just my opinion and I know plenty of others did enjoy this. It’s not a long book but it felt long to me reading it because I just didn’t care about any of the characters or what happened.

Thank you NetGalley, I appreciated the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed the concept and the representation, I just wish the execution had been better

3.5 stars

In the Ravenous Dark follows Rovan, a pansexual blood mage who ends up being bethrothed against her will to the despicable prince of the kindgom and being bound to a magical ghost guardian.

Rovan was a fairly solid main character, of course I loved the pansexual aspect (as I am pan myself!) and one line she said when talking about her prefences really stuck with me - "I'm attracted to beauty not to parts". I did think she was a little easily lead astray and was like a little lost puppy following the other characters around, so when a certain event happened towards the last 1/3 of the book I feel like it jarred with her character a bit. I also feel that fundamentally the 1st person POV made me enjoy the book a little less, and the world was so interesting as well as some very complex court politics that we didn't really get to explore properly because of the limited POV and length of the book.

Lydea, one of Rovan's love interests was probably my favourite character, along with Japha, they are both such vibrant and dymanic characters. Part of me wishes the book was from Lydea's POV as the court angle would have been so interesting. Lydea is the twin sister of Kineas, the person Rovan is bethrothed to marry, and is a lesbian. Japha is non-binary and asexual, another fantastic character who adds so much charm and humour to the story.

Ivrilos is the other love interest and is bound to rovan as her guardian, as sort of ghost mentor and controller of her powers. It is a very complex dynamic between them, and he did feel a bit stereotypical love interest, I didn't dislike him (although Lydea was definetly my favoruite LI). His past however is very interesting and how that ties into the world, the court set up and the lineage of the current kings. I also thinks the author does a good job of making him seem like a jaded immortal.

One thing I wasn't entirely sold on was how quickly the characters came to love each other, I actually really liked the relationship dynamics, I love the consenual non-magonomy rep and I liked both Lydea and Ivrilos as love interests, but I found myself scoffing in disbelief at how quickly they all started professing their undying love for each other. This is however quite a common problem in YA books and I think can be attribtued to the generally fast paced nature of them.

I really liked the atmosphere of the world, and thought the idea of the underworld was pretty well explained and thought through. I also quite liked the way a vampire type storyline was brought in, this made me very nostalgic and while it lead to some massive plot conviences I'm a sucker for a happy ending so I really didn't mind. The writing is not overly flowery but it does make you feel like you are there with the charcaters and you get a real sense of what the world feels like.

Overall an enjoyable read, would be perfect around halloween time, it doesn't have any deep themes but sometimes it's refreshing to have an enjoyable and dramatic read! And it's always good to see lots of unapolgetic queer rep in a fantasy book.

Whilst my review itself doesn't contain spoilers - the TW and Representation discussion below does contain some mild to major spoilers so just be aware and careful when reading!

I thank my lucky stars that NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton approved me for In the Ravenous Dark eARC. All views and opinions are my own

***

Off-Screen TW: suicide, parental death, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, rape, assault

On-Screen TW: alcohol use, implied alcohol addiction, blood - so many mentions of blood (injuries, blood magic, drinking blood, vomiting, menstruation mention, violence, injuries, gore, death, filicide (parent kills their son), threat of rape, threat of forced marriage, death of queer characters (many queer characters within the book and they don't stay completely 100% deceased…, sex scenes (f/f and f/m), swearing, dark humour

Representation: this book has a lot of queer characters (and it never ever feels like it's done just for the sake of it) - the majority of them get to verbally explain their gender/sexuality and what it means to them and there are also some background f/f relationship who don't define their sexuality on screen. Our main character is pansexual (she doesn't use the word itself but this is confirmed by the author), two of our other main characters are; a lesbian princess love interest, and a non-binary asexual best friend (they/them pronouns are used throughout!). There are f/f relationships throughout and there is also a polyamorous relationships m/f/f between our male guardian, main character, and lesbian love interest - all are aware and consenting to this relationship! Homophobia isn't really a thing in the world; nobody cares essentially who sleeps with who - unless you're a royal or a blood-mage and then it is expected that you'll marry someone of the opposite gender to carry on your bloodline - enforced gender roles do come into play here slightly.

***

Okay… I think that is all of that done, now onto my review. Holy shirt balls where do I even begin?! The way I describe this book is nuts but amazing - i'm not sure i've ever read such a wild book that i've loved this much. I started the book just thinking i'd read a few chapters… and then I read a few more.. and a few more… and then it was 2am and I couldn't put this book down until i'd finished and devoured every page and every action. It is AMAZING. I would definitely say this is one of those books that will split reviewers; you will either love it or hate it and I am firmly in the love it category.

I'll start with the characters who are all amazing an all deserve love and care. Our main character Rovan is a hot mess; she starts off the series drinking her way through the pain (and whilst she never really stops drinking) she really comes into her own and finds her own family (i'll come onto this in a minute because found family is my favourite). Rovan is a blood-mage, untrained and unwarded - which makes her dangerous to the royal family. Rovan is extremely powerful but don't mistake that for a typical chosen one character. Rovan is powerful yes but she lacks any real knowledge of her powers, any finesse in how to use them, and is illiterate so is unable to find out more. She is dragged to the castle kicking and screaming… and just never stops. I ADORE HER. She is so wilful and she does not care who she offends; she forms strong bonds and will fight for those she loves; and my god when those that she loves are wronged does the desire for vengeance come out. I wouldn't get in her way that's for sure.

Lydea and Japha. Where do I even begin to describe how much I love both of these characters. Japha is such a delight; they are kind and caring and loyal and just so strong. Japha is the first royal to link in with Rovan and they don't leave her from that moment; they have her back and they grow so much and I just love them. Lydea is the definition of a BAMF; she knows what she wants and what she wants is what she'll get. Their relationship is one another is so lovely and the relationships they build with Rovan; individually and as a group just destroy me.

Ivrilos!!! Our dark and mysterious ward. I definitely loved him and I loved seeing him develop; he has his own agenda throughout but slowly he begins to change alongside the care he feels for Rovan.

This book has one of my favourite book tropes of all time; found family. OMG I love it so much in this book; the above four characters each find their place with one another and find their home and their strength. Rovan and Japha have a conversation at some point about how familial and friendship love is just as important as romantic or sexual love and I live for it. The relationships are so compelling and really what pull the book together.

This book is 400 pages long but it never feels it; the plot is so well developed and the pacing is perfect. It takes a little while to get your head around the world but once you're in… you're in - until of course Strickland reveals her twists and turns which leave you shocked and in awe. Honestly with their writing I think she could have turned them all into unicorns and i'd have gone along with it. Rovan is not your typical main character; she isn't here to be liked and she doesn't care about getting on the wrong side of people and if she wants revenge she will take it. And this bleeds across completely into the plot which is so dark at times; i'm hesitant to class it as YA as it definitely feels adult at times. But I love how dark the plot gets and that there are no apologies for this.

There were so many moments in this book that I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest; I mean just stop hurting Rovan and her family please - is that too much to ask for?! But Strickland never lets us suffer with that long - moving the plot onto something perhaps even more painful at times i'm laughing and crying I promise. The big battle starts around 60-70% of the book in which really threw me because normally it's only in the last 15% that these happen; so you know that it's going to be good and well written. Strickland lets the big battle scene build up, drawing in all the wider characters, and exploring motivations and i love it. It gives you enough time for wider characters to understand what is going on whilst never slowing down the action. I'm gonna say much about the plot itself - but there were two moments in that last 30% that near enough destroyed me - and then I had to keep reading of course to find out what happens next!

I love this book. I love that it's a stand-alone and it does stand so strongly on it's own - everything is wrapped up to a point where you have a conclusion and know where the characters are going next without it being explicitly in the plot. I just love it so much - I already want to pre-order her next one even though it's not out for a while and luckily enough for me I have Beyond the Black Door on my shelves just waiting to be read!

This book is out 18th May 2021 and if you don't go and buy it I don't know what you're doing with your life.

This was so amazing! I loved the world Strickland has created, it was so creepy and dark. That was my favourite aspect of this book. all the blood and death magic. The characters were really fleshed out and I especially loved the diverse relationships. The discussion around those relationships felt very genuine too.
This book was very fast paced which I loved, I found myself reading it every chance I got. I did feel the ending was perhaps wrapped up too neatly but that's just a minor thing. I'm really excited to see what Strickland writes in the future. because if this is only there second book, their future work is going to be even more amazing!

four 1/2 stars

This book sucked me in from the first page. I instantly fell in love with the main character - Rovan is witty, relatable and her reactions to events are just so genuine. A.M Strickland really brought her to life.

The plot is magical, but not the traditional fairytale type of magical - it’s so intense, full of blood magic and violence; it is magic to be feared. It’s also definitely strange at times but that is in no way a criticism; I don’t think I’ve read anything like this before. In The Ravenous Dark keeps you guessing, it’s a rollercoaster of emotions and I could not put it down. In the times I was not reading, it constantly crossed my mind.

This book also has excellent LGBTQIA representation! Rovan is pansexual, there’s a lesbian love interest and a non binary best friend, and despite this, no homophobia or transphobia. It’s not a major plot point either, which I loved; it is simply acknowledged that Rovan likes all genders, and that Japha uses they/them pronouns. It’s very healthy representation.

My only criticism is that at times, I felt the writing style to be a little unnatural - sometimes phrasing was awkward, or the way an event or person was described was a little confusing. However, this did not prevent me enjoying the book, it just takes a little while to get used too.

I would also add that this book is marketed as young adult, and it definitely pushes the boundaries of what y/a can cover; there is a lot of violence and two sex scenes, which just may be inappropriate for younger teenagers.

Overall, this book was wonderful, and absolutely worth the read.