Review: In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland

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Author: A.M. Strickland
Edition: eARC
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (May 18, 2021)
Genre: YA Fantasy, LGBTQIA+

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Synopsis

In the Ravenous Dark A.M. Strickland book cover

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.

My review of In the Ravenous Dark

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

In the Ravenous Dark is a gritty fantasy with impeccable death vibes, queer blood mages and princesses, both romantic and platonic love and dark secrets and alliances lurking around every corner.

Trigger Warnings: blood, death, gore, parental death

Plot and Pacing

This book really sucks you into its sprawling world full of ancient blood magic and secrets. We get thrown right into the action alongside our protagonist Rovan, whose life is uprooted when her blood magic is discovered and she is forced to be bound to a guardian – a fate she has so far been able to escape.

Admittedly, I had a bit of difficulty getting into the world (which might also be my depression brain struggling, to be fair). The world-building was incredibly fun and rich and your mileage may vary here, but if you’re someone who occasionally struggles to fully grasp fantasy worlds and magic systems, you probably won’t want to read this as an audiobook while you do the dishes.

I would have loved to learn more about the connection of the underworld to the realm of the mortals. This isn’t a sign of insufficient world-building but rather the sign of a world I enjoyed so much, I wanted to stay a little longer and take it all in!

Unfortunately, the last act felt very hectic, a lot of plot threads converges and personally, I would’ve liked just a few moments to catch my (mental) breath every once in a while.

Characters

This book is so wonderfully queer and my heart sings. Rovan is pansexual and the story also hints at a potential polyamorous love-corner situation!

My favourite secondary character is definitely Japha. They defy a lot of the royal expectations placed upon their shoulders, not just by being nonbinary. They also gave me very strong ace vibes (the word asexual isn’t used on page but I’d argue this identity is strongly alluded to) which makes my little ace heart so happy! Japha is fierce and loyal and in short: I’d very much like to be like that.

I also loved that In the Ravenous Dark features both romantic and platonic love, the latter being often overlooked in stories in favour of romances! This book also has some great found-family vibes which really made me root for Rovan. As relationships developed and alliances became clear, I was just so happy to see she got to have such a wonderful and queer chosen family by her side, she really deserves it.

Speaking of Rovan, her character arc was fantastic and I enjoyed it immensly! She’s a messy character for sure, selfish at times and definitely not always heroic. But A.M. Strickland manages to make her relatable in all the right ways. Rovan is stubborn and angry and refuses to go down without a fight, she makes bad choices for the right reasons and loves fiercely. She was a fantastic main character and I truly fell in love with her on page one. So much so, that I was genuinely sad to let her go by the end. I’m not saying there should be a sequel…but there totally should.

Overall…

Overall, In the Ravenous Dark is the perfect book if you want queerness, death vibes and magic adventures all wrapped up in a story that doesn’t pull any punches.