It seems that the world loves a messy protagonist these days. One who maybe, oh drinks too much? Sleeps with the wrong people? Accidentally exposes herself and her long kept secret magic to the ruling class who wants to possess and use her?

Since the capture and death of her father, Rovan had hidden and controlled her blood based power. I mean, sure, she's practiced with it, and maybe used it in small ways to help keep herself and her mother safe and fed. However, that image of her father's body being taken away, of the ever constant threat that she herself could be captured by the same has kept her quiet. Until she makes one little mistake, and now her life will never be the same...

Strickland's unique world building and fascinating characters make for a clever, complex, and compelling story. One that is filled with well-drawn characters, and plenty of queerness and sarcasm. Rovan is trapped in a claustrophobic world of royalty and shadowy guards and the shock of discovering that *spoiler* is *spoiler*! Yet she finds herself drawn to others within that world, and despite herself, wanting to use her power to help even those who have benefitted most from the society that chains her.

This book sounded like exactly my type of book but unfortunately i didn't enjoy it as much as i had hoped.

This book has everything: blood magic, found family, QUEER found family, a polyamorous relationship, dead and undead people, secrets, political intrigues, and so much more! I'm kinda amazed that all this story fit in 400 pages because a lot happens, with a LOT of revelations about this world (and the underworld).

My favourite aspect was, of course, Rovan and her little found family, they love each other and that's what I'm here for!! Give me all the relationships! (platonic relationship is also esteemed so like, thank you).

What I didn't like, though, was that these relationships seemed rushed? I feel like we went from I don't know you/I don't trust you to You're my new favourite person quite fast. It gave us more time for interactions where they love each other, but there wasn't enough development before that sadly.

DNF @pg 100

I’m quite disappointed that this one is a DNF, I can’t tell specifically what it is or if it’s just I’m just finding the Main Character unbearable, she doesn’t want to listen to anyone and my anger just keeps spiking tbh 😂

I do however want to say a few things:
- The Rep in this is absolutely 10/10 this is everything that I want to see in books and from others I’ve heard just how inclusive it is!
- The story itself is also something that I would be so intrigued about and I really wanted to learn more about her father and “the dead man”

TBH I think it is a me thing because I have to really enjoy the characters for my enjoyment and sadly this wasn’t it for me 😩

It has pansexual, sapphic, poly, asexual, nonbinary rep and SO MUCH MORE!!! A. M. Strickland is a new favourite author of mine and wow oh wow can I not wait to consume they're other works!!!

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was fun and kept you invested, waiting to unravel what was going to happen. The representation was great. I particularly loved the character Japha who is non-binary. The polyamory storyline was well handled, though I do feel like one side of the relationship was better established than the other. I also had some issues with the magic system getting a little too complicated and hard to follow. Overall though a fun read that I would recommend.

Nobody was more surprised by this book than I was! What an amazing cast of characters, a love triangle that intrigued me so much, and the plot oh WOW the plot. I'm so glad I bought a physical copy because this was a fantastic book!!

So the short version of this one is I freaking loved it. Full of characters that run the gamut of personalities, sexual orientations and societal backgrounds, In The Ravenous Dark ticks all the boxes on my exceedingly long list of wants and needs within a novel.

Dark, gruesome, full of violence but also love, I absolutely adored the majority of these characters. From the asexual bestie to the lesbian lover and the whole polygamous relationship in between, this is a tale of found family and the quest to protect those you love.

If you are looking for something punchy, fast paced and full of plot twists, this should be the book for you. If you are into the current trend of soppy romances and female characters that yearn after a strong man to lead the way, maybe give it a miss. Or don't because you may find that you like strong female protagonists that don't require the intervention of testosterone to get through their ordeals.

In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland combines many of my favorite things to find in young adult fantasy—blood magic, death magic, queer found family, a hint of horror. When I started reading the prologue, I was immediately drawn in by Strickland’s descriptions of blood magic and the way it was used. After finishing the prologue, I started reading chapter one, and was immediately jarred by the switch from third to first person. I was frankly disappointed by this switch because the third person POV worked so well for me. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the world the author had crafted and I adored their exposition and descriptions of magic. After the first few chapters, however, I found myself growing to be disappointed. The novel’s main character Rovan, an unregistered bloodmage, is discovered and dragged off to the royal palace of Thanapolis, the city state she lives in. Once in the palace, now bound to a spirit guardian like all bloodmages are supposed to be, Rovan quickly gets caught up in a generic young adult fantasy plot. You know the one; she is swept up in palace routine and pretends to be obedient to the king’s wishes while secretly looking for the dark secret the royal family is hiding. Ultimately, she wants to take down the system from within so everyone can live happily ever after. Now, of course it is a bit more complicated than that, but I still found myself so incredibly disappointed by the generic turn In the Ravenous Dark took when I was initially so intrigued by it.

There is simply too much going on in In the Ravenous Dark to be fit into a standalone YA fantasy novel. Rovan is trying to uncover the royal family’s dark secrets, she is learning court etiquette and ways to control her court magic, two magic systems are being introduced that do not quite seem to blend together, and Rovan is falling in love with two people. Now, I love that Strickland decided to make her main character pansexual and polyamorous and have her fall in love with two people. It is something that is so very welcome to see in the young adult category, especially in the fantasy genre. Unfortunately, in order for it to work for the reader the romantic development for both relationships does need to be shown instead of just told. Her first love interest is Lydea, one of Thanapolis’s princesses. She and Rovan interact a handful of times, although the reader is more told about it rather than shown it. Her second love interest is Ivrilos, the spirit guardian she is bound to that is meant to keep her in check as a bloodmage. Their dynamic is initially filled with hatred, and in that stage there are a few delightful interactions that hint at the potential for a fun hate-to-love romance, but that too quickly disappears because suddenly they are very soft for each other. Both romantic relationships sadly lacked substantial build-up, which was disappointing because there was definitely potential.

Unmet potential is the thread that binds most of the aspects of the book together for me. The two magic systems based in blood and death are intriguing. There is a whole separate sector of the city where shadow-priests and their acolytes live and practice death magic… although we never quite get to know what that entails. I loved the descriptions of how bloodmages used their magic with sigils, but I cannot help but feel like I wanted more, more magic-related action, more insight into what different sigils could do, just more. The book dips into some dark concepts related to the two magic systems and the underworld, but it felt like it never quite was allowed to go there entirely because this book is young adult fantasy and things cannot get too graphic. In general, I feel this book would have benefitted from pushing into (new) adult. The main character is already nineteen, and the book could have dived deeper into the dark magic, world and character relationships if it had been allowed to be the length more common in the adult fantasy genre.

Finally, on a slightly unrelated note, there were a number of things in In the Ravenous Dark that somehow felt a little bit too similar to Dragon Age: Inquisition, which happens to be one of my favorite video games. (Blood)mages are oppressed and must be registered and kept obedient because they are seen as dangerous. A phenomenon called “the blight” is plaguing the world. A barrier called “the veil” serves as a separation between two different parts of the world. The underworld is ruled from a place called “the dark city” and felt in some ways quite similar to the Black City as it is described in the Dragon Age series. There are naturally many things that tie the fantasy genre as a whole together and none of these concepts are unique to either Dragon Age or In the Ravenous Dark, but there were a few too many similarities for me to simply write it off as a coincidence, especially considering the author is openly a fan of the video game.

All in all, In the Ravenous Dark had so many promising aspects that could have made me adore it, but none of it ended up coming together in a way that worked for me, which was a huge disappointment for me after I adored the author’s previous novel, Beyond the Black Door. I would potentially recommend this to people who are less familiar with the young adult fantasy genre than me and who want to dip their toes into it, especially with a central LGBTQ+ cast, but if you are familiar with the genre and easily annoyed by surface-level world-building, I would give this one a pass.

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


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.

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 non-binary. 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 immensely! 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, 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.

dnfed unfortunately, don't feel like my rating would be fair as I completed to the 25% mark

- storybuilding was interesting, along with the main character
- I did lose interest due to the royalty, the bloodline storyline and figured it might not be the book for me. (not the fault of the book, more of a taste preference)

There was a lot to enjoy here, but ultimately I felt that the world building was a bit lacking and the plotting was a bit muddled. We follow Rovan, a young woman hiding her blood magic to prevent being bound to a guardian. Following an incident in the market, she is brought to the palace where the intrigues of court sweep her up. I really enjoyed Rovan as a protagonist. She is brash and unapologetic, with little fear of being herself in a world that doesn't want her. I also thought that the LGBTQ+ representation was strong throughout the novel, with a wonderful non-binary character and a polyamorous relationship at the core of the story. My issues come with the plot and the world building. There was a lot to unpack in terms of the magic at play and the political alliances in the world, but for me, these things felt a bit under-developed. Consequently, there were times when the plot felt really rushed and confusing. Overall, I would say that this is a good read for the characters but I just wish more attention had been given to the plot.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In the Ravenous Dark is an ambitious standalone fantasy novel focused on life, death and love.

Rovan has always kept her blood magic a secret. Her father warned her that she needed to conceal her true identity, and after seeing him get killed in front of her the message couldn’t be any clearer to Rovan: if people discover her blood magic, she will die.

Unfortunately, she reveals her abilities and she’s left to deal with the consequences. Taken to the palace, Rovan is paired with a guardian called Ivrilos. Ivrilos is a shade: a spirit serving their country from the underworld. Rovan hates Ivrilos, as being paired gives him the power to control her actions and stop her from openly rebelling against the royal family. However, Rovan’s not the only one with a grudge against the powers in charge of Thanopolis, so rebellion might be possible after all…

A.M. Strickland combines blood and death magic in a luxurious Grecian-inspired setting. With characters wearing peplos, himation and chitons, and descriptions of marble buildings draped in greenery and flowers, Thanopolis is bound to stick in your mind for a long time.

As well as the setting, the cast of characters is superb. Ivrilos is a particular favourite of mine. It’s interesting when you meet a dead character, because there’s a lot of intrigue surrounding their back story. Finding out these answers from Ivrilos is a drawn out procedure which kept me engaged.

Two more characters who shone in this story are Japha and Lydea. Japha is non-binary, and they become Rovan’s first friend at the palace. Their on point fashion choices and sassy attitude make them a breath of fresh air in a fantasy book which isn’t afraid to dwell in darker moments. Meanwhile, Princess Lydea becomes (one of) Rovan’s love interests.

Rovan is troubled and acts childish at the start of the book, but that’s a powerful way of demonstrating the impact grief has on different people. Rovan was young when her father died and she was forced to grow up fast, using her blood magic to help her mother make enough money to keep their home. When we meet her, she drowns her sorrows in alcohol, spending as little time with her feelings as she possibly can. However, Rovan undergoes a dramatic amount of character development throughout this book. If you don’t like her at the start you will love her by the end. Rovan’s story has a lot of twists and turns which she has to learn to adapt to, and she’s very resilient.

Sadly, Rovan’s development felt rushed.

This is the only negative thing I have to say about In the Ravenous Dark: it shouldn’t have been a standalone. There is too much going on in this story – and this world – to cram it into 400 pages when it could have been fleshed out further and expanded upon. Rovan’s explanation of the sigil magic, the guardians and the bloodlines is compact, giving the reader all of the information that they need to understand this world in a remarkably short amount of pages.

I found it difficult to get my head around the magic system in this book when I first started it. That could have been my fault, as I read this at the same time as Ciannon Smart’s Witches Steeped in Gold. Unfortunately, there are similarities in the magic systems in both (one passed down from generation to generation after death, the other passed by transferring a bloodline – a literal line of bloody sigils – from one generation’s skin to the next). I hadn’t expected the two novels to have such similarities, but it does mean that if you have read and enjoyed either of these novels then you should pick up the other ASAP. That being said, I think the confusion would have been minimised if the information had shared a little less rapidly.

The short length also meant that I didn’t feel overly invested in Rovan’s relationships. Rovan being pansexual was a refreshing inclusion, and I enjoyed the discussions of polyamory (particularly the following quote).

“Even if they hadn’t been forced to be with anyone, and they wanted to be with more than one person… I wouldn’t blame them, either. We each have different gifts to offer, so why not share? Be a little beholden, but to more than one?”

Sadly, I thought that the polyamorous aspect was going to be a bigger part of the story than it was. I hoped the relationship would start before the book began, because Rovan meeting both of her love interests and falling for them over the course of the story didn’t feel realistic (especially not with everything else she had going on!). It detracted from my enjoyment of this book, as I wanted the enemies to lovers aspect to be a slow burn. Instead it seemed like a quick change of heart from both of the characters involved.

I can’t say all that much more without giving massive spoilers, so I’ll leave this review here. What I will say is that I wasn’t a fan of the ending, and that’s the main thing which contributed to my 3.5 star rating. The world and the characters were brilliant enough that I could have overlooked the rushed aspects of the plot, but unfortunately the ending wasn’t what I was hoping for.

If you’re looking for a book with a diverse cast of characters and a unique setting, I would recommend In the Ravenous Dark even though it wasn’t a new favourite for me.

In the Ravenous Dark follows Rovan, a young bloodmage who, after her powers are discovered and abruptly used against her, turns against the city she grew up in to seek revenge and spark a revolution. She quickly finds herself teaming up with various members of a fascinating royal family, a guardian spirit that she openly despises and a whole host of other dangerous allies to fight against the nation’s dangerous rulers, both in the land of the living and the land of the dead.

Young adult fantasy is easily my most-read genre, but I can honestly say that I have never read anything like this. It’s unique, darkly intense and set in such a well-woven world that I was completely sucked in as soon as I started reading.

Rovan’s moral ambiguity and her warring desires to do what’s right for her loved ones whilst also seeking power and vengeance made her a fascinating protagonist to read about, and I found myself falling so deeply in love with Japha, Lydia and Ivrilos as well that I couldn’t pick a favourite character from their team of rebels. The amount of good representation of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships in this book is also, in my opinion, unparalleled by any young adult fantasy that I’ve read before.

The story was incredibly fast-paced, and there wasn’t a single page that didn’t include any intense action, intense romance or intense gore. It’s certainly not an easy read or a book for the squeamish, but it’s so perfect for fans of dark YA fantasy that I know I’ll be recommending it to anyone who will listen.

Rovan is the daughter of an unwarded bloodmage - a powerful wielder of blood magic who has spent his life hiding from those who would use his talents for selfish reasons. For in the city of Thanopolis, all bloodmages must have an undead guardian to control and protect them from themselves. Rovan has been taught to hide her own powerful gifts, but when circumstances force her to reveal her powers, she is thrown into a world of political intrigue and undead spirits that threaten not only her city, but the world.

If that synopsis sounds complicated, that's it's because it is. The plot for this is incredibly convoluted with two separate magic systems that never really seem to amalgamate properly over the course of the book. We have blood magic, controlled through sigils on the users body that appears to control the physical world and that which feels alive - fire and water for example. And then we have death magic. Wielded by guardians, it seems to control that which is unnatural and dead, the earth and the air. We also have something called the 'blight' which is destroying the world around everyone. Everything just feels a bit messy to me, and the plot gets lost amongst all of this. It's too grand a picture to follow.

I also found the world building to be insubstantial and poorly formed, leaving me continuously confused even after the numerous, repetitive explanations over info dumps. I feel like the author tried to combine too many things together without allowing for any breathing space. The magic, as a result, doesn't feel like an intrinsic part of the world, and sits outside of the plot instead of enhancing the story. Perhaps concentrating on one magical system would have worked a lot better, and would have helped to keep the plot simple yet effective.

In terms of characterisation, Rovan is not a very nice person. She's selfish and cruel at times, as well as incredibly gunho and she's constantly throwing herself in harms way, which I found incredibly irritating. However, I loved the representation of her pansexuality and the way she has no qualms over taking a lover. She's definitely in tune with her sensuality and oozes sex in a deliciously wonderful way and the sexual tension is great. I just wish her relationships with both Lydea and Ivrilos were developed a bit more. They feel quite one note and superficial, and they move very quickly without any real emotional development between them.

This could have been something I really enjoyed and for many it probably will be. However, I just couldn't connect with this world or its characters beyond the great pansexual and non-binary representation.

I can’t fall in love with the book. Somehow I can‘t feel the characters. I like the setting and in the beginning it seems interesting but after the first quarter I have lost the interest. There are some good points and interesting ideas. Perhaps I will give this book another try in the future.

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!

A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead.
Firstly Thank you to NetGalley and A.M Strickland for sending me an ARC of this book
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.

That tag line had me immediately and I knew I had to request it immediately
Pansexual, lesbian, non-binary and polyamorous romance, this book combines the hall marks of the YA and great LGBTQ+ representation which I love.
The writing is well done and the romances are enjoyable and feel realistic, the battle scenes are amazing.
I love Rovan as a character, all the characters are complex but the "evil" does seem a bit one dimensional at times. This book reminds me why I love YA female characters, they are all so sassy and tell everyone how they think and feel . The relationships were very well done and I loved the "enemy to lovers" between 2 of the characters
I was expecting the "chosen one" trope however, this book surpassed all expectations and I loved it despite it leaning on the "evil king stealing peoples souls" trope quite heavily and is very much YA, however it is a fun read and I really enjoyed it.

I will be picking up more books by this author in the future

The rep in this book is fantastic and handled really well. The magic system and world-building are really rich and interesting but I wish it was explored more/we had more time to get to know it. I do believe that this book should've been a duology rather than a standalone so we could've explored the fantasy aspects more and seen more character/relationship building. It seemed like a lot of the character and relationship building happened off page which makes it jarring and harder for the reader to get on board. I did really like the dark twist in the second half and thought it was very original and unexpected which was fun but the ending wrapped up a little too nicely for me.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Tw: blood, death, gore, violence, death of parent, murder, alcoholism, body horror, sexual content, grief, misogynu, animal cruelty, confinement, physical abuse, cannibalism.

In Thanopolis, people cursed with powers are kept under constant guard, so Rovan kept hers a secret after witnessing her father's death. After accidentally exposing her powers to the world, she is dragged to the royal court. There, she falls for two people she can't fully trust, but to save Thanopolis, she will have to find a way to let them in.

The premise was sooo good and even though I'm not actually a fantasy fan, I decided to give it a shot because I was intrigued by the pansexual heroine in a poly relationship!

The execution was...not so great in my opinion. I felt like the worldbuilding was just random and I honestly can't tell you what a bloodmage is. The pacing was also very weird, in some parts it was too fast and other times too slow and that prevented me from getting involved into the story.

I liked Rovan as a character, because she was smart, determinated and pansexual AF. But apart from her, the other characters kinda mix together in my head.

I know many people loved this book, so if you're a fantasy fan, there's a 80% chance you're gonna like this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy.