Fantasy

In the Ravenous Dark

In the Ravenous Dark

  • Downloads：5832
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-06-14 09:52:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：A.M. Strickland
  • ISBN：1250833272
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead， in this dark YA fantasy In the Ravenous Dark by A。M。 Strickland， whom Richard Kadrey calls “a storyteller of both grace and power。”

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。

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Reviews

Silvialovesbook ，

Dark fantasy estremamente interessante， con un worldbuilding e un sistema magico molto complessi e una trama， per quanto abbastanza vista e rivista （vendetta/distruggere il governo）， che ti tiene incollatə alle pagine grazie a dei personaggi davvero stupendi e al punto di vista della protagonista che ti fa sentire tutta la sua rabbia e sofferenza。 Unica cosa negativa è che secondo me risente molto della scelta di farne uno stand-alone neanche lunghissimo in quanto ci ritroviamo ad avere diversi Dark fantasy estremamente interessante， con un worldbuilding e un sistema magico molto complessi e una trama， per quanto abbastanza vista e rivista （vendetta/distruggere il governo）， che ti tiene incollatə alle pagine grazie a dei personaggi davvero stupendi e al punto di vista della protagonista che ti fa sentire tutta la sua rabbia e sofferenza。 Unica cosa negativa è che secondo me risente molto della scelta di farne uno stand-alone neanche lunghissimo in quanto ci ritroviamo ad avere diversi spiegoni per velocizzare determinati colpi di scena e la protagonista in alcuni momenti fa dei collegamenti immediati che in realtà sono abbastanza tirarti e richiederebbero più tempo/indizi。Motivo per cui l'ho letto e che secondo me eleva il valore del libro è la rappresentazione queer: fatta benissimo， esula dal solito binomio gay/lesbo ed è integrata perfettamente nella trama senza però sfociare in conflitti o incomprensioni eccessive。Queer rep: Bi/pan， non-binary， lesbo， poliamore 。。。more

Stephanie Augustine ，

The more I think about the ending， the more it bothers me。。。

Adrienne ，

DNF @ 8%ive trudged through too many of these queer fantasy YA books in the past month to not know whats coming to this one。 right off the bat i cant respect the writing or the plotting and thats not going to change hundreds of pages from now :/ still on the search for the holy grail （the bronze to the locked tomb’s gold and baru cormorant’s silver）

Sunny ，

This book was made for poly bisexual goths Maybe 3。5 stars idk yet

Seolhe ，

DNF'd on page 42。I'm just not having any luck with these polyamorous books， am I？ *sigh* I had really high hopes for this one。 I mean， come on！ A pansexual bloodmage MC？ Lesbian love interest？ Asexual nonbinary character？ A poly romance？ It should have been soooo good！ But this is just another victim of my growing frustration with YA fantasy。 The worldbuilding seemed pretty messy， like the author just took all the things she thought were cool and threw them all in there。 The main character had t DNF'd on page 42。I'm just not having any luck with these polyamorous books， am I？ *sigh* I had really high hopes for this one。 I mean， come on！ A pansexual bloodmage MC？ Lesbian love interest？ Asexual nonbinary character？ A poly romance？ It should have been soooo good！ But this is just another victim of my growing frustration with YA fantasy。 The worldbuilding seemed pretty messy， like the author just took all the things she thought were cool and threw them all in there。 The main character had that bratty YA heroine quality to her that I often find quite aggravating。 The bad guys seemed to be the evil for the sake of evil types with no nuance to be seen。 The writing wasn't bad， per se， but it did absolutely nothing for me， chiefly because， again， it just reads very YA。 I wouldn't steer anyone away from this， especially younger readers and fans of YA， but it just didn't vibe with me。 。。。more

Megan ，

What a weird little delight。 Was ready to throw it at one point but I think I'm happy with how it ended up。 This is one of those books where I would recommend it to people but not broadly due to it being more than a little niche！ What a weird little delight。 Was ready to throw it at one point but I think I'm happy with how it ended up。 This is one of those books where I would recommend it to people but not broadly due to it being more than a little niche！ 。。。more

Madelynne ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Did I expect to like this as much as I did？ Honestly， no。 I expected it to be enjoyable， but not a 5 star read by any means。 Did I expect a m/f/f relationship to develop？ No， and I was pleasantly surprised！ Did I anticipate just how casually queer this whole novel is？ No！ The level on which the queer people in this world are integrated into society is perhaps the highest I've seen。Did I expect this to turn into a vampire novel towards the end？ LOLOLOL NOPE。Was this a perfect book？ No， by any mea Did I expect to like this as much as I did？ Honestly， no。 I expected it to be enjoyable， but not a 5 star read by any means。 Did I expect a m/f/f relationship to develop？ No， and I was pleasantly surprised！ Did I anticipate just how casually queer this whole novel is？ No！ The level on which the queer people in this world are integrated into society is perhaps the highest I've seen。Did I expect this to turn into a vampire novel towards the end？ LOLOLOL NOPE。Was this a perfect book？ No， by any means。 This could've benefited from being a duology， because so。 much。 happened。 and it was all within 400 pages。 Because of this， things like the developing intercharacter relationships （particularly the romantic ones） and more about the world as a whole （especially Skyllea and the Underworld/how that whole place works） suffered a bit from not having enough time to be thoroughly explored and expanded。 Additionally， there was the character-doesn't-stay-dead trope that I feel is never truly executed well to the point where I can get behind it 100%， and I wasn't super satisfied by （although it was explained by the constraints of the world）。 But nevertheless， I still enjoyed this so much more than I had anticipated， and couldn't put it down！ 。。。more

Meghan M ，

So honestly I have mixed feelings about this book。 I was very between three and four stars while reading it。 I liked the authors representation of the pansexual main character and the non-binary best friend， especially that the author didn't give the readers any indication to ponder their gender identity。 The characters were honestly not but bad the romance was very forced and out of nowhere。 With Lydea is was instant attraction， but every other relationship just kind of happened out of nowhere So honestly I have mixed feelings about this book。 I was very between three and four stars while reading it。 I liked the authors representation of the pansexual main character and the non-binary best friend， especially that the author didn't give the readers any indication to ponder their gender identity。 The characters were honestly not but bad the romance was very forced and out of nowhere。 With Lydea is was instant attraction， but every other relationship just kind of happened out of nowhere which was a little confusing to me。 There was also about 50 pages of just straight fantasy info dump and it took me a while to sort it all out and see where it made sense and *spoiler* then there were vampires？ It was very all over the place， but definitely wasn't a bad read。 I do enjoy a good unhinged character moment and this DEFinitely had that。 。。。more

Bhavya ，

2 stars。 This was unexpected。 And slightly disappointing。 Its not exactly a bad book， but its so chaotic and some of the plot-lines were just a bit unbelievable， even for a fantasy。 It was also a bit too weird for my taste。 I want to say 'review to come' but I genuinely have no idea how to review it， so do something I normally never do， and just skip reviewing it。 My review stash is already way too high。 Review written on 2nd June， 2022。 Read #3 for Pride Month 2022。DISCLAIMER-A 2 stars。 This was unexpected。 And slightly disappointing。 Its not exactly a bad book， but its so chaotic and some of the plot-lines were just a bit unbelievable， even for a fantasy。 It was also a bit too weird for my taste。 I want to say 'review to come' but I genuinely have no idea how to review it， so do something I normally never do， and just skip reviewing it。 My review stash is already way too high。 Review written on 2nd June， 2022。 Read #3 for Pride Month 2022。DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own， and are with no intention to offend anyone。 If you feel offended by my reviews， let me know how I can fix it。How I Rate-1 star- Hardly liked anything/was disappointed2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/was disappointed3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/was average/Enjoyed a lot but something was missing4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing5 stars- Loved it/new favourite 。。。more

rin ，

DNF 30%I did not know this would be YA fantasy so it's my bad for even starting it。 But why the hell make the YA protagonist an alcoholic O。O DNF 30%I did not know this would be YA fantasy so it's my bad for even starting it。 But why the hell make the YA protagonist an alcoholic O。O 。。。more

Lizzie ，

I really really loved this book， pansexual rep， great characters etc。 It only dropped a star because the vampire thing kinda comes from left field and it almost feels like that should have been a sequel？ Overall I really enjoyed it but I felt a little thrown off by the last third of the book。

Sarah ，

This checked so many keyword boxes for me: blood mages， shadow priests， pansexuals， and ghost guardians。Beyond the subject matter commanding my interest， I enjoyed how the problems faced were realistic for both this fictional world and our own so that I was always invested。

Nazara ，

Give this author a Nobel peace prize。 A tony， an oscar， an emmy。 A magic lamp。 I think I might die if I don’t somehow get more of this story。 ❤️

emma goodhaney ，

The book was really good， lots of magic and romance， and the ending had me up until 12:30 because i couldn’t leave it！ Although it got slightly weird towards the end and it freaked me out a bit lol

Stranger ，

Ok， this one's pretty great， I mean， it's a little odd， with the whole castles and blood magic and dead spirits and vampire-people， but It's better than a lot of books I read， and very LGBTQ+。 I also really love that they don't do that whole agonising annoying to kill or not to kill thing with the prince。 He's evil， and she kills him。 Instead， she falls in love with the princess， and a dead person， and instead of that whole- wait， I really shouldn't be doing this- long drawn out romance， they ki Ok， this one's pretty great， I mean， it's a little odd， with the whole castles and blood magic and dead spirits and vampire-people， but It's better than a lot of books I read， and very LGBTQ+。 I also really love that they don't do that whole agonising annoying to kill or not to kill thing with the prince。 He's evil， and she kills him。 Instead， she falls in love with the princess， and a dead person， and instead of that whole- wait， I really shouldn't be doing this- long drawn out romance， they kiss in their first scene together， and they're pretty much all good after that。 。。。more

Setayesh ，

I LOVED IT。The story was so addictive， i really needed to know what's gonna happen next， the world building was great， i loved every single character， japha， my sweetheart 😍And rovan， i loved how strong she was and never gave up， and ofcourse ivliros（i still don't know how to pronounce his name）i loveeeedddd himmm， from the first moment that he entered the story till the very last line。There was also a spicy scene but not spicy？ It was like writing smut but in coded words， don't know how to expl I LOVED IT。The story was so addictive， i really needed to know what's gonna happen next， the world building was great， i loved every single character， japha， my sweetheart 😍And rovan， i loved how strong she was and never gave up， and ofcourse ivliros（i still don't know how to pronounce his name）i loveeeedddd himmm， from the first moment that he entered the story till the very last line。There was also a spicy scene but not spicy？ It was like writing smut but in coded words， don't know how to explain it。Anywayssss， overall i really loved it， it was much better that the "popular" books that I've read recently 。 。。。more

Morgan Bigwood ，

I honestly don’t know how I’ve never heard anyone talk about this book。 I picked it up on a whim from Barnes and noble and it is now one of my absolute favorite。 Honestly I don’t think there is a single thing about this book I don’t love。

Rephaïma ，

This is a standalone ？！？ Hell， I was so sure it was gonna be a series it totally took me by surprise。 How are they gonna eat， though ？ 😳（Do I really want to know that anyway？）Well， it was great。 Not mind-blowing， but really enjoyable。 And darker than anticipated。 There is magic， sexy ghosts ， sexy tattooed magical warriors， deadly combat and， to coat it all， blood and gore。 The world-building， while not being totally realistic or well explained， was innovative。 It focuses a lot on death and life This is a standalone ？！？ Hell， I was so sure it was gonna be a series it totally took me by surprise。 How are they gonna eat， though ？ 😳（Do I really want to know that anyway？）Well， it was great。 Not mind-blowing， but really enjoyable。 And darker than anticipated。 There is magic， sexy ghosts ， sexy tattooed magical warriors， deadly combat and， to coat it all， blood and gore。 The world-building， while not being totally realistic or well explained， was innovative。 It focuses a lot on death and life， and the bridges between those two forms of existence。 Those two places， actually， but I will let you discover it by yourselves。 I wish I could see the settings for real。 The whole « veined marble， skulls and flowers » vibe rocks。 The poppies， too… 😌 *sighs*Rovan is far from perfect， but damn if she isn’t badass。 The developement of her relationship with Ivrilos was hilarious and very sweet， despite the dark circonstances in which it happened。 I had more difficulty rooting for Lydea， not because she was uninteresting， but because her conversations with Rovan were less personal and conflicted。 Less humorous， too。 Her motives and personality remain mysterious， which makes me want to dive through the surface。 （Yes， I want another book in this universe， why？） Also， I loved some of the side characters。 Japha， of course， but also Bethea， deserved far more recognition。The ending feels a bit strange， though。 It’s not bad， but it feels a little too-polished， and yet partially incomplete at the same time。 I understand the choice to let what will follow up open to interpretation， but I just wish we had a more personal and emotional scene to finish it off。 。。。more

Celina ，

I couldn't picture that magic。。 and that was rather saddening because that is usually my favourite part。 I couldn't picture that magic。。 and that was rather saddening because that is usually my favourite part。 。。。more

Cylie ，

I think that a lot of the relationships in this book seemed really rushed。 Some of the magic was really confusing and not properly explained。 I did think Japha was cool， and I thought that it was interesting how Tumarq had the thing with both of the sisters。

Ginger ，

Standalones are refreshing in the world of YA and NA， but In the Ravenous Dark would have benefited from a second book in a major way。 The character relationships moved at a breakneck speed （especially Rovan's romance with the princess， poor one out for lost potential） and the ending was a rushed hot mess。 This one still gets 4 stars from me， because Strickland knows how to write outstanding dialogue， the character work was steller， and the book held my attention the entire time （view spoiler）[e Standalones are refreshing in the world of YA and NA， but In the Ravenous Dark would have benefited from a second book in a major way。 The character relationships moved at a breakneck speed （especially Rovan's romance with the princess， poor one out for lost potential） and the ending was a rushed hot mess。 This one still gets 4 stars from me， because Strickland knows how to write outstanding dialogue， the character work was steller， and the book held my attention the entire time （view spoiler）[even when it jumped the shark towards the end。 Vampires， really？ Wasn't Morbius enough？ （hide spoiler）]。 。。。more

Vanessa Neves ，

4。5*****

JennyBuysBooks ，

3。5 end was too rushed…

Mara ，

I read this for my traveling book club。 Unfortunately I found it very forgettable。 The magic system wasn't very unique， and everything was very convenient。 The MC was VERY annoying。 Not because it is YA and she is young， but because she was ALWAYS making the opposite & wrong choice seemingly to further the story。 If she had made ANY choices at all that made sense throughout the book it would have resolved in less than 150 pages。 It was infuriating to read。 The end wrapped up in such a HEA that i I read this for my traveling book club。 Unfortunately I found it very forgettable。 The magic system wasn't very unique， and everything was very convenient。 The MC was VERY annoying。 Not because it is YA and she is young， but because she was ALWAYS making the opposite & wrong choice seemingly to further the story。 If she had made ANY choices at all that made sense throughout the book it would have resolved in less than 150 pages。 It was infuriating to read。 The end wrapped up in such a HEA that it felt wrong and off putting。 It was way too。。。 Convenient。 Rovan is our MC。 Her father died when she was young to protect her magic from being discovered。 she and her mother lived a quiet life trying to avoid the people that might find her， and take her to the palace to be warded。 One day she slips and is discovered and warded。 That means she is bound to a spirit/dead man named Ivrilos who is her guardian。 She now has to survive this new place， discover who are her friends， enemies， and figure out a way to end this torturous system。 Either save herself and escape， or save everyone and find out why this system exists based on clues left by her father。 I did love all the queer rep in the book。 There is found family， and definitely some intrigue when trying to decide who she can and can't trust。 In the end though I don't strongly recommend。 。。。more

Andhisnosestuckinabook ，

Oooo I did not expect this to get as dark as it did 😍

Ghalia ✧gabi's version✧ ，

little queers， i like it

milly ，

sadly， this book brought me into a massive reading slump， and that's why i decided to dnf it。 it was not a bad book per se， but i just got bored。other than that， i really love the representation and the characters too。 even though this is a dark fantasy novel， i just couldn't get fully into it。 sadly， this book brought me into a massive reading slump， and that's why i decided to dnf it。 it was not a bad book per se， but i just got bored。other than that， i really love the representation and the characters too。 even though this is a dark fantasy novel， i just couldn't get fully into it。 。。。more

Abigail ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Spoilers！！！ So I expected this books to be a fantasy romance with lots of LGBT+ characters， and in that aspect I got exactly what I wanted。 What I did not expect was the book to end with the main character eating the heart of her enemy， who also happens to be her boyfriends father and her girlfriends great-great-great-some-more-greats grandfather。 So there were bonus surprises！ This was an incredibly fun read。 The characters were all endearing， while still surprising me with all the casual murde Spoilers！！！ So I expected this books to be a fantasy romance with lots of LGBT+ characters， and in that aspect I got exactly what I wanted。 What I did not expect was the book to end with the main character eating the heart of her enemy， who also happens to be her boyfriends father and her girlfriends great-great-great-some-more-greats grandfather。 So there were bonus surprises！ This was an incredibly fun read。 The characters were all endearing， while still surprising me with all the casual murders。 I also didn't suspect everyone would end up dead， but it would still have a happy ending。 It was all fantastic and fun！ 。。。more

Bethany J ，

Really not a fan of the writing style。 Just， aggressively not for me。

Rowan ，

2。5 stars。 Interesting worldbuilding with a story that follows all the usual， predictable YA beats。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=In the Ravenous Dark

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=In the Ravenous Dark&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,In the Ravenous Dark&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0