I was so excited to read this book that’s set during The Harlem Renaissance with Black, sapphic vampires! It really sounds like the perfect book for me. However I could not get into it. I have to DNF at 18%.

From the beginning I felt a disconnect from the book, I just couldn’t put my finger on why. But, my problem with this book is that there are so many long, superfluous scenes. Most of the scenes are too drawn out and don’t add anything to the story. After putting this book down, I started a new one, and I noticed that within two chapters of that book I know more about the story in that book than I’ve learned about the story of This Ravenous Fate in seven chapters (almost 100 pages). So, I won’t be continuing. 

I’m very disappointed because I love the thought of this book and I’m so interested to know where the story will go, but it seems as if the story isn’t going anywhere.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own. 

I really loved the thought of this book! I always crave more Indigenous representation in fantasy novels and this novel is rich with Indigenous culture, which I loved. But, the story is way too slow moving for me. I read over 60 pages of the book and the central storyline hadn’t even started yet. I feel like the story got sidetracked by putting too much emphasis on subplots. So, I must DNF at 13% in. But, I still look forward to seeing what this author will write in the future!

Thank you Del Rey and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own. 

I read the first 21% of this book in 2022, and after putting it down to take a break, I still haven’t picked it back up. It’s 2024 now. So, I think I should finally let this go.

I LOVED the concept of the story, but the scenes were just way too long! The things that were happening were interesting, but it took so long for them to happen that it couldn’t keep my attention. Everything felt so drawn out. More should have happened in the story after reading almost 100 pages. Maybe one day I’ll try it again and see if I like it better!

Thank you Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own. 

I cannot get into the writing style at all. It’s so long winded. There are so many anecdotes that add nothing to the story. Although it seems like we’re finally finna get some info on what’s going on in the story, I can’t read another chapter. I’ll just watch the movie when it comes out and hope it’s better.

Rebekah Weatherspoon has been becoming one of my favorite authors over the last year, however this book wasn’t for me. I really love the female main character, but the male main character & the story as a whole fell flat for me. I took a break from reading it at 30% in with the intention of coming back to it later, but I just don’t feel the urge to continue. I don’t really care how the story ends. I still look forward to reading more by this author in the future though! This one just couldn’t hold my attention. 

As a Black woman who loves astronomy, I was so excited to read a Black romance with an astronaut love interest! The cover is absolutely adorable & it has my favorite trope, fake dating. So, I thought there was no way that I wouldn’t enjoy this. However I’m giving up reading it after 18%.

There is so much telling and not enough showing. It feels so info-dumpy. Every single scene is described in such vivid detail that it gets boring. Here’s an example: after bumping into the love interest, here is what the main character thinks: 

“After catching my footing, I'm grateful the lids have held and neither of the cups in my hands spilled. As good as the coffee is, some of the baristas are notoriously awful at putting the lids on, so I always make sure to snap mine tightly before grabbing them.

Foresight and planning for the win.”

All she had to say was “luckily the lids didn’t pop off”… 

(but maybe that’s why I’m not a writer idk🤷🏽‍♀️)

And all the main character does is think. She thinks about the same things over and over again, so it feels very repetitive. And this romance isn’t dual POV, so we only get her thoughts. The most annoying thing to me is when I realized that after every piece of dialogue, a paragraph of her thinking about what was just said would follow. I don’t have to know every single thought in your head. Sometimes people can just have a conversation. If there’s a paragraph in between every piece of dialogue, that’s a problem. And also, I don’t understand why Amerie dislikes Vincent so much. All he did was try to tell her a fun fact and now she gets annoyed at anything and everything he says. 

This book is just frustrating to me to no end. It was one of my most anticipated romance books EVER and I just can’t finish. Disappointing. But, I’m glad so many people love it! (I’m literally the only person I know who doesn’t) So if the things I mentioned won’t bother you, try it out!

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024, but sadly, I’m disappointed. I stopped reading at 54%. 

First, let’s start with what I enjoyed. I really enjoyed the characters! Both Ava and Grace are characters that I care about and want the best for! The rivals to lovers trope can be hit or miss for me, but I enjoyed it in this novel! 

But, I feel like this novel just isn’t for me. It has such a slow pace. Nothing is happening in the story. All the characters do is trade longing glances and think about each other from afar. I’m a person who needs action in my romance. I need a central plot & subplots. I need cute dates and adorable moments. I need them to have interesting conversations. And none of that was given in this novel. I also feel like the characters didn’t have chemistry. They’re having thoughts like they like each other, but I can’t FEEL it. Chemistry between characters in a romance novel is something that I take for granted until it’s not there, and it wasn’t there. And the last problem I had was a character saying that they “didn’t have the spoons for this”. That term is specifically used for the disabled community when pain/illness/fatigue keeps us from being able to do activities we need to do. This term isn’t synonymous with the word “tired”. 

I think this book will be better for someone who enjoys slow burn romances with more pining than action. It just wasn’t for me.

TW: cancer, drunk driving, death of a parent

I wanted so badly to love this. Gothic novels are my favorite thing to read, especially a non-western gothic novel, so I was excited! But sadly, I couldn’t finish. The writing is pretty in this, but it’s just so long-winded. It feels like one long soliloquy that isn’t adding any value to the story. Even the dialogue is long-winded and filled with lots of superfluous sentences. I would love to give this book more time to get good, but since I have an issue with the writing itself, I can’t continue.

Thank you to Viking and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own. 

Tananarive Due is my favorite author of all time, so I look forward to all of her new releases! But, sadly I can’t finish this one. Partly because of the pacing. The story is moving incredibly slow. I got 39% in & I feel like everything that has happened could’ve happened within the first 20% of the novel. But, I wouldn’t mind the slow pacing much. My main problem is that the book is too triggering for me. As a Black woman, it can be hard for me at times to read Black trauma, and it’s especially hard to read trauma happening to Black children. I knew going into this novel that there would be racism, but I thought it’d be balanced out by the ghost aspect of the story. But, there were barely any ghosts, just racism and trauma. 

I still feel that this is a great book and that this story needs to be told, especially knowing that it is based in truth. I’m just not in the headspace to handle the content at this time. I may come back to it when I’m more mentally prepared. 

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own. 

TW: racism, recurrent use of racial slurs, death of a parent, cancer, sexual harassment, child abuse

I really wanted to like this, but it just can’t catch my attention. I’ve put it down & picked it up and tried again a few times, but I just can’t make myself care about the story. So, sadly I couldn’t finish. I was almost 40 pages into the book and nothing had happened. No character development, no plot development, nothing. I was hoping that after we got all the background information and history of the world out of the way it would pick up, but I can’t keep reading.

Thank you Little Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.