4.5 - 5 stars

Loved this book. It was a lush and delectable gothic horror, full of blood, and gore, and ferocity, and sensuality. House of Hunger was queer and sexy, while also being repulsive and eerie. It kept me at the edge of my seat, full of twists and turns. This was weird, and creepy, and horrible, but also beautiful and bold, and surreal. A new favourite recommendation for lovers of vampires and horror, and flawed and ferocious women. Adored it.

Wow, House of Hunger gripped me from the beginning and didn't release me until the end. Luckily it did not take my blood, but I cannot say the same for all the bloodmaids. This book is a gothic romance with mysterious vampire elements. It won't disappoint! I recommend adding this book to your spooky reading list. I finished in in one day!

Marion lives in the slums of the industrial city of Prane where she works as a maid, scrubbing the floors of wealthier women in order to earn enough coins to keep a roof over her head and feed her brother’s maudlum addiction as he succumbs to a deadly disease. She dreams of taking the Night Train to the north where the wealthy live in luxury on vast estates, and one day finds her dreams answered when she responds to an advertisement in a stolen paper:

WANTED: Bloodmaid of exceptional taste. No more than 19. Must have a keen proclivity for life’s finer pleasures. No references required.

Soon, Marion finds herself indentured as the newest bloodmaid at the House of Hunger – one of the oldest and finest ancestral estates of the north and the family seat of Countess Lisavet Bathory. Bloodmaids are servants like no other. Always young, beautiful girls, they bleed for their masters and their courts as the wealthy northerners believe that consuming their blood has restorative properties. The girls can expect to live lives of luxury during their service and to receive handsome pensions once their contracts end, but they are seen as little more than whores to many – especially those in the south who consider the practice of keeping bloodmaids depraved and perverted.

As Marion grows accustomed to her new life, she finds herself increasingly infatuated with Lisavet. However, strange occurrences continue to happen at the House of Hunger. She discovers a tooth below her bed, the same word keeps appearing carved into the woodwork, and something seems to be happening to her fellow bloodmaids – especially Lisavet’s favorite Cecelia. As Marion is pulled into Lisavet’s inner sanctum, can she keep her wits about her and discover the truth before it’s too late?

House of Hunger is one of many books loosely based on the true story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian woman who is believed to have been one of the world’s first known serial killers and whose name has become linked with vampire mythology. Marion, our protagonist, is a generally likable character with a forgivable desperate streak grown from her years surviving virtually penniless, I loved the found family elements between her and the other bloodmaids and I enjoyed the LGBTQ representation throughout.

One issue I had with House of Hunger was that some of the world-building around the bloodmaids was never really explained. Although we find out the real reason behind the House of Hunger keeping them, it isn’t explained if this is an anomaly or if all the great houses of the north are doing the same. I suspect not, and that Lisavet is using this socially acceptable institution to hide her secrets, especially as it’s explained that all the other houses descended from Hunger, but some more detail would have been appreciated.

Although the first half of this book may not feel all that Halloween-appropriate, the second half quickly descends into a gothic slasher filled with hidden passageways, bloody secrets, and girls in blood-red dresses running through candlelit hallways. If you’re not squeamish about blood then this could be an ideal Halloween read this year.

A great book for the start of spooky season! This is not your typical ‘vampire’ story. It’s a sapphic, gothic novel that leans more towards horror. It was a quick, fascinating read. I enjoyed the new perspective of vampires.

We are overdue for an explicitly sapphic gothic vampire novel, particularly one not written with the express purpose of condemning lesbianism (though it did start it all). Alexis Henderson fills that void with House of Hunger, and the story of Marion of Prane, barely surviving in the slums of a Southern city, as her cruel and sickly brother spends what money she earns on his addiction. Desperation and poverty is what sends her north, after answering an ad in the paper for a Bloodmaid-- young women who are indentured to provide blood and companionship to their masters, until they are retired at 25 and given a lifelong pension that keeps them fed and well cared for.

And so Marion enters the House of Hunger, immediately catching the eye of her new mistress Lisavet and earning the ire of her fellow bloodmaids and rivals for Lisavet's affections.

This was a classically gothic tale, with a mysterious lady of the house, servants who are either tight-lipped or made to disappear, and a manor with secrets just under the floorboards and wood-paneling. For fans of the genre, especially those of you who have been WAITING for a sapphic vampire novel since Rice's Interview with a Vampire, you won't be disappointed.

<spoiler>I did find the ending a bit campy and cliché to the point of unlikelihood, though of course, what gothic vampire novel isn't a little campy.</spoiler>

This was a solid read to start off the spooky season. I'll be curious to see what Alexis Henderson does next.

Many thanks to Berkley Pub Group and Netgalley for the eARC!

This gorgeous cover does not disappoint!
Loved the critique of options for the poor - drug addiction, young death, factory work and household servant subjected to the abuse of those in charge.
Marion's parents died when she was a young child. Her older brother, Raul, did what he had to do, putting food on the table. Marion remembers this while scrubbing a bitter old woman's floors - she spits abuse and disgust. Marion's only friend, Agnes, works at a factory.
Dreaming of freedom, Marion is desperate to go North. As a bloodmaid - paid well, to have a pension at end of service. So she takes a deep breath, takes on her future.

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC for review!

This was such a delicious story—it’s teeming with mystery and has such a dark and sexy appeal to it. Plus—sapphic vampires? Yes please. You have no IDEA how long I’ve waited for a vampire story with sapphic women in it.

Out of everything in this book, I particularly enjoyed the morally grey main character and thought that the plot was as unique as it was classic. The relationships she builds with the side characters were intriguing and heart-warming, and the romance has a new take—lovers to enemies—which I really enjoyed as well. The only reason this book isn’t rated five stars is because I thought it ended a bit too abruptly. I would have liked the climax to be spaced out a little bit more, for there to be more about Marion and the rest of the characters after the ending, or for the book to in general be a little bit longer.

If you’re looking for something supernatural and gothic-esque for October, this is definitely the book for you!

Potential TWs: murder, graphic mentions of blood and other graphic bodily parts.

Marion Shaw grew up in the slums of Prane, a city caught between the decadent North and the industrial South. She has no way out until she sees an ad for a bloodmaid, someone from whom the Northern lords drink blood from. When she applies and is accepted into the House of Hunger, Marion is swept up into that decadent life and the court of Countess Lisavet. The countess takes a special interest in her, and Marion is eager to please. Marion soon learns there are dangerous secrets in the House, and if she can’t learn how to navigate her way through the cat and mouse games, she’ll die there.

From the start, we have the mystery of the northern lords and the superstitions about blood healing all ailments when Marion sees the ad. She has nothing in Prane but her brother, who is slowly dying and violent. We know there’s not much keeping her in Prane, but she’s all but forced out after applying for the position. Descriptions are rich and layered, from scents and flavors, fabrics, and lots of sensory details. The richness of it all really helps anchor the reader, and also to see why Marion would want to go north. If Prane is all smog, grit, ammonia, and aches while the north is chocolate, wine, fine cooking, velvets, and gold, why wouldn’t she want to go? But of course, there’s a price for that, and not just molding herself to suit the whims of the countess when she’s taken on as a bloodmaid. The primping and feeding remind me of the preparations in the Hunger Games novels. Instead of fighting in an arena, however, Marion must be on display in front of nobles and subject to their games.

The daily life of the bloodmaids was fascinating and an exercise in jealousy and one-upmanship; pitting the women against each other for status is an age-old way to keep them in line and even in the midst of finery it works. The discovery of secret passages in the walls heralds the escalation of the story until we get to the tension-filled ending. I devoured this book in a day, fitting for the content.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Ace for the digital advanced reader's copy.

There's so much that I liked about this: gothic fantastical-historical setting, Cinderella story turned dark, palace intrigue, and a different take on vampirism.

Marion is a Southern street rat. She and her brother are barely subsisting in the urban sprawl of Prane, so when Marion sees an advertisement for a Northern bloodmaid, she decides indenturing herself and giving up her blood for their use and health for several years is worth it.

Little does she know just how much she'll be giving up to Lisavet, the Countess of the House of Hunger.

Great premise, but I guess I just wanted more. Everything felt like it happened too fast: the love/obsession, the great discovery, and the final encounter.

It felt too simple and too straightforward. I really wanted more complexity.

All in all, a solid, quick read, but it left me hungry for something a little more filling.

*violence, sex

Thank you to Berkely Pub and LetsTalkBooks Promo for the complimentary ARC copy!

“WANTED: Bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life’s finer pleasure’s. Girls of weak will need not apply.”

From the author of The Year of the Witching, comes House of Hunger. A perfect book for the spooky season for fans of vampires and powerful families.

House of Hunger follows Marion, an orphan from Prane as she decides to leave the slums to pursue a life of luxury and comfort as a Bloodmaid for the powerful Houses of the North.

TW/CW: Addiction, Gore and Blood, Incest, Death, Mental Illness, Emotional Abuse, and Domestic Abuse.

If you are going into this book expecting traditional vampires then you will be disappointed. Just keep your mind open and you will love it as much as I did!

Once I started reading House of Hunger I couldn’t stop. I instantly loved Marion and was rooting for her and I absolutely despised her brother and how he treated her. I completely understand why she would want to be a Bloodmaid after seeing the kinds of conditions she lived in.

I loved the sense of found family that the Bloodmaids had with one another, even if things seemed off at times. My favorite part was just the overall gothic vibes of the story and the atmosphere.

This is a great book for fall and I can’t wait to see what others think about it!

Having adored The Year of the Witching, I was so excited for House of Hunger. And Henderson has a true talent for fantasy worlds. I adored the way that this one feels so detailed and immersive from the beginning. I hope that vampire books are having a resurgence because I am all here for it. But what I even love more about House of Hunger is the way that Henderson also examines and discusses privilege and economic class. The ways in which this system seems to exist to pray off poverty. To find girls who have no other options and while it seems like it's a 'gift', nothing is ever that simple.

House of Hunger deeply explores this idea of choice and agency. The ways in which it feels like we're set up and left with no choices. But also the power in knowing the opportunities for our own power and voice. It's one of those books which so brilliantly explores knowledge, power, and secrets. A world where ambition is used against women - how novel! House of Hunger begins as a decadent story about a chance at luxury and freedom. And quickly becomes a story about hidden secrets, locked rooms, and the taste of blood spilled.

Marion Shaw is tired of wasting away as a maid to an unforgiving elderly lady, making pennies a day. The only way out for her, is finding a job in the north. She applies to be a blood maid to one of the wealthiest houses in the north with promises of a large pension after seven years of work. Wanting to please her new mistress, Countess Lisavet, she works her way up to first blood maid. Marion soon discovers things are not as they seem: people go missing, money is questioned, the court is full of debauchery, and she soon starts to fear that something is seriously wrong in The House of Hunger.

My thoughts:

I couldn’t decide if this was a story about vampires or not. Novels who drank blood of others? Sounds like vampires to me. This was an interesting gothic horror story, and as it went further along….it was menacing! The last few chapters I just could not put the book down.

Alexis Henderson brings a chilling atmosphere to her latest novel, House of Hunger. I’ve seen this book classified as historical fantasy and gothic horror. Both are fitting for this tale of wickedness, deceit, lies, and passion. Marion Shaw was raised in the slums of Prane, works as a maid for the hateful Lady Gertrude, and lives with her older brother who spends most of his time drunk or high. She longs to escape her life of deprivation and finally sees an opportunity when she reads a newspaper listing seeking a bloodmaid.

Marion doesn’t know much about the far north where nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in service to them. She soon finds herself the newest bloodmaid for the House of Hunger where Countess Lisavet and her court engage in their ideas around the pursuit of pleasure. Marion wants to please Lisavet, but there’s more going on than meets the eye. When another bloodmaid disappears one night, Marion is determined to find out what happened to her.

Marion is a convincing protagonist and is well-drawn. She feels guilt, but is determined to make a better life for herself. However, she’s somewhat naïve for someone who grew up on the streets and comes across as too trusting. The other characters had various degrees of depth, but a few weren’t developed as much as I would have liked.

The premise is great, and while there was a sense of potential danger, it didn’t quite create the suspense and sense of urgency that I expected during most of the book. After a strong beginning, the pacing slows during the middle section of the story. However, the last 25 percent is very dramatic and action-packed, but somewhat rushed. There are many disturbing scenes scattered throughout the novel. While vampires are never mentioned, there are plenty of hints around why Lisavet needs blood. However, why do her nobles need it? Any more details would be spoilers. The world-building is fantastic from the slums of Prane to Lady Gertrude’s home to the huge isolated mansion on an island in the far north. Themes include class, race, jealousy, contempt, mistrust, depravity, despair, power, wealth, gender, passion, friendship, and exploitation of others.

Overall, this story is engrossing, original, and has an impactful horror conclusion. If you enjoy gothic horror and historical fantasy, then this is a book to consider reading. It seemed right to read this during the fall.

Berkley Publishing Group –Ace and Alexis Henderson provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for September 27, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Having read another book by the author I knew this will be something to look forward to.
The plot of this book is centralized around Marion, who has accepted her fate to live a bleak life of hard work and poverty as a maid. Until one day when she finds an opening for a blood maid at a posh royal house (The House of Hunger). Eager to get rid of her past life she happily joins the new place only to find the new place full of mysteries and hidden dangers.

The writing and the pacing of this book are detailed enough to help you visualize not just the scenery, house and roads but also the floor she sweeps! The mysterious elements when mingled with the Gothic world create an ultimate spooky edition for you to devour in the Autumn season.

A 🧛 🧛 🧛 🧛/5 Vamps for its spookiness

Blood, power and vampires are the backbone of this story. This is a story of blood maids, classes and a gothic society. If vampires are your thing this world is one to dive into! It was perfect for the start of spooky season.
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This book is out now!
Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

.I enjoyed the book and it's characters & storyline. It different than I usually read, but it a good way. To be honest, I tend to read vampire lore at dark, broody sexy men lol but this book is really interesting in a new way, especially with its sapphic tones . I can see why she would accept the position of a bloodmaid. When you are in a bad place, being essentially a "kept" woman doesn't seem so bad. For me, something like that seems too good to be true. I feel like the Countess loved her bloodmaids, especially Marion in her own way, but it was toxic and the need to survive overrides any affection she had. .I almost thought it was going to end differently, but that little bit of hope is good for the reader. 6. 4.5 stars

This book was intriguing. I loved the concept and the overall gothic feel of the book. The flow of the book seemed off, with sections of that lost my interest. The main characters also seemed to fluctuate wildly in mood, but this could just be me. If you are interested in the premise I would say give this book a try.

3.5/5 Gothic and bloody and sapphic - the book gets a ton of points for this alone. The worldbuilding is a bit sparse, though, and the pacing of the book would have benefitted from either shaving off the beginning and having Marion immediately at the House of Hunger, or really ramping up the horror at the end. Still a good bloody ride.

This one gave me Mexican Gothic meets Ready or Not vibes. Throw in some sensuality, gore, and insta-love (💀) and you have House of Hunger! I would recommend this to someone wanting to dip their toes into horror, someone who reads YA but wants something a bit grittier, or folks who love stories about vampires!

REVIEW: Happy #pubday to House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson! This was a 3.8 ⭐️ read for me—a solid horror novel for those who like their spooky season fare to be gory and vampiric, with a sapphic twist.

To me, one of this book’s biggest weaknesses is that it’s a bit reminiscent of The Year of the Witching. Although House of Hunger is more sapphic than Henderson’s debut, it seems like it takes place in a world that’s a bit too similar to The Year of the Witching for my taste. It’s fine to have all your books take place in the same world, I guess I was just hoping for something a bit different.

It’s hard to write an original novel that’s meant to be a Dracula retelling, and that’s the other point of weakness that I saw. This book is entertaining, but it’s essentially the same set of metaphors about love and lust and pain and pleasure and hunger that we’ve all heard before.

I will say that I enjoyed the way the pacing picked up for the last third of the novel, and I think that House of Hunger would make a kick-ass movie. For castles, sapphic steam, and womanly bloodlust, look no further!

Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the e-ARC!

CWs: Torture, racism, poverty, homophobia, chronic illness, sexual assault, victim-blaming, torture/torture porn, body horror, gore, mental illness, institutionalization, animal cruelty, hunting, drugs, alcohol, child abuse, self-harm.

ID: The cover of House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson is collaged in front of a gray, stone-colored backdrop, with the word “REVIEW” in white letters at the top.