** Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. **

When I chose House of Hunger, I wanted something that would put me outside of my reading comfort zone. And, for a romance reader, what is more outside the comfort zone than gothic horror? However, I may have gone too far outside my zone with this one.

House of Hunger has all the makings of a gothic tale: a creepy castle, mysterious lady of the house, secrets behind every door. But, for me, the story fell flat. I felt that nothing really happened for the first 2/3rds of the book and, it wasn't until the last few chapters that I found myself intrigued.

If horror is your genre, then I think you would really like this book. But, for me, it just wasn't a winner.

I picked this book up because I hoped it would give me the Black vampire horror story I've been searching for. I did not get Black vampires, but I was still very caught up in the story the author delivered. The protagonist's journey from the slums to a life of luxury in servitude was really engaging. I also enjoyed the "big house with old money" environment that most of the book takes place in. The romantic aspect felt a little hurried for me, but there was a very good reason for that. I wish we had more time for the climax/end of the book to take the course, as I would have loved to know more about the big secret that was revealed. Overall, this was a great read for anyone who wants horror/a vampiric story ft. a queer POC protagonist.

Now, if you tell me you wouldn’t answer an ad seeking a bloodmaid (recognized as the symbols of “opulence and depravity”) for a group of rich vampires, you are definitely lying and I’m calling you out on it. I’d take that deal—we’d all take that deal. And that’s exactly what Marion does in House of Hunger—traveling north to enter into a life of sensuous beauty, exquisite food, luxurious lesbianism, and regular bloodletting for the beautiful Countess Lisavet. Color me jealous. Of course, things aren’t as good as they seem, because vampires are notoriously obsessive and toxic, and Marion is soon caught up in a web she might not be able to get out of. But until then, it’s a pretty sick deal if you ask me. Alexis Henderson does an incredible job of creating atmosphere and tension, and this one lands solidly in line with Interview with a Vampire and Carmilla. I, for one, and very grateful that vampires are back in vogue—especially if they’re going to be as good as House of Hunger. (Am I allowed to call a book sexy? It’s sexy. It’s a very sexy book).

Just wow!!! Alexis Henderson is a master with words and building tension that hooks a reader in. When I realized that the Mistress of the House of Hunger was based on Lady Bathory, I just about squealed. Francesca May, the author of Wild & Wicked Things, had suggested that I pick it up and I was not disappointed on bit. It is a beautiful piece of gothic literature and one that everyone who loves spooky stories should pick up.

Definitely engaging and written well enough but the ending felt a little forced to me. Interesting take on vampires, I liked it.

This book was so intense! Main character Marion Shaw is barely scraping by on her wages as a house maid, living in a ramshackle house in the slums with her brother, who suffers from drug and alcohol addiction and also has an implied sexually transmitted infection. Marion sees an advertisement for a bloodmaid and decides on a whim that she'll apply for the job. Bloodmaids serve the 27 powerful "Houses" of the North, accepting indenture and allowing the heads of the Houses to drink their blood as a way to stay young and healthy. Despite her humble roots, Marian apparently has some special tasting blood, and she is indentured to the House of Hunger, the first and most powerful of the Houses. Her mistress is Countess Lisavet, and as soon as they mentioned that she was Countess Lisavet *Bathory* I was like, oh, this won't end well. This is a very atmospheric, gothic story that has definite horror elements but is mostly just very sad. Definitely covers some themes that were also present in Henderson's Year of the Witching, especially related to gender and race and class. I was pretty grossed out by the blood drinking - there is like, A LOT of it, but this was overall a really interesting take on the Countess Bathory legends.

I’ve been eyeing this book for a while and also did a little jump of joy when I got the email confirming Netgalley approved me for the arc. I devoured House of Hunger in a single day, because I simply couldn’t put it down! I think fans of A dowry of blood might enjoy this one as well!

The writing is so beautiful – I was in awe at some parts of the story simply because the way those parts were written was amazing. The dialogue, as well, was stunning – especially the conversations between Lisavet and Marion. I could simply feel the characters’ emotions as I was reading. The world was phenomenal – I loved the world-building, even if it wasn’t that prevalent, since the story take place in a rather small amount of locations. Another thing I loved was the lore – it’s a unique spin on the old vampire tales and learning more alongside Marion was entertaining.

The characters are wonderfully developed, and I truly enjoyed understanding the relationships among them, especially the love story blooming between Lisavet and Marion. By far, I was mostly captivated by Lisavet, since she’s such a multi-dimensional character. I loved learning more about her family’s history and I truly wished we got a bit more information on the Houses and the political disputes between them. It would’ve been amazing if the book took a bit more time to focus on the political intrigue, but this is mostly a tragic love story, so I understand why it didn’t.

House of Hunger is a true gothic novel – the eerie atmosphere, the castle setting, the descriptions of the court intrigue. The tiny details make this book come together and I especially loved how the food and the court parties were described. I truly adore Henderson’s writing as it focuses on all the senses and not just on what the character sees. Another big plus for me was how taxidermy was handled. Clearly, House of Hunger was inspired by Countess Elizabeth Bathory, but it’s certainly a unique spin on that tale. I simply loved how blood played such an important role in this story – both the concept of a bloodmaid, but also as fuel for trains and other little details like that.

Overall, House of Hunger is a gorgeously written sapphic horror, a wonderful twist on the basic vampire tale, that’s bound to keep you on the edge of your seat for the entirety of the book. I’m definitely picking up the author previous and future works, as I think I would love those as well!

when i saw the cover of this book and perused the publishers blurb, i HOWLED

and dear readers, i continued to scream and cry and shout throughout my readings & did not stop my wailings until long after the story was read. perhaps... i am still screaming, in my heart.

an absolute must-read for gothic horror lovers, lovers of bloody wlw romances, ostentatious castles, & vivid textile descriptions. came for the manipulative sapphic power dynamics, stayed for the twisted hedonism & was gruesomely delighted about the <spoiler>Secret Torture Dungeon in the Basement</spoiler> revealed as the story came to a wretched climax


i devoured this story frenetically, in less than three nights & had plagued dreams for a solid fortnight

astounding, will read again & recommend my library purchase this bloody tome

(digital ARC obtained from netgalley freely with the expectation of my honest review)

An atmospheric and lush Gothic confection. Henderson explores and reimagines the story of Elizabeth Bathory, with particular attention paid to class and gender.

A 3.75 star but I'm rounding it up to 4 because its definitely not a straight 3 and goodreads needs to get with the program.

ANYWAY. This book was so cool. The atmosphere, the characters, the mythology. I'm sure there's some trope at play here that I'm not thinking of, but the story also feels new and fresh. There are power struggles afoot, to be sure, but Henderson presents them in a way that doesn't feel warmed up or reused. The stakes, for Lisavet and for the Bloodmaids aren't new, to be sure, but they are certainly different.

The use of bloodmaids is fascinating, perhaps in large part because blood is so taboo. Women hide their menstrual cycles. A lot of people faint at the very sight of blood. Blood gives us LIFE so to have a class of girls who willingly give up this part of them for the whims of the upper class? Fascinating. I do wish Henderson had delved deeper into the WHY of it all. Lisavet I can understand more clearly because she has some mysterious illness that the blood of young girls helps her stave off. But the brief story about the founding of the House of Hunger does little to help the reader understand how this practice took hold. And are all descendants of the the House of Hunger vampiric in some way? Henderson seems to be alluding to that, but, like Lisavet's ability to taste memories, its just in passing.

Marion as a main character is a very interesting but appropriate choice. Marion comes from nothing and has nothing. It makes sense why she would be drawn to becoming a Bloodmaid. Placed next to other type of Bloodmaids, it causes a strange juxtaposition or comparison, because some of the other Bloodmaids, or potential Bloodmaids we see want the position for what feels like different reasons.

Seeing only the Bloodmaids of the House of Hunger does make the whole mythos around them feel like we're missing something. Though that might be the point. A position of a Bloodmaid is one of power and eventually freedom.

I greatly appreciated the power dynamics in this story. These are girls from nothing, raised up to be something, and yet they are at the complete whim of an eccentric mistress. Its easy for these girls to succumb to this lifestyle because it offers security, something it seems most of them have never experienced. And yet, they're never truly secure because they're only as useful as their blood. And their youth. That's almost more terrifying because isn't that true of our own world?

This book I found out after I read it that it was a sequel. I didn't know who the characters were and anything about where they were. With that being said, I enjoyed it.

Henderson's debut book, "The Year of the Witching," was one of my favorite books of 2020, so naturally I was very excited to see a saphhic gothic horror loosely based around Elizabeth Bathory.

However, as much as this pains me to say, this book just didn't land. I felt the quality of writing just wasn't as strong as Year of the Witching, the pacing was completely off, and the saphhic/romantic elements just didn't work.

While I think Henderson did a great job of building up the atmospheric tension that is necessary in a gothic horror, I think a lot of the pacing was off in the book. There was too much build up for each problem, with very little reward and then everything resolved too quickly. Things that didn't need to be long and drawn out were, and things that needed more detail and care felt rushed and hurried. I would have liked the first 1/2 of the book to have been culled some and the last few chapters be fleshed out SIGNIFICANTLY! I have so many questions about those final interations...

I also think the way the interactions between women were written interestingly... it even spawned a conversation with one of my friends about when something is actually sapphic because some of these scene were written in way that catered so heavily to the male gaze I struggled to call them sapphic... it was just pandering??? Felt very old school horror but like, not in a good or feminist way.

I don't know. This one was not a slam dunk for me; this was an absolutely FABULOUS premise but the execution wasn't there. It needed a little more TLC in my opinion but I do still think that there are a lot of people who will find somethings in this that they will like and it was still an incredibly readable novel. As a librarian, this is a book that I think is still very recommendable and will still do well on the shelves.

I still am a fan of Henderson and look forward to seeing what else she puts out in the future, but this one just wasn't my favorite.

Final rating: 2.5/5
Thank you to Netgalley and Ace Books for an advace copy of the book that allowed me to do this review.

I wanted to love this but I just didn’t. The world not characters didn’t seem fully realized to me and by the end I was glad to finish. I did like the concept though!

I read the entire book in a single evening, unable to sleep until I finished. Henderson is an excellent writer and as a fan of the Blood Countess stories, this was a terrific addition to the collection. The book has a slow burn creep factor to it, drawing in the reader as Marion is drawn in.

Wealthy mistresses and masters hire young, poor, naive, desperate girls to suck their bloods in return of food, a temporary roof on their heads, a sufficient pension promise! Definitely hideous, intriguing, bleak plot line promises us corrupted, hunger of power 27 houses’ big rivalry, teaming up against each other to keep the balance! And poor and miserable people who are serving them are doomed to be feast of those powerful people!

This is hideous, gothic, claustrophobic thriller story about a young maid’s decision to leave her hell of life behind and choosing to get lost into the upper echelons of the society in expanse not only losing her blood but also giving up her soul slowly.

Marion Shaw reads a peculiar ad which may be the answer to her biggest predicament: they are looking for a blood maid in exceptional taste, not older than 19 years with a keen proclivity for life’s finest pleasures.

She is tired of scrabbling for survival in the slums, working under scrutinizing eyes of Lady Gertrude till her hands get blisters, lost her parents to tuberculosis at young age, and may breadwinner to take care of her I’ll fated brother who spends their each dime to drugs and alcohol.

She needs a second chance to start over and it seems like occupation as bloodmaid at Hunger House can change her life even though her brother has no intention to let her go.

She goes to the interview as it’s instructed at the paper and meets the notorious Taster who gets impressed by the rich taste of her blood, offering her a ticket to night train to leave her hometown to start her new job at North.

When she accepts the offer, she finds herself in gothic Hunger house which ruled by Countess Lisavet: a lovable and quiet hatable character presides over the hedonistic court. Marion meets with other five bloodmaids, being taught the rules of the place by Mother of the house and two serious instructors. It seems like Countess Lisavet already gets invested in her, questioning her past, secrets. But as soon as she spends more time in the house, being swept in a dark web of debauchery, depravity, viciousness, she realizes she is going to be real prey to the monsters. She couldn’t choose the wrongest place to build a new life!

Overall: a mind spinning, spin tingling, intense and dark tale with bitter end! I absolutely enjoyed it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.