It made me feel all hot and bothered. It was carnal, it was intense, cruel, deep, raw, unhinged. It was also didactic and repetitive, but didn't really matter. I loved this book, i loved the theme and I wasn't expecting this level of involvement. The prose caught me in its web. It needed a bit more editing, but 4.5 solid stars for me!

I’m not quite sure how to feel about Hungerstone.

On one hand, I quite liked it. I liked the writing, with its Gothic undertones, and its unsettling atmosphere. I liked the setting of the house, the landscape, and how that all compared to a world further afield becoming more industrialised. It played with the fear of the old becoming redundant and being replaced by something new.

I felt for Lenore and her rage, for all the ways she was told she was too much, for all the ways she was picked at no matter how hard she tried, for the complete disregard of her as a person. I felt for Lenore as she struggled to break free, and what a psychological struggle and torment this was at times! I loved it when Lenore tossed it all to the wind and just raged.

But within the pages of the book I found too much ambiguity and it was too slow paced. The book just took forever to get anywhere and then when it reached a destination, it got sent somewhere else. While there is a lot in the subtext and implicitly implied about Carmilla and the hunger women were experiencing, I wish we got to see more of that unfold and have answers. It felt hardly touched upon and under utilised.

The romance wasn’t really a romance, it was more so Lenore reaching out and desiring for a life she hardly dared to dream.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for providing me with a review copy for this title.

This is the retelling of Carmilla we deserve. It takes all the gothic, obsessive, mysterious elements of Le Fanu's original and reinvents it while still staying true to the essence of the story. I loved the high-society Yorkshire moorland setting way more than I thought I would, and Lenore is one of my favorite characters of the year.

This didn't go heavy on the vampire trope, but I don't think it needed to. It relied on hunger and rage and coercion to propel the story along and did so beautifully. Highly recommend - I think my favorite Carmilla retelling to date.

I freaking loved this. It was so atmospheric, I felt like I could see every turn our girl made in this decrepit home. And hot damn did I want her husband to suffer lol. I laughed, I cried, I LOVED.

Hunger stone is by far one of the best written novels I have had the pleasure to read. It’s obvious that the author cared deeply about the story they wanted to tell and you can feel it on every page. The environment of the novel made you feel like you were there in a dark and gothic environment. The way the author writes suspense and female rage is palpable.

This book is a twist on the classic vampire novel. Kat Dunn does an amazing job setting the scene of the book and building the world around Hungerstone. Must read if you love lesbians, vampires, or both!

Lesbian vampires? Don't mind if I do!

I knew I wanted to get my hands on this book, and I'm so happy I received the arc. Hungerstone is a retelling of Carmilla, full of female rage and gothic vibes. Dunn's writing is stellar, beautifully constructed sentences and brutal phrasing. The elements were all there to make this a great retelling, but there was something stopping it from making it a 5-star book for me. I almost felt underwhelmed by the character development. I wanted MORE!

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn is a haunting and beautifully unsettling story that drew me in from the first page. I loved the atmospheric tension and the way Dunn blends psychological horror with folklore, creating a chilling, immersive experience. The characters felt real and their fears palpable, making the suspense hit even harder. It’s a dark, gripping read that stayed with me long after I finished.

Even before I finished reading this book, I was recommending it to my friends and colleagues.

Is there anything better than a good feminine rage book? I'm not sure there is, and Hungerstone certainly delivers on this promise. Lenore is trapped by society, by circumstance, and most of all by herself. All right, we can throw her husband in there too, who I reviled almost from his first instance on the page.

This book was inspired by Carmilla - lesbian vampires, yay - but it's clearly about more than that. It's about Lenore's self-discovery, and the realization that not all parts of yourself have to be lovely, or unobtrusive. The prose reads like it comes from the time period in which it's set, but was engaging and at time disturbingly vivid. I felt immense sympathy for Lenore, while at the same time wanting to strangle her for much of the early chapters. But I also saw myself - and many other women I know - in her, so I think that Kat Dunn has done a good job at capturing the facets of womanhood. I also think it's quite telling that the more "monstrous" Lenore became, the more I rooted for her? I'm not entirely sure what that says about me, but I was here for it.

Every time I thought I knew where this book was going, it sent me a curveball. Lenore had agency and intelligence, and sometimes the things that caught me by surprise were also the things that caught her by surprise. I love an intelligent protragonist.

All in all, I will surely continue to suggest that my peers read this book, and will be happy to recommend it to others who are looking for this sort of read!

Lesbian Vampires? Yes please.

When I found out that this is a gothic retelling of Carmilla I knew I had to pick it up.

This book has a lot of elements I enjoyed. The writing was very atmospheric, and I also enjoyed the gothic 'background'. Even though at times the story felt a bit drawn out. It was nice to see Lenore's character grow, I just wish we would've gotten a bit more of Carmilla and their relationship.
But I still had a good time reading it the ending made up for the 'slower' start.

What do you get when you combine self-discovery, female rage, and toxic vampires?

Hungerstone.

Quite honestly the book is so much more than that though. Hungerstone follows Lenore and her relationship with both her husband and the mysterious Carmilla, who suddenly appears in the moors and her life. The book is paced leisurely, but when the pressure builds, it begins to boil over very, very quickly. The writing is also atmospheric and descriptive, providing a robust picture of the setting and a gothic vibe. This book was interesting throughout, despite being slow at times; it still managed to entertain me. If you're looking for another toxic queer vampire book after Dowry of Blood or Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, I would highly recommend reaching for Hungerstone.

oooo how I love lesbian vampires! That seems to be the theme of 2025 - so many books! I really enjoyed this one.

Hungerstone is an absolutely stunning read that completely grabs you from the first page and pulls you into its perfect gothic atmosphere. I have to admit, I went into this with some serious reservations. I wasn’t a huge fan of the author’s previous work, especially Bitterthorne, which I felt was a little flat when it came to character development.

But Hungerstone is a whole other beast. It’s rich, suffocating, and full of raw, angry energy. The relationship with Carmilla is primal and magnetic—more metaphor than romance. Because this isn’t just about Carmilla. It’s about hunger. Female hunger: for freedom, for rage, for touch, for something that isn’t allowed. The kind of hunger that festers under good manners.

The prose is lush and bruising, and the gothic setting is flawless. Nethershaw Manor is more than a backdrop—it is Lenore. With its rotting walls, locked rooms, and mold creeping like memory, the house becomes a mirror for everything unspoken.

Personally, I loved it. I'm not bothered by any potential flaws mentioned in other reviews. I loved it for the passion, for the rage, for Lenore and for all the women like her. For the liberation. For the revenge. For the hunger that finally gets fed.

This book doesn’t want to comfort you. It wants to consume you. And it does.

Great retelling of the carmilla vampire story intertwining themes of hunger in women and lesbianism. Great historical novel with an unlikeable but strong willed protagonist and I wouldn't have it any other way

Loved the imagery and setting but the book was sooooo slow wish the plot moved along a bit quicker. Goth elements were so cool

I loved this book so much - the creeping sense of suspense and the blurred lines between what could be explained away by reason and what may be in fact supernatural. Beautifully written with wonderful characters; I already can't wait to reread this gem.

The market for modern gothic fiction has been specific enough and narrow enough to make it quite easy to hit every single checkmark. This book manages to do that remarkably well.
It's a work of lusciously written historical fiction that follows an oppressed woman finding her power ... via sapphic romance with a vampire. Not just any vampire either, but the most famous female vampire - Carmilla.

So, my reading experience was a bit of a mixed bag. I enjoyed the descriptiveness of the writing but found the plot slow moving and not particularly original. I mean, it isn't original - it literally and liberally borrows from a well-known book.
Dunn's Carmilla is mercurial, petulant, and exhaustingly enigmatic. But eventually, Lenore, the novel's protagonist, deciphers her clues and figures out how to break out of the clutches of her evil husband (because of course there's an evil husband) and her suffocating life, discover what she hungers for and go for it.

Personally, I find this trajectory tiresome and overdone. I may be in the minority, given how many of the similarly plotted books are out there. But seriously, how many times and in how many ways can you tell a story of good women triumphing over evil men? It's like yey for girl power, but can we do something else for a change?

Anyway, since originality in fiction has been going the way of dodo, this book is assured immense popularity. And it is, at least, written well enough to deserve some of it. The rest depends on the reader. This one was left wanting more.
Thanks Netgalley.

"It starts with blood."

As far as first sentences go, this one had me, and HUNGERSTONE by @katalicedunn was bloody and delicious throughout. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher @zandoprojects for the e-ARC.

🩸🕶️🩸🕶️🩸

This brooding, sexy, gothic story is a retelling of what is thought to be the original vampire novel (before Dracula) CARMILLA. I loved CARMILLA when I read it years ago and I dare say I liked HUNGERSTONE even better. Full of intrigue, sultry encounters, and a queer and feminine awakening of agency, lust and hunger, this book ticked so many boxes for me. From the gothic atmosphere to the juxtaposition of icy cold indifference (Lenore and Henry) and red hot electricity (Lenore and Carmilla) between the characters, I was enraptured with this story.

I was just as spellbound by the dangerously charismatic Carmilla as Lenore and could feel Lenore awakening from a dull, drab housewife type to a fully fledged feminine powerhouse. There were many other storylines that delighted me but don't want to give too many spoilers.

If you need a "good-for-her" vampiress book fix, this is a great choice!

A lush, angry retelling of an ancient vampire story. I enjoyed the female rage and historical setting. An excellent sapphic horror.

was super intrigued throughout this entire book! i was hooked from the start, the ending just fell a little flat for me.