“i am a woman woken from thirty years slumber, and i would eat the world should it satisfy this empty, keening void where my heart should be.”

a retelling of carmilla set during the industrial revolution, this is a fantastically atmospheric story full of female hunger and female rage. the setting, with its wild moorlands and decaying country manor, was a perfect backdrop for the main character’s slow unraveling under the societal pressures and her husband’s vile actions. i really enjoyed lenore’s character arc and thought the writing of her inner thoughts was done so so well.

i haven’t yet read carmilla, so i can’t comment on if it’s a good retelling or not. while i definitely appreciated the focus on carmilla and lenore’s relationship and how it didn’t shy away from being explicitly sapphic, the romance mostly felt like a plot device for lenore’s character development. there was also a lot less vampirism than i was expecting, it more serving the role of metaphor for lenore’s hunger. pick this up if you’re in for historical fiction about female rage and societal roles, with a dash of sapphic!

thank you to zando and netgalley for this early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Publishing for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

"Hungerstone" by Kat Dunn is a reimagining of "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu and man does it just EAT (the youngins still say this, right?). Set in the late 1800s of Industrial Era England, we follow Lenore, the unhappy and childless wife of a steel industry magnate. She is taken from London up north where she encounters Carmilla. What follows is an awakening and realization of a hunger that has sat ravenous within Lenore, a hunger that can only end in blood.

I LOVE "Carmilla." It is the story that inspired Bram Stoker and it's just such a brilliantly written vampire story. However, the language story itself isn't as accessible to newer readers. "Hungerstone" is a wonderfully done contemporary reimagining of "Carmilla" that I think adapts the original really well. I enjoyed reading this and thought the pace was great. The suspense was well-done too. When things started getting bloody, I was so happy for everyone involved!

10/10 will be reading again,

Content warnings should be explored if you're unsure, by the way.

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for this arc.

A woman who was made to be just a wife, an obnoxious husband and a mysterious woman they meet on their way to their new estate.

Do not go into this book expecting a dynamic adventure full of plot twists.

But if you want to read a slow paced gothic book with feminist rage, obsession and dark vibes - this is the book for you!

I adored everything about this book. The crumbling twisted house, the gothic and bleak moorland setting and the noise and harshness of industrial Sheffield, every setting was so vivid and beautifully brought to life. The spiral Lenore faces when she encounters Carmilla was brilliantly written and it was easy to empathise with her and understand why she takes the actions she does. The character of Carmilla was also very well done, she read as both seductive and creepy at the same time and always fascinating.

There was a sense of creeping dread throughout with flashes of horror and gore that added to the gothic feeling. The restrictive nature of the 1800s for women and the feral freedom they may hunger for were woven in with the classic tropes of vampire myth seamlessly.

I cannot wait until this is published and I can have a physical copy on my shelf.

Leonore knows her place: she’s a wife, and she’s fine with that. After all, that’s what women are for, and she’s even better than the others, as she knows how to control herself and never show weakness, emotions, or pain.
Leonore’s lonely, she doesn’t have real friends, and her husband rarely pays any attention to her, but again, she knows her place, and she knows better than to whine about it.
It all slowly but drastically changes when she has to take in a sick guest, who also looks exactly like the creature she has been dreaming of.
Carmilla.

If you’re expecting a dynamic, overwhelming, full of action book, this one’s not it. It’s a long book, and I read some reviews defining it underwhelming, but I feel like it took its sweet time and it worked perfectly. I’m the biggest fan of slow paced books, but if the plot is not evolving rapidly, it’s easy for the reader to lose interest: that’s why there needs to be something that keeps the reader entertained and eager to know more. It can be the characters, the atmosphere, the vibes, the introspective aspect of it all. And “Hungerstone” has all of them.

The story was evolving slowly, but I never felt bored, my eyes were glued to the pages and, as a result, I read this book in one sitting.
I wanted to know who Leonore really was, for what did she hunger, and seeing the relationship with her husband through her eyes was sad but interesting: seeing the way she always made herself smaller in any situation, how she did everything for her husband, not once doubting it.
Carmilla was fascinating, so provocative and mysterious, and the tension between the two of them was perfectly written.

The atmosphere, the gothic vibes, the bloody scenes: it was impossible to put down the book, as I was so captured by it all, I almost forgot where I actually was.

It’s not a book for everyone: not much happens, and definitely not as fast as we’re used to these days, incapable of focusing on the same thing for too long unless it constantly changes and surprises us. There are not many dialogues, almost the entire book is written from Leonore's present point of view, but personally I found it mesmerising. I absolutely loved it from start to finish.

3/5 stars: This is Dunn's 2SLGBTQIA+ Historical Fantasy Romance Retelling (Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu) stand-alone that's set in England in the late 1800's which follows an unhappy and childless steel magnate's wife who travels to the countryside to prepare for a shooting party only to find herself tangled up with a mysterious, dangerous and compelling woman. As she uncovers a darkness in her household she'll have to decide what she's willing to do to protect herself and her way of life. Dunn's writing and character work are excellent; the characters are well-rounded, complex and yet remain likable. Lenore's a complex and relatable character who comes into her own power through Carmilla's irresistible pull. Her actions are shocking and horrifying but at that time and given her circumstances there was little she could. I appreciate Dunn's feminist reworking of Carmilla, the book that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula, and it's setting in the violent wilderness of the moors and pitting against the uncontrolled the industrial revolution. Dunn takes on some sensitive subjects; so take care and check the CWs.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Zando in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

The vibes DELIVERED. Spooky? Sapphic? Creepy to the point of stomach-turning? The sheer levels of female rage? YES.

For me, this was a book of three parts. The first section, where we meet Lenore and Carmilla and are introduced to their world, was all the right levels of eerie. All of the exposition was so atmospheric, and while it helps that I do have a deep love for the Peak District myself, I felt transported there instantly.

The middle section was the best bit. Things became so creepy, so far removed from normality, and under it all I could feel that current of the hunger. Carmilla featured much more prominently in this middle section, and she really felt like the driving force behind the plot.

The story lost some momentum towards the end, but still had a satisfying conclusion that embraced the darkness that had been peeking in at the edge the whole time. While I would have liked a slightly more robust backstory for Lenore, the ending still felt utterly right for her. I would have loved to have even more Carmilla in this last section, but the effects of her character were still there even if she herself wasn’t.

While it wasn’t a totally even read, this was still an effective and toe-curling horror, that really does ask: what do you hunger for?

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Lenore has been married to Henry for a decade now and the couple have nothing to show for it (i.e. no child). What they do have is a new home, a crumbling if grand estate that Henry expects Lenore to bring back to life in time for his hunting party. Enter Carmilla: a mysterious and beautiful woman they stumble upon in an accident, who takes a strange interest in Lenore and forces her to see the truth of her crumbling marriage.

HUNGERSTONE is a gothic historical novel about gender roles and how they restrict/confine women, how these restrictions become a script that can cage a woman, it is also about feminine rage and desire, and hunger as metaphor. Drawing inspiration from Bram Stoker’s DRACULA and Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic lesbian vampire novella CARMILLA among others, HUNGERSTONE follows Lenore as she confronts the meek person she tries to become to be accepted by her husband and polite society at large, and the freedom she comes to relish when she allows herself to do what she wants, even if it means transgressing. At turns atmospheric in capturing the majestic landscapes of the Yorkshire region and slightly psychedelic where Lenore’s dreams and some of her encounters with strange apparitions that may or may not be Carmilla are concerned, the novel balances a crumbling marriage and a woman’s grasp towards agency with the world of power struggles between men and women, between the new rich and old money, and between the rich and the working classes—the disempowered endeavours to fight back, to free themselves. These tensions are centred around Lenore as she finally moves against Henry.

I recently finished 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 and loved it.

It’s a vampire novel that was heavily inspired by 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂 (it’s a retelling), 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂 (hello classic vampire), and has the gothic vibes of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆.

It has the perfect mix of feminine rage, gothic vibes, and obsession.

SimilIar to Woman, Eating, this vampire story is a little bit different. And this line sums it up best: “𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓?”

It’s a book about appetites, or the lack there of for women in the Victorian era.

Lenore is in a marriage of convenience, and she’s learned to stay silent and not want for anything. Her needs? Nonexistent. Her opinions? Scarce.

Enter Carmilla. Carmilla is the feeling of being watched in the darkness, the whisper on the wind, your guts intuition. She becomes Lenore’s obsession, pulling truth from her in small doses, rapidly unraveling the neat little life and all the lies Lenore has fed herself over the years.

Carmilla IS appetite in all of its forms.

I really don’t want to tell you too much because I just want you to read it and let the message curl around your insides.

It’s a delicious sapphic slow burn. But I would say, not overly sapphic. This one is subtle, until it’s not.

This is definitely one of my favourite books of 2025.

that blends historical fiction with dark, fantastical elements. The way it’s set in this desolate landscape of grief, hardship, and survival really hit me. Dunn crafts a deeply emotional and thought-provoking story, and I feel like the world-building here is just so gothic and truly chilling.

The characters, especially Lenore and Carmilla, are raw and complicated, and I really felt for them. Lenore’s growth throughout the story is especially powerful. Watching her confront her desires, trauma, and power through her relationship with Carmilla was really something. Their dynamic adds so much emotional depth as they both navigate personal transformations. I feel like the relationships here—whether familial, romantic, or friendships—are messy in the best way and carry a lot of emotional weight.

What I love about this story is how it weaves folklore and history so seamlessly, creating a world that feels both familiar and eerily otherworldly. The pacing is deliberate, and as secrets unravel, the tension just builds, leaving me emotionally hooked. For anyone who enjoys character-driven, immersive stories with a dark edge, Hungerstone is definitely a must-read!

Though this is described as a Carmilla retelling, Hungerstone expands upon Sheridan Le Fanu’s original story, allowing Carmilla to transcend her role as a vampire temptress to something more: a hunger that cannot be denied. Kat Dunn’s prose is beautiful and polished, heightening Carmilla’s timeless and otherworldly allure within an updated setting both solitary and industrial. Early on, Carmilla’s character and motivation does not appear all too dissimilar to her Sheridan Le Fanu counterpart, but as the second half of the novel unfolds, I was left asking what exactly Carmilla is. She’s not confusing, terrorizing, or draining her victims simply to satisfy her own needs, instead she is unlocking some sort of doorway within them and forcing them to confront their “hunger.” In a twisted sense, she is a devil who is also their liberator. And it is only through this liberation that Lenore is able to parse through her memories, loneliness, and desires so that she might find a way to survive her husband’s scheming.

Yet, despite how intriguing Carmilla is within the novel, Hungerstone is Lenore’s story. For me, the most compelling parts of this novel were the lead up to Carmilla and Lenore’s relationship and its initial climax toward the middle of the book. From here, it shifts to Lenore’s internal battle and their external ramifications, and though I do like Dunn’s treatment of Lenore’s descent into “madness” (awakening is probably a better word), I also felt that we ruminated quite a bit over the same sentiments until they became redundant. It makes sense in reality that breaking away from a lifetime of limitations would take quite some time, yet within the confines of a novel it slowed the story’s momentum significantly. Yet, once we emerge on the other side, the plot speeds up significantly until you’re left questioning exactly how much is true and how much is a fabrication of Lenore’s mind.

In the end, we are left to wonder if Lenore truly did lose a bit of herself to her period of madness, but I like the ambiguity. It was very much a “good for her” feminine rage conclusion which was satisfying in its blood lust even if certain parts were a bit of a stretch. Overall, this was quite enjoyable!

Thank you Net Galley and Zando for the advance copy to read and review.

“𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖒𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖇𝖊 𝖘𝖔 𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖇𝖑𝖞 𝖍𝖚𝖓𝖌𝖗𝖞.”

ARC Review

I wanted so much more out of this book. More sapphic romance, more vampirism, just more.

This is said to be a spin on the classic Carmilla. I haven’t read Carmilla yet so I, unfortunately, can’t compare.

Lenore and Henry are off to their country estate when they come across an overturned carriage with a bruised woman who needs help. They take her in so she can heal.

Carmilla’s health returns abnormally fast and she starts to wreak havoc on Lenore’s thoughts. There was a sapphic love scene that I felt was well done and detailed enough for this book. Extremely detailed smut would not have fit.

There are a few creepy scenes but not enough real tension. Still, I remained interested and pressed on. It did eventually pick up and took off. Lenore has had enough of her lying, cheating husband and her fake friend Cora. Under Carmilla’s influence she unleashes her feminine rage and you know what? Good for her!

The last half of the book was better than the first but I did find the ending a bit abrupt. I would have loved more tension, more of the love between Carmilla and Lenore, and more vampirism. Overall though it was a good book and I did enjoy it more than A Dowry of Blood.

Propulsive, dark, and spectacular! A visceral and exciting interpretation of Carmilla, we are all so hungry.

This book is a retelling of the classic story Carmilla. It follows Lenore, a wife with a history of losing her parents, and who has not produced a child in her marriage. It seems as though her marriage to Henry, owner of Ajax Steel, has gotten stagnate as they haven't slept together in a very long time. As the season ends, the couple closes out their London home to head to the countryside in order to host a huge event to help promote Henry's business into further success. Lenore is in charge of planning everything for the shooting weekend and making sure the house is repaired into pristine condition. As the couple journeys to the countryside, they come across an overturned carriage accident where a woman is discovered. Henry brings her back to the house with the couple and they learn her name is Carmilla. As Carmilla continues to stay with the couple, something starts to stir in Lenore and she begins to witness strange occurrences around the town as the village girls begin to be consumed by a very bloody hunger. As the story continues, Lenore becomes conflicted between pleasing her husband and understanding what Carmilla wants.

This story is epic. I always support a woman's thirst for revenge and freedom. I give this story 4.5 stars due to the fact that at times, especially in the beginning, it was a bit slow. Also I wish we got a more in depth understanding of Carmilla herself as she kept things mysterious, so that Lenore would grow on her own and make her own choices for a life that she wanted. It is a book less about actual vampires, and more about female oppression and how that can lead to insatiable rage and hunger for revenge/to break free. It's about coming to the realization you are living the wrong life and didn't know how to speak your mind for what you want. I thought it was definitely a fresh new take on Carmilla as there have been a few retellings in the past few years.

I will be posting on my IG account @the.bookish.dietitian closer to release date with a review post to my 32.5 K followers! My current review is up on my goodreads account.

THE vampire book of 2025!!! Thank you to Carmilla, lesbians, and pure feminine rage for making this book possible.

It took me longer than I expected to get through the book but at the end, I understood why. The first half of the book dragged on as Lenore’s life dragged on. The importance of having your eyes opened, accepting the dark parts of yourself, acknowledging your own desires and how that unfolds…so good! I’ve already recommended this book to so many people and I can’t wait for it to come out next month.

I don’t know how this book managed to be both ferocious and exceedingly delicate at the same time. It has such sumptuous prose and I loved the juxtaposition of the two main characters. The wife is so structured and austere and then Carmella comes in with her freedom and limitless ideas. I really loved this take on the classic tale. Oh, and a couple of scenes were deliciously spicy! I do hope we all honor our own hungers and seek to indulge. Highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

All my thanks to NetGalley and Manilla Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Longing, lust, hunger. This book fed a part of me that longs for the vengeful woman and the freedom to do whatever you damn please. Luscious in its prose and characters, Hungerstone delivers on its promise. Aren’t you so terribly hungry?
I loved Lenore from the moment I read her inner thoughts on the page, she isn’t stupid, she is witty and sharp and although she thinks herself useless, when she realises she is a force to be reckoned with, its power all the same.
The setting was exquisite, I have spent many trips in the Pennines and know Sheffield well, so to have this regency-era story folded within the places I know of had a certain charm of mysticism.
Kat Dunn has outdone herself with this one, the feral, blood-thirsty, hungry women in this story ode to a timeless feeling of womanhood and the need to feel free from the torments of the patriarchy.

Hungerstone took a little while to get started but once it did, it made a big impact. For anyone who enjoys vampire stories, this will be a treat.

Towards the end I could not get enough, and the only thing running in my mind was 'good for her.' Female revenge and anger stirred with a patriarchal society and lesbian vampires?? Sign me up.

The only drawback is that I felt Lenores shift was slightly too abrupt, while I understand unleashing years of pent up anger, it still felt too drastic for a character who was so suppressed.

Hungerstone is a beautiful work of literary fiction that utilizes the Carmilla story to tell a tale of feminist awakening and the violence of patriarchy. Ten years into her marriage of convenience, Lenore is finding the fruits of her labor have gone to rot. But in the removed country estate of Nethershaw, a mysterious guest and her cavalier nature awaken a hunger in Lenore that nothing in her current way of life seems to satisfy. As someone who loves vampires and has studied Carmilla, I was excited to get my hands on this retelling and see how the originator of the lesbian vampire trope was reimagined by an author of today. I was surprised to find the story of Carmilla was more a background piece, a backlight to highlight the story of a woman who gave everything to succeed only to realize the patriarchy would never let her. The use of hunger as a metaphor for personal desire and agency and want was very well done. The detailing of all the foods to further elevate the hunger metaphor was a fascinating way to carry on the theme. As much as I recognize the literary art of the book (and highly highly highly applaud Dunn for her work), I am only rating it 3 stars because it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. If you’re a fan of literary fiction and feminism, this book is for you.

4.5 stars

I devoured this book in 2 days. If you love Jane Eyre and vampires, this book is for you. I particularly loved the portrayal of female rage and the process of self-discovery. Spicy scenes were tasteful and well done. As a history teacher, I also enjoyed the portrayal of the evils of capitalism during the Industrial Revolution.

I absolutely adored Kat Dunn's writing style. Here are some of my highlights:

"To be a woman is a horror I can little comprehend."

"This is the bargain I have struck: to lose my softness in exchange for survival."

"...only in fiction was there logic and sense. Good fortune and bad came in equal measure, the just were saved and the wicked punished. In real life, there was no limit to misfortune."

"...and I would eat the world should it satisfy this empty, keening void where my heart should be."

Looking forward to reading more Kat Dunn in the future!!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.