𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 is a novel permeated with hunger, desire, and the slow unraveling of its main character, Lenore. As she and her husband, Henry, move to Nethershaw, a cold and mouldy manor, to follow Henry's ambitions, Lenore has to manage a crumbling estate, new staff, the preparations for a hunt and a feast, and Henry's changing moods. But a carriage accident brings the infuriatingly alluring Carmilla into their home. Carmilla rattles Lenore's life, stirs up a hunger in her, a hunger for something different, something better, as she peels the layers of her marriage to uncover something worse than the secrets she keep for Henry.

It took me a good month and a half to get through the first half of this book, and then I read, 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 even the second half in two days. But despite the four stars rating, my opinion is rather divided.

𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 had an appealing premise, on which it delivered, but the prose, while good, felt distinctly too modern for the story it was telling. Lenore was a captivating narrator, but her voice didn't differ much from that of contemporary novels narrators. 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 being a gothic story set in the mid-nineteenth century, I expected something different. The gothic aspect of the book was well done despite this.

The plot and plot twists, while interesting, were all too predictable, perhaps in part a result of the characters being mostly one-dimensional. As for the sapphic aspect, I have to call false advertising here. 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 is not "a mesmerizing reclamation of the lesbian vampire trope", it has one (1) good sapphic moment which benefited from no previous yearning or build up.

Most importantly, I have one question: why was this a Carmilla retelling? A nod to Carmilla, even just keeping the character named the same way, would have been plenty enough; anything would have been more accurate than to present this as a retelling.

Overall, I had a very good time with 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦! But it was l not the sapphic vampire book I wanted it to be.

Lenore is a woman of good breeding, but one left bankrupt after her parents’ mistakes. She marries Henry, an overly ambitious man that has the money, but lacks the title. Fast forward to ten years later: that’s when we meet them.

It definitely was a book that kept me reading, but I’m not really sure why. I enjoyed the female rage and the vibey setting of the book (we love a Victorian backdrop), but the character arc felt a bit too slow for me. I didn’t need to hear she was hungry every other page; but that doesn’t matter.

Apparently this is a retelling of Carmilla, and seeing as I haven’t read that one yet, I can’t really reflect on her character in this book. The chaos surrounding this character was great, but I would have loved a bit more sapphic story than just the one lesbian kiss.

All in all, recommended for an easy read, or a palate cleanser in between heavier books.

Hungerstone is a beautifully written gothic horror novel. The prose is just gorgeous and while reading, you truly feel the main characters emotions. I love reading anything to do with female rage, and this was a perfect addition in that category. The story was super immersive and I felt that the ending was right for the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for the ARC of this wonderful book.

I just love when a woman becomes aware of her worth.

Lenore marries a man who’s in charge of a steelworks company during the Industrial Revolution in hopes of having a normal life after the death of her parents. Little did she know she’d spend her years beckoning to his every request and need, helping him climb the ranks in their town only for him to never appreciate her. In the midst of all this, a mysterious woman comes into their life and opens her eyes to the truth. Her husband is not who he claims to be, not in their marriage or at his business, and she may not be safe.

This story is a slow but gorgeous unfolding of Lenore’s discovery of her worth as a woman and what she can be without a toxic man. My only note would be there was not nearly enough yearning and want for a story about sapphic vampires.

I’d recommend this with the caveat that the love affair seemed to be a minor plot of the book (maybe that’s just me though).

In Hungerstone, the classic tale of Carmilla takes on a new life as we dive into the intriguing world of our main character's inner turmoil as her world is turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious and captivating Carmilla. A well-crafted atmosphere mingles with a thorough character study and exploration of gothic horrors.

I, too, would change myself completely for a deranged lesbian vampire.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I requested this book, I didn’t realize it was horror—I expected more focus on the romance between Lenora and Carmilla. I’m not a big horror fan, so that definitely influenced my reading experience. That said, Hungerstone is undeniably atmospheric, with beautiful writing that captures emotion and atmosphere in a haunting way.
The strongest part of the novel, for me, was the female rage. There’s something powerful about watching Lenora transform, though I found the pacing uneven. The story dragged for long stretches, with Lenora wallowing in self-pity, and then suddenly, after one lesbian sexual experience, she’s out for blood. The shift was fine, but I wish her character arc had happened sooner.
Another issue was the lack of closure—there were so many eerie and disturbing moments (!) that never really got explained. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions, which was frustrating.
Overall, while this book didn’t quite work for me, I can still appreciate its lush prose, its raw emotional core, and, of course, yey lesbians. Readers who love gothic horror and slow transformation arcs will love this one.

This one was absolutely fantastic.
So fantastic, in fact, that I stopped reading so I can buy it instead.

3,5 ⭐️

This was a very atmospheric, dark and suspenseful read. I absolutely loved the exploration of women’s hunger and desire in Victorian England and in a main character whose life very much revolves around her husband who quickly turns out to be pretty dangerous.
I just feel like I would’ve loved this a lot more if the sapphic romance had been a bigger part of the story and the writing was a bit more lyrical.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book was what really caught my attention, as I've been getting into alot of gothic airy settings lately. This being the first book I've read from Kat Dunn, I went in blind.

I loved the picturesque writing, the atmosphere and the character development. What I would have loved, is if it was more fast paced in the first 50% of the book. We do start to see character traits and how the characters interact till the middle of the novel, however, I found it more character driven then plot driven and it fell flat for me.

Once things start picking up, I couldn't put the book down, there were small twists, one I didnt see coming so that was a bonus! and as I neared the end of the book, I was left with more questions than answer's.

I did enjoy moments in this book. The author successfully made this feel dreary, the writing, the attire and language that was used, gave the perfect imagery to that era.

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

The premise of this book was very promising and hooked me immediately. However, the beginning of the story dragged on and it took too long to get to the actual point of the story in my opinion. Because the beginning and the backstory took so long, the ending felt quite abrupt in the end, everything happened so fast and honestly, it felt quite rushed. But still, there was something about the story and the characters, especially Carmilla, that I couldn't put the book down while reading it.

Alright obsessed with this. Weird story, even odder characters - sign me up. This was such a fabulous story of finding and fighting for your identity. I don’t really ever read “horror” books but this scratched an itch for me.

felt like this had potential but left me with a blank feeling. There was not enough horror elements just random gore and victorian drama.

This is a smart horror, that I read as someone who doesn't read horror. I had a hard time guessing where the story was going despite vaguely understanding the source material. Fully engaging and atmospheric.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando for the arc!

🌟🌟🌟/5

"What is a monster but a creature of agency?"

I went into this book in hopes of experiencing something in the vein of 'A Dowry of Blood ': decadent and horrifying in equal parts. Unfortunately, Hungerstone failed to satiate my appetite for the gothic. I suppose this is an 'it's not you, it's me' case.

Hungerstone got off to a very rocky start. The pacing was uneven, with the first half being uneventful. Some parts were repetitive and the prose wasn't strong enough to carry what was otherwise a pretty well researched narrative. Here's where the novel completely failed me: the vibes. When I think sapphic vampires, S. T. Gibson's books come to mind. I love the way she writes complex relationships in prose that's nothing short of delectable. Dunn's rendition of Carmilla doesn't even feature her as a prominent character. She does stoke the flames of Lenore's hunger, but that's pretty much it. She was very annoying for the most part. I did not fall in love with the gothic atmosphere the way I wanted to. Being in Lenore's mind was exhausting, for the most part. Dunn used a 'tell instead of show' approach to Lenore and Camilla's relationship. I was looking for a tale of intensely obsessive relationship (toxic, even). Lenore's desire did not feel authentic.

I did like the portrayal of Carmilla as someone who unearths buried hunger in women. In that sense, this is a fitting addition to the 'good for her' genre. We do get to see revenge and female rage towards the end, which redeemed this just a bit.

As a fan of the gothic genre, I ultimately found this to be quite bland. It tried to be a lot of things at once but did not excel at any. In retrospect, I find a significant portion of the novel to be unoriginal (might lower my rating after some thought).

While this was an okay story, it is not my favourite retelling of Carmilla. I did enjoy seeing Lenore’s growth as a character, but Carmilla herself was a bit bland. The other characters were quite predictable and didn’t really give much to the story other than being a piece in the societal commentary of women living in Victorian England. I wouldn’t call this a romance, but more of an awakening, and this relationship helping Lenore find herself.

The writing itself was wonderful, but the story just needed more oomph. Perhaps I expected more sapphic angst and vampyness.

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for this arc.

This book is an excellent example of vivid storytelling, love and survival. I loved the gothic horror and strong female characters, and I can't forget the feminine rage.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for this ARC!

I don’t know what more can be sad they already hasn’t. This book is a Gothic lush atmospheric horror book for those that love female revenge type books.

This was weird and I loved it. This definitely falls under my weird girl fic books. If you like this type of book then this is a must read. I think about this book constantly. I can’t wait to read more by this author. So good.

thank you netgalley and zando publishing for gifting this advanced reader copy!

the cover of this book is absolutely stunning and that’s definitely what drew me in! After hearing that it was about vampires it sealed the deal for me and knew I had to pick this one up!

the story centers around Lenore and her husband, Harry. While traveling to their new decrepit countryside manor, Lenore and Harry stumble upon Carmila in the midst of a carriage wreck. While Lenore try’s to manage the remodeling of her new home and her husband strange relationships with work and her friend, she slowing grows attached with Camila and has a slow descent into madness.

this is a very slow moving story, and I think some people will get bored with it if I’m being honest! I personally ate this up. The slow descent into madness was delectable and I seriously was hooked to find out everything that was going on. I overall really recommend and come on that cover!!!

2.75

When I saw the cover and that it was a retelling of Carmilla, I immediately wanted to read it, but I had a hard time finishing it. But if I am being honest, I think it’s because you have to read this book without taking too many breaks between each reading session. This is a short, but slow book, with sometimes an uneven pacing, and reading it while being on another hyperfixation, and having too many things to do in uni, maybe not the best idea.

This is a good book, the use of hunger for women’s rage and wants is a great idea, like the setting. I wish we had more vampires (you know, Carmilla and all), and I still don’t know what to think of the main character. I mean, sure, she’s a woman 19th century, but she was kind of miserable, and not necessarily in a good way (there’s a good way for stories with miserable characters, like Harrowhark).

So yes, I finished it a while ago, and I still don’t totally know what to think about it. At least, Carmilla is hot.