Kat Dunn's HUNGERSTONE pulled me in with the very first sentence: "It starts with blood." And it never let me go. The writing is well crafted--beautiful, even--and the characters are well developed. The novel also has a strong sense of atmosphere, delivering on its gothic setting. The most important thing here is that it delivers on its promise of a sapphic retelling of Carmilla, giving readers a satisfying, obsessive sapphic vampire story.

This story brings the raw pain of a woman entrapped in a relationship and life that she chose as a means to survive. She considers herself safe and content, but as she meets a stranger, she realizes all of her perfectly checked boxes are unraveling and her eyes are opening as she’s asked over and over again “what is it that you truly want?”

I’m forever in love with a sapphic Carmilla inspired tale and a haunting of minds that questions what is reality and how have we arrived at the life we currently exist in. This book weaves it’s story in a way that resembles Jane Eyre and clearly define feminine rage. I can't wait to return to its pages. I’ll leave you with this quote that will stay with me for many years to come:

“It is a future envied by many, I say instead. For it is. I have fought for this life, when I could have so easily drowned beneath the waters of my misfortune. No one has loved me for so many long a year, I have done it all from spite. If the world offers me no kindness, then I will take from it armor and sword, create an unassailable fortress for myself and lock the door.”

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

kat dunn you have redeemed yourself.

i am a disliker of bitterthorn for a myriad of complicated reasons - maybe i see too much of myself in either character and don't like it, maybe the reality of helplessness is too much for me, maybe a happy ending amidst all the painfully real misery made me too jealous to allow myself to like it, I DUNNO.

but this one... oh my god. stunning imagery as always, a wonderfully bleak setting and the most decadent vibes i have read in a while. truly this is a comeback bc i think i rated bitterthorn like 2 or 3 stars after listening to it twice but this one is a five easily. banging. i will never stop thinking about it.

when in doubt, eat your problems.

Another amazing read for 2025! HUNGERSTONE is the sapphic gothic horror I've been waiting for, and it absolutely doesn't disappoint. Told from the point of view of Lenore, a dissatisfied wife keeping a secret on which her marriage to the ambitious but dismissive Henry hinges on, it explores the story of what happens when someone like Lenore meets Carmilla, a dynamic stranger who takes refuge in Lenore's home and begins to unravel all of the things that Lenore believed kept her secure and content and unwilling to take action. Dunn does a phenomenal way of reflecting Lenore's spiralling motivations as Carmilla sinks her teeth (figuratively) deeper and deeper into her. In particular, I love how the inherent, passive but condescending misogyny was worked into this story, giving the reader a feeling of sustained frustration and righteous anger. Carmilla was a fantastic character, lingering at the edges but with such an obvious and wicked presence, you couldn't deny her. But I would say the relationship between Lenore and Cora cinched this book for me — there was a real rawness here that reflects so many real-life friendships, acknowledging the envy and the love and the hate and the anger that can come hand in hand in these relationships. The book is a retelling of Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, and brings to it all the gritty, bloody joy of nineteenth century vampirism but with a strong lesbian centre with plenty of ooey-gooey feminine rage and hunger to make it a real standout for the genre!

A genteel woman traveling in the woods comes across a damaged carriage and offers shelter to its shaken and injured passenger, a young woman who calls herself Carmilla. You might think you've heard this one before, but Hungerstone isn't just a rehashing of Sheridan Le Fanu's classic tale of vampirism. The main character, Lenore, is not an adolescent girl but the wife of an industrialist who has long battled with the malaise of feeling like she just doesn't fit into her world, as hard as she may try to mold herself to its constraints. The arrival of Carmilla suddenly stokes feelings of discontent and gives voice to the quiet female rage that Lenore has been used to stifling, stirring a certain...shall we say, HUNGER in her.

This is a really beautifully written book from beginning to end. There's something so elegant about the prose that held me captivated even when the plot lags just a tiny bit at certain points. There's so much atmosphere, the language feels authentic to the characters and masterfully manages to keep you immersed in the lush historical world, and it's just suh a delight to read. The final act of the story was where it lost me a little, because there are certain events in the narrative that I think had potential for exploration at greater depth. But overall this is a really well written gothic tale that perfectly captured the mood I was looking for.

I was excited to read this book knowing that it was a Carmilla retelling however I wished there was just a little more chapters involving Carmilla! I liked the overall gothic vibe, the author definitely made it feel dreary, and the feminine rage at the end was the highlight (along with the sexual tension between Carmilla and Lenore). There were times where I did lose interest in the story and this was mainly during scenes focusing on Lenore’s husband Henry and his company; I despised Henry and he got what was coming for him. Lenore also did annoy me at the start because she couldn’t make her own decisions but that improved once Carmilla showed her how to be “free”.

Definitely one to read if you need some lesbian vampire action and a gothic lit fix 😋

Thank you to netgalley and Zando for the ARC!

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
*Advanced Reader Copy*
Publish Date: February 18, 2025
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hungerstone is a creepy and unsettling tale of female rage. Set in the Moors of England Lenore is set with the task of rebuilding a damp, falling apart manor house to entertain her husband’s peers. Of course Lenore is up to the task, this isn’t her first time playing the perfect wife. She has spent years perfecting society’s expectations and delivers flawlessly until a mysterious house guest arrives. Lenore is left asking the question that many women struggle with: what does she want? What does she hunger for? If society’s expectations were not on her what would her heart desire?

Thank you to Zando Project and Netgalley for an Advanced Reader Copy. #Hungerstone #NetGalley

This lesbian story based on the story of Carmilla brings all of the gothic atmosphere and obsessive sapphic vibes to the forefront.

Overall, I enjoyed this but it didn't push over the threshold from "like" to "love" for me.

I felt like the morals and feminism of this story were used to beat the reader over the head a bit, especially in the beginning. As the plot picked up it became less obvious, but I did feel a little preached to in the first half.

I also think the character of Carmilla was a little on-the-nose and she felt pushy at the beginning of the story. I found myself annoyed with her and how everyone tiptoed around her. I didn't feel like there was enough backstory to justify the relationship between Lenore and her the entire time she was present on the page. I honestly liked the narrative more once she left and Lenore found a bit more of her agency, and I recognize that she was necessary to be the catalyst for Lenore despite me not enjoying her as a character.

That being said, the final 1/3rd of this story was absolutely gripping. The "good-for-her" narrative and the way all of the previous threads tied together were incredibly satisfying at the end. The back and forth power struggle between Lenore and her husband had an incredible amount of tension built and I truly didn't know how the story was going to end until it did.

The relationship between Lenore and Cora was perhaps the most interesting part of this story for me. Their strained friendship spanning multiple years, layered with comparisons and jealousy built the most stunning plotline of the book.

3.5/5, rounded up

"The hunger women feel when left to starve in a man’s world fuels so much rage and an animal instinct to be free." - my own words

Truly it is hard to leave a review for a book with such a vague summary without spoiling the hypnotic journey that is Hungerstone.
I was at the mercy of the captivating narration of Lenore and hung on every moment Carmilla graced the pages. I was furious, I was anxious, I was in tears, I was talking to my eReader, I was pacing, I was enthralled, I was in love, I was filled with anguish, I was filled with rage!

I was enchanted by Dunn's writing as I was thinking about darling Lenore when I was not reading her story.

I was only left hungry for more freedom, more carnage, more women's rage and happiness. I was also left hungry wanting my own Carmilla and left thinking about what do I want and how do I plan to feed my own hungers. It was a blessing and a curse to see myself in Lenore and Lenore within myself in a few places. I have learned to be my own Carmilla from time to time and it was reassuring to see how Lenore handled the cruelty placed upon her and the empathy she had at the worst of times. This book has a loud and deep message to those who need it.

This was a gorgeous, haunting tale and I absolutely must own a physical copy to re-read again and again!

Really interesting and gothic. Definitely gives Carmella vibes. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and characters. Would recommend if that is something you enjoy.

The moment I saw the description of this novel, I KNEW I had to read it. The dynamic between Camilla and Lenore is intoxicating, pulling you in and making you want to hold on to every word wrote. On top of that, this story shows female rage in its most basic form and its so fun to see Lenore become her own person.

Lenore and Carmilla are the physical embodiment of feminine rage and I ate it UP! In my head, Nethershaw manor resembled what the house from The Haunting of Hill House looked like when Nell goes back at the end - old, dingy, damp, and unloving. At first, I wasn't sure where or how the sapphic love was going to come into play, but boy did we get there! I enjoyed that the scenes between Lenore and Carmilla weren't outwardly explicit but more so focused on the feeling of letting go and giving into one's wants and desires. The way in which we get to watch Lenore slowly piece together all of the puzzle pieces of her life was incredible, in my opinion. From the pastilles, to the secrets both Henry and Cora were hiding, to letting go and finally feeding that hunger within, it was executed perfectly. I also really loved getting to know what the menus were each time Lenore sat to eat; I found myself looking up almost everything she ate to see what it was and what it looked like.

If you love dark, vampy, strong women who get sweet revenge after the world has wronged them - you need to pick this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley, Zando Publishing, and Kat Dunn for an early copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Carmilla mixed with a “good for her” feeling and I’m all on board. The writing was superb but it truly is just a retelling of Carmilla with a protagonist with more agency than the previous story’s heroine. I enjoyed it. It didn’t blow my mind but I enjoyed it.

I love this novel as a book on female rage, and the reversal of power that Lenore enacts upon her life. However this is not a Camilla retelling in any way. You could've given Camilla any other name and no one would even think to compare the two works. And I honestly wish it would've been marketed without because I feel like I would've loved this novel that much more.

While the majority of it's talking-points stand out as rather obvious, I just absolutely fell in love with the prose and the growing hunger in Lenore, as she realises where her hunger comes from. Camilla is a way for not only her, but also other women in the area to realise their growing hunger and their inability to feed it with their real desires, and its a great example of society becoming incapable of realising their social failings, by ignoring transgressions in order to save face.

oh this was AMAZING. i can never get enough of sapphic vampires! the writing was impeccable and i couldn't have asked for a more engaging read.

Brilliantly dark with fantastic prose. A brilliant spooky read. Perfect for fans of weird and dark books. I highly recommend it.

I absolutely enjoyed this sharp and grisly version of the classic Carmilla. The writing here was so sharp, and it definitely made me want to keep an eye out for this author's next (and previous) works.

The only thing that I felt holding this book back was the fact that it was a retelling of a previous work; I found myself reaching at times for more: more story, more freedom. But as a serial Carmilla-enjoyer, that's not a big knock-down for me. Additionally, for all the vampire retellings of late, this one was far closer to hitting the bullseye than, say, Lucy Undying.

If you're craving some sapphic vamps and aristocratic crimes, give this a go.

Kat Dunn's Hungerstone is a masterful reimagining of Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, bringing its Sapphic undertones to the forefront in a compelling and immersive narrative. Set against the backdrop of Victorian-era Sheffield and its surrounding moorlands, the novel delves into themes of repression, desire, and the monstrous appetites that lurk within us all.

The story follows Lenore, the wife of steel magnate Henry. Ten years into their marriage, their relationship has soured, and no child has arrived to bridge the growing distance between them. Henry's ambitions lead them to the imposing Nethershaw manor in the countryside, where he plans to host a prestigious hunt. Lenore harbors a terrible secret from the last time her husband hunted, a haunting memory that continues to cast a shadow over their marriage.

The narrative takes a thrilling turn when a carriage accident near their remote home introduces the enigmatic Carmilla into Lenore's life. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night, awakens a deep hunger within Lenore. As their bond intensifies, girls from local villages begin to fall ill, succumbing to a mysterious and bloody hunger. Lenore finds herself torn between rekindling her husband's affection and succumbing to Carmilla's growing influence, leading her to unravel her past and uncover a darkness within her household that places her at unimaginable risk.

Dunn's prose is both poetic and gripping, painting vivid images of the wild moorlands and the oppressive atmosphere of Nethershaw manor. The characters are richly developed, with Lenore's internal struggles and Carmilla's enigmatic allure driving the story forward. The novel seamlessly blends elements of gothic horror with a profound exploration of female desire and agency, making it a standout addition to contemporary queer literature.

Hungerstone is a haunting and seductive tale that captivates from the first page to the last. It's a must-read for fans of gothic fiction and anyone seeking a fresh, feminist perspective on classic vampire lore.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-arc for review!

The second half of the book was sooo good compared to the first half! It started out slow but really picked up about 50% of the way in. I felt like this story was predictable but still enjoyable, but I don’t think this writing style was for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this! I have been craving a book inspired by Carmilla for a while and finally found a book that delivered what I wanted. Loved the writing, the characters and the atmosphere and the plot was gripping. Took me a while to get past the first pages but after certain point I just wanted to keep reading. I love Lenores characters progression and I love some female rage.
I guess my only issue was with the romance with Carmilla, I know Carmilla was supposed to be a mysterious character but I still needed to see more of them interacting to be able to feel their romance more strongly. I still enjoyed it, tho, just think it could have been better.

I will definitely look into Kat Dunns other books and whatever she writes from now on!