What a treat. House of Hunger is an atmospheric read that delivers on what it promises. I absolutely loved the writing, the character work and the way Henderson built this gothic horror that gave me all the dark and seductive vibes I was looking for. If you're looking for a book that you can fly through and you don't mind a bloody romp, definitely pick this up.

Marion is tired. Tired of her industrial city of Prane, pumping out smog into the dirty streets, and especially tired of working as a maid for hardly any money and returning to the slums every night. So when Marion spots a notice looking for Bloodmaid, despite the views of friends and families that she is selling herself, she takes the opportunity to escape the drudgery of her life. When Marion arrives in the House of Hunger, she is immediately initiated into the political hierarchy of Bloodmaids and finds herself vying for the top spot, and the love of her mistress Lisavet.

I really love Alexis Henderson's writing and this book definitely sealed it for me. This is vampy and horrifying in all the right ways, with a perfect level of blood, violence combined with just the right amounts of sexiness.

The world Marion lives in what very much feels like a post Civil-War era US, separated into North and South with both areas divided on behaviour and views. There's not a lot of world building but just enough that we learn about the bigger differences between North and South, and how much it takes for someone to be able to travel between them.

I went into this blood initially believing that it was about some kind of vampiric creature using bloodmaids - but the truth that it (appears) to be normal people is almost even more horrifying. As is the reality that this world Marion lives in is run by blood in almost every matter - including the train which is run on 'blood fuel'. A lot of Marion's experience in the House of Hunger has a hazy, almost dream like quality as she is taken in with the wealth, the food and the comfort while almost daily being bled in payment.

I don't think there was a huge amount in this book that really shocked me - you can kind of figure out what must be happening and what kind of dark secrets the house is holding. I did like the showdown and it all the right amount of tension to keep me gripped.

Nobody is more disappointed than me, I really thought that I would love this book and it was just not for me. The vibes were just off, like yes it’s gothic but it’s also not my kind of gothic. The characters are quite forgettable in my opinion. I don’t have anything really bad to say but I don’t have anything good either.

You know those books where you don’t have the highest of expectations but you want your reading experience to go a certain way so you come out at least liking the book? That was me with House of Hunger. I knew going in I wasn’t expecting it to be my new favourite of the year or anything, but I still had some expectations for it. Luckily this hasn’t stopped me from wanting to read Henderson’s other book, The Year of the Reaper (whenever I get to that). Either I like/love it or I know not to read Henderson’s future books.

I should’ve marked this a Did-Not-Finish rather than slogging through the book and disliking it all the way through. I originally rated it 3 stars but then after thinking about and it’s now a 1 star for me. Which also proves to me I should’ve stopped reading early on or when I first started realising it wasn’t going my way – which there were so many parts where I had the urge to stop reading it. But I didn’t and that was a bit of a mistake – whoops.

Both covers were just absolutely stunning. I had the review copy with the UK cover but the US cover is also amazing. The cover (both of them) were definitely why I wanted to read it. Unfortunately the cover did not make up for everything else. Which is sad because they’re both so gorgeous!

I sort of liked Marion as a character. I started off interested in her journey and then she met Lisavet and everything immediately went down for me (whoopsie!). I would’ve rated higher if the plot just matched the characters? I don’t know if this makes sense but to me Marion was written (a bit) better than the plot. And I only mention her because I disliked all the other characters so much that even though I didn’t like much of anything, Marion was basically my favourite by default because she was the best… of sort of the worst.

I don’t like books that only start picking up – pace or plot – right at the end. For House of Hunger, to me at least, the “real” action I think was only after the 80% percent. Which is not what I want in a book at all – especially when it’s a book that I’m disliking all the way through.

I can’t even bring myself to say like one nice thing about Lisavet and the representation surrounding her because I disliked her so so much. Obviously that’s how the character is meant to be written but I was reading reviews and others were raving about how much they loved the characters and the represention was good. Because you had me sitting and thinking “good representation? WHERE”. Did these readers purchase a special edition of this book where Lisavet was interesting? I didn’t find her compelling or interesting or likeable in the slightest.

I know that because this is a Gothic novel certain traits of the genre are expected from it. Specifically a slower pace – which means I should have expected this. But this isn’t always the case with other Gothic novels so maybe it was me, maybe it was just this book – like I say a lot – you can’t always win with every book.

Interesting and compelling concept. I enjoyed the story but it is very dark and horror filled. The end dragged on a little but overall recommend it to horror readers.

A dark and deadly gothic horror novel; 4.5 stars for this spooky read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

Dracula meets Downtown Abbey in House of Hunger - a dark and moody gothic horror set in a world where blood is everything.
With a strong period setting, intriguing main characters and an interesting exploration of class, status, power, privilege, greed, seduction and abuse it's a solid read that combines melodrama with a foreboding sense of horror before embracing the dark in its final act.
It's not perfect - and leans heavily on the stylings of its influences - but is strong enough to recommend reading.

3.5 stars rounded up

Raised in the slums she is desperate to escape, Marion stakes all her bets on becoming a blood-maid: a woman whose job is to bleed so her employers have fresh blood to enjoy. Once she arrives at the House of Hunger, however, she finds herself entangled in the intrigues of the household all while she chases the approval and love of her employer, the Countess Lisavet.

I really enjoyed the original take on blood-drinking in this vaguely-historical gothic horror. While I wasn’t totally satisfied with the wider world-building — once Marion makes it to the House of Hunger we learn little about the world beyond it, in a way that I wouldn’t entirely excuse as the ‘she’s trapped there’ claustrophobic atmosphere — it was interesting to read about the way that society was constructed around blood-drinking as an aristocratic activity, and it had some sharp things to say about the commodification of (specifically young) women’s bodies, and the way ignorance and desperate poverty are weaponised.

Unfortunately the pacing was off for me. While the beginning was intriguing and the ending was tense and action-packed, in between it stalled a bit, and there was a chunk in the middle where I didn’t have a good sense of what the stakes were for Marion and wasn’t compelled by much sense of urgency. But the prose was lovely and lyrical and I could have kept reading for that alone.

I've been thinking about whether this is a 4 or 5 star, so I'm picking 4.5 just because of the repetition in the book.
But apart from that - wow! I totally didn't see where this book would be going. All the way through I kept expecting certain things to happen and nothing i thought would happen did, and it completely knocked me off my feet. I loved it.
So, poverty, slums and filth are all around in the south of this country. Imagine Victorian urchins living in squalor. Children raising children, living on stale bread and frozen water, well that was what life was like for Marion, until she sees an advert for a blood-maid, in the lonely hearts section of the stolen newspaper her and her friend Agnes share every lunch break. Blood Maids, have a reputation of the worst kind, but marion thinks she can finally get out of the town and do something with her life and so after an awful row with her dying and maudlin addicted brother, she decides tonight is the night she is leaving.
And begins the strangest (are they vampires?) vampire story that I have read. Unique and wonderful, devastating and exciting. This book has it all. But when Marion finally comes to her senses in the North and that's when the words flew off the page, and I just couldn't stop reading. it was brilliant.
as I said, the only thing that annoyed me what the constant need to remind the reader what was happening, and it kept happening. But this was my first Alexis Henderson (not sure why i haven't read the year of witching yet when i have owned it for years) but I will be reading more soon.

I have had my eye on Henderson's previous novel for a while, but hadn't quite found the time to pick it up when I heard they had a new novel coming out. I immediately looked this one up, and knew I had to read this one too!

The premise here is super appealing; a vampire story, a woman down on her luck stumbling across an advertisement looking for bloodmaids, and bam - a life of luxury awaits... but of course nothing can be that simple, and destiny awaits.

I thought this was a well paced gothic treat. The vibes and the atmosphere are immaculate. I didn't particularly bond with our MC though, so perhaps that stopped me from adoring it, but it's a solid read, and perfect for spooky-season.

Read this one on a stormy evening, rain pouring down the window and by the dim glow of candlelight. You'll suddenly feel right at home.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to this text.

I was very enticed by the premise of this book and found it very readable. However, I didn’t love it. While it was atmospheric and well crafted, the characters seemed relatively flat; therefore, I never felt the spooky vibes or danger. There appeared to be connections missing that could have given emotional depth, but that was lacking. As a result, I don’t think the plot stands very well. Also, I felt like the worldbuilding overall was unclear, which I found difficult to engage with. I enjoyed the commentary in class; particularly on how the rich take advantage of the poor’s vulnerability. While reading, I was intrigued but couldn’t claim this to be a memorable experience.

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson was one of my favourite reads of 2021 so I was incredibly excited for her newest release, House of Hunger. This dark horror story follows a young woman named Marion, who lives in the slums of Prane. She hates her job as a maid and struggles to make ends meet with her sick brother living at home. When she happens upon an advert for a bloodmaid she decides to apply for the position – a life of luxury in exchange for the noble lords of the north drinking her blood. Marion finds herself indentured to Lisavet, the Countess of the House of Hunger. Lisavet is quickly taken with Marion, and Marion finds herself quickly falling for her new mistress. As Marion attempts to find her way in this new elite world, she soon discovers that the secrets of the house of hunger might be even more disturbing than she could possibly have imagined.

I must admit that prior to picking up House of Hunger I was in a bit of a reading slump and struggling to find something that would keep my attention, but this book hooked me in almost instantly. I really enjoyed Henderson’s writing style, it was full of vivid descriptions and there was so much atmosphere. The story is pretty quick paced and that had me turning pages quicker and quicker because I was so captivated I just had to know what was coming next. The chapters in the book were often quite short so I found myself saying ‘oh just one more’ and ended up reading for much longer than expected.

The story is a dark one, with a few twists I didn’t see coming. The characters in the story are particularly intriguing and I really liked our main protagonist Marion. It was fascinating to see her adapt to this new world of opulence and luxury as well as watching the relationship unfold between her and Lisavet. The one thing I wish was that the story was a little longer – I would have liked to see the friendships between Marion and the other bloodmaids explored a bit more, especially towards the second half of the book as tensions begin to arise.

House of Hunger is my first read of 2023 and it was the absolutely perfect book to kick off the year. It’s gothic, dark, and utterly unforgettable. If you’re looking for a tense, claustrophobic horror to keep you captivated, look no further than House of Hunger.

This had an amazing atmosphere, and the author has an incredible way of building tense and eerie settings that feel so real and three dimensional. The writing style pulls you into the story and refuses to let go. Vivid descriptions full of tiny little details set the author apart from many other authors.

I had some problems with the plot. The premise was intriguing, and I was interested in finding out what the book had to offer, but I felt like it fell apart, especially around the middle and the end. I also struggled to connect with the characters, making it difficult to become invested in the story and what happened to them. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for a chance to read and review this book.

A darkly gothic tale, full of beautiful descriptions and rich storytelling. I couldn’t put this book down!

Thrilling and utterly compulsive! An incredible read, impossible to put down. Incredible storytelling! Recommend you read this book! A propulsive read that never let me go from start to finish! Gave me the chills!

Okay, firstly - I’m an idiot. It took me ***so*** far into this book to realise that this was inspired by Countess Elizabeth Bathory, which is one of my favourite historical stories to read about. I read this in the middle of a huge reading slump, and it dragged me right out of it again because I couldn’t stop thinking about these characters.

I absolutely adored THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING and I already knew that Alexis Henderson’s next book was going to be an insta-buy for me, but after reading THE HOUSE OF HUNGER I actually liked HUNGER even better. Alexis Henderson’s writing was just as good as ever and I know I’m going to read everything she publishes. Marion was a fantastic main character and I absolutely adored her. The intricacies of her backstory and her decisions that led to her signing up to be a bloodmaid made her feel so real and relatable, even as everything started going wrong around her.

The relationships between the bloodmaids were beautiful, if a little heartbreaking. They were all drawn together by their trauma and bonded in the dangerous lifestyle they chose and it made my heart ache for them. Even the conflict and mistrust between them was completely understandable, driven by their surroundings. The relationship between Marion and Lisavet was *******brutal*******. It was intense and messy and I absolutely adored the dark and messy sapphic energy of it all.

Even the fantasy elements of this book were tinged with horror and it made the whole read incredibly intense and I was on *****edge***** by the end of the book. I definitely want to reread this one, and I think I’ll listen to the audiobook when I do because I think that will definitely add to the intense atmosphere.

DNFed at 30%

I think that unfortunately this author and I just don't get on. I love her ideas and the worlds she creates, but her writing and characters feel so shallow. I just always want MORE from her stories and I don't get that.

trigger warning
<spoiler> blood and gore, torture, drug addiction, trauma, grief, poverty, starvation </spoiler>

To escape a life full of misery, Marion decides to apply to a position as bloodmaid, thinking she knows well what this will entail. But once she arrives in her new life, full of luxuries and blood, things are not exactly as she had thought.

This story is very loosely based on the myths around Countess Elizabeth Bathóry, and if you know that one, it's fun to see how the various details have been incorporated into the story. Well, fun is relative when it's all about pain and suffering.
What I was waiting for was clarification on what is going on - are the Night Lords vampires? Because humans can't really digest blood, but then the bloodmaids may happen to consume blood, too. Have they been changed during their job, without noticing? Yes, of course, this is fantasy. Horror. Anything could be possible, but it's a pet peeve of mine that so many people say they or their characters are "drinking blood" when I know fully well what happens when your stomach realises there is human blood.

Anyway.

I really liked the atmosphere, and the limited cast in the middle of this court full of people. The pacing was great, and the book had the ideal lenght. Had it been longer, you'd run the risk of introducing drag which nobody wants.
I have an admiration for authors who know how long their story will be, when we have so many hyped books which are very badly in need of a firm edit.

This was my first novel by this author, and it makes me excited for the witchy one. I would recommend this if you're intrigued by the concept, maybe even know a bit about the accusations raised about Bathóry, and are not against seeing blood. Otherwise you won't last long.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

This is a chilling and wicked gothic horror novel and I loved it.
Refreshing to read a different take on the blood sucking genre only criticism is the lack of world building which was there for expanding and could have enhanced the storyline significantly. Perhaps Alexis Henderson is planning on visiting another of the “Houses” in a sequel.
Marion is the newest blood maiden to be tenured to the House of Hunger and I immediately found a likeable bond towards her even though some of her actions were dubious in nature. The beautiful Countess Lilavet presides over the House and its’ court with a wicked and heinous rod of iron even though she has a debilitating disease of the blood which keeps her in poor health.
Highly recommended.

I loved Alexis' previous book, The Year of the Witching, and this one did not disappoint. Very dark and gothic and gave me all the October-Halloween vibes. This is such a gem of a book and perfect for horror fans, I was rooting so hard for our main bloodmaid - Marion - but also the others under Lisavet's watch.
Great characters, incredible atmosphere, and very good plot.
Would highly recommend.