I have read from Kat Dunn before and loved what she wrote so I was super excited to read this piece, and I am happy to say it did not disappoint. It was dark and thrilling and an intriguing new take on Carmilla. The feminism was done brilliantly and I could feel the feminine rage deep in my bones. I will definitely continue to read whatever else this author brings out. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book.

A captivating read from start to finish, full of action, adventure, mystery and tension. I enjoyed every second of this!!

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This slapped. Inspired by Carmilla, about featuring the carnal hunger and desire we feel when a person is left so deeply unsatisfied in their life? Slaps.

You could tell this was a very personal book to the author, it’s within every word as you’re pulled along this atmospheric and strange narrative.
I loved Lenore as a character; her determination to make life work for her and her controlling nature spoke a little too true for me at times.

Overall, this is a fantastic book. If you enjoyed the authors previous work, this is all of that and more!

This was my first Kat Dunn, I've wanted to read from her for ages and I'm so glad I finally have, I was not disappointed. This was a really enjoyable read. An excellent twist of a gothic, Victorian tale that brings feelings of Brontë and Sheridan Le Fanu together. I loved the depiction of Carmilla in this novel, her character representing the release of carnal desire, and breaking through the repressed and narrow roles women were confined to during this period. An incredibly atmospheric read with a very satisfying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC!

I am in two minds about this book, in fact I think I might need to re-read it perhaps around Halloween time, to get a proper feel for it! I mean, you say lesbian vampires, I say GIMME! But unfortunately, this fell a little flat. I did enjoy it mostly, but I felt that the story could have been developed a bit further and I struggled with some of the plot and the language used, especially to describe women. I know it the time period, but it just felt a bit unnecessary? Overall, I would describe this as a dark and empowering retelling of a classic story (Carmilla) that falls just a little flat by the end.

I loved this!! I went into this book partially blind on the plot and all of the twists and turns were so good - kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Hungerstone offers a captivating story filled with intriguing characters and a fresh plot. I really enjoyed it, but I wish there were more direct references to vampires instead of some vagueness. That said, I appreciate how it nods to the original novel of Carmilla, so I can't complain too much about that! I loved the mysteries that were solved along the span of the book and I loved the characters developments. A married woman confined to a man, to a "hysterical" woman stereotype, to an absolute bad ass who now lives with her stunning new partner. Deserves a solid 4-star rating, even a little bit more.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this but I was expecting there to be more sapphic yearning, especially being a Carmilla retelling. I liked the way Carmilla infected those around her and brought out their urges. Some of those scenes were quite spooky! The mystery was pretty obvious though and I expected it to lean into the vampire aspect much more heavily. It wasn't a bad book but I was hoping for something different so was ultimately disappointed.

This book surprised me, I usually find historical fantasy a little hit and miss for me personally due to the archaic treatment of women. This book though felt more about secrets, feminine rage, desire and an awakening of clarity for our FMC.

I’d happily rate this 3.5.

Hungerstone has captured my whole heart. It made me wish I was the kind of person who did videos so I could just screech a lot in lieu of forming actual thoughts.

It follows Lenore whose past has led her to believe the only way she can be acceptable is to dull everything about herself and control her emotions completely (painfully relatable). She is dealing with a lot of complicated grief and is desperately lonely because she is married to the most boring man in all of human history (Henry). She is trying to be and do everything that is expected of her, disappointing the aforementioned dull AF man in her life, keeping his secrets and suffering with a mysterious illness.

Henry moved Lenore to the dilapidated country residence Nethershaw Manor, further isolating her, until following a chance accident, Carmilla arrives. Ever the people pleaser, Lenore insists on hosting her until she recovers.

Carmilla is everything Lenore is currently not: confident, outgoing and incredibly hungry. She turns Lenore's life upside down, plants seeds of doubt in her mind and encourages her to be her best self and to think about what she really hungers for.

I loved watching Lenore grow, become stronger and stand up for herself. This new version of Lenore is everything. I loved seeing her recover her sense of self at the same time as she recovers the manor to its former glory. I loved her growing through doubt, through realisation and into an understanding that makes her hunger for revenge.

Kat's writing is as dark, decadent and delicious as the story. There were parts that made me screech in surprise (and later delight). Hungerstone made me feel seen, angry and so damn proud of Lenore. An absolute stunner of a book.

I can't wait to read it all again.

I couldn’t put Hungerstone down!

Having tried to live the perfect life following the witnessing of of her parents tragic demise at a young age, Lenore’s starting to crack when she and husband Henry move to the English Pentlands. When they rescue Carmilla on the road, Lenore is captivated and enchanted by her as Carmilla fingers her way into the cracks of Lenore’s careful facade.

Gorgeously gothic and charming, Hungerstone kept me up late into the night with its subtle foreshadowing and well written prose leading to a sumptuous ending. Perfect for vampire lovers and or historical fiction fans!

You said sapphic vampires and I say take my money. Yet I'm in two minds about Hungerstone, unfortunately.

I LOVE the original Carmilla and thought those feelings would be mirrored in Dunn's novel. Her writing reminds me of Ava Reid's Lady Macbeth and I didn't love that (and Reid is an instant buy author for me!). I felt like there was a spark missing. I think it's because of the misogny the protagonist faced was a product of its time and that didn't really work with a modern first point of view writing style. If Dunn mimicked or wrote in the style of Le Fanu and paid more homage to the original style, I would have liked this better. If Dunn wrote Hungerstone the way Jennieke Cohen wrote Dangerous Alliance (used similar syntax structure but adapting language to the modern reader), I would have given this four maybe five stars.

This is a case of it's not you, it's me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader copy to reader and review. Another thanks to the publisherand agent who also sent me a physical copy through my place of work. These are my own words and thoughts.

Hungerstone is a sumptuous gothic feast of a novel. Leonore is unhappily married to a steel magnate and channeling her frustration into being the perfect wife and hostess. When her husband buys a crumbling gothic pile near Sheffield, she welcomes the challenge of making it suitable for entertaining. But when the couple rescue the mysterious Carmilla and are obliged to host her until she recovers, the strange woman threatens to awaken resentments - and desires - that Leonore has long repressed.

I absolutely inhaled this beautifully gothic sapphic horror novel. I was captivated by Leonore and felt that she was a fully realised character with a distinct and memorable voice. Although I was originally drawn to the book because it was a Carmilla retelling, I found Leonore (who is an original character) more compelling. I've seen other reviewers comment that they didn't buy the chemistry between Carmilla and Leonore. Personally, I didn't experience Hungerstone as a love story, so much as an emancipation story. Carmilla was a kind of catalyst: a creature of want and hunger who was drawn to Leonore's repressed desire and half guiding half forcing her to bring them to the surface.

I also thought Hungerstone was the best feminist retelling I've read in that it explicitly gave agency and complexity to all the significant female characters, including the ones who were rivals to the protagonist. While Leonore's situation was probably not recognisable to the majority of modern women, her frustrations were relatable. Her story also showed the pressures on her as an upper class woman and the ways that wives exercised soft power in the social sphere to facilitate their husbands careers.

My main criticism isn't of the book itself but of its marketing: I would consider Hungerstone to be more inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla than a true retelling. Although the original premise is the same (a woman takes in a mysterious young woman named Carmilla after she is injured in a carriage accident) there are also significant differences: Lenore is a jaded woman in an unhappy marriage, unlike the teenage ingenue Laura; and Hungerstone's Carmilla does not so much cause the horror in the novel as reveal what is already there. I don't think this is a criticism of the book (adaptations can be too faithful: I don't want to essentially read the same book twice.) Hungerstone is similar to the Netflix adaptation of Haunting of Hill House: a good story that can stand on its own merits but unlikely to satisfy book purists.

Overall, Hungerstone was easily my favourite NetGalley read and perhaps my favourite read of 2024. Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books Uk/Manilla Press for the ARC.

I loved the gothic world setting. It’s clear the amount of research has gone into every aspect of this book. However, for me personally, the pacing was too slow for me to full appreciate everything and I definitely struggled a little bit with Hungerstone. I did keep coming back to it over the past few months but I just unfortunately don’t think this one is for me.

I did enjoy Hungerstone, I just didn’t love it. I would recommend it to anyone who is a more avid reader of historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, Manilla Press and author Kat Dunn for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hungerstone is an amazing take on the sapphic vampire tale carmilla, full of female rage - outrageous for its setting in the 1800’s.

From the scandals that may be outspoken women ahead of their time, to impropriety within marriage this book is full of drama from start to finish. For the most part it follows our lead character Lenore who is married to a businessman named Henry. Coming from broke aristocracy, lenores marriage to Henry was somewhat business in itself - to allow her a healthy life with money and for her name/ aristocratic background to bolster his reputation.

Heartbreakingly, Lenore’s inability to bear child is a large focus within this book and is a main factor in a rift that forms between her and Henrys marriage. When moving to their new residence by Sheffield they come across a crashed carriage , which is how they come to meet carmilla who comes to join them at their new property to recover from the wreckage they found her amongst.

Carmilla to me felt like a voice of reason, there to help Lenore uncover what she may have been too distracted to have seen before, both the hunger within and the treachery and lies she had been willingly complacent to through her own ignorance.

Overall, although it took me a while to get through I did truly love this book, from its gore and brutality, to the mystery of the underlying murderous subplots that poison this book I was engaged from start to finish as although it had the sapphic yearning that comes with most carmilla interpretations it took on its own life for the storyline as a whole.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing the PRIVILEGE of receiving this ARC for an honest review.

This book was perfect and I adored it.
I loved Bitterthorn so came into this with good expectations, but Hungerstone truly exceeding them. Kat Dunn, you are a wonder with words and I could feel how personal this was.

Some of my favourite quotes from the book:
"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 a long year, I have done it all from spite. If the world offers me no kindness, then I will take from it armour and sword, create an unassailable fortress for myself and lock the door."

"I am not safe if I obey and reduce and control, just as I am not safe if I rebel and shout and anger."

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

I was already sold when I saw that this book was a retelling/reimagining of Carmilla. What a classic.
Kat Dunn has given me Carmilla and more. The female rage was dripping from the pages: Lenore's need to shape herself into whatever is deemed appropriate, to curtsey, agree and be hospitable no matter the situation and the awakening of her to be her own person. And more importantly, to have vengeance.

This book was so beautifully done. It was dark, tense and dripping with desire. I was captivated by Carmilla, and the later by her and Lenore's relationship. Her acceptance of Lenore for who she was, not what the world and her husband were forcing her to be.

I cannot recommend this book enough. An actual masterpiece

This is a wonderful work of historical literary fiction that explores so many fascinating themes; the setting was magically moody and the characters were really interesting. It's not the easiest read but it's a brilliant book and touches on madness, relationships and solitude really well.

It's been a couple of years since I read Carmilla so I went into this book mostly blind and I was hooked from the first page. This book was atmospheric and gothic and so well written. All the characters were three-dimensional and fully fleshed out which I haven't read from a book in a while. There were twists and turns some I expected and some I didn't. The only thing I wished there was more of were scenes of Carmilla, while she was a fantastic character I don't think we saw enough of her especially towards the end of the book.

I think I’m going to love anything Kat Dunn writes, she’s an amazing author. I loved that the book is a reworking of Camilla. I loved the characters and development of the story. Kat Dunn is quickly becoming an author I will read any books by, no questions asked.

The build up in this novel was really satisfying, and many boxes were ticked in the list of things I like about period novels. Firstly, I was really into how Kat showed us the details of the class system at the time through Lenore and her household. She was totally fixated on presenting the perfect impression, obsessing about minor details in order to keep her (and more importantly her husbands) elevated status in society. The obsession with clothes and fashions of all kinds, from what to eat, to the carriage types and hat styles, who is allowed to sit next to who at dinner and so on . Lenore's daily life is running a large household, and by her own admission running it well. But she doesn't know anything about any of her staff, and doesn't care to either, she is totally isolated. The isolation is even more stark as we gradually learn about the state of her marriage, her family history and her facade of a friendship with Cora.

The second thing I loved, were the impeccable gothic vibes. The grand, rotting stately home in the moors. The moors themselves, which are haunting and vast and creepy. The mysterious dreams and ofc, Carmilla herself! I loved every interaction between Carmilla and Lenore, though it took me a while to realise that Carmilla was a mirror for Lenore's true feelings about her life.

The build up between both Lenore and Carmilla and Lenore and her life was gradual but excellent, the tension built up and exploded in a really satisfying manner in the last 30% or so of the book. I just wish overall, there had been more vampire extra curricular activities, especially when Carmilla took Lenore out for her little night -trip.

The secondary characters were a little hollow and flat, but because I liked Lenore so much I found myself hating Cora too. <spoiler> I still think she slept with him though , really who gives diamonds out casually like that</spoiler>

Thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier books UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.