HUNGERSTONE is a gothic horror about hunger and loneliness and rage.

Gothic horror is definitely my favourite flavour of horror. It's so atmospheric, a creeping dread running fingers through your mind as the tale builds and builds to a frenetic, deadly climax. HUNGERSTONE absolutely drips atmosphere in a decaying house near Sheffield set in the untamed "wilds", but also the steel mills of Sheffield and all their danger. It's starkly empty, a nice way of mirroring the situation Lenore finds herself trapped in.

I really liked how this book explored the exhaustion and loneliness of rage. Lenore's marriage is falling apart, full of facades on both sides, with the weight of expectations and demands being placed upon her. It's exhausting and so she doesn't have the energy to rage in the ways we're more used to seeing in fiction. Her anger has turned inwardly, mutating into apathy and despair because those take less energy - and also don't require her to admit the truth to herself. When she does, the book snaps into a much more overtly violent frenzy. It's very freeing to see all that rage go outwards.

The book is inspired by CARMILLA, one of the original "vampire novels" (predating DRACULA), though it is not a retelling as the exact circumstances and plot are different. I also liked that it looked more at the unusual hungers side of vampires and gothic fiction in general. There are no explicit vampires in this, but a lot of very strange appetites for flesh and blood. It's gruesome but, due to the lack of recognisable vampires, unpredictable in the best way.

Dark and delicious, a truly captivating read! I loved the gothic setting, the enigmatic characters and the way this story unfolded.

As a student I studied Gothic literature and this is certainly in the genre with location, time and atmosphere. There's a lot to enjoy in Hungerstone, and it has a modern day slant to it that I enjoyed but found a little anachronistic at times (the language especially). That doesn't spoil the book however, and it's rich in places with themes and echoes of writers and stories from the era that can be identified throughout. I suspect most people would hugely enjoy this book.

4.75

#ad I received this book as an arc but the opinions are my own
This book is a gothic horror that makes you question the reality of the main character. Everyone questions her sanity and at some points so do you. She is gaslit by a society of misogyny and corruption. I loved the power of Carmilla and everything she represented. The gore was raw and unnerving but so satisfying. The prose was engaging and during internal monologues felt like it was written in verse. My only real complaint is that you do have to suspend disbelief at the journey times if you are familiar with Sheffield and the surrounding area as the author did take creative liberties with the setting.

disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

content warnings: sexual assault, rape, abuse, domestic abuse, violence, blood, gore, murder, attempted murder, suicide mentions, poisoning, manipulation

rep: sapphic characters

Hungerstone draws inspiration from the well known story of Carmilla. It is a violent, sensual, intense & intoxicating novel about women's fear, anger, desire & freedom. It takes place in sheffield and the peak district during the industrial revolution. The atmosphere is really well done too - very haunting, especially against the victorian backdrop. The plot moves forward incredibly fast, amping up & up for a very cathartic ending. I loved Lenore as a character - a wild and untamed woman being forced into a demure & quiet wife and I loved seeing her fighting her way free from that. Highly recommend - especially if you're a fan of gothic sapphic novels.

Kat Dunn has crafted an atmospheric, Gothic masterpiece. It takes inspiration not only from Carmilla, but also draws on Wuthering Heights, The Woman in White, set in Sheffield in the height of the Industrial age: a time of iron and blood.

It is not a comfortable read. Thrumming with tension, Dunn explores both greed and hunger, repression and desire, winding the threads deftly and tightly as you spiral along with the heroine…

Lenore seems to have it all: beauty, a handsome husband, wealthy with the profits of his steel-making business, and an estate with the promise of being counted amongst the best of society. But the estate is wild and crumbling, and Lenore struggles to control it - and herself.

As her husband keeps secrets, Lenore begins to have some of her own; beginning with Carmilla, a woman they rescue from apparent tragedy on the moor. As the dance around the truth continues, Lenore must confront what she really wants.

Vampire stories have always been about forbidden desires and repression, deeply carnal; but this is about desire of the spirit, as well. Carmilla is not only a taboo sexuality but a woman wrong and wronged, out of place, repellent and yet attractive at the same time. Similarly, this novel is both horror and delight, gore splattered over exquisitely beautiful writing. As the revelations break free, so might Lenore, if she has the courage to confront the truth and herself…

Hungerstone was a beautiful nightmare of a book. It was simply exquisite.

I have long enjoyed Kat Dunn’s work, particularly her strength in character work and gripping plot lines. I was ravenous for her adult debut - a sapphic reworking of Camilla in the Industrial Age sounds just like what I needed. This was everything I could have wanted and more. It is lavish and lascivious, dripping with sensuality and suspense in equal measure.

I love Gothic literature and this really felt like a love letter to the genre. Dunn has a masterful ability to create such creeping dread, especially through atmospheric that feels like it is weighing down upon you. It all feels claustrophobic and like the walls are closing in on Lenore. The setting is a classic Gothic mansion, in a state of disrepair behind its gilded exterior. It encapsulates the increasingly desperate situation Lenore finds herself in - a opulent cage. Dunn also explores societal themes around the oppression of women and the capitalist violence of the Industrial Age. Men’s appetites are free to be satiated as they wish - sexuality, money, power, violence. We see how capitalism and patriarchy work together and a throughline about class exploitation.

In general, I am really enjoying this trend within fiction of exploring womens’ appetites, hunger and the various forms of this. It feels like an evolution of feminine rage - still encompassing that anger at patriarchal systems and oppression, but exploring other facets. Hungerstone examines that sense of hunger that leaves a pit in your stomach, the desire for something more out of your life, an all-consuming feeling that slowly overcomes you. It is a celebration of appetites that are finally indulged. This is explored richly with some excellent plot threads. Camilla is woven into the story perfectly, giving both new readers and those familiar with the tale plenty to sink their teeth into.

Hungerstone is a fantastically warped Gothic tale of hunger. This is not a book to miss.

“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.”

Lenore is 10 years into her marriage to Henry, and the two have travelled to Nethershaw, a dilapidated mansion that Lenore is tasked with fixing up for their entrance into high society. On the way to Nethershaw, they come across a young woman in distress… a strange young woman! It’s Carmilla, and we’re off to the races with a female-rage filled retelling of the Victorian Gothic classic.

First, the good: the Gothic atmosphere is superb in this one. I could feel the wind of the moors, the damp of the crumbling manor, Lenore’s stomach-churning rage. I picked this up after seeing Nosferatu and it hit a lot of the same pleasure centres in my little brain! Dunn is a talented writer and her characters are mysterious and compelling; Lenore’s slow-burn rage was enjoyable to watch unfold, and Carmilla, when she was around, was a mysterious and seductive delight, if a little too obtuse for my liking at times.

However: this was simply too long! My experience of the novel went like this: I ADORED the first quarter, really enjoyed the second, liked the third… and was fed up by the fourth. It’s a compelling, atmospheric and at times powerful novel that is simply 100 pages too long. It also didn’t have the Lesbian Chops ™ that I anticipated - if you’re promising a sapphic retelling of a classic, I want you to commit to the Sapphic-ness, and Hungerstone didn’t go far enough in that, for me. We get a lot of yearning in the second half of the book, but by then I was frustrated thanks to the lagging plot.

Carmilla is reduced to a catalyst - nearly just a plot device - causing no real horror in the novel herself. I wanted more of Carmilla as a character, and less of Lenore wondering if her husband was bad (girl, listen to your gut for once!)
A gore-fest of an ending redeemed this for me somewhat, bult ultimately Hungerstone fell flat for me.

This book was fantastically morbid and freaky. I’ve read the original Carmilla story and as much as I want to honour the classics, I much preferred this version. Kat Dunn writes beautifully and my only criticism is that I wish Lenore was kinder to her staff.

3.5* **Morally Grey Vampires for the win!**

(ARC Gifted/AD for honest review) Thank you Bonnier Books UK, Manilla Press, Kat Dunn and NetGalley for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

*(Trigger warnings: Gore; Abuse; Sexism; Violence)*

Hungerstone follows Lenore, a woman lost in her societal roles, subject to the demands of her rank and marital status. Married to a man who sees women as a means to produce a family, Lenore’s inability to have children damages her wellbeing in a patriarchal society obsessed with titles and lineage. An encounter with a free woman, Carmilla, changes everything, and begins Lenore’s journey to finding what she wants in life to disastrous effects.

The audience are totally immersed in the historical context of the book; the way the majority of the female characters talk about themselves, or react to the world around them, is heartbreaking and yet wholly believable given the society around them. You’re taked into Lenore’s thoughts as a woman placed in a game she cannot win. For reasons out of her own control, she’s been manipulated into thinking she is nothing more than her ability to have children, host parties and be a good wife. Her character progression throughout the book is really exciting to witness; I especially enjoy that although it was guided by external factors (Carmilla and her reactions to Cara and Henry) I really felt like Lenore herself was having a moment of self realisation, rather than fitting another path laid out by somebody else. She’s a changed person, and there really is no going back.

The pacing of the book was fast and interesting for the most part, but the last 25% felt quite drawn out. Lenore states at the end of a few chapters that she ‘has a plan’, but it’s not fully clear what this plan is. The tension and build up didn’t always suit the outcome; I just wish there were a few more twists!

The *writing* in this book…oh my. I’d read some sentences and have a physical reaction; you can feel the pain of the character, the feeling of having wasted their lives for other peoples protection satisfaction. This makes the outcome all the more satisfying, and all the more tragic when some characters fall victim to the society pitted against them.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any fan of the supernatural. The setting is enough to interest anybody; adding in the character development of Lenore and the otherwordly impact of Carmilla brings an entirely new interest to the story.

*This review will also be posted to my Goodreads account a week before the publishing date (posting on 6th Feb ahead of 12th publishing)*

 **#Hungerstone #NetGalley**

One of the best parts of vampire stories, and particularly the originally Carmilla story, is the desire. And oh my gosh did Dunn capture that.

The half of the novel was quite slow and predictable. I wasn’t really convinced by it as a retelling or a story in its own right. But once it got going, it became an unhinged mess of hunger and blood, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There wasn’t enough Carmilla in it for me, but the additional plot lines did make up for it somewhat. Henry was also a bit cliche as far as evil husbands go, and I thought Lenore was too. Until she absolutely wasn’t - I was totally corrected on that front. I also thought the bits about class/society were interesting, particularly at the very end of the novel.

If you’re into sapphic vampires/Carmilla retellings, I’d recommend this! There’s a lot of pining and a hell of a lot of hunger. Exactly what you want from it tbh.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books for the advance copy!

This book is such a brilliant take on Carmilla and vampires in general.

The big focus of this book is hunger. What we deny ourselves and how monstrous it can be when we finally allow ourselves to satiate it. And it worked so well, especially when the vampirism of the story is almost a suggestion. Like with some of the best gothic fiction, you can take this story almost at face value and as if there is no supernatural element to it. Only women who finally let themselves hunger for more than what they have.

Kat Dunn does such a great job at slowly revealing elements of the story and piecing the plot together. When I finally realised what will happen to Henry, mere moments before it happened, I couldn't help but grin at how perfectly we were led to this situation.

The book can certainly be gruesome at times but it didn't feel overwhelming or disgusting. And let's be honest, we cannot have a vampire book without some blood. But it certainly had more of a horror element than many of current vampire books.

I enjoyed it immensely and could spend another 200 pages in the company of Lenore and Carmilla.

A dark and sumptuous sapphic classic reimagined forms the heart of Hungerstone which takes Le Fanu's Carmilla and transposes the tale to industrial era Sheffield. A pleasing slice of good-for-her sapphic fiction, with a secret tenderness to its Gothic trappings.

Sharp as steel.

Hungerstone is a loose retelling of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, the OG vampire novel from 1872, that pre-dates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by some 25 years. I will admit that I was unfamiliar with the original before now, but perhaps it is thematically apt that a female vampire is somehow forgotten in favour of their male counterpart.

Set in England during the industrial revolution, this tells the story of Lenore, the wife of a wealthy steel magnate. She was orphaned at an early age, has been married to Henry for ten years, but has not yet produced an heir. They move from London to live in a crumbling mansion house in Sheffield so he can better manage his steel factory there. Along the way, they encounter Carmilla, a young woman who will turn their lives as upside down as the carriage they find her in.

Carmilla is weak during the day, and roams the moors barefoot at night. She recoils from churches, and seems to have all manner of strange hungers. You might imagine that Lenore will become her prey, but instead Carmilla shows her many truths about her marriage, and about herself.

Kat Dunn’s previous book, the excellent “Bitterthorn”, was equally evocative of its gothic setting, but this feels much darker in tone. I would hesitate slightly - if only slightly - to call it a romance, despite the growing sapphic relationship between Lenore and Carmilla. This is primarily a tale about feminine rage and male treachery. As the situation slowly spins out of control, I promise you will be a willing participant in the carnage to follow.

Highly recommended!

Thanks to Bonnier Books for the early review copy.

this is just gorgeous, starving and sticky and rancid. whether or not you know the story of Carmila, this novel stands alone as a testament to female rage. the main character is fascinating and so engrossing: despite being cold, often calculating, and at other times too afraid to free herself, she is powerful, complex, and deeply relatable. i completely adored her. it's rare that i read a retelling that feels like it enriches and expands the original as well as this does. can't wait to read what she writes next!

Rating: 4.75 Stars

Firstly, thank you to @Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for approving my request to read this ARC!

Having read Bitterthorn, I knew I would be in for a treat with Kat Dunn's next release. Her writing is exquisite and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characterisation of both Carmilla and Lenore is so well done that they simply jump off the page for me. The slight maddening undertone really make this story stand out, along with the repeated question: what do you hunger for? what would you do to satiate that hunger?

Uch, I really adored this book. It made you second guess who to trust, including the main character, Lenore. It made you truly think about what was really going on. Who is Carmilla really? It's special when a book makes you ask questions; it kept me hooked and searching for answers.

The descriptive writing is superb as always. And while this has sapphic, it's important to note Carmilla's alignment. Is she good? Is she bad? Is she morally grey? The relationship between her and Lenore was both intoxicating and maddening. Was it a healthy relationship? I didn't find it to be so. Was it interesting, however? Oh, most definitely!

My only downside to this book was the abrupt ending. I guess I enjoyed it so much that I wasn't expecting it to end where it ended.

Overall, I loved this book. I'm definitely going to check out the original novel of Carmilla!

I wish the author every success on publication day! I cannot wait to see what future works are in store <3

Set against the backdrop of the stunning Peak District Moorland, Hungerstone is a story of reckoning and feminine rage. I really shared the feeling of suffocation and being stifled by your surroundings. Lenore has fought so hard for her position and for her future. When everything comes under threat, she has no choice but to face herself and who she really is. I would have liked to have seen more of the relationship between Lenore and Carmilla. The presence of Carmilla felt like more of a means to an end in order to push Lenore towards her unravelling when there could have been so much more depth to them. This is definitely a slow burn. The book started to feel a bit repetitive and I was worried that we were going round in circles until Lenore finally snaps. I also didn’t care much for the time jumps back to Lenore’s time with Aunt Daphne. I just wanted to progress with the main plot. Overall, I loved it for the gothic, ruggedness and dark feminine energy.

Hungerstone is a book inspired by the tale of Carmilla which I admittedly haven’t read. I went into this expecting to queer vampires but it fell lacking in my expectations, but perhaps this is due to my lack of knowledge on the original story?

The authors writing is very beautiful and fits the historical setting well, so as a fairly visual reader I was definitely transported to the late 1800s setting. I loved that clearly a lot of research has gone into this book to give it some historical accuracy. There is a lot of strange happenings to the book which, as the reader, we know is leading to vampirism but honestly the book just failed to deliver it for me. These references are just made to “hunger” and the madness of women for those that Lenora comes across, but what I wanted to know is what started this hunger and we don’t get that explained at all. In fact Lenore’s own experience of the hunger is rather different to the other portrayals so I felt a bit cheated.

I did find the characters a bit lacking, Lenore wasn’t an FMC I connected with and even Carmilla’s elements were bland. All the excitement happens in the last few chapters of the book after an incredibly slow build up, and sadly I wasn’t motivated at all to pick up this book. For a book that’s only around 330 pages it took me a long time to read as I didn’t find it engaging.

Overall I gave this book a 2.5⭐️ as it didn’t grip me or meet my desired expectations. However, this book was a beautiful read and if you like historical fiction then it would be more enjoyable - whereas I was expecting more to the fantasy element of vampires and therefore I was just a little underwhelmed.

🫦 Hungerstone • Kat Dunn 🫦
★★★★.𝟱

Read if you enjoy:
🫦 Horror
🫦 Historical Sheffield settings
🫦 Unhinged female characters
🫦 Aristocracy
🫦 Feminine rage

“It would make me far more important than I have ever considered myself, to be the target of such a plot.
Perhaps I am not the ghost I thought myself. Perhaps I have always had substance.
If, then, I am allowed a story, perhaps I can become the author of it.”

Lenore is the wife of steel magnate, Henry. After ten years, their relationship has soured, leaving Lenore cold, chasing warmth that is only shown in glimpses. They purchase a new estate, Nethershaw, a manor in keeping with Henry’s ideas of his station. On their journey there, they come upon a fallen carriage with the beautiful Carmilla needing rescuing. As Carmilla recovers in their mansion, Lenore’s appetite comes alive against the backdrop of the moors.

This dark and seductive novel held me tightly in its clutches with its brilliant writing, atmospheric setting, and complex characters. The author explores female appetite thoroughly, its contrast stark against the time period where women are slaves to their husband desires. I found this addictive, delicious, and relatable to any modern day feminist.

Captivating and unsettling with a wonderfully evocative gothic atmosphere conjured amongst the Peak District, I really enjoyed this! I'd not heard of Carmilla before, so could not compare this as a re-telling, but found myself completely absorbed by this story. I felt it might have benefitted from tighter pacing at the beginning, but the tension and pacing really ramped up as the book continued. A great story.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.