I’m not quite sure how to feel about Hungerstone.

On one hand, I quite liked it. I liked the writing, with its Gothic undertones, and its unsettling atmosphere. I liked the setting of the house, the landscape, and how that all compared to a world further afield becoming more industrialised. It played with the fear of the old becoming redundant and being replaced by something new.

I felt for Lenore and her rage, for all the ways she was told she was too much, for all the ways she was picked at no matter how hard she tried, for the complete disregard of her as a person. I felt for Lenore as she struggled to break free, and what a psychological struggle and torment this was at times! I loved it when Lenore tossed it all to the wind and just raged.

But within the pages of the book I found too much ambiguity and it was too slow paced. The book just took forever to get anywhere and then when it reached a destination, it got sent somewhere else. While there is a lot in the subtext and implicitly implied about Carmilla and the hunger women were experiencing, I wish we got to see more of that unfold and have answers. It felt hardly touched upon and under utilised.

The romance wasn’t really a romance, it was more so Lenore reaching out and desiring for a life she hardly dared to dream.

Hungerstone had a really intriguing premise and I liked the atmosphere it built up. There were definitely moments that pulled me in, but overall the pacing felt a bit uneven and I wasn’t fully hooked all the way through.

DNF at ~100 pages

I really wanted to love this book, especially as someone who really loves Carmilla, sapphic stories, and Gothic fiction. While Dunn's writing is beautiful, I struggled to connect with the story. It was quite dull and the characters had no chemistry or personality. I just couldn't get through this one, which is such a shame.

I knew i wanted to read this when i saw that this was connected to Carmilla. Leonore was a compelling character and she felt so real with how she was written. The characters around her are all depicted as being at odds at her in various ways- her husband for being a generally awful man, her supposed friend who is too nice and the business men and upper class society who want to stifle her emotionally and physically. The way Carmilla comes in and out of the story is done in such a way you miss her and then she reappears. When i finished this, it left me with my own ideas of what happened next and it involved more lesbian vampire activities all around the world. This was such a strong read that i would read more by Kat Dunn as this was excellent.

Thank you NetGalley and Manilla Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A reimagining of Carmilla. Lesbian vampires.

The one word that came to mind when I finished this book was FIERCE. This was really well written.

Lenore feels distanced from her husband - he was always away and didn’t seem to love her anymore. One night, they come across a destroyed carriage, where a mysterious woman lies injured - her name was Carmilla. Carmilla begins to help Lenore find out who she is, only making her hate her husband more, and uncover some dark truths.

Dark, Gothic, and truly a story as bloody as it is amazing. Kat has written her best book yet! I struggled to put it down, engulfing my mind wanting to read more. The hunger for this book was real.

For fans of: An Education in Malice and Bitterthorn.

Hungerstone was a rather disappointing read for me. The writing style is beautiful, and the atmosphere is mysterious, but for a retelling of Carmilla, there were just too few vampire scenes. The plot focuses on Leonore, her marriage and friendships, while Carmilla lurks in the background.

This book surprised me because it is primarily a story of an unfortunate childhood and an unhappy marriage. The characters were simple and stereotypical, and the plot moved at a sluggish pace. Even the romantic subplot seemed underdeveloped, lacking detail and complexity.

What I liked about this story was the writing style and the atmosphere. If the focus were shifted to Carmilla, her presence more profound, this could be an incredible read.

Words. This was good. I liked how it felt a bit modern and a bit Gothic at the same time. I thought the character development was amazing, it was like watching the main character from seed to full bloom. beautiful.

At this stage I was not unfortunately able to read this arc before the book was released but I am still excited to read it and have in fact bought it.

DNF @ 20%

I went into Hungerstone hoping to love it as much as I have adored other Carmilla retellings (anything with vampires and I become OBSESSED), but with that being said however, I felt myself falling into a slump and needing to force myself to pick this up. I unfortunately found the characters slightly dry and the narrative felt very 'tell don't show,' which is famously a narrative style I never gel well with. I definitely would love to try and reach for this at another time in the hopes of appreciating it more and seeing any potential character development but for now, it unfortunately was a DNF.

Loved, loved, loved. It's been too long since I've read a fabulous gothic historical novel. This one has lesbian vampires, plotting, yearning, deceit and hunger. I was completely and utterly absorbed in the unravelling story and it barrelled towards the most perfect ending. Highly recommend the audiobook which was narrayed exquisitely.

I really enjoyed this! It reminded me of A Dowry of Blood but with a but of Daphne du Maurier in the mix. A sapphic horror about vampires and women getting their own back. The cat and mouse game between Lenore and Carmilla was tantalizing and of course ended in blood, list and sheer horror

The book starts with the quote 'do you want to live deliciously?' and it couldn't be more appropriate. This is a decadent and gothic re-telling of Carmilla and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lenore was a fascinating and sometimes frustrating protagonist and Carmilla was mysterious and tempting. I thought the slow build up of their relationship was done very well and I also enjoyed the interactions between Lenore and her husband. There were parts that felt a little bit repetitive, but overall, this was a very entertaining read and I would definitely recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Perhaps I should have known going into this, having not enjoyed my read of Carmila, that this wouldn't be for me. It's a subtle form of horror, a creeping atmospheric read that uses relationships, feminine rage, hunger and lust as a driving force to complete the reader to feel unnerved. I just don't think that it's my kind of read however, as the slow pace and meandering feel just didn't make me compelled to read this. It took me months to get through, as the agonising slow build just annoyed me more than anything, and the small glimmers of intrigue involving some sapphic vampires were woefully few and far between.

Some beautiful prose, and glimmers of great characters, but unfortunately they were buried under too much build up for me.

I was so excited for this but sadly it didn't live up to to my expectations. I found myself getting bored while reading and not really caring about where the plot was going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This book was interesting enough to hold my attention while I was reading but I didn’t immediately want to keep picking it up!

Overall it was a good read

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5)
Dark, lyrical, and drenched in atmosphere. Hungerstone is both a haunting mystery and a richly layered exploration of inherited trauma and resistance. Kat Dunn blends historical fiction with a creeping sense of dread, offering a story that feels both timeless and deeply rooted in the present. Evocative and emotionally charged.

This book really suprised me. I hadn't read Carmilla before, even though it’s been on my TBR for ages, so I came in completely fresh with zero expectations. Honestly, that might've been the best way to experience it.

Don't mistake this for some fluffy romance. Those horror elements are strategically sprinkled throughout like little landmines, constantly reminding you that beneath this seductive Sapphic story lurks a gothic horror, which honestly had me hooked.

What really struck me was Carmilla's role in teaching Lenore about personal agency - showing her how to exist for herself rather than merely serving others' expectations. The feminist undercurrent is powerful, particularly considering the historical setting where women were essentially conditioned to be ornamental and accommodating extensions of male lives. There's something genuinely subversive in how Carmilla guides Lenore toward prioritizing her own desires and needs - this mentorship in self-determination feels truly transformative against such a repressive backdrop.

Overall, this dark, sensual mindf*ck was exactly my kind of read and I have NO regrets whatsoever.

This wasn't for me, I love gothic fiction and was expecting something intangible from this story that it didn't give me - that haunting sense of place was for me lacking in this. It's more vampires than ghosts and some people love that but not for me sadly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for a copy of this e-Arc

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars

Based on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla”, Hungerstone is a sapphic vampire novel about greed, lust & discovering who you truly are.

I think because this book had such a huge following, I dived into it expecting mindblowingly amazing things, and it fell a little short.

I enjoyed the overall premise of the story and adored the female empowerment elements that unfurled within, however I found it SO hard to initially get into, that I almost DNF’d. I also found some of the vampiric elements quite repetitive and, after a while, I don’t think they had the same shock factor as the earlier elements (especially when they would be considered worse/more intense than the initial encounters).

I did really enjoy the character development, especially Lenore’s, so I’m thinking I need to read “Carmilla” in its entirety to really truly appreciate this book.