Thanks to Bonnier Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.
Rating: 4.5
Hungerstone follows Lenore, a lonely woman who has recently taken ownership of a great estate—Nethershaw. Grown distant from her husband, Henry, she has thrown herself into its renovation, and curating a distinguished reputation for him. Her life is a devotion to others.
Until she meets Carmilla.
The alluring vampire soon takes root in Lenore's thoughts, as she asks her for what do you hunger?
There is a lot to enjoy in this story. As someone who hasn't read the original Carmilla, I'm coming at it with fresh eyes. Firstly, Kat Dunn's writing style is right up my alley. Descriptive and somewhat lyrical, the Victorian setting is easy to get immersed in. This also happens to be one of my favourite historical periods and the backdrop of Nethershaw's heather-laden moorlands gives it a beautifully gothic vibe from the off.
Lenore's character is explored both in her present situation and by delving into her past. Whilst some of these flashbacks felt a little repetitive at times, they serve to press the point of Lenore lacking autonomy throughout her life. Hers is a series of tragic events and subservience for the sake of survival, never allowing herself to explore her own wants.
Her relationship with Carmilla is a strange one. Carmilla is blunt, often calls Lenore boring or shows her displeasure when she does not get her way. Her sole purpose is to lure Lenore from her position in life, to have her realise what she truly desires past her comfortable station. There are several disturbing scenes which Lenore witnesses, and whilst she suspects Carmilla's involvement, she fails time and time again to send her away. Lenore sways between disliking Carmilla and a strange attachment to the woman. She desires to be alone yet keeps the door open for her. Harbours secret desires for her that she will not confront.
"ℑ 𝔣𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔞 𝔡𝔬𝔤 𝔞𝔣𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔪𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱."
There were perhaps a few areas where the book lagged, but overall I found myself eagerly reading on, and the finale of the book has a brilliant conclusion which had me absolutely gripped.
"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."

What a fantastic book. This incredible retelling of Carmilla melds the tension between fear and desire within a backdrop of the beautiful Peak District. An excellent demonstration of how you can create a brilliant Gothic novel with all the recognised tropes without being too same-y or stereotypical.
Plus: lesbian vampires, who wouldn’t love it? I’m looking forward to seeing what else Kat Dunn does!

'Hungerstone' is a fever-dream of a novel, full of vampiric horror, gothicky overtones, sapphic undertones, and sumptuous sentences worthy of the very best Gothic classics. I devoured this in just two sittings, immediately hooked by the story of Lenore, her nefarious husband Henry, their 'friend' Cora, and the sinister, seductive unwanted houseguest Carmilla. Kat Dunn paints the North, all bleak moors and remote old piles, expertly. The dark history of female subjugation, marital abuse, obsession, lust and murder was perfectly balanced with ultimate hope. Great stuff.

I enjoyed this book, but don’t have a lot to say about it. It got off to quite a slow start, but there was suspicious behaviour from the husband and the alluringly odd house guest (yay lesbians) and the protagonist’s wound-tight repression, all great things for a gothic novel. The prose was accessible while still feeling appropriate for the historical subject matter, although it wasn’t notably sparkling. Fabulous ending.

I just didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would, I started to enjoy more near the end and then it was over

Lenore is 10 years into her marriage (of convenience...) with Henry and with growing distance between them, Henry's ambitions take the forefront

Lenore travels with Henry to a crumbling estate where she is tasked with planning a gathering to further Henry's ambitions using her connections

Whilst on route, they come across a broken carriage with a strange woman inside, but they must offer her aid - and a place to rest - as the Doctor said she is too ill to leave

Carmilla, as she comes to be known, sows seeds of discontent in the estate. Meanwhile, Henry is gone a lot and Lenores health is declining. Add on more strangeness in some of the townspeople and a visiting friend from home, there is a lot for Lenore to handle

Lenore could not have realised how hungry she was for life until Carmilla came along, but what will she do now her eyes are being opened...

Sumptuously gothic tale where you can feel Lenores frustrations and are going on this journey of discovery with her

Another hit from Kat for sure! Can't wait for this to be out in the world come February

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books/Manilla Press for the early review copy, all opinions my own!

I haven’t read Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula which was published 25 years before Bram Stoker’s novel. Hungerstone promises the compulsive, feminist retelling and from looking at the blurb of Carmilla, it does look to be quite faithful in some areas.

Lenore has moved to a crumbling new estate in the moorlands of Sheffield with her husband, charged with restoring it to its former glory and hosting a shooting party. However, when their carriage finds a young woman in a bad way in the remote moors, the mysterious Carmilla comes to live with them. What hunger does she awake in the demure and peace keeping Lenore?

The novel is written in a faithful way for the time that it is set in and it has obviously been well-researched. However, the themes and plotlines take a delightful modern spin on the story which felt fully at ease within the world that Kat Dunn has created. Although I haven’t read Carmilla, the fact it was written by a man in 1872 leads me to believe that this is a nice diversion from the original source material.

Kat Dunn isn’t afraid to get graphic in places as well, which sets the tone nicely in her first chapter. The characters within the book, from Lenore and naïve best friend Cora to the aloof husband Henry and mysterious Carmilla are all portrayed with depth, hiding their own secrets and motivations which are drip fed to the reader. Lenore has quite a character progression in this novel which is great to read, from house-wife fainting at the sight of a carriage accident, to a woman grappling with wanting revenge.

For those going in wanting more of a sapphic romance, I will admit that this isn’t what this novel is about. There are some scenes to satisfy these readers, but Carmilla is used more as a motivator to spur Lenore on from her traps in a patriarchal society and even to use this to her advantage. As a result, her character does take the backburner for a lot of the latter part of the book.

Overall Hungerstone is a delightful modern take on Carmilla, full of feminine rage, desire and hunger. Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books – Manilla Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gothic sapphic romance with vampires. So fun and beautifully written. Based on the book that inspired Dracula set in the Industrial Revolution. Highly recommend

In a gratifyingly gothic setting, Lenore and her steel Magnate husband Henry travel to their crumbling estate on the Yorkshire moors during a storm - rescuing a mysterious woman on the journey from an overturned carriage, who they feel obliged to host while she recuperates.

The woman in question has no family to speak of but politeness dictates they let her stay - despite Lenore feeling increasingly unsettled by Carmilla’s intrusive questioning and brazen sensuality. Lenore’s past experiences and the society and position she inhabits have created a stifling environment where self control and repression were her only available tools to survive.

Carmilla acts as a catalyst to Lenore’s unspooling and awakening rather than a protagonist in her own right - she doesn’t cause the horror in the novel but reveals what is already there and demands action.

I understand why Dunn left Lenore to work things out for herself, but I felt like the character of Carmilla and her relationship to Lenore could have been explored in more depth, as at times I couldn’t relate to why Lenore felt such a strong connection with her.

Towards the end of the story, the twisty tale became one of female rage and vengeance as Lenore tries to satisfy the hunger for freedom and justice that Carmilla has helped her recognise. This was hugely fun - and although her retribution is confused and messy, it was also satisfying and sufficiently gory!

Thanks to the author and @bonnierbooks_uk for an advanced copy of Hungerstone, which is out 13 February.

I will post on instagram nearer to the publishing by date

Kat Dunn has done it again.

This year alone I've read several retellings if Camilla but this one is by far the best and I'm obsessed.

While there are vaguely vampiric aspects to the story, the idea of hunger is so much more than blood lust in Hungerstone. This is a story of women hungering for more, for better and trying to satiate this hunger in unsatisfying ways. Until Camilla.

Lenore has spent her whole life being who she thought others thought she should be. She's smiled, been polite, followed the rules and has never allowed herself to really feel how lonely, unsatisfied and angry she is.

Carmilla enters the picture and slowly unravels this perfect society lady, allowing her to see what she really wants and giving her the power to do what she needs to to get it.

It's full of dark and gothic vibes, sapphic longing and a bloody take on girl power.

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.