This book has been on my NetGalley shelf since 2022 and I finally got around to reading it. I had started reading it years ago but I couldn’t get into the story back then. I’m glad I finally picked it up again because I really enjoyed it.

House of Hunger is a gothic story about a young woman who becomes a bloodmaid for an ailing, mysterious Countess. The story is loosely based on Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the infamous Hungarian noblewoman known for torturing and killing young girls in the late 1500s.

This is the second book I’ve read by Alexis Henderson, and I love her writing and storytelling. House of Hunger was very atmospheric and engrossing. I loved the eerie castle setting which added to the gothic vibe. The characters were all very intriguing. Marion was a strong and badass main character.

I think this is a perfect read for the fall season. I’d highly recommend it to fans of gothic fiction and I can’t wait to read more from Henderson.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an eARC via NetGalley for review.

Everything Alexis Henderson has written I have loved. This isn’t my typical genre that I read but I loved this book from the first paragraph. I could not put it down

I loved this! After reading the author’s previous novel, THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING, I had high hopes. That book was so entertaining and I’ll never forget it. My expectations were met with this! I didn’t love it as much as TYOTW, but I still really enjoyed the gothic, dark world and story. Recommend! I would read it around fall/Halloween if I were you! Thank you to Ace for my gifted copy!

***3.5 Stars***

╰☆☆ 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭. ☆☆╮
Marion Shaw is tired of the life she's living in the slums scrubbing floors while being degraded on a daily basis. Home doesn't provide much of a refuge for Marion who lives with her brother who is addicted to drugs and physically abusive. It is inferred that Marion's brother is living with a terminal disease but it's not spelled out on the page. His tight hold on Marion makes it impossible for her to build up a nest egg to get them out of the slums, what she makes in coin he finds. She knows very little of the North where wealthy nobles live in great houses consuming the blood of bloodmaids, when she comes across an ad in the paper calling for a new bloodmaid at the House Of Hunger. Countess Lisavet is mysterious and charismatic character, her doors always open to the noble elite with proclivities towards hedonistic activities. Marion's blood has captured the interest of a traveling taster, one known to find bloodmaids with desirable blood and bring them North to the great houses. Lisavet is instantly drawn to Marion after tasting her blood and so begins their toxic love affair. Marion becomes obsessed with pleasing her Mistress all the while girls begin to go missing at night. She often wakes in the middle of the night to find Lisavet has left their bed but with no idea where she has gone. Questions begin to form with an unsettling feeling that things aren't what they seem at the House Of Hunger. Things may actually be much darker than the vampiric tendencies of their Mistress. The House Of Hunger has its secrets and a history of violence that turns out to be a lot more than what Marion bargained for.

Whenever I sat down with this book, I found myself fully invested in our main character Marion. She's gritty, a fighter, and as tough as the slums she comes from. She's self aware and sees she's become dependent on Lisavet's validation just like the other girls in the house. Marion KNOWS she's in a toxic relationship of sorts with Lisavet, and yet she still feels special and chosen when Lisavet removes Cecilia (previous First Bloodmaid) from her position to give to her. She is literally being bled dry by Lisavet and is willing to give her more, until she starts to see the parts of Lisavet reserved for the First Bloodmaid. The last 30% of this book really amped up the horror, I was cringing at some scenes and reaching for the lights during others! The ending however, was wrapped up a little too neatly for my liking. That being said, I'm probably in the minority group of readers that still found the House Of Hunger to be quite atmospheric even though the only setting we have is in the house itself. Alexis Henderson painted some vivid scenes of debauchery with nobles playing cat & mouse games into all hours of the night. There are also underlying themes to consider with the exploitation of young women of color that come from the poorer parts of the North. The power imbalance created by the socioeconomic disparities between the nobles from far North vs. the young women from Marion's region. The gross abuse of power exercised by Lisavet and her ancestors is also lightly touched upon. That being said, at its core House Of Hunger is a gothic horror that delivers a good dose of mystery paired with a sense of urgency that'll have you wanting answers for our MC. House Of Hunger was Nominated as a Goodreads Choice Award in the Horror category in 2022.

"Do you want this, Marion? Are you hungry?"

Maybe one of the most messed up books I’ve ever read in my life (honorific, loving, appreciative).

House of Hunger is a horror novel following Marion, who rips herself from her own life to become a bloodmaid for Countess Lisaveta, the alluring count of the powerful House of Hunger. Yet even as she and the other four bloodmaids—Irene, Elize, Evie, and favorite Cecilia—drain their blood for Lisaveta, she finds that being a bloodmaid is a more dangerous game than she’d been promised.

Part of the horror of the vampire novel is not just that the vampiric subject fears being consumed: It’s that we fear we’ll like it. Since Dracula, fiction of blood consumption has grappled with the consumed subject’s desire to be eaten themselves. What do you do when you are being drained of your life, and all you want is more?

Within the House, blood contains memories. The bloodmaids give themselves in giving their blood. Marion is crippled with guilt from killing her brother Raul, and there’s something really fascinating to read in Lisaveta’s viewpoint on her. Marion wishes to be understood. Whether she can be is a harder question.

I loved this book and I deeply, deeply adored the ending. This book let me tear through in a day and I absolutely loved it.

I swear I clenched my mouth the entire time I read this book hoping that my teeth wouldn't fall out of my head. As my second book by Alexis Henderson, I was looking forward to seeing what she would attempt to create through this gothic horror novel. As usual, I enjoyed Henderson's lyrical writing; however, the book fell a little short on the world building and had some pacing issues. 3.5 Stars CW: death, blood letting, body horror, abuse (physical, mental & emotional), gaslighting, attempted sexual assault

House of Hunger is a sapphic gothic horror novel that follows Marion Shaw who has spent her life in the slums. When the opportunity arises for her to leave the city and become a bloodmaid, she takes her chances hoping to acquire a sufficient amount of wealth to help provide for herself and brother. Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily go as planned and once she arrives in the far north to the House of Hunger she learns that things are more sinister than she expected.

One of the most disappointing things about this book is the fact that it suffers from a lack of extensive world building. There are some interesting points possibly pointing towards race and class that could have afforded to be explored in more detail. Unfortunately, readers are confined to the space and house where Marion and the rest of the girls reside so we are left with less knowledge than expected about the outside world. In a lot ways it made the novel feel static and the containment to the the house took away from the potential of a greater world. I wanted to know more about the houses and their interactions. In a lot of ways, readers are teased with this information, but never truly get the full satisfaction of getting to know the world at large. For some reason, this made me feel claustrophobic. I'm not sure if this was the intention of Henderson, but I didn't really like that feeling.

I did enjoy Marion as a character. It was quite interesting to watch her completely lose her resolve at the opportunity/chance for wealth. Not only was there money involved, but she becomes completely enthralled with Lisavet in a way that emotionally impacts her. To be honest, it was a great comparison of how easy it is to lose oneself when class, race, wealth, and even emotions such as love shift to give what we think is social elevation. It's even more fascinating to watch when readers recognize that Marion technically has the skill set and intelligence to avoid a lot of the shenanigans that occur. Nevertheless, Henderson illustrates to readers that difference in class and wealth can weaken and completely change that keen sense of awareness. Marion does, in some ways, gain that resolve back, but it comes at the expense of being naïve for such an extended period of time. And let's talk about Henderson's writing. It's beautiful, lyrical and damn right terrifying. That's one thing I feel will always be guaranteed in a Henderson novel. The vampiric, sensual vibes of the text were fascinating and did lend greatly to the themes of obsession, desire, and hunger. The pacing of this book was a little off in some areas and it did resolve a little too perfectly, but I did enjoy the story overall.

If you're looking for queer, gothic horror that makes commentary on some interesting social issues I think that you'll enjoy it. I still think that I like The Year of the Witching a little better, but overall it was a good read and I'm looking forward to what Henderson puts out in the future.

Henderson will forever be one of my favorite authors. She showcased her talent in her debut novel, "The Year of the Witching", and has only solidified her knack for storytelling in "House of Hunger". With her evocative descriptions and her rich prose, Henderson gives us the gothic horror that we've been craving.

I loved Alexis Henderson’s Year of the Witching so I had high expectations for House of Hunger - I was not disappointed! What a twisted, steamy, dark gothic reworking of the typical vampire story! This is a fast paced, quick read with an intense, brutal ending - loved it!

Well, okay, not what I expected, but it was good! Definitely dark and seedy. It was very atmospheric, sexy and at times weird.

I really wanted to get into this book because it seemed like an interesting gothic novel, which was a genre I loved. However, there were many disturbing scenes that made me uncomfortable. Therefore, it was not my cup of tea.

After reading The Year of the Witching, I was very excited to heard about Alexis Henderson's next book, House of Hunger.

I actually believe I liked House of Hunger even more than The Year of the Witching! It was the perfect gothic book - dark and moody. I was fascinated in this vampire spin from page one and was hooked until the very end.

There was plenty of mystery and chills lurking around every corner!

I loved The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger followed suit. Henderson has a gift for the gothic, complex female characters, and unique stories. I was hooked from the beginning, drawn deep into the narrative of the bloodmaidens and all that entailed. Recommended for those who love gothic fiction, diverse relationships and characters, as well as vampire fiction and alternate realities

I'm so conflicted with the rating and reviewing on this one, because on one hand it had SO many elements and things I like in a book / in horror: blood, sex, women lovin' women, mystery, tragedy, secrets, a big ol' gothic spooky mansion -- but unfortunately, I think I'm giving this 3 stars (which isn't bad at all and still means I liked it, but is just a bit of a shock considering how many of my personal boxes this one checks -- I'd have expected to give this a solid 5!).

I just felt like this could have been pushed even further, and like I'd have liked it much more if it had. I know that won't be everyone's opinion, but it is mine. There was a twist I think could've happened that would've been much more impactful than the actual reveal, and even with the reveal & all the action at the end, it just didn't really make sense considering all this build up.

I would recommend it to fans of dark, gothic, vampire-esque horror. This just wasn't as dark as it could've been and I think that made it less enjoyable for me personally.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The author creates a beautifully gothic and atmospheric world. The story seemed to be lacking in some parts, and I felt myself struggling to read the slower paced sections. Parts of the story were a bit predictable to me. This would be great for someone looking for an "easy read".

Did not enjoy it as much as the author's first work, but still a very enjoyable read. Dark and atmospheric I was pulled into the dark court life that the author details for the reader.

A wonderfully written Gothic story. The setting was perfect and the author brought so much atmosphere to the tale. The build up was done just right. setting up for suspense. I was so into this sapphic love story, all the way up until things too a turn. I can't say I was very surprised, but I can say I had hoped to be wrong!

Wow. This was certainly something. Quite disturbing and I can definitely see where the inspiration was drawn from. I guess I just wanted more from it unfortunately. I also got sick in the middle of reading this though, so that didn't help my experience reading it.

This was such an inventive follow up to Henderson’s previous novel. I loved the closed quarters vibes and claustrophobia of the main character being trapped in more ways than one in the mansion.

Alexis Henderson has quickly become one of my favorite horror authors! This one was very different from THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING, but no less captivating or inventive. It was sexy and terrifying all at once -- it had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't stop turning the pages!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My overall rating for House of Hunger ended up being 3.5 so I rounded that up to 4 for goodreads. The reason this book wasn't higher rated by me was because of the pacing. It felt just too slow. I know that most gothic novel are usually slower paced but this one was too slow in my opinion. I loved the setting, the atmosphere and the characters was entertaining but yeah the pace lowered the rating for me. I would still recommend this book to people because it was enjoyable and I love this author's other books.