Included in BookTrib Chill Quill monthly round-up: https://booktrib.com/2025/02/11/the-chill-quill-love-bites-and-dark-delights-this-february/

I still haven't read Carmilla even though I've read multiple retelling. This is my favorite retelling so far. Although I mostly finished the book in order to find out what happens with the husband cause he is the worst.

I'm going to look into Kat Dunn's other books because I did enjoy this.

book 9: hungerstone

“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. I would cry with grief over my life so unfulfilled and drink down the salty tears, eat my worthless tongue and impotent fingers, skin this carcass and pick the bones clean.”

This was an amazing experience to be honest. It’s probable the second or third Carmilla retelling i’ve read and this is definitely my favorite, i felt the thrill from the very beginning. It’s a combination of female rage, vampires, hunger for everything, mysterious episodes and lesbian yearning. It was amazing.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange of an honest review, this book was published on February 18th so please go read it.

Rating: 4 stars

“I was good for nothing but blood.”

In more than one way, this quote sums up Lenore’s whole existence. Borne of aristocratic blood but an orphan due to a tragic accident, her blood is what secures her an advantageous marriage. Her blood is also the source of all her pain, disappointment, and fear. For Lenore, being a woman is a horror show and her body is her nemesis.

It’s 1888, and Lenore is heading to the countryside with her husband for the summer, back to the lands in the north where his steel foundries are located. He’s bought an estate named Nethershaw and means to have it restored in time to host a shooting party in two short weeks. Even though Lenore considers herself a master conductor of household matters, she doesn’t know if she can pull off such a feat. She feels set up to fail, even as she must also play hostess to the mysterious Carmilla, a strange woman they rescued from a crashed carriage on the road.

This book feels slightly like An Education in Malice had a baby with My Darling, Dreadful Thing with a Bronte sister surrogate and I’m not mad about that. The prose is so lovely, flowing lyrically and evocatively with a strong sense of what it wants to be and what it wants to accomplish. Dunn has a strong narrative voice that comes across in everything: word choice, character voice, world building, and her obvious love for the source texts she drew inspiration from. It all just comes together so brilliantly into this rich, gothic, romantic horror tapestry. I found myself absolutely immersed in this story from beginning to end.

🩶 What to Expect 🩶

🍒 Lots of Victorian etiquette
💣 The horrors of being a woman in Victorian England
🍒 Girl, I’d keep laudanum on me too
💣 Lots of yucky food
🍒 “Who we are is more than a series of dates and legalities.”
💣 Needing more from life than pain
🍒 Haven’t you ever done something naughty?
💣 Everyone has dark impulses
🍒 You are not responsible for your spouse’s behavior
💣 Suspicion vs. knowledge
🍒 Only showing a desired reflection
💣 “I am not buying what you are selling.”
🍒 The power of having the upper hand
💣 Wanting isn’t selfish
🍒 Life owes you nothing
💣 This place isn’t the same without you
🍒 Anger is easier than fear
💣 Primal want
🍒 Joyful vindication
💣 “Should I survive this?”
🍒 When all else fails, improvise
💣 I’m just a woman, after all


I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Gothic Fiction/Historical Horror/Horromance/Horror/LGBTQ Horror/Literary Fiction/Sapphic Romance/Vampire Fiction

FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY!
Oh my god...I am not going to stop talking about this book for the rest of the year! I mean it! Hungerstone will be in, at least, my top five this year. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. If you loved Carmilla, you are going to eat this book up. Kat Dunn outdid herself with this one.

Dunn highlights the true appeal of vampires and what it truly means to become one: the freedom to desire and want anything with a lack of judgment. The way that sapphic love and the gothic ambiance add this sultry and intense mood in every interaction between Lenore and Carmilla...I can't get enough of it. I have to add the disclaimer before I continue, that I may be just ever so slightly biased. Solely because this book is right up my alley. So here is the TLDR version of this review, before I ramble. If you love vampires, lesbians, body horror, mystery, betrayal, and gothic vibes (think of Jane Eyre) then this is for you.

Besides the vampiric romance being so well written, the balance of themes and subgenres was incredibly done. As this was classified as a horror, I was nervous I wasn't going to find any part scary or gruesome. That it was only going to be labeled as a horror because of, well, vampires. But there were many scenes where I was shocked by how vivid the body horror was. Just this one line really shows the type of beautifully gruesome content I'm talking about:

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!*
"The flaps of skin, bunched fibrous muscle, hair and jellied eyees, lolling tongue, blunt ribs and ribbons of gut."

Overall the writing, themes, imagery, storytelling, and plot twists were incredible and I can not wait to read more from Kat Dunn and see what she has in store for us in the future. I was incredibly lucky and grateful to receive an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher Zando. Huge thank you to them and Kat Dunn for truly spoiling me with this gem of a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Hungerstone is a great Carmilla retelling and a very enjoyable historical fiction novel. I also thought the author’s note which mentions some of the real life history that served as inspiration for some of the story aspects was very interesting. With that being said, while I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, I never found myself drawn to pick it up. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a con, but I do think it is worth mentioning.

Honestly, I kind of wish Lenore spent more time with Carmilla. Many of their interactions were brief and cryptic, and while I do think this helps create the air of mystery that surrounds Carmilla, I think it would have been nice to see a few more interactions towards the end of the story where they spent more quality time together.

Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up.

Lesbian vampires.
What a treat.

PLOT SUMMARY:

Lenore is the wife of famous businessman, Henry Ajax. With riches beyond her wildest dreams and a social standing securing her place in the world, Lenore should be pleased. But as her marriage sours and a terrible secret harbored by Henry comes to light, Lenore finds herself hungering for something more.
With the unexpected arrival of the mysterious and brooding Carmilla, Lenore’s passions and wants are suddenly rising to the surface of her thoughts. As her relationship with Carmilla progresses, so does her hunger, and, soon, it proves to be the unmaking of her high society life.
Will Lenore survive the overwhelming cravings Carmilla awakes in her? Or will they be her undoing?

PLOT REVIEW:

What a delicious plot.
Murder.
Conniving husbands.
Hot lesbian vampires.
Gothic setting.
Basically the recipe for a successful book.
At least, for me.
To be clear, this book is based on another book: Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, which was the story that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. As someone who loves lesbians and vampires, obviously Carmilla is, in my opinion, one of the greatest pieces of fiction to ever be created.
Does Hungerstone live up to Carmilla, though?
Honestly, yes, but also no.
Hungerstone does a great job of slowly unraveling Lenore’s wants and navigating the awakening of her realization that her high society life is slowly killing her.
In more ways than one.
But I’ll avoid spoilers.
Instead, all I have to say is that this book does a wonderful job of presenting us with a gothic, almost disturbing atmosphere. The imagery was gorgeous, as was the design and pacing of the plot.
I am highly satisfied.

CHARACTERS:

Lenore is an interesting character.
She’s been brainwashed her whole life, and literally by herself.
However, this book is set in a time when women had no real power unless it was through their husbands and households.
So, in actuality, Lenore has been brainwashed by society to believe that her hunger is second to her husband’s and literally everyone else ever.
Meanwhile, Carmilla is wild and free. Unrestrained by society’s ridiculous expectations. The contrast between her and Lenore was highly satisfying.
What wasn’t is how little impact Carmilla actually has in this book.
Yes, she is the catalyst that awakens Lenore to her unfair and dangerous, situation, but then she constantly disappears. We are told nothing of her past, who/what she actually is, and why she awakens such hunger in women.
I was left clueless about Carmilla and highly disappointed that nothing more is presented about her.
However, Dunn did do very well on the villain of the story, who happens to be Lenore’s husband, Henry. I deeply despised this man and was very gleeful when the ending of the book revealed his fate to us.
What a great ending.
Cora, however, I never hated. She is naive, yes, and shockingly annoying, but I don’t believe she deserved the end she received.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Vampires, lesbians, and female rage at its best.

Historical, dark, atmospheric… great read. Set in Victorian England and story of a wife finding her voice. Has dark mysterious angles to it and a gay relationship. I enjoyed it. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I support Women’s Rights, but more importantly, I support Women’s Wrongs. That sentiment rings exceptionally true for Hungerstone by Kat Dunn. If you want a story about female rage in the late 1800s set in a bleak and harsh English landscape with unforgiving weather and equally unforgivable characters, then look no further than this book.

(Beware, potential semi-spoilers below!)

Hungerstone is an exceptional retelling of the original Carmilla story from 1872, a story that many don’t realize pre-dates Dracula. We find Lenore, a 30 year old, childless woman, as her husband moves her from the high society in London to the bleak and dreary estate Nethershaw in the English countryside. On the way, a crashed carriage with an alluring woman slows their progress as they save her life and bring her to stay with them at Hungerstone. What follows is a sapphic yearning so intense I felt the blush color my cheeks at multiple points throughout this book.

This woman, who is equal parts enchanting and repulsive to Lenore, turns out to be Carmilla. Her history is a mystery, her motives are unknown, and her increasingly prolonged stay becomes burdensome.

Throughout the pages of this book, you find Carmilla infrequently as a character on page, and more so an influence off page. In a short time, Carmilla is able to bury herself in Lenore’s subconscious, as Lenore starts to examine her “marriage of convenience” as less of a benefit to her, and more of a threat on her life. As Lenore struggles with this realization, we realize that Carmilla is guiding her towards certain encounters and interactions to push Lenore further into this spiral of self-actualization. These moments in time simply fuel Lenore’s realization that it is past time for her to confront her husband, Henry, and start standing up for herself and for her life. As Lenore allows her mind to accept letting herself start living again, we can also thank the yearning, and pleasure, and desire she finds in the arms and warmth and body of Carmilla.

Hungerstone thus becomes a story about the rage you can feel at the injustice of the world. It becomes a story about the desire and pleasure we can find once we finally allow ourselves to open our own eyes and reach for what we truly want. It becomes a story about revenge and taking justice into your own hands. And it’s a story about executing that justice, and walking straight into a life of accepting the love we know we deserve.

Please pick this book up ASAP! Thanks for Netgalley and Zando for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this!!! I am an avid lover of the original story of Carmilla and this was definitely a fun take on that story line. I really enjoy Lenore and just the overall exploration of her queer-ness that she went through. I definitely recommend this to other people that love to read vampire books!

Unfortunately, not a book that worked for me. I struggled to correct to the lead character, and it couldn't really hold my interest and so it became something of a slog. I will say, though, that the prose itself was lovely and I would check this author out again in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for the ARC of Hungerstone by Kat Dunn, in exchange for my honest review.

I was drawn to this book by the exquisite cover and compelling premise, hinting of vampires, as well as gothic horror. I always love a good retelling, and Hungerstone by Kat Dunn, promised just that in her reworking of the classic, Carmilla.

Hungerstone, a genre mashup of historical fiction, gothic horror, and sapphic romance, features Lenore, a young, barren wife, who dutifully, but to her own detriment, follows the rules and social norms for women during the time of the industrial revolution. Lenore, who has hungers that cannot be satiated, but must be concealed, narrates her story for us, as she alternates between present and past timelines. When an unknown woman, Carmilla, is injured in a carriage crash near the newly acquisitioned summer home of Lenore and her husband Henry, Lenore’s carefully crafted, safe life begins to unravel.

What I loved about this book was the atmospheric writing. Dunn does a beautiful job immersing the reader into the hazy, summer heat of high society England during the industrial revolution. Likewise, the larger horror of greed in an industrial society juxtaposed with some possibly supernatural horrors is unsettling and eerie.

Lenore’s story of love, loss, abandonment, and grief, is central throughout, but sometimes gets a bit repetitive. Many of the most compelling parts of the book for me, involved the mysterious Carmilla, who also plays a role, not only in Lenore’s unravelling, but also her self-discovery.

Where Hungerstone fell short for me was the author’s choice to give the reader barely more than a whisper of Carmilla. A more flushed out Carmilla character study would have been a thoroughly satisfying read in my opinion.

Overall, Hungerstone, is a wild ride, and offers a solid reading experience for lovers of gothic horror with a side of feminine rage.

This book contains blood, gore, and body horror.

3.5 Stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this arc! This book is Jennifer’s Body meets Great Expectations and honestly I was here for it. It starts slow, but once you get into it, the story really takes off. Great quick read!

Hungerstone is a unique, new take on the Carmilla myth, wrapped in feminine rage, societal expectations, and hunger.

Overall—I really enjoyed Kat Dunn's novel. The splicing between the present and Lenore's past was the perfect balance of keeping readers interested and still maintaining a mystery. It's clear how much love and care went into Hungerstone and crafting this story. Her character's felt vibrant and haunting. Dunn also has an incredible handle on creating atmospheric settings—its easy to envision yourself exactly as she describes everything.

I dropped the rating to a 3.5 simply because I felt like the beginning of the novel dragged. It took me longer than I would have liked to get invested. Perhaps this was a stylistic choice to separate the pace before // after Lenore meets Carmilla, but I still struggled with it. But, the second half of the novel was so engaging that, when pressed, I am more than happy to round upwards to a full 4 stars.

4.5

“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. I would cry with grief over my life so unfulfilled and drink down the salty tears, eat my worthless tongue and impotent fingers, skin this carcass and pick the bones clean. Oh God. There is something wrong with me. I am so, so hungry.”

This is one of those books that I highlighted right and left and had the hardest time figuring out which quote to use for my review. The language was so emotive and visceral, especially when discussing longing and hunger, and I could have filled this entire space with gorgeous quotes.

And the story!

I love a lady vamp story. Vampire stories with male protagonists tend to be about domination and control, where lady vampires often want autonomy and revenge. This book is a reimagining of Carmilla, one of the first known vampire stories that even predates Dracula. While I quite enjoyed the original, this take on the story gripped me from the very first page and never let me go.

If you like stories of want and longing for more, visceral and vivid writing, and lady vampires out for revenge, you’ll want to pick this one up!

Thanks to Zando Projects and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I absolutely devoured Hungerstone - pun absolutely intended. Kat Dunn crafts a deliciously gothic atmosphere in this Carmilla retelling, weaving together themes of feminine rage, desire, and liberation against the backdrop of Industrial Revolution-era England.

Dunn's prose is gorgeously atmospheric, though some might find the pacing a bit slow in the middle sections. However, the slow burn serves a purpose, really letting us feel Lenore's suffocation and gradual awakening to her own power. While I would've loved to see more development of Carmilla's character and her relationship with Lenore, the focus on Lenore's journey from dutiful wife to embracing her own dark desires makes for a compelling narrative. If you enjoy gothic horror with a feminist bite, queer themes, and atmospheric writing that makes you feel like you're wandering misty moors at midnight, this one's for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, this was by far one of the best thrilling, sapphic, vampiric historical fiction works that I have read in a long while. These elements combined into one story exceeded my expectations, and allowed me to transform into a world where I felt engrossed from start to finish. I highly recommend this book to someone who wants to enjoy a taste of hungry, sapphic indulgence and revenge within a historical setting.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Zando for an early-access copy in exchange for an honest review.

Orphaned as a child, Lenore is married to Henry, a cruel and greedy steelwork owner. On the way to their estate outside of Sheffield, they chance upon Carmilla, an outrageous and enigmatic stranger. With no children to care for, and trapped in a loveless marriage, Lenore longs for freedom.

Hungerstone is a bloody, feminist gothic novel. Lenore is anything but the Victorian wilting heroine. Alongside Carmilla, who brings a modern voice, the two women bring kick-ass energy. I love the mix of the classic 19th century setting, the modern feminist overtones and the twist of the gothic overtones. It was an addictive read.

I'm in my gothic fantasy era and this book was the perfect addition. Dark, twisted, weird. The prose was gorgeous and I loved the haunting feel of the narration. I've never read a Kat Dunn book before, but this inspired me to look into her backlist.

Most historical fictions have a little bit of a slow pick up, and that's true of Hungerstone as well. However, once we were in the thick of things, I went absolutely FERAL for this exquisitely crafted story of hunger, violence, power, and revenge.

I've been *very* here for the lesbian vampire retellings lately, and this version of Carmilla certainly delivered on that note. The tension between Lenore and Carmilla was so intertwined with violence and gore and hunger in a way that was darkly riveting and sensual.

I'm a firm believer that the difference between a good vampire novel and a bad one is whether or not they interrogate the original themes that vampire stories grew out of. The recent Nosferatu movie did this well in its exploration of female sexuality and desire - which we also see in Hungerstone through a more queer lens.

One aspect of vampire stories that can sometimes go unappreciated, but that Hungerstone does beautifully, is the *hunger* side of desire, of wanting, of craving and need. Dunn's writing is so visceral in its exploration of hunger, from food to sex to power to revenge. It sits in the pit of your stomach as you read, forcing you to confront the desire so eloquently communicated in its pages.

This was a stellar read. Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.