This book is everything I wanted it to be and more! It has all the elements I loved about Camilla and puts them in a context so very relatable to me it feels personal. The writing is beautiful, the way the story unfolds is deeply satisfying and I could taste vindication and triumph in the end.

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

Hungerstone is 100% for fans of Carmilla and is a very solid retelling of that story. This was a very exciting novel with plenty of yearning that you’d expect from a vampire story. I couldn’t get enough of this one!

Thank you Netgalley for the E- arc of this upcoming read!

This was ok for me, I will be honest. At some point, the carmilla and dracula retellings are getting a bit much. This reminded me alot of
'An Education in Malice', both in tone and inspiration. However, this did not keep me as hooked. I tried with this

3.5 stars
This was definitely a very honorable retelling of Carmilla but it just wasn't really for me or really what I was looking for. The vibes, plot-line, and just everything was 100% Carmilla, just expanding the world more. However, I think I'm kind of done with the whole women going crazy thing. Of course, I know that this isn't really what this book was about. It was about a woman finding her freedom in a stifling and abusive marriage, but I just wanted more vampires. I wish this book had leaned more heavily into the whole vampire aspect and maybe Lenore could have used some of that new "strength" to fuel her rage and kill her husband. Carmilla herself was also so infuriating as a character. She refused to be truthful with Lenore and even though I understand that Lenore had to find her voice and strength on her own, Carmilla was just being so secretive that it seemed manipulative. I don't know, maybe I just didn't fully understand this book, and maybe I'm just really jaded with the world right now, but this just didn't hit with me. Technically I know it was really well done, but I just couldn't love it.
I definitely recommend this book to people who like the OG Carmilla, but not to people who want a bloody stereotypical vampire book.

It took me a while to finish this one because I literally didn’t want it to end! The tension and yearning was simply incredible. Lesbian vampires are always win in my book (pun intended). Sexy and thrilling.. I CANT WAIT to get a physical copy.

Hungerstone is written from Lenore's first person POV and begins with Lenore waking from a dream about a woman with a heart shaped face. Shortly after, Lenore and her husband Henry make their way to their newly purchased remote country estate and come across a lone woman involved in an apparent carriage accident. They take the woman to their new home to recover, and shortly after Lenore begins to experience odd dreams & a mysterious illness.
I absolutely loved this book, I loved Lenore, I loved Carmilla, and fuck Henry. Lenore was a marvelously written woman, fed up with where her life has ended up but unsure what to do about it until she meets Carmilla. Carmilla is a mysterious, mischievous woman who does not follow society's rules, and doesn't want Lenore to either.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Hungerstone by Kat Dunn, I cannot wait to read more by this author.

I adored everything about this book. The use of Carmilla, the lesbian plot line, the emotion, all of it. I cannot find a single thing that I disliked about this book. I fell in love with every damn word.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, & Kat Dunn for the ARC of Hungerstone.

Hungerstone was the book I didn’t know I needed to read to end my reading slump. What a wild ride about lesbian vampires. Highly recommend to all the little weirdos out there. ☺️

DNF - I enjoyed a great deal of the introduction of this book but, I soon found myself losing interest in the modern undertone that was weaved into the older setting. This will certainly be a well-appreciated book by many but, as for me, I wanted a bit more than what was being given.

thank you to NetGalley and Zando for an advanced reader copy in exchange for a honest review. i will state upfront that i dnf'ed this title about 40% of the way through simply out of disinterest.

this books follows the intertwining and forbidden sapphic romance between lenore and carmilla, whose hunger for each other begin to consume and unravel their lives and town. i was really interested in the premise of this book, but it didn't satisfy the way it should've.

the writing felt stilted and like it was trying too hard (and failing completely) to immerse the reader into the time period-- and therefore the world, of the story. instead it created distance between the reader and the characters we were to be invested in. the horror/vampire element also didn't feel believable to me and felt overwhelmingly manufactured. i often found myself comparing this to other books i've read that accomplished the same thing this narrative was going for, but in a better way. i wanted it to be more gay, more gothic, more vampires--more! just more!

worth a pick-up and try for for lovers of sapphic, gothic romance reads. i definitely think this will appeal to the audience its intending to reach, i just don't think i could give it the amount of time it deserved devoted to it.

I loved this book! It's a slow burn, I wouldn't say very vampiric though, more a feminist, revenge story. Really interesting historical facts about the working conditions of the time. Really loved how it wrapped up.

WOW WOW WOW.

Before thanking the author, I first want to thank whomever hired the artist that designed the cover for this book as it immediately drew my eye from all of the hundreds of other books listed on netgalley due to the neon green lettering really POPPING and being in such stark contrast to the overly dramatic character on the cover. The (unknown) woman was laying in such a dramatic fashion that it immediately had me wondering WHO she was and what was causing her to seem so.....done with everything. It reminded me of something/someone that I would probably see on the cover of a Chelsea G. Summers, Coco Mellors, Otessa Moshfegh or Jen Beagin book. I LOVE THIS AESTHETIC SO MUCH!

Now, onto the book. FROM PAGE ONE (and by "page one". I am referring to the page that begins with "I rise, aching and sluggish, and add a wrapper over my nightdress." because for whatever reason, my kindle decided to tell me that that was the first page of the book which it was not, and I only realized this AFTER going back because I already wanted to do a re-read of it as soon as I finished it), I was HOOKED.

Kat Dunn truly has a gift for creating an atmosphere that feels SO REAL that you feel like you are actually there. From the jump, I quite literally felt like I was in the same room as our main character. I could "feel" the "bold sunshine", she describes, I could "see" and "feel" the mood of the "flurry grey skies", and I felt like I was I sitting right next to our main character as she described (in the most hilariously, apathetic way) how she was having someone putting drugs into her tea. I swear to god before I even got to page 2, I was already saying " OH HELL YES, because I KNEW this was going to be a banger. The only other authors/books I have come across that has been so adept at creating such an immersive reading experience would be Katherine Arden's "The Bear and the Nightingale" and S..T. Gibson "A Dowry of Blood". The internal monologue of our main character reminded me so much of the hilarious apathy we see in works like Otessa Moshfegh's "My Year of Rest and Relaxation." This book was truly the holy trinity of everything I love in a book.

Oh, and this doesn't even include the sapphic vampire of it all. Truly god bless Kat Dunn for sitting down and putting pen to paper because in the year of our lord 2024, I fear this is my favorite read of the year. I had never heard of Kat Dunn before seeing this book on Netgalley and I was so sad when I was done reading this because I assumed this was her debut novel and I had no idea if or when she was going to write her next book, so imagine my surprise when I hauled ass to goodreads and saw that Dunn has several other books that she's already written. Today is a good day.

When I requested this book, I didn't know it was a Carmilla re-telling (although, looking back, I should have known that because SAPPHIC VAMPIRE!!!!), but I think the reason I didn't catch on right away was because the last Carmilla retelling I read was S.T. Gibson's "An Education in Malice" (which I unfortunately did not care for at all), and "Hungerstone" was far and away so much better, that I felt like I was reading something entirely new even though it *was* a retelling of a story I've read many, many times. I am EXTREMELY critical of ANY retelling because it takes A LOT to keep a story I've read time and time again feel fresh and new, but Dunn hit this one out of the park. She is truly gifted at her craft.

This is one of the easiest 5 stars I've ever given a book, and I WILL be buying this as soon as it is available in hardcopy. (PLEASE DEAR GOD MAKE THIS BOOK AVAILABLE IN LARGE PRINT FORMAT AS I AM A LOW-VISION GIRLIE!!!)

Just a 10/10, no notes book that I will be recommending to everyone.

Thank you SO MUCH to Kat Dunn for *gestures wildly at everything*, a huge shout out to the cover artist for creating such a compelling cover, and thank you to the publisher (PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS COVER BEFORE IT GOES TO PRINT!!) and to Netgalley for allowing me to preview this chef's kiss of a book.

Hunger stone fit the bill for the sapphic slightly spooky October read! It wasn’t overly gory (mostly?) and I enjoyed the plot!

Hmmm I feel bad giving this such a low rating because I did appreciate the themes but the execution was really messy.

A Carmilla retelling which if you are familiar with that story is a marketing mistake and will be a detriment to this book.

Woman versus the void is fast becoming a popular sub genre in literary fiction and I think some publishing houses are pushing these stories without looking at the full scope of its nuances. Hungerstone has its level of female rage and womanhood but it’s lacking direction and purpose and I just didn’t care about Lenore to care how her story played out.

Needed more passion, direction and meaning.

I’d only read Carmilla a few weeks before reading this, so I was interested in checking out a retelling. As other reviewers mention, this gets off to a slow but intriguing start (I actually read the first three chapters, waited about two weeks, and then came back to it) but I understand that it’s meant to effectively set up Lenore’s tedious, repetitive life. It picked up about halfway through for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it the rest of the way!

Hungerstone is mysterious and atmospheric, beautifully written with wonderful details that set the scene. I wish we’d gotten more of Carmilla tbh, but I also don’t even know if I’d even consider this a retelling in the purest sense. I love that the focus was on Lenore realizing her own agency and, then, her justified hunger for retribution. We love a good journey of female rage.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free aARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Gothic, sapphic, vampire novel, what's not to love. Very visual prose, and vivid main character, Lenore, whose inner turmoil is central to the story as she deals with her growing desire. Carmilla is an elusive and captivating character whose presence causes tension in Lenore's marriage.

Couldn't put this book down, it had me captivated. Low spice levels, but major tension. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the Gothic vibes.

Kat Dunn's writing is captivating and I loved it. The story was interesting and I loved reading it. I think the development of characters was well done and I loved learning each of the layers of each character

Hungerstone is marketed as a spin on Carmila but is missing much of the sapphic elements and vampirism that made the original book so revolutionary. There's no denying Dunn is a talented writer - the gothic atmosphere is superbly crafted and she uses language to perfectly encapsulate desire and hunger. Unfortunately, a collection of well-written sentences does not constitute a good book.

Hungerstone struggles to find its footing with Lenore's backstory and ultimately never resolves itself. Glimpses into her past are repetitive yet vague, and while she repeatedly expresses the baggage and trauma she carries, the explanation of it is muddled at best. Carmila herself is intended to be an enigmatic and mysterious presence that acts as her catalyst for change, but her presence is glaringly one-dimensional throughout the book. Lenore's story is hardly compelling when everyone around her is a caricature of a villain. Her rebellion doesn't feel like anything more than an inevitability, and it lacks the satisfaction of a slow-burn revenge story. While there are a handful of sapphic moments, it feels more like a story of obsession with hints of vampirism than I expected.

The climax of the book happens quickly, and the drastic changes Lenore undergoes feel sudden, given the unbearably slow build-up. Her commentary about revenge and hunger feels devoid of nuance and subtlety. Every commentary the book has to offer is explicitly outlined and repeated, and I think it does a disservice to the possibilities a re-telling could have offered.

I'm critical of any retelling because it takes a lot to keep a classic story fresh and offer a new perspective. While Hungerstone adds themes of industrialization and the historical use of women as nothing more than child-bearers, it doesn't subvert any expectations. The final third required so much suspension of belief just to end up at a predictable and boring conclusion.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC - sorry I did not enjoy it more!

A sapphic, feminist spin on Carmilla
An unhinged girl power novel about female agency and revenge
A novel about embracing your "hunger" / desires unapologetically

Our main character is in a business-transaction type of marriage and is taking over renovations on a new home. She takes in a woman, Carmilla, and has the doctor look after her health. She's slowly influenced by Carmilla and begins questioning her husband, her life, her needs and desires.

I love an unhinged story and appreciated this gothic take on it. My one gripe is that at times, this book felt a bit repetitive. There would be the briefest glimpses of action or intrigue (Carmilla) - just a little taste of possibility before diving back into the main character's head.

I'd recommend this for fans of sapphic, unhinged, revenge, female empowerment, vampire, or gothic stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Lenore did not see herself as a person, but instead, a tool. Set in the importantly historical Sheffield and the perfectly remote moorlands, Lady Lenore is stuck in a life of control and expectation. In a way, she is dying.

When the dream-like and worryingly mysterious Carmilla enters the lives of Lenore and Henry, her unloved, untrustworthy husband, everything begins to change.

Will Lenore fight this change? Or will she begin to accept her own wants and desires in a society that demands conformity and obedience.

The idea of want and desire is pitted against the life of a woman in the Industrial Revolution, who must constantly battle for acceptance (and therefore survival). All is told with the brutal symbolism of blood and money paired with breathtaking storytelling.

What an incredible feat of literature. Kat Dunn’s writing so incredibly beautiful and poetic, written like a true classic.