I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I picked this one up. I went based on the cover and the fact I'd heard someone else mention it in passing. However, wasn't I in for a treat. I'm a sucker for any good book that is so blatantly angry at men. Now, I've never read Carmilla, so I cannot compare the two texts - horror is not generally my forte. But boy, oh boy did I love this.

The audiobook narrator's low, gravelly, 'Lenore', when she's Carmilla - slowly forcing her to see the truth. To acknowledge that hunger that's been sitting dormant and unacknowledged for so long. I can't remember the last time I've nodded a long with a book and thought, 'yes, girl,', as the penny has dropped.

Yeah there was aspects of gore but it was tasteful and relevant to the storytelling device. And boy or boy did they help our Lenore get with the program.

100% recommend to anyone who wants a good time and has a little rage at the patriarchy.

Hungerstone is a Victorian, sapphic, vampire story that I could not put down. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and thought the narrator was spot on. Highly recommend..

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

Hungerstone is a Carmilla-retelling with a feminist twist and bite.

The book centers on Lenore, who is stuck in a loveless and abusive marriage, travels outside of London to the countryside to prepare for a hunting events. There, she comes across and encounters Carmilla, whose presence begins to unravel Lenore in various ways.

Firstly, I have to praise the narrator, who did absolutely fantastic in this book. I thought their narration was soft and pristine yet manage to evoke rage, sadness, embarrassment and various other emotions so subtly. I need to hear more from this narrator.

However, I do have my criticisms. I found the beginning to be slow and hard to get through at first until the 30%. Moreover, there were various aspects from Lenore’s monologue that were repetitive and convoluted. I also want to add that if you are expecting a full-fledged Carmilla retelling, unfortunately, you will be disappointed. This book primarily focuses on Lenore and her journey, and while I wanted more Carmilla, I loved the themes of feminine rage and regaining control.

That being said, Hungerstone has to be one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read. Everything just came to together, reading like a classic novel and was raw and visceral in so many ways.

A beautifully and passionately narrated tale of Lenore, a woman trapped within the rules of London society who meets Carmilla on the dark moors of the north. Carmilla, with her mysterious past and independence, opens Lenore’s eyes to her suppressed wants and her need for her own voice.

Lenore is a compelling and complex character, layered in trauma and a need to seek safety and stability. The life she has created for herself and her husband within the elite is demanding yet shallow, busy without real substance. Her new friendship with the sultry yet fierce Carmilla upends her relationships and her false sense of safety in her marriage.

Dunn’s Hungerstone is a gothic mystery with surprising twists, a feminist coming of age novel, a sapphic love story, a darkly spellbinding retelling of vampiric hunger and a satiric dramedy of manners. It is just EVERYTHING! So sexy, so disturbing, so satisfying.

A deeply enjoyable read.

I loved this. It was everything I wanted and more. A true masterpiece of gothic horror, gore and sapphic romance. This retelling of Carmilla was absolutely brimming with feminine rage and gothic atmosphere. The edge of tension that held throughout the entirety of the story had me hungering for more and I couldn't put it down. It was haunting and eerie and so seductive. The prose felt very lyrical and just added to the tension.

And the ending! It was everything I was hoping for. An absolute feminist triumph! I can't recommend this book enough to those looking for a dark, gothic, bloody good time.

Thanks to Dreamscape Select | Zando, LLC and NetGalley for my audio arc!

This was a delicious and modern take on the Gothic classic Carmilla, a queer novella inspired by Dracula .

Having not read Carmilla previously I was definitely intrigued and in for a wild ride!

Hungerstone starts out with your typical unappreciated upper class wife trying to make her husband of 10 years still happy while he fights against his working class origins and ambitions- all while blaming his bourgeoisie wife for his troubles.

Camilla is restless in fighting her own hunger as she and her husband escape the city to their countryside retreat in order to host another class hunting party. The house is a wreck and she needs to do everything…. All the while her husband is gaslighting her.

When a strange woman is found in a carriage wreck near their property, Camilla takes affinity to her and feels a kinship with her. Making her stand up to her husband, and keep the injured woman while she recoups.

… just in time for strange occurrences to begin!

This book was absolutely un-putdownable! I loved seeing Carmilla satisfy her hunger, find her in her strength and rise above her husband’s aggression that had kept her small and insignificant for so long! A strong sense of feminism and women’s rules place throughout this whole book and makes it exceptionally powerful. I also really appreciate it the economy of female friendships and relationships expressed throughout.

The audio narration provided by Perdita Weeks was well done and very immersive. Her accent work was a great addition to the story and her overall reading expression added to the ominous vibes of the book! The narration brought this book to life!

Hungerstone is a Victorian sapphic vampire story inspired by Carmilla and I absolutely loved it! It is beauty, it is sadness, it is rage and it is grace. It is everything. Thank you to Dreamscape and Zando for the advanced audio.

Feminist reworking of Carmilla? I mean, say less. I will eat up any plot centered around sapphic vampires. And if I went into books blind, this stunning cover alone would’ve grabbed my attention. Anyways, huge thanks to Kat Dunn for delivering on an incredibly gothic romance horror story. While the homage to the source material was there, it was very much its own thing and I loved that. Such a creepy and tense book and the audiobook brought this to life in a glorious way. Totally recommend to my fellow vampire fans!

Gripping new take on classic horror. I loved making this into more of a character study and taking a “what if” approach to traditional vampire stories. This very much was a support women’s wrongs kind of book and that’s what I’m here for.

I have been done with this for awhile, and I am regretting not writing my review right away. I adored this and wanted to do nothing but sit with it reading forever, but for transparency's sake, other than length, I did not find this much different than the original. The point of view change was the largest difference and offered more opportunity to dig into the sapphic. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

For what do you hunger, Lenore?

Kat Dunn's Hungerstone is EXACTLY the kind of book I was hungry for. It's a masterful reimagining of the vampire classic Carmilla, blending Victorian repression, desire, and the supernatural into a hauntingly beautiful tale. Lenore's transformation from dutiful wife to self-possessed woman is so gripping and much fun to read, and her intoxicating relationship with the enigmatic Carmilla equally charming.
Dunn’s lush prose and meticulous historical detail create an atmosphere both eerie and enthralling. I think I enjoyed it even more thanks to the amazing narration of Perdita Weeks. In short, Hungerstone is nothing less than a triumph of feminist horror (my favorite kind) and for sure a must-read for lovers of gothic fiction.

* I'd like to thank Kat Dunn, Dreamscape Select, Zando and NetGalley for providing this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I have many thoughts on Hungerstone, but I will tread carefully because I don't want to give anything away. Also, if this review seems scattered, it probably is, I tend to ramble when I really like a book, and things get jumbled because my thoughts are going in so many directions.

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn is based on the novel, Carmilla, by Sheridan Le Fenu, which is the book that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. This was one of the many reasons I really wanted to read Hungerstone. I haven't read Carmilla, so I can't say if it is a close adaptation or just based loosely as an idea. It wasn't that book, it was the Dracula mention that piqued my interest.

The other reason it spoke to me was the fact that it was Gothic Horror. I am a huge fan, I think I have even written several posts on the blog about Gothic Horror books, this love goes back to my reading Dracula long ago


I loved Hungerstone. I believe anyone with a love of Gothic Horror would. The book stayed true to its Gothic roots. Set outside of the English town of Sheffield ( oh hay Arctic Monkeys ! )
This story had the atmosphere that makes a gothic book. Foggy moors, a dark and haunting manor house. Brooding characters, both withdrawn and unpleasant. Definitely the type of people you would expect to find in a book written about Victorian times.


Main character Lenora is tragic, in a loveless marriage to Henry, who is a steel magnate. They have moved from London, to the middle of nowhere, Sheffield. Lenora has dreams that foretell the coming of the mysterious Carmilla, who, after a while, shows up when her carriage breaks down and she is invited into the manor home. Lenora finds Carmilla both unnerving and desirable. She is seductive and forbidden. We see Lenora's self-discovery with Carmilla take root at the time she needs it most.

As in most Gothic Horror, Hungerstone isn't the typical horror, where things jump out and scare you. It is horror that is felt in the creepiness of the surroundings and the actions of the characters. It is written in a beautiful prose that is addictive, almost deliciously so.

A beautifully written reimagining of Carmilla which questions the nature of ‘hunger’ and need. If our needs are not met, do we try to meet them by satisfying – at least temporarily – other hungers? Lenore, having survived a traumatic accident, the loss of her parents and a loveless upbringing, has managed her life and the security of her situation carefully. The relationship between her and her steel magnate husband carefully unfolds until we see the full scope of it. Enter the rescued Carmilla, whose presence prompts Lenore to ask herself whether she wants more and just what she ha settled for. It examines the precarious position of women as owned and represented by their husbands, as well as offering a steamy sapphic romance. Really enjoyed this.

Hungerstone
by Kat Dunn
Narrated by Perdita Weeks

I have read and loved hungerstone before and I didn't think that it would get any better experience than reading it but Perdita Weeks' narration was so good that I ended up loving it even more. It happens only sometimes that you enjoy a book even more as an audiobook and this was perfect example of that.

Book rating : 4 stars
Audiobook rating : 5 stars
Overall rating : 4. 5 stars

What a brilliant book and what brilliant prose. This book is what I live for and read for.

I was mesmerized by the prose from the page one. I relished reading hungerstone slowly over a period of time even though I loved it, I didn't want to rush. I wanted to enjoy every word of it.


Said to be a compulsive feminist retelling of Carmilla by le sheridan ,the queer novella that inspired Dracula it intrigued me and left me pleasantly confused as to what was going to happen. No I didn't see what was coming and the end left me bewildered.

There are many elements at work in hungerstone, passion and desire, temptation and anger, hunger and satiety, horror set in gothic setting. Erotism on the verge of vulgarity or is it really vulgar to express your sexual desires if they are not fulfilled by your partner?

Hungerstone starts slowly building a world where women have almost no freedom. The feminist voice is subtle not too loud and yet very clear. Lenore is a bit of unreliable narrator but yet she shines. Carmilla isn't present whole time and yet her presence is felt in the shadows throughout the books. To be honest, it's not carmilla's story but Lenore's. The book surprised me, I did not expect it to go where it did, the ending was almost perfect and I loved it.

It is slow paced at times and that's the only thing that annoyed me. At some points when nothing happened in the book, I was annoyed but prose kept me going and that's why I'm rating it 1 star less or else it was definitely 5 stars read. Prosewise, this book will always standout to me. Wonderfully written if I haven't said that already. If I did, well it is brilliant so it deserves it again.

Thank you Netgalley and Zando publishing and dreamscape select for this wonderful ARC in exchange of an honest review.

When I originally requested this novel it was because it was on the most anticipated horror novels of 2025 and I had no idea what the premise was. Finding out that it was a Carmilla retelling briefly made me apprehensive about this - only because I so recently read a Carmilla retelling by ST Gibson, but it turns out this is a horror sub genre that I'm very fond of. This book was well written and engaging, the storytelling really interesting. It felt more inspired by Carmilla, almost like a fun fan fiction of the original story rather than a retelling. Instead it's a unique story that Carmilla makes an appearance in as a catalyst for the lead character to begin to explore her own strength.

This book perfectly encapsulates the "good for her" horror sub genre that I love so much. If you're looking for a horror novel steeped in female rage, look no further.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Based on the classic novel, Carmilla, this novel is a very different type of vampire novel. Carmilla plays a side role, and while she is still very clearly a vampire, this novel focuses more on the appetites that women are forced to suppress in order to fit into the roles of society. Well written and well read, this audiobook was intriguing and enjoyable.

Soft DNF @ 58%

I am in the biggest slump right now, and this just isn't doing it for me at the moment. So far, I think it's a very true Carmilla retelling, but I'd rather put it down now and return to it when I can appreciate it more.

Hungerstone was everything I wanted from a Carmilla retelling. The book builds slowly and sultry throughout to ultimate feminine power and rage that was satisfying and fulfilling.
The narrator does an amazing job at bringing Lenore to life and I could listen to her voice for many more hours. I was fully immersed and didn’t want to stop listening at any point.
I felt transported back in time and the setting is gothic and beautiful. The themes of pleasure, anger and responsibility enthralled me. With lyrical and dramatic writing I now need to annotate a book version. An absolutely stunning example of historical gothic literature that I will revisit.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

"Aren't you furious?" This is a perfect question to encapsulate the female rage in this book. I loved Carmilla so obviously I pounced on this retelling and was not disappointed. Perdita Weeks is a great narrator - she began with a languid pacing which then turned to fury and the narration definitely highlighted the book perfectly. I am really enjoying the genre of female rage and this is another great addition. I almost wished 'the undoing' lasted longer but that is probably just me wanting to see bad people squirm. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Select and Zando, LLC for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.