Bookseller Reviews
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Utter Poetry
Kat Dunn could write a shopping list and I'd read it. Buoyed by vivid prose, thoughtful first person narration, and a delightful touch of horror and gore, ... READ MORE
Hungerstone is not just a gem of a book, it is the deepest ruby within the mine, waiting patiently and prowling with it's self-confidence in it's prowess
I love a sapphic vampire tale. Those two words mentioned? Ooops there it goes onto my tbr! But nothing beats the original le Fanu's Carmilla... Right? Ente... READ MORE
A stunningly seductive tale of female rage that left me hungry for more!
Set against the transformative background of the Industrial Revolution, Hungerstone is a gorgeously gothic sapphic retelling of Carmilla. In this novel, Ka... READ MORE
Hungerstone
For those who are familiar with Carmilla, the Sheridan Le Fanu classic from 1872, you will know that the original was framed under very different circumsta... READ MORE
A story of change and desire.
It’s a story of realisation and metamorphosis, as Lenora undergoes an incredibly intense journey of emotional turmoil. With an incredible gothic undercurre... READ MORE
A Stunning Reflection on Identity and Freedom
In the historically rich landscape of Sheffield and the stark isolation of the moorlands, Lady Lenore perceives herself not as an individual, but as a tool... READ MORE
A beautiful retelling of a classic novel!
Hungerstone is an incredible retelling of another incredible classical book. Carmilla gets overlooked quite a lot so to see this re telling bring forth a n... READ MORE
For what do you hunger?
Lenore, the wife of a steel magnate, yet ten years into the marriage their relationship has soured to the point where she and Henry see nothing but rust wh... READ MORE
The Perfect Gothic Tale!
If you're after a perfect Gothic story look no further, Hungerstone has it all! Crumbling isolated mansion, mysterious strangers, creepy unexplained bouts ... READ MORE
A delicious & gruesome tale of desire, womanhood, and control
Hungerstone is a story of desire, control, discovery, womanhood, and excruciating loneliness. With engaging prose and told in a narrative voice that felt a... READ MORE
I am obsessed
A beautifully rich and exciting tale of obsession, cruelty and hunger.
A sumptuous read
Hungerstone is feminist, atmospheric, dark, a little sinister, sapphic and fantastic!
The author’s note at the end says that she wrote this book ‘in a gre... READ MORE
An addictive and guttural examination of female rage.
After reading this, I will read anything that Kat Dunn writes. Hungerstone is a haunting, sapphic reworking of Carmilla, one of the earliest works of vampi... READ MORE
Haunting, enraging and mesmerising retelling of Carmilla!
“To be a woman is a horror I can little comprehend.”
If I was to sum up Hungerstone in a few words they would be haunting, enraging and mesmerising. Se... READ MORE
Alluring and unhinged
An alluring retelling of Carmilla that has made me realise that I need to add far more gothic fiction about unhinged women escaping the drudgery of awful m... READ MORE
A delicious, visceral and empowering exploration of female rage.
Set against the untameable wilderness of the Peaks, during the unstoppable force of the Industrial Revolution, Hungerstone is a beautiful, visceral Gothic ... READ MORE
An enchanting and subversive gothic story
I'm not generally a reader of horror, and I haven't even read Carmilla, the book on which this is based, but I still really enjoyed Hungerstone. All the cl... READ MORE
Sultry and creepy in equal parts
3.5⭐️
“I wonder for what you hunger and whether you allow yourself to feel it.”
I know this book technically doesn’t come out until January, so I was ver... READ MORE
A book for hungry girls
Hungerstone is a seductive, gothic retelling of Carmilla set during the industrial revolution. The book centres on Lenore, a suffocated society wife and, f... READ MORE
A delicious, visceral and empowering exploration of female rage.
Set against the untameable wilderness of the Peaks, during the unstoppable force of the Industrial Revolution, Hungerstone is a beautiful, visceral Gothic ... READ MORE
Dark & Delicious.
Thank you so much Manilla Press/Bonnier Books for sending me the proof copy.
Lenore has moved into her new Sheffield estate with her husband of ten yea... READ MORE
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous
The premise of this book is promising enough - an explicitly sapphic retelling of Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla - but I wasn't expecting it to blow me away q... READ MORE
A dark and delicious gothic tale
For a book based on Carmilla, the character of Carmilla is only a small part of this novel. Instead, we focus on our main character Lenore, and her difficu... READ MORE
I instead inhaled this book in 48 hours.
I devoured this book in 2 days. It just drew me in and kept me there until I turned that final page. This book has a great atmosphere, an amazing main char... READ MORE
‘A salacious tale of betrayal, murder and supernatural interventions’.
There has been a real boom in the last two or three years, in terms of really good vampire books. Gone are the days of boys who sparkle and here are the ‘r... READ MORE
The extra depth we needed to Carmilla's story arc
If you're a fan of the original Le Fanu novel and felt it was too short and you needed more, or simply love a sapphic/vampire/gothic novel, pick this up! H... READ MORE
"I was a creature made only from fear and survival."
This novel tackles the idea of desire, false images, and reflections. The main character, Lenore, believes her marriage with her husband is perfect and his... READ MORE
Deliciously Gothic
“For what do you hunger?”
This beautiful edition is not just a delight for the eye but is also a captivating Gothic tale of hunger and the sensual satin... READ MORE
A very clever retelling
Kat Dunn did an amazing job of using the story of Carmilla to give a voice to female rage, repressed desires, and the pressures women face in a patriarchal... READ MORE
Fun and gripping!
A perfect book to read on Halloween! I love Carmilla and I enjoyed this retelling focusing on unlikable women letting themselves *want* and be *hungry*.
The Retelling of All Time
Hungerstone had me absolutely hooked. Dunn’s writing style is not only accessible but captivating, drawing you into a tale of love, revenge, and obsession.... READ MORE
Synopsis
'For what do you hunger?'
But as the couple travel through the bleak countryside, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore's life. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night, Carmilla who stirs up something deep within Lenore. And before long, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger . . .
As the day of the hunt draws closer, Lenore begins to unravel, questioning the role she has been playing all these years. Torn between regaining her husband's affection and the cravings Carmilla has awakened, soon Lenore will uncover a darkness in her household that will place her at terrible risk . . .
Set against the violent wilderness of the Peaks and the uncontrolled appetite of the Industrial Revolution, Hungerstone is a compulsive sapphic reworking of Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula: a captivating story of appetite and desire.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
- ISBN: 9781786583918
- Number of pages: 400
- Dimensions: 242 x 165 x 36 mm
- Weight: 610g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allFantastic
I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.
What a phenomenal book this was, believe all the hype! This is a Carm... READ MORE
.
This book is such a brilliant take on Carmilla and vampires in general.
The big focus of this book is hunger. What we deny ourselves and how monstrous ... READ MORE
Deliciously dark gothic tale
Hungerstone is a vivid tapestry set in the gothic darkness of the near-ruined Nethershaw, a manor house in the vicinity of Sheffield during the industrial ... READ MORE
Good but it was not as brilliant as the lady hyped it to be
Things I Loved:
~ I loved the gothic atmosphere and setting - the moors and crumbling estate gave the Woman in Black vibes (not as scary though) and the... READ MORE
Beautiful & Gothic
Words. This was good. I liked how it felt a bit modern and a bit Gothic at the same time. I thought the character development was amazing, it was like watc... READ MORE
alluring and seductive novel
Hungerstone draws inspiration from the well known story of Carmilla. It is a violent, sensual, intense & intoxicating novel about women's fear, anger, desi... READ MORE
Gothic allure
Hungerstone – Katt Dunn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feminine Rage
Carmilla reimagined
Sapphic Romance
Gothic Horror
Hungerstone was a gothic masterpiece, full ... READ MORE
Sharp as Steel
Hungerstone is a loose retelling of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, the OG vampire novel from 1872, that pre-dates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by some 25 years. I ... READ MORE
Hungerstone Review (Netgalley)
Rating: 4.75 Stars
Firstly, thank you to @Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for approving my request to read this ARC!
Having read Bitterthorn, I knew I... READ MORE
This is a story mostly about mental health abuse and trauma
This is a story mostly about mental health abuse and trauma
The beginning of the book is slow, and it took me a bit to get into it. And even though I w... READ MORE
A gothic tale full of female rage
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC! I’m leaving this review voluntarily.
While Lenore hungered for something more from he... READ MORE
Great gothic tale
Lenore is 10 years into her marriage (of convenience...) with Henry and with growing distance between them, Henry's ambitions take the forefront
Lenore... READ MORE
It starts with blood
Hungerstone hooked me from the start. Kat Dunn paints pictures with her words and her prose is perfection.
Carmillas' influence on the women around her ... READ MORE
Sensual, claustrophobic and hungry
Hungerstone is Kat Dunn’s first foray into adult fiction, and has brought us a stunning, sensual, sapphic novel — if you enjoyed her previous novel, Bitter... READ MORE
I was blown away.
My previous exposure to Carmilla was limited to the YouTube series from the 2010s and let me tell you… this was as far removed from that as possible. What ... READ MORE
Gothic Sapphic Vampire Perfection
"Perhaps I am not the ghost I thought myself. Perhaps I have always had substance. If, then, I am allowed a story, perhaps I can become the author of it."
... READ MORE
Sharp as Steel
Hungerstone is a loose retelling of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, the OG vampire novel from 1872, that pre-dates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by some 25 years. I ... READ MORE
Sapphic gothic retelling of Carmilla
The build up in this novel was really satisfying, and many boxes were ticked in the list of things I like about period novels. Firstly, I was really into ... READ MORE
netgalley arc review
Hungerstone is an amazing take on the sapphic vampire tale carmilla, full of female rage - outrageous for its setting in the 1800’s.
From the scandals t... READ MORE
'It starts with blood'
Hungerstone hooked me from the start. Kat Dunn paints pictures with her words and her prose is perfection.
Carmillas' influence on the women around her ... READ MORE
A Gorgeous Retelling of 'Carmilla'
It feels like there's been a lot of Carmilla retellings recently, but I was intrigued by this one as I live near to the setting - darkest Derbyshire rather... READ MORE
Dark and delicious
Sounds strange to say j felt like I was there, but the feeling of 19th Century London and then the large crumbling country estate just felt so real. I’d al... READ MORE
A bloody, feminist, gothic novel
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 Car... READ MORE
"I would eat the world should it satisfy this empty, keening void where my heart should be."
I am a sucker (pun intended) for lesbian vampires but this book offers so much more. Yearning! Tasteful gore! Sensuality! Commentary on societal gender rol... READ MORE
A hunger not quite sated
Let me preface this by saying: I really wanted to love this book. Gothic moorland setting? Check. Promised Sapphic vampires? Check. Feminist Carmilla retel... READ MORE
A dark and seductively delicious gothic horror
I have not read Carmilla so I cannot make comparisons, but as soon as I started reading Hungerstone I was so terribly hungry for more! I couldn’t put it do... READ MORE
Delightful modern take on Carmilla
I haven’t read Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula which was published 25 years before Bram Stoker’s novel. Hungerstone promises the compulsive, femin... READ MORE
Mannered retelling of Carmilla
In 1888, Lady Lenore Crowther and her cold husband Henry arrive at their new Derbyshire estate, only to witness the rescue of a lone woman in white from an... READ MORE
"What is a monster but a creature of agency?"
I was lucky enough to read this absolute masterpiece as an ARC from @netgalley @bonnierbooks_uk and I can say with absolute confidence that this is going t... READ MORE
A beautiful nightmare
Hungerstone was a beautiful nightmare of a book. It was simply exquisite.
I have long enjoyed Kat Dunn’s work, particularly her strength in character w... READ MORE
A Beautifully Penned Feminine Cry Of Hunger & Rage
'It starts with blood.'
Hunger; it's what 'Hungerstone' revolves around, but not necessarily in the manner that you may imagine. It's the central theme ... READ MORE
deliciously devious, twists and turns galore. Perfectly queer spooky read
I picked this book up after hearing everyone recommend this, and it deserves all the praise it gets. This dark gothic sapphic tale of the iconic lesbian va... READ MORE
Richly Gothic and Simmering With Rage
“What is a monster but a creature of agency?”
Having not read Carmilla, I can’t attest to how this retelling stands as such, but as someone reading this s... READ MORE
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