House of Hunger

2.5 rounded down
I just did not vibe with this y'all....
The descriptions were lush and beautifully written but it took up a great majority of the book. I can tell you the exact arrangement of Lisavet's room but I couldn't tell you her depth as a character. Also the ‘romance' was not it for me because it moved way too fast and Marion switched up so quickly. Also, she was just a really selfish character and the whole ‘chosen one' trope was not it for me. I just thought that something was missing (maybe some plot and character development) but I read till the end to see if it got better, but sadly, I was disappointed.

This book wasn't what I thought it would be. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and assumed it was going to be some sort of love story, or a haunted house situation. Maybe What Moved the Dead has inaccurately shifted my expectations. 

I really enjoyed Miriam as a character and her development what great to read even before she came to the house of hunger. I am really glad they started the story there. At first, the background of her family and life didn't really make sense to me, but it added beautifully to the story later on. 

I did hope there would be some more explanation of what exactly happened and how this all came to be. Everything was explained, but it feels nonetheless like there should be more. Making the bad guy show no indication and then suddenly be completely evil, seemingly without reason, is very frustrating storytelling. I just wish there was more lore and something more complicated going on. It made the last couple of chapters slightly disappointing. 

TL;DR

I love the Gothic/Victorian era that this book is set it, love how it's written and really like all the characters in the story. I had a great time reading.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: It's not very interesting, I found that the "story" isn't really there, it's just the life of a poor girl turn bloodmaid and how that changed her perspective on things. And her relationship with the new "sisters" and the ruler of the house that she has now.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

✓ - Characters: I liked every character, really liked the relation between all the sisters and how they got more close to each other.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I loved the era and ambiance of this book, the Gothic/Victorian era is my favorite in terms of looks and dresses so I really liked that about this book.

X - Ending: I think the book could have really used an epilogue to let us know what happened after the ending and gives us a bit more of a satisfying conclusion. Not a bad ending but it could have been better.

Extensive Review

Even though the story isn't very interesting I really liked this book, mainly due to how it's well it's written, the conversations between the characters are very natural and I love the Gothic/Victorian era style so that did help my rating. I've read other people's reviews and can agree with them on how the romance didn't work for them because it felt a bit hollow and rushed, I do agree but I still had a good time reading it.

This was such a great read.

I really enjoyed this.

I was reluctant to read because Year of the Witching was just not for me. But this... This was exactly what I wanted the story to be and more.

Highly recommend.

The story follows Marion, a young girl from the slums trying to make a life for herself. She gets chosen as a bloodmaid for a Countess. The story then goes into her relationships with the other bloodmaids, the Countess, herself...

Marion is a strong character.

Note: A Lot of the reviews say this is about vampires. It isn't. It's still great.

read for stabathon 2022: tara carpenterread for blackoween 2022: a book with queer rep

i love love love the year of the witching and sadly this book disappointed me. i adored and vibes and atmosphere and writing but that's where my love for this book stops. there isn't much plot in this book which is completely okay and something i often enjoy IF the characterization is good. i don't need to like the characters in a character driven novel but i need them to be fleshed out and well rounded. the characters in this were flat, some barely existed, and often times the actions and the characterization didn't match up. i also didn't enjoy how the world building was done in this world overall. this is definitely one of my most disappointing books of the year 

The pacing at first almost killed me. It was too slow. It got better, but I was bored with it at first.
However, the creepiness was there and it had its gory moments too. The gothic vibes were excellent, and after a certain point, I was intrigued by what was going on.
I liked it, but I don't think it'll stay with me for long.
The world-building wasn't the best, probably because we spent most of the time inside the House of Hunger, but even so, it could've had a little more depth.
I was debating between 2.5 to 3 stars, but CAWPILE pushed it to a 3 star.

After reading Carmella in February, I decided I needed more sapphic vampire stories in my life. Around that same time, I stumbled upon House of Hunger, which fit the bill pretty well, and thought the premise sounded great.

While House of Hunger is a horror book, nothing about it stood out to me as horror until around 80%. Up until then, it really felt like dark romance. I understood going into the book that there would be romance, and I'm always fine with that, but only romance for well over half the book when it's categorized as horror just isn't for me. I appreciated some of it, but it still felt too long and slow, and then the last 20% was like: whoa here's some horror and it's going down very quickly whooosh now it's over! I honestly think that if it was paced to my liking, I would have enjoyed it much more.

The atmosphere of the House of Hunger was really dark and luxurious and I feel like I know exactly what its smoky parlors full of drunken overindulgent nobles look like. There are a lot of interesting places and scenes I think would lend themselves perfectly to a movie. I think I'd really enjoy a film based on the book. 

If you're someone who likes romance (with a little spice), and is into mysterious gothic vibes, you might really like House of Hunger!

“To love is to devour.”

I wish I could put into words how much I adored this book. It hit on so many things I adore in horror: love and obsession, vampirism, and plenty of tragedy to go around. Alexis Henderson's descriptions are so vividly brutal, and it makes for a beautiful novel with some really fascinating characters (Lisavet, in particular. I'd read a whole book just about her, if I'm being honest). It's reminiscent of Carmilla when it comes to style and storytelling, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who loves that story.

2.5 rounded down
I just did not vibe with this y'all....
The descriptions were lush and beautifully written but it took up a great majority of the book. I can tell you the exact arrangement of Lisavet's room but I couldn't tell you her depth as a character. Also the ‘romance' was not it for me because it moved way too fast and Marion switched up so quickly. Also, she was just a really selfish character and the whole ‘chosen one' trope was not it for me. I just thought that something was missing (maybe some plot and character development) but I read till the end to see if it got better, but sadly, I was disappointed.