House of Hunger
2022 • 305 pages
Ratings27
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings27
Average rating3.5
WANTED - Bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life’s finer pleasures. Girls of weak will need not apply. A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching. Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she know. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper seeking a bloodmaid. Though she knows little about the far north—where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service—Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery. At the center of it all is Countess Lisavet. The countess, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when she discovers that the ancient walls of the House of Hunger hide even older secrets, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She’ll need to learn the rules of her new home—and fast—or its halls will soon become her grave.
Reviews with the most likes.
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.
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
