Reviews with content warning for Confinement - House of Hunger

I have a very unpopular opinion here, I know tons of people love this book and it is beautifully written but the plot dragged on in my opinion and I honestly wasn’t that invested in any of the characters which made it even more of a slog for me.

Based on the real Blood Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Marion is a new blood maid for the House of Hunger where girls are bled for the wealthy nobles to drink. She’s not only a blood maid, but blood maid to one of the most hungry and insatiable of nobles Lisavet.

This is the second book I’ve read by Henderson that fell flat for me. I had read Year of the Witching previously and had the same problems with plot and characters. While her writing is very atmospheric and lyrical, her plots and romance all come off as stale or slow to me. House of Hunger started off great, I was invested in the story and curious as to where it would go but once Marion arrives at the castle it all just slows down. The focus shifts to the relationship between Lisavet and Marion, and it turns from a horror novel into some weird toxic romance.

Romance is not my thing, I don’t read it, I don’t pursue it, and I don’t mind it as a subplot if it’s well done, but in House of Hunger the relationship was so abusive and toxic from the start I never got behind it. Unfortunately, a huge chunk of the book is just Marion and Lisavet in the castle bleeding for each other and shooting boar, not really interesting to me.

By the time the plot picks up again, the story goes in to hyper speed and then it’s over, the pacing is not the best. Also, If you know the history of Elizabeth Bathory the twist is not a shock to you, which again probably ruined some of the intrigue for me since I’m a huge history buff and was probably unhealthily obsessed with Bathory as a child so this story was just a miss overall for me.

I can definitely see why so many people love this, it’s dark paranormal romance with gorgeous prose and a bloody story but it’s not what I’m looking for in my own reading.

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maddiereadswords's review against another edition

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3.5

Sapphic gothic vampire-inspired horror?? Say less. The tension and the pacing of this book is so well done, and even though I could see a few of the twists coming, the journey to get there was just so good!! It did have a little too much medical body horror (like needles and related issues) for my personal tastes, so there were some parts I had to skim to get through, but I enjoyed literally everything else about it. I relate to Marion because I, too, would risk it all for hot countess who could and would kill me. Also in case you're worried

the cat survives!!

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leahrosereads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Another modern author who can tell an exceptional gothic tale! Alexis Henderson did a fantastic job building up this story, the characters, and the House of Hunger setting into something so incredibly dangerous and grand.

I adored this story, the twisted nature of the secrets, and how it all came to a conclusion.

This won't be for everyone, but it was a damn near perfect book to me.

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So I have been dipping myself slowly into books that have more horror / scary elements. House of Hunger was one of them and I actually enjoyed this. I liked the buildup of the intrigue of being a blood maid and what came with it. While Marion settles in, the pacing does slow but the ending made up for it. The only part I wish was done a little better was the development of the Countess and some of the other characters that were given a role but not fully fleshed out.

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raisinreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

girlie was down BAD

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missbsbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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bethboo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book was a little strange.
The premise is wonderfully interesting. A world divided by class and ruled by blood. Sapphic characters and relationships and sensually dark obsessions and fatal alliances. A big almost empty manor that used to be beyond lavish with old money and old tales and old histories and old fears. It's a book that is purely for the vibes, because the execution was lack luster at best. The author and the writing style was lacking in finesse. It reminded me of a Wattpad story. Some of the stories on their are crazy interesting, but the writing is amateur in all of them.
So, as someone who listened to the audio book and just put it on in the background, it was a fairly decent book. The vibes were immaculate but the plot definitely missed the mark.
I think the development of characters and later plot lines moved way too quickly, and kinda felt like the author just trying to wrap things up sloppily. The ending was a bit unexpected, so I'll give it that, but it definitely didn't go where I wanted it to.
I would give it a worse rating, but the atmosphere was good and the premise was great and the summary of it all is fabulous. Simply the writing disappointed the book. Even the title and the cover art and names of characters and places and the world was all amazing. But I hated the writing.

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birbmcbirb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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