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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Self harm, Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Confinement, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Trafficking
Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Drug use, Torture, Addiction, Animal death, and Sexual content
Minor: Pedophilia, Gun violence, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
ireadinbed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There is great gothic atmosphere building at the start and wild action at the end. I really liked the characters and got genuinely a little freaked out at one point and had to walk away for a second. Beautiful imagery and worldbuilding!
My only complaint is there was a section that felt like it needed a few more scenes to build suspense. And honestly it's a minor complaint because the shock was kinda worth that spoiled tension!
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault
mary_stormageddon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Chronic illness, Drug use, Incest, and Murder
bethboo's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Blood, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
melliedm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Marion is from the slums of this pseudo-European fantasy world, both the social strata she was born into and her race contributing to her place in the world. She works thanklessly as a maid for a demanding mistress and fights to keep her earnings from her brother, who lost himself to sickness and drink and became the controlling, abusive figure they lacked without parents. Marion is also, straight from the outset, a lesbian—hell yeah.
When Marion sees a listing seeking a new bloodmaid, she sees an opportunity. You see, in this world the northern regions are ruled by a nobility who, inspired by dark tradition, consume blood. They're not vampires, per se—they're a more human metaphor for the desperate consumption and boredom of the upper crust. But hey, becoming a bloodmaid might cost you several pints or quarts over the years, but once you finish your tenure you're basically set for life. That's gotta be better than working till your death, right?
Marion ends up applying, and with the exquisite taste of her blood she gets fast-tracked into the court, where she's soon introduced to the Countess Lisavet, of the House of Hunger. From there, we enter into a thrilling and twisted toxic romance between the two, a courtly competition between bloodmaids for importance, and an old castle full of dark secrets to be uncovered.
Where House of Hunger could have been satisfied there, it instead takes things a step further and makes a firm commentary on the nature of class, the limits we can achieve within a system of capitalistic consumption, and how easily possession can be confused with love.
I loved Henderson's quick pace, especially her world-building. Too frequently I find that authors dump too much information or try to make their world too different from our own, forcing them to spend more time teaching us about how their world works and less time on how the characters interact with the world: Henderson didn't have that problem here. She takes what she needs from our familiarity, settles it into a gaslamp-esque setting, and adds her own twists that she works in where it's relevant to our characters, and doesn't bother giving us unnecessary details.
I had a great time with this read, and devoured it at breakneck pace. With this and A Year of Witching, Henderson is now on my "must read new releases" list.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Violence, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, and Chronic illness
Minor: Addiction, Torture, and Racism
Needlesmslaureeslibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
theonlybaillie's review against another edition
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Drug use, Violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Bullying, Death, Alcohol, Body horror, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent
Don't read this if you have a fear of needles or blood lol