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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you Netgalley for the Arc!
Doctrina est vita aeterna, learning is life eternal.
This Vicious Ginger follows Thora, an recently orphaned and widowed woman who, at the behest of her mother in law, was offered a place to study botany at St Elianto under the esteemed Dr Petaccia. Being a woman in academia is challenge enough, but the research that Dr Petaccia is involved with reveals its own challenges and mystery.
I enjoyed the first half of this book quite a lot. The academia vibes were pretty immaculate and the sapphic yearning was wonderful. I enjoy the language that May uses and how evocative it can be. The focus on poisons and most of the story taking place on the moonlight set a wonderful atmosphere as well.
However the pace ebbed and flowed a lot over the course of the book and certain parts became quite repetitive. I found that the repetition of some of Thora's inner monologue (around being both a woman and a widow) became quickly irritating and the tone of the book shifted greatly in the latter half. In honesty, I'm unsure if this is the first in a series but I was left wanting for more conclusion by the end of the book.
The romance was probably the highlight of the book for the most part, but became a little too focussed on the physical. Their discussions and disagreements felt like they could have been resolved or ended within half the time and didn't read as realistic.
If you're a fan of academia and sapphic yearning, this is likely a book that you'll enjoy!
Thora Grieve has always dreamed of going to university to study botany. After the death of her husband, Thora finds herself alone and without money. A family friend reaches out and offers the deal of a lifetime. Become the assistant of the famed botany professor, Florencia Petaccia and be able to go to classes. Just outside her room at the university, lies a beautiful garden which is tended by a just as beautiful woman. They become fast friends and fall into a world of obsession and poison. Is Thora willing to pay the price for her freedom?
I struggled with this one. The imagery was beautifully written. I just felt like the story…went nowhere… especially towards the end. I am all for not having a happy ending in a book, but I felt like the story just stopped. Thora was leaving and there was no real resolution to the problem. In the beginning I was rooting for Thora and Olea, but near the end I just wanted them to go their separate ways. I also felt like Olea’s illness was brought up once briefly in the start of their relationship and then forgotten about. Thora was supposedly so insistent to find a cure that she forgot about it for most of the book until she was sick close to the end of the book. I feel that Leo received the same treatment. I wanted to know more about him! I know that he had his faults and guilt but I wanted more of him. I felt bad for him a lot and just wanted to give him a hug.
I wanted more horror, especially with a title called This Vicious Hunger. I wanted more. I felt it was empty and repetitive at times.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I struggled with this one. The imagery was beautifully written. I just felt like the story…went nowhere… especially towards the end. I am all for not having a happy ending in a book, but I felt like the story just stopped. Thora was leaving and there was no real resolution to the problem. In the beginning I was rooting for Thora and Olea, but near the end I just wanted them to go their separate ways. I also felt like Olea’s illness was brought up once briefly in the start of their relationship and then forgotten about. Thora was supposedly so insistent to find a cure that she forgot about it for most of the book until she was sick close to the end of the book. I feel that Leo received the same treatment. I wanted to know more about him! I know that he had his faults and guilt but I wanted more of him. I felt bad for him a lot and just wanted to give him a hug.
I wanted more horror, especially with a title called This Vicious Hunger. I wanted more. I felt it was empty and repetitive at times.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for a complimentary early release copy of This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May.
This Vicious Hunger is an atmospheric type of read, the gothic botanical horror elements are written in an interesting and intriguing way. I like reading the descriptions of the plants but the details of the garden and university were equally as nice. The mystery of the book had me intrigued but at the same time the pacing is very slow and sometimes nothing particularly exciting feels like it’s happening. I was interested in how things were going to play out with Olea, the way she is described as this sick mysterious garden lady is intriguing but I thought things fell a little flat. Both of the main characters Thora and Olea feel fine on their own but together they just make a bit of a toxic pair. I didn’t particularly like these characters nor did I like the romance.
I mainly stuck around to find out what was going on with this sickness of Olea’s. I feel like the book becomes a little nonsensical when Thora starts to look for this cure, I feel confused for what happened/is going on but I still found my reading experience to be somewhat enjoyable. Even though I don't really know what was going on, when the botanical horror elements really kick in my enjoyment went up. It was a slow descend to madness and the horror elements really pack a punch however I’m feeling rather displeased about the ending. Even though the book felt like it was drawing on and on after I finished reading I’m left with a “is that it?” Kind of feeling. There are so many things that feel left unresolved.
This Vicious Hunger is an atmospheric type of read, the gothic botanical horror elements are written in an interesting and intriguing way. I like reading the descriptions of the plants but the details of the garden and university were equally as nice. The mystery of the book had me intrigued but at the same time the pacing is very slow and sometimes nothing particularly exciting feels like it’s happening. I was interested in how things were going to play out with Olea, the way she is described as this sick mysterious garden lady is intriguing but I thought things fell a little flat. Both of the main characters Thora and Olea feel fine on their own but together they just make a bit of a toxic pair. I didn’t particularly like these characters nor did I like the romance.
I mainly stuck around to find out what was going on with this sickness of Olea’s. I feel like the book becomes a little nonsensical when Thora starts to look for this cure, I feel confused for what happened/is going on but I still found my reading experience to be somewhat enjoyable. Even though I don't really know what was going on, when the botanical horror elements really kick in my enjoyment went up. It was a slow descend to madness and the horror elements really pack a punch however I’m feeling rather displeased about the ending. Even though the book felt like it was drawing on and on after I finished reading I’m left with a “is that it?” Kind of feeling. There are so many things that feel left unresolved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Homophobia
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy
This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May is a first person-POV Gothic fantasy Sapphic retelling of Rappaccini’s Daughter. Thora finds herself widowed and kicked from her husband’s family home not too long after their wedding started. Seeing her chance at freedom, she takes the chance to study at a university and meets Olea, a young woman who takes care of a private garden at night and who never leaves.
The ‘hunger’ in the title is mostly referring to Sapphic longing rather than the more recent trend of cannibalism in fiction found in things like Yellow Jackets and The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim. Olea and Thora are both touch-starved but in different ways; Olea because of the circumstances around her existence and Thora because she’s never been allowed to actually explore her romantic attraction to women. You can feel how much they want to take the next step forward, but how impossible it feels for them to do so. There is a little bit of cannibalism but it takes way less page time than the longing for physical contact does.
This is more interior-heavy rather than dialogue-leaning. There’s not a lot of banter between Thora and Olea and instead more of a meeting of two vulnerable people who don’t really know how to interact with someone else that they have romantic feelings for. Beyond that, Thora is quite stuck in her head and her circumstances but is willing to go to bat for Olea when she sees the need.
Rappaccini's Daughter already feels Gothic as a story so the big twist here is that it’s Sapphic. It’s been a while since I’ve read the original short story, but I do feel that this sits comfortably as a retelling that is more about fleshing out certain parts rather than changing them dramatically to fit a new mold. The setting as well seems to fit in very well with the original short story, which will be a positive for readers who prefer a retelling that also works as a character study to a reimagining.
Content warning for depictions of sexism and homophobia
I would recommend this to fans of Sapphic longing and readers of Gothic fantasy who loved Rappaccini’s Daughter
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
This Vicious Hunger is a mysterious and enchanting gothic tale with flavors of dark academia and the Secret Garden. After the deaths of her father and new husband, Thora Grieve is sent away by her disdainful mother-in-law. She is sent to university to study botany under the tutelage of an old colleague of her father's, where she finds herself to be the only female scholar. In spite of the ongoing and all-too-familiar theme of misogyny and disregard for female contributions to academia, Thora does befriend a young man called Leo, and is apprenticed to the only female teacher at the university. She also discovers a garden of unfamiliar and poisonous plants locked behind a rusted old gate and tended by a mysterious woman who only appears at night.
This book has great mouth-feel. The university has a visceral atmosphere of heat and oppression; sweltering humidity, terra-cotta and plaster spires, and the green bittersweet smell of rotting plant matter. It brings the Mediterranean to mind, but also reminds me of the summers of my childhood in the Los Angeles area, so hot and damp it makes you feel sick. This feeling mingles with Thora's mental and physical degradation throughout the novel and serves to explain some of the more irrational responses she has to various events.
My primary criticism is that while the world this book takes place it has the potential to be fascinating, there's just not enough of it that made it onto the page. The mourning rituals described by Thora are interesting, and seem to reference various in-universe legends, however those legends are barely mentioned and not expanded on nearly enough to satisfy my thirst for lore-dumping. This story could just as easily be set in a fictional 1800s Italian university as opposed to a completely fictional world, so I wish there was more to set it apart.
This book has great mouth-feel. The university has a visceral atmosphere of heat and oppression; sweltering humidity, terra-cotta and plaster spires, and the green bittersweet smell of rotting plant matter. It brings the Mediterranean to mind, but also reminds me of the summers of my childhood in the Los Angeles area, so hot and damp it makes you feel sick. This feeling mingles with Thora's mental and physical degradation throughout the novel and serves to explain some of the more irrational responses she has to various events.
My primary criticism is that while the world this book takes place it has the potential to be fascinating, there's just not enough of it that made it onto the page. The mourning rituals described by Thora are interesting, and seem to reference various in-universe legends, however those legends are barely mentioned and not expanded on nearly enough to satisfy my thirst for lore-dumping. This story could just as easily be set in a fictional 1800s Italian university as opposed to a completely fictional world, so I wish there was more to set it apart.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Little Brown Book group and netgalley for the EARC.
This Vicious Hunger has so much potential but unfortunately it didn't live up to what I thought it could be.
Part 1 was really good. I loved the gothic atmosphere and the introduction to these characters and the garden. Part 2 really let the whole story down. The main character Thora became so manipulative and toxic that I ended up not really liking her at all and not having any sympathy for her. This just led to Part 2 mainly being Thora and Olea arguing over and over aging and always about the same thing. It just got so repetitive. I fell like the majority of these arguments could have been cut to make the book shorter.
I hated the ending. It just stopped. From what was said I expected a big showdown but no it just ended there and then. I really thought the end of the book had been missed from the EARC. I really hated this as it didn't even seem like a cliff-hanger. It felt as though the author had got bored and just wanted to end it.
And finally, nothing shocked me. When a 'twist' happened or something was revealed I kind of expected it.
So yeah, I gave this 3 stars because the beginning of the book was good but part 2 just felt like it could be a 2 star.
This Vicious Hunger has so much potential but unfortunately it didn't live up to what I thought it could be.
Part 1 was really good. I loved the gothic atmosphere and the introduction to these characters and the garden. Part 2 really let the whole story down. The main character Thora became so manipulative and toxic that I ended up not really liking her at all and not having any sympathy for her. This just led to Part 2 mainly being Thora and Olea arguing over and over aging and always about the same thing. It just got so repetitive. I fell like the majority of these arguments could have been cut to make the book shorter.
I hated the ending. It just stopped. From what was said I expected a big showdown but no it just ended there and then. I really thought the end of the book had been missed from the EARC. I really hated this as it didn't even seem like a cliff-hanger. It felt as though the author had got bored and just wanted to end it.
And finally, nothing shocked me. When a 'twist' happened or something was revealed I kind of expected it.
So yeah, I gave this 3 stars because the beginning of the book was good but part 2 just felt like it could be a 2 star.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Lesbophobia
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence
DNF @ 43%
Thora is the daughter of an undertaker, meaning that she has spent her life surrounded by grief. When her husband dies, his family doesn't want her living in the family estate anymore, so they take her father's friend up on her offer to educate her as a rare female university student. While attending university, Thora discovers a secret garden and a mysterious woman living it and becomes obsessed.
This book had a really interesting premise, but felt all over the place. I understand that it was probably supposed to highlight her obsession with Olea, but it felt like there were two entirely different plots going on (her education and her relationship with Olea) and it was confusing and disorienting. The plotting was also very slow — Olea wasn't even introduced until a quarter of the way through the novel. They do become obsessed with each other fairly quickly once they meet each other, though. I also don't really understand the importance of Leonardo as a significant character if he becomes essentially ignored once Olea enters the picture. Overall, this book was just too slow-paced and confusing for me. If you like sapphic gothic fantasy and don't mind slow pacing or instalove, this book might appeal to you.
Thank you to Netgalley, Orbit Books and Francesca May for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Thora is the daughter of an undertaker, meaning that she has spent her life surrounded by grief. When her husband dies, his family doesn't want her living in the family estate anymore, so they take her father's friend up on her offer to educate her as a rare female university student. While attending university, Thora discovers a secret garden and a mysterious woman living it and becomes obsessed.
This book had a really interesting premise, but felt all over the place. I understand that it was probably supposed to highlight her obsession with Olea, but it felt like there were two entirely different plots going on (her education and her relationship with Olea) and it was confusing and disorienting. The plotting was also very slow — Olea wasn't even introduced until a quarter of the way through the novel. They do become obsessed with each other fairly quickly once they meet each other, though. I also don't really understand the importance of Leonardo as a significant character if he becomes essentially ignored once Olea enters the picture. Overall, this book was just too slow-paced and confusing for me. If you like sapphic gothic fantasy and don't mind slow pacing or instalove, this book might appeal to you.
Thank you to Netgalley, Orbit Books and Francesca May for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gorgeous gothic prose and a really intriguing take on some classic fantasy elements.
The only thing brining this down from a 5 star for me is the pacing, this took a long time to hook me but once it did I sped through the second two thirds in one evening!
Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC
The only thing brining this down from a 5 star for me is the pacing, this took a long time to hook me but once it did I sped through the second two thirds in one evening!
Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious