A review by minimicropup
House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

Loved it! It was immersive and layered, the reveals were well-timed, it was captivating. I love a balance slow-burn suspense, and this read that way the entire way through. 
 
Energy: Gothic. Lush. Forbidden.
 
🐩 Tail Wags: Richly detailed worldbuilding. Exploring all the rooms and corridors. Atmospheric writing style. Information and lore naturally unfolds as the main character explores (I felt like I was discovering things alongside her). The pace for building tension. The low-key intrigue and high-stakes finale. 
 
Scene: πŸ—ΊοΈ A southern city and a northern castle
Perspective: A scullery maid who shows up for a bloodmaid recruitment after an especially hard night of abuse, despite the judgement and rejection that comes with that role. 
Timeline: Linear. 1800s. Cold, northern lands. 
πŸ”₯ Fuel: How does one become a bloodmaid? Will our main character accept? Will she be accepted by the countess if she does? What’s with the secret passageways? Is this role a gateway to freedom and safety? 
πŸ“– Cred: Historical supernatural realism
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Opulence and depravity. Sickly perfume. Falling snow. Pipe smoke and maple. Fog. Dark velvet. Wine and metal. Ribbon chokers. 
  • Invisible in the room, seeing the world with the main character, feeling the feels
  • Mix of short and long chapters
  • Too-good-to-be-true scenarios
  • Breezy, cinematic, immersive, sensory writing style
  • Likeable, resilient, sympathetic, and villainous main characters
  • Bloodlines dark royalty
  • Gothic sapphic romance
  • Lovers to enemies
  • Get Out food horror
  • Fish out of water journeys
  • Trapped together found family
  • Low stakes mysteries escalating
  • Parasitic relationships
  • On the run escapes and stand-offs
  • Remote setting
 
Content Heads-Up: Alcohol (parties). Animal death (hunting). Blood (consuming, blood-letting; descriptive, frequent). Body fluids. Death. Drugging. Head injury. Infection, sickness, weakness. Loss of parents (as child). Murder. Nicotine (cigars, cigarettes). Racism (prejudice, persecution). Sexual content (behind closed doors; consenting). Sibling abuse (mental, emotional, physical; trauma bond). Substance abuse (addiction, opioid-like). Terminal illness (sexually transmitted). Torture, confinement. 
 
Rep: Cis. Lesbian. Non-speaking. Age spotted, freckled, deep tawny, pale, bone-pale, dark, alabaster, ghostly pale, and milk pale skin tones. 
 
πŸ“š Format: Kindle
 
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