I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson Published by Ace Books on September 27 2022
Genres: Adult, Horror, LGBTQ+
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: With a strong beginning and a thrilling ending, I enjoyed parts of House of Hunger, especially the darker horror elements, but overall it turned out to be a mixed bag for me.
Of this I am utterly certain: I will never again know peace.
—VANESSA, FIRST BLOODMAID OF THE HOUSE OF HUNGER
House of Hunger was a dark, atmospheric read, although to be honest it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I loved the horror aspects of the story, but the unexpected second world fantasy setting threw me off and I struggled with the middle section of the book. Still, Alexis Henderson’s writing is evocative and immersive, and the ending was fantastic. A strong YA vibe will make this work better for readers who enjoy young adult fantasy mixed with horror.
Marion lives in the slums in the Southern town of Prane, barely scraping by as a maid. What little money she does make gets squandered by her brother Raul on drugs and alcohol. Marion longs for a better life, and one day she finds a glimmer of hope. She sees an ad for a bloodmaid—a young girl indentured to one of the four Houses of the North who agrees to bleed for the master of the house. Marion will do almost anything to get out of Prane, and so she applies for the job. Thiago is a Taster who, as part of the job interview, samples Marion’s blood to see if it’s bloodmaid quality. He’s impressed with the exquisite taste of her blood and agrees to pay her fare to the North, where she will meet Lisavet, the Countess of the House of Hunger.
Marion is whisked away on the glamorous night train, and after tasting Marion’s blood, the Countess immediately offers her a seven year contract. She will agree to follow the strict rules of the house and bleed for the Countess, and after seven years, her servitude will end and she’ll receive a nice yearly pension for the rest of her life. Marion signs the contract without hesitation, and so her training to be a bloodmaid begins.
But as she gets to know the other bloodmaids and figures out her place in the House of Hunger, Marion begins to sense an unknown danger, lurking beneath the Countess’s decadent parties and sumptuous feasts.
From what I understand, House of Hunger is loosely based on the story of Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian Countess from the 1500s who was rumored to have killed hundreds of young girls in order to bathe in their blood (a story you might be familiar with). Henderson sets her story in a fantasy world that is ruled by great Houses, all of which employ bloodmaids. Despite the ick factor of being “bled” by being stuck with huge needles and collecting the blood in bowls (to be added to the Countess’s food!), bloodmaids are important to this society, and it’s considered an honor to be chosen as one. Henderson did a great job of making you feel for the bloodmaids, who have very little freedom despite the rich, decadent lifestyle they’ve become a part of. Marion may think she’s better off now, having left behind a life of drudgery, but in truth, she’s only traded one shackle for another.
And don’t go in expecting a traditional vampire story. Lisavet is not a vampire. Rather, she has an unspecified illness that requires her to drink blood in order to survive. She wears gold pointy caps on her teeth that can penetrate and rip open skin, allowing her to drink directly from the source, but most of the time she sips from a tea cup after a bloodmaid has siphoned her blood through a needle. If you’re at all squeamish when it comes to needles, beware! I winced a few times while reading this story, not going to lie.
Henderson’s world is fascinating, but I wish she had gone into more depth. House of Hunger is fairly short, and I wouldn’t have minded another hundred pages or so that delved into the nuances of the way the different Houses are related to each other and why the masters of the Houses need to drink blood. There was a brief explanation about this but it didn’t satisfy my curiosity, unfortunately. There are also subtle politics at play. For example, Lisavet is being courted by all sorts of men from other Houses who want to marry her and take over the House of Hunger, but she’s unwilling to share her status as “master” and so she remains unmarried. None of this is explained very well, hence my confusion.
A couple of other elements didn’t work for me. Marion’s acceptance into the House of Hunger and her sudden elevation in status to first bloodmaid (the favorite of Lisavet) felt way too easy. Her blood is the most delicious anyone has ever tasted before? I don’t buy it. I mean, it works for what the author is trying to do, but it didn’t feel authentic at all. Also, Marion’s attitude felt off to me. She should be grateful that she was chosen as a bloodmaid, but instead, she sinks into jealous fits whenever Lisavet shows interest in someone else. She breaks every House rule, goes where she isn’t supposed to go, and more or less acts the opposite of what is expected of a bloodmaid. I didn’t really like the romance between Marion and Lisavet either (and I even hesitate to use the word “romance”), which felt as if it was added simply for shock value. It could have been a great opportunity for an interesting queer relationship, but instead it relied on jealousy and mistrust. I wasn’t that fond of either Marion or Lisavet to begin with, so it didn’t work for me.
House of Hunger is marketed as adult fiction, but to be honest it felt very YA. If you’re a fan of Stephanie Garber’s Caraval series, you will probably love this book. Some of the darker fantasy elements, and especially the scenes that take place on the night train, reminded me of the fantastical vibe of Caraval. I have to admit Caraval and I didn’t get along that well, so that could be why I struggled with parts of the story, and like that book I found the middle section in particular to be slow and confusing.
But once you get to about the halfway point and Marion discovers what’s really going on in the House of Hunger, the pace picks up considerably and the story careens toward an exciting and bloody finish.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Mmmmm…. While the premise is a very intriguing one, I can understand how the YA overtones of some sections might have cooled your own enthusiasm, particularly where you mention the jealousy fits and the rule breaking, which are typical of YA narrative and don’t go down well with me either….
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THIS CHARMING MAN (The Stranger Times #2), by C.K. McDonnell
The MC’s behavior was just weird to me, and I think that alone affected my overall enjoyment.
I am sorry this didn’t work out really well for you. It sounds like it was promising but it didn’t deliver in the end, and this is a vit of a shame. I hope you would have more luck with your next reading!
Thanks Susy. There were some really good parts, I just wish some of the other elements had worked as well for me.
I’m about 40% in and I’m enjoying it, but I agree, there are times that the storytelling feels YA.
Good to know I’m not the only one. I’d love to check out your review after you’ve read it!
The premise sounds amazing, but the pieces you mention that didn’t work for you would probably annoy me as well. (And the bit about Marion having the most delicious blood makes me think of Bella from Twilight!). I think I’ll probably still give this a try at some point, but I won’t rush right out to find it. Great review!
Ha ha I didn’t even think of Bella but you’re right. Maybe she wrote that part as a nod to Twilight?
Even your review makes it sound YA, Tammy. Interesting that it’s marketed as adult horror.
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…6 Non Sequiturs
I could be way off in my YA assessment, lol. But hey, that’s how it read to me.
Not gonna lie, I was still interested until you mentioned the romance bit. I’m pretty sick of “these people are *gasp* queer, isn’t that *gasp* SHOCKING?!” as a romance trope.
It wasn’t the queer romance part that was shocking, sorry if that came across like that. I think the shocking part to me was how fast the two got together, it was so unrealistic. And their relationship just felt overly dramatic to me.
Don’t worry, I’ve been here long enough to know that you don’t find queer people to be shocking. I meant that I’m sick of authors of these works treating a queer romance as shocking in their work rather than just something that happens. I should have been more clear in my comment!
No worries, I totally understand:-)
Heard others have mixed feelings about it, liked something and not others. Great review!
Stormi J recently posted…Week in Review ~ A New Start
I’m glad I’m not the only one:-)
That’s a shame this one is such a mixed bag for you. I really enjoyed her last book but have been waiting to read some reviews before deciding if I want to read this one. So far I’ve only seen mixed reviews.
I loved her last book too, which is why I was so excited to read this one. I’ll definitely read her again, though.
Not sure I’ll have time for it but it does have an interesting premise, especially if the ending works well. Also interesting to hear it didn’t involve vampirism. That’s almost a little refreshing.
I supposed it’s a type of vampirism? But definitely not the traditional kind. And that’s one reason I did enjoy it, the unusual “drinking blood” premise:-)
A superb review, Tammy – thank you so much!!! Initially I was quite tempted by this one – despite the needles and the ick factor. But I LOATHE historical/alternate stories where young women in dangerous positions suddenly start behaving like stroppy high school girls – getting jealous and breaking rules all over the place. It so often simply feels unrealistic. So I’m definitely not going to pick up this one:))).
That’s exactly what happened! The behavior of the characters just didn’t work. And it’s too bad because there were so many awesome horror elements.
It’s a shame this didn’t fully work for you. I also don’t care for romance centered on mistrust and jealousy.
Mervi recently posted…Top Ten Tuesdays: Books with Geographical Term in the Title
I often have trouble with YA books, and I understand this is adult but the YA vibe just didn’t work for me.
I’ve never been a huge fan of books marketed for adults but that turns out to have a stronger YA vibe to them. Glad this one wasn’t so bad in the end, Tammy. Great review! 🙂
Lashaan Balasingam recently posted…The Boys (2019—) Season 3 TV Series Review
Thanks Lashaan. I could be way off with the YA thing but that’s how it read to me:-)
This is a great review, sorry it didn’t live up to promises, but it’s helped me temper my expectations for when I do read it!
I’m very curious to hear your thoughts:-)
I was just thinking before I got to that part of your review that it sounded like the story of Elizabeth Bathory, which I am actually pretty familiar with. I’m more into adult than YA fiction these days but I did enjoy Caraval a lot so maybe I’d love House of Hunger too!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: An Education in Pleasure by Eva Leigh
I’d be curious to see what you think!
I’m a good way through the book and I’m starting to wonder the same thing about the intended audience for this book. That being said, so far, I am enjoying the book. We’ll see what my final thoughts are after I finish this book.
I was very curious about this one – I think I’m on the trail of vampires at the moment – but I didn’t hear back about this one so perhaps that’s a good thing (especially as I’m behind with my reading!)
Lynn 😀
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