My opinion of Hunger Stone fluctuated as much as Lenore's awareness throughout the novel. Again, a very nicely written story but very little depth within. Kat Dunn nailed the oppressing atmosphere of Gothic novel classics for sure, but in my opinion it is far from a feminist retelling of Carmilla - which I enjoyed way more. Here, Carmilla isn't more than the manifestation of Lenore's hunger, a means to an end. In all honesty, the story bears more parallels and nods to Jane Eyre than Carmilla, which would have been harder to promote I guess. For what it seeked to achieve, it was way too long and dragged on in certain parts, especially towards the ending with how the protagonist fights against her humanity. What bothered me the most was how easily they could have added some more subtlety to the text if they had just scratched some sentences altogether. I wish novels like these would stop taking the reader by the hand so much and let them sit with uncomfortable parts without being interrupted by the thoughts, and consequently evaluation of what's happening, from the protagonist.

Als großer Carmilla Fan habe ich mich sehr auf Hungerstone gefreut, muss jedoch sagen das ich von der Story am Anfang ein wenig enttäuscht war. Habe mit mehr Vampir-Romanze und größerem Fokus auf die Beziehung der zwei Frauen gerechnet und dann ging es allerdings doch eher in eine andere Richtung. Konnte mich aber am Ende trotzdem drauf einlassen und dann war es eigentlich ganz gut. Der Schreibstil hat mir aber leider auch nicht so gut gefallen und war an manchen Stellen etwas verwirrend. Dennoch würde ich das Buch empfehlen, ich mochte z.B. den Female Rage Teil sehr gerne.

ᨳ ᨳ᭬ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑.25࿐ྂ „To be a woman is a horror I can little comprehend.“ I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but i liked this one quite a lot. Every time i read this i would devour many pages because i wanted to know what would happen next. Did i absolutely love this? No, but i do recommend it because the story is quite interesting and the writing style is so beautiful. - thank you Netgalley for arc in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this audiobook in one sitting. There was something mesmerizing about it. Leonore had a childhood of feeling too much and too loud, and as an adult she agrees to a 'business marriage'. Trying to meet society's expectations, she becomes but a shadow. That is until mysterious Carmilla comes into her life.

This book is so much vibes. It's feminist, it's sapphic, it's secrets unraveling. The suspense is creeping up on you, and at the core it's all about Leonore's journey to her true self. The narrator has a mesmerizing voice that suits the story very well. From quiet desperation to somewhat well-calculated rage, she brings this tale to life. And at the end of the audiobook the author tells us about how she came to write this story. I love that they included this. 4,5/5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for the eARC! #Hungerstone #Netgalley #Bookstagram