House of Hunger
WANTED - Bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life's finer pleasures. Girls of weak will need not apply.
A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching. Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she know. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper seeking a bloodmaid. Though she knows little about the far north--where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service--Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery. At the center of it all is Countess Lisavet. The countess, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when she discovers that the ancient walls of the House of Hunger hide even older secrets, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She'll need to learn the rules of her new home--and fast--or its halls will soon become her grave.
A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching. Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she know. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper seeking a bloodmaid. Though she knows little about the far north--where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service--Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery. At the center of it all is Countess Lisavet. The countess, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when she discovers that the ancient walls of the House of Hunger hide even older secrets, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She'll need to learn the rules of her new home--and fast--or its halls will soon become her grave.
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Community Reviews
I have a very unpopular opinion here, I know tons of people love this book and it is beautifully written but the plot dragged on in my opinion and I honestly wasn’t that invested in any of the characters which made it even more of a slog for me.
Based on the real Blood Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Marion is a new blood maid for the House of Hunger where girls are bled for the wealthy nobles to drink. She’s not only a blood maid, but blood maid to one of the most hungry and insatiable of nobles Lisavet.
This is the second book I’ve read by Henderson that fell flat for me. I had read Year of the Witching previously and had the same problems with plot and characters. While her writing is very atmospheric and lyrical, her plots and romance all come off as stale or slow to me. House of Hunger started off great, I was invested in the story and curious as to where it would go but once Marion arrives at the castle it all just slows down. The focus shifts to the relationship between Lisavet and Marion, and it turns from a horror novel into some weird toxic romance.
Romance is not my thing, I don’t read it, I don’t pursue it, and I don’t mind it as a subplot if it’s well done, but in House of Hunger the relationship was so abusive and toxic from the start I never got behind it. Unfortunately, a huge chunk of the book is just Marion and Lisavet in the castle bleeding for each other and shooting boar, not really interesting to me.
By the time the plot picks up again, the story goes in to hyper speed and then it’s over, the pacing is not the best. Also, If you know the history of Elizabeth Bathory the twist is not a shock to you, which again probably ruined some of the intrigue for me since I’m a huge history buff and was probably unhealthily obsessed with Bathory as a child so this story was just a miss overall for me.
I can definitely see why so many people love this, it’s dark paranormal romance with gorgeous prose and a bloody story but it’s not what I’m looking for in my own reading.
House of Hunger is about a young woman named Marion who lives in the slums of Prane. She works as a maid for Lady Gertrude and lives with her older brother who is both abusive and addicted to maudlum and alcohol (and more). One day, she comes across an ad in the matrimony section of their local paper looking for bloodmaids. She is intrigued but her friend (and soon brother when he figures out her plans) thinks that it is a terrible idea. Being a bloodmaid is less honerable than being a sex worker in the eyes of this society. Selling your blood to the rich Northern Lords and Ladies is the worst sin one could imagine for a Southerner.
The far North is where the old money wealthy land owners live. They have huge sprawling estates and do what they please which includes indenturing bloodmaids. A bloodmaid is exactly as it sounds, someone who is drained of their blood for their lord or lady to then consume. It is said in the South that this is done because it is beneficial to one's health. Sickness and very serious diseases can be cured by consuming the correct types of blood. Not a lot is known about what happens to these bloodmaids but rumors are that they are treated to a lavish lifestyle and paid handsomely for their troubles.
After a fight with her brother Marion applies for this bloodmaid position and is instantly, upon tasting her blood, gushed upon by the Night Embassy's Taster Thiago. He says that he can think of a House that would welcome her called the House of Hunger. The Lady of the House, Lisavet is of poor health and needs good blood from good healthy women. Thiago gives Marion an overview of what her contract with the House could look like and then sends her on her way with a train ticket for the Night Train leaving the next evening. He tells her that if she wants to accept the position she must meet him at the station before departure.
Marion's next day at her job for Lady Gertrude is miserable and then, after another explosive fight with her brother, Marion runs off to the train station. She is determined to put her life on a better path forward than it is currently. She tries in vain the entire ride to not worry about how she left her brother, likely dying, with a huge heavily bleeding gash on the back of his head.
The train ride North gives us our first glimpse into what Marion's new life will be like. There is a terrible storm which I think is maybe the train crossing into a new world? This wasn't ever explored but it seems like this terrible storm may have been the authors way of telling us we were in a new world. Anyways, the North is dark, moody, and stormy. A really great setting for something that we all have been wondering about since reading the synopsis, 'is this about vampires?'.
From here we are taken on a wild journey with Marion as she learns her new role, settles into said role, and then, with horror everything really just sinks in.
I love the setting so much that I really feel like this could be a series. Maybe not with the same cast of characters, but I would like to see books about other Houses or, even the history of the House of Hunger. This whole world that the author created is way too good to be done in just over 300 pages. Plus there are so many themes that she left unexplored and I feel like those would be very easy threads to pick up and write tons of new material about.
I'm already going backwards to read the author's other work, the synopsis of that sounds just as good as this so I'm very excited.
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