a brilliant debut to chill the brightest summer day' DAILY MAIL 'A magnificent, raw slice of folk horror, dark with threat and clenched with suspense.

Shortlisted for the GoodReads Choice Awards 2020 for Best Debut Novel and Best Horror Novel. The Handmaid's Tale meets The Village in this stunning feminist debut. The Handmaid's Tale meets The Village in this stunningly original feminist debut. With each chapter punctuated by increasingly ominous quotes by Bloodmaids past, House of Hunger is a novel as rich and dark as any blood shed by its heroines.In a rigid, repressive society, a young woman discovers dark powers within herself with terrifying, far-reaching consequences. Equal parts frightening and compelling, Lisavet is presented with a rare gravitas no matter how dangerous she grows. Perhaps the best character is Countess Lisavet herself. Marion is a strong lead and her fellow Bloodmaids are likable characters, so the reader cares greatly about the dangers that threaten them. Henderson’s strength is characterization. The limited location in the House of Hunger plays to the strength of the book, offering a tense and claustrophobic conflict as Marion grows increasingly wary of the chilling secrets Lisavet harbors. Henderson knows exactly what makes the gothic novel work, combining lush and lurid prose with beautiful scenery. Marion finds herself drawn to Countess Lisavet in a storm of lust and passion that may well be her undoing.Īlexis Henderson rocketed to stardom with the publication of Year of the Witching and House of Hunger is an exemplary follow-up. Questions soon arise, such as what happens to Bloodmaids when their tenure is ended? Do the nobles only hunger for blood, or is there more they wish to take from their servants? Cecile, the most favored of the Countess, feels threatened by a potential usurper and it soon becomes clear that camaraderie is in short supply within the House. The Countess is a mysterious woman, presiding over hedonistic revelry, and Marion is soon lost in rivalry amidst the Bloodmaids. Marion arrives at the House of Hunger, the most powerful of Prane’s aristocracy, and is received by its mistress, Lisavet Bathory. In this gothic metropolis, it is not simply enough the wealthy live off the money and labor of the poor. Bloodmaids are a privileged position in Prane the most pampered of servants who need only bleed for their masters to enjoy. Salvation arrives in the form of an advertisement for a Bloodmaid to the House of Hunger. Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums of Prane, a victim of poverty with few prospects, kept under the thumb of her tyrant brother Raul.

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