Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

109 reviews

megsbookishtwins's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Perfect read for the spooky season. The narrative and plot are strong & captivating. It is a novel about consumption, loyalty, desire & obsession

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Slavery, Blood, and Sexual harassment

orizenda's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I didn’t want this to end. I actually genuinely loved this. I’ve never seen vampires done like this. A few scenes are horrific and really well done, imo. It’s lesbian vampirism, idk what more I could want tbh. And it tackles like class struggle, too

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Death of parent

bookedbymadeline's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The first half was extremely slow and I had a hard time feeling motivated to read it especially while in a mini slump. I enjoyed the unique concept and the atmospheric, gothic setting!

Also was it meant to be Lisavet bathory as in BLOOD COUNTESS BATHORY?! Because that would’ve been cool.

Food descriptions made up for the sometimes nauseating blood scenes 🫣 I’m someone with a very weak stomach like can’t look at blood and I’ll get dizzy so I often times felt queasy reading this, it’s not for the faint hearted (like me)!

The second half picked up and I did enjoy the plot twist but felt it lacked in execution, it was resolved so quickly making it feel rushed while at the same time I still have questions. The characters overall felt very flat and one dimensional. I wanted to get to know them better, even Marion I feel we don’t get much from other than how she views herself.

It was an interesting story and one that I’m glad I stuck with! It was entertaining and unique but I didn’t love it as much as I expected to. Will definitely check out more from Henderson as I do still want to read Year of the Witching!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Incest and Death of parent

justacowboy's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Blood

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Excrement

Minor: Incest, Self harm, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

sav_22's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think this was a fun read if you like darker gothic stories. There are many sapphic characters at the focal point which I enjoy seeing in a complex narrative involving almost-vampires. It has its flaws and definitely keeps you on your toes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

I think the worldbuilding started off strong but

I think it could have used a lot more context, especially with how drinking blood helps vs what happened with Cecilia and how she was drained of youth literally. I also think maybe this could thrive better as a series, as I feel like the end was exciting but ultimately widely open to interpretation on what is next. I think the characters all were promising and I enjoyed the horror aspect, but I would have liked to see a little more back and forth with Marion and the other characters like Mae or the sisters and esp Irene to drive home she’d be willing to give up her desire to belong and have authority. I think what was written was solid but personally I would have liked to see why they would take her word for it and see more conflict with Marion on her desires vs what’s the right decision for their safety. It also would have been interesting if there was maybe a romantic influence for Marion with Irene/another bloodmaid vs with Lisavet to have her struggle defining genuine love and lust. That can be done without another romance too, as I think that’s what her loyalty was meant to show at the end platonically, I just once again feel like more development there could have made the betrayal to Lisavet more fulfilling.

rock_gnome's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

written_in_mold's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a vampire book the way Dracula and Camilla are vampire books. It takes its genre to the base elements, blood, manipulation, power dynamics, and so much more. It is amazing. Every character is complex and you can understand them even if you hate them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Incest, Infidelity, and Kidnapping

junejunejulyjuly's review

dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

joensign's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent

wordsareworlds's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of the best gothic novels I've ever read, hands down. And it's sapphic! Cannot recommend this enough, for how expertly Henderson weaves the mood of not only the House structure but the overall worldbuilding, the relationships, the in-universe history, the seductive nature of this terrible, terrible system. Everything about it entices while it horrifies, and it doesn't shy away from confronting the classism and racism that make up so much of the tension in gothic lit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Murder