House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 320

Publisher - Bantam books

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

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 is all she knows. 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--and at the center of it all is her.

Countess Lisavet, 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 her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the night, 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.



My Review

Meet Marion, working for a pittance, scrubbing floors, keeping her addict brother and herself barely making ends meet. When she sees and and advert for a "bloodmaid". The money and conditions is beyond any luxury Marion could dream of but the shame and stigma of such an "occupation". Marion goes for it and is thrust into a world of temptation, debauchery, competitiveness and the letting of blood of course. There is so much to learn, so many dangers and things Marion could not even guess at.

Well this was my first time reading Henderson and I have to say she does write really well and draws you into the atmospheric creepy world inhabited by the rich. Countess Lisavet is rich, beautiful, admired, feared, loved, has her loyal followers and also those who will use and exploit who and what they can.

I felt echos of Caligula/hints of historical figures, the Countess is in need of the maids because of her health issues and we see sparks as we meet the maids and as Marion finds her feet. Gothic, horror veins, spooky, creepy and absolutely not for the easily offended. When a bloodmaid goes missing Marion can't help but poke about, she is smart, inquisitive and we fall down a dark and dangerous rabbit hole with Marion as she questions/explores.

I think this was a good start/introduction to this author, I will check out her other works, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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The Rivals of Dracula Stories from the Golden Age of Gothic Horror

The Rivals of Dracula: Stories from the Golden Age of Gothic Horror by Nick Rennison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 288

Publisher - OldCastle Books

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Bram Stoker’s Dracula, still the most famous of all vampire stories, was first published in 1897. But the bloodsucking Count was not the only member of the undead to bare his fangs in the literature of the period. Late Victorian and Edwardian fiction is full of vampires and this anthology of scary stories introduces modern readers to 15 of them. A travel writer in Sweden unleashes something awful from an ancient mausoleum. A psychic detective battles a vampire that has taken refuge in an Egyptian mummy. A nightmare becomes reality in the tower room of a gloomy country house. Including works by both well known writers of the supernatural such as M. R. James and E. F. Benson and less familiar authors like the Australian Hume Nisbet and the American F. Marion Crawford, The Rivals of Dracula is a collection of classic tales to chill the blood and tingle the spine.


My Review

Firstly let me say i am not a fan of short stories in general, I always find I am left unsatisfied and left hanging with them. For that reason alone I generally tend to avoid them, unless you are master King of course. This wee book offers up 15 short stories with vampires or some kind of vampiric theme. The very first story reminded me of old school vamp, like the movies I grew up with, I was picturing Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, it just set me off on a high with this book.

Each chapter gives us a brief history on the author and their work as well as the year of birth and death. Some of these guys and gals were the 1800s so not familiar authors for me. I absolutely am taking note of their names and will be tracking down pretty much all of their works because even those I didn't love I still enjoyed and liked. A Medusa type character with a different spin to her, a few dodgy old houses, love love love them and the eerie gothic creepy spin to the stories. Sometimes an old house is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, some of these authors bring that setting right to life, I wanted them all made into movies! There is a tree one that whilst not my fav by far but I loved the different spin and you get a back story, you don't often get that in vampires stories let alone a short story one!

Each author has a very different style yet all manage the eerie creepy vibes and feel you used to get with the black and white movies on a Saturday night. This book is a wee gem and it is a shame it lay on my shelves for so long. I kind of want this to be a keeper but I also want to share it with folk so I think I may put it up as a giveaway on my blog. I will for sure be checking out more of these authors, all of them. If you are a vampire fan, even if you don't like short stories, please check this book out guys it is a great read, 4.5/5 for me this time.

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Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell, please check out the other stops as we all offer different content.





How nice is the cover, I don't often notice covers but it was one of the first things that drew me to this book.





Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 288

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

It’s Ray’s and Sandra’s first family holiday in Greece, on the newly developed island of Vasilema. The family weren’t to know that the skies are cloudier above the island than anywhere else in Greece, and they’re mostly intrigued by the local eccentricities and customs—the lack of mirrors, the outsize beach umbrellas, the saint’s day celebrated with an odd nocturnal ritual. Only why are there islanders who seem to follow the family wherever they go? Why do Sandra and the teenage grandchildren have strangely similar dreams? “I was in this huge place with no light and I didn’t want to see. Something sounded... huge.” And has Sandra been granted a wish she didn’t even know she made? Before their holiday is over, some of the family may learn more than they can bear about the secret that keeps the island alive...


My Review

Ray and Sandra are heading to Greece for a family holiday, their children and grand children are joining them. It is their first visit and the place is a wee bit strange, thinking it is just their customs and ways they will get used to it. Things however get stranger, affecting members of the family more than others, the locals react bizarrely at times and Ray needs answers the more he gets drawn in.

Ok so this is my first dance with this author, anyone who has Stephen King's backing - you just know is going to be good. From the get go we pretty much know something is afoot but you aren't exactly sure what. The tingling at the base of your spine, the urge to put the light on a bit brighter as you go further into the story. This isn't an in your face horror, it is more a slow burning gothic type style with suspense and bone chilling tension building up. Subtle hints, creepiness, warning signs that as a reader I was urging the characters to pick up on.

There is a huge focus on family dynamics and the family relationship as a whole, I really hated the son in law, how he spoke to staff, locals and his family. Pompous I think is the word that comes to mind and he really irritated me but it makes for good characterisation. We see how the family interact and are with each other and to the locals. What they want to do with the holiday and what is important to them, the choices they make and how the locals engage with them.

The book has many dimensions, relationships, love, family, local history and a bit of legends. If you are looking for an in your face, monsters and jumping scare fest this isn't the book for you. However, if you want something that is like the old black and white movies, slow building tension, hints at what is looming, dark, atmospheric and engaging then this is your book. Nothing screams out at you, it is all so subtle for the most part which sometimes gives the reader the power to build the fear and terror themselves. I actually nearly missed my bus stop because I was enthralled within a specific scene again nothing was in your face but I was holding my breath at what I suspected was just around the corner.

All to often we get blood, guts and gore but sometimes we like to revisit the golden oldies were you don't see the monster but you know it is there, something is there. Jaws and Blairwitch had you the audience doing the work but gave you the tools to build the terror (Jaws to a point), this was what Campbell done here I think. I read a lot of books, horror, supernatural, spooky, monsters and all the other genres, this was something different for me. Creeped me out at parts, some of the family scenes enraged me again purely because one character grated on me so much. But overall I loved the feel of the book and what I feel the author did, I also enjoyed the story within the story. I would love Campbell to visit that again and make it a book in its own right. 3.5/5 for me this time, although it is my first dance with this author I know it won't be my last, I look forward to checking out more of his work.

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