This Vicious Hunger, Francesca May
This Vicious Hunger, Francesca May
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

This Vicious Hunger

Author: Francesca May

Narrator: Hannah Church

Unabridged: 13 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Redhook

Published: 08/26/2025

Synopsis

From the author of Wild and Wicked Things comes a dark gothic fantasy about intoxication, obsession and a desperate hunger for knowledge—whatever the cost.

Thora Grieve finds herself destitute and an outcast after the sudden death of her husband, but a glimmer of hope arrives when a family friend offers her the chance to study botany under a famed professor. Once at the university, Thora becomes entranced by a mysterious young woman, Olea, who emerges each night to tend to the plants in the private garden below her window.

Hungry for connection, Thora befriends Olea through the garden gate and their relationship quickly and intensely blossoms. Intoxicated, Thora throws herself into finding a cure for Olea's ailment and sinks deeper into a world of beauty, poison, and obsession. She's finally found the freedom to pursue her darkest desires, but will it be worth the price?

Reviews

Goodreads review by alyssa✨ on June 17, 2025

i’m actually so frustrated by this and i’m so sad that this was a miss because it sounded like something i would love. sapphic dark academia with botany?? sign me the fuck up. unfortunately the execution was not there :( this was so repetitive, and ultimately just flat out boring. the same things kep......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on July 07, 2025

*VERY light spoilers below* Man, this sounded so awesome and turned out to be a letdown. It was all over the place in terms of character, plot, and writing. The story starts with nice worldbuilding about the grief rituals of this world, which then doesn’t really get used for anything important. I was......more

Goodreads review by Kat on May 31, 2025

I have deeply mixed feelings about This Vicious Hunger. It is slow, tense, and creeping sapphic gothic horror, exploring hunger and toxicity in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Success, love, fame, belonging—for women that are forbidden from such wants, hunger comes at a great cost. Moreover......more

Goodreads review by Ally on August 06, 2025

Got an arc from orbit’s mailing list. 3.5 rounded up I think? This was an interesting book. The writing is lovely and I devoured (no pun intended) half of it in two days as I was desperate to know what was going on. It’s deliberately paced in a way that to me didn’t feel boring, just doling out infor......more

Goodreads review by Denise on July 06, 2025

I enjoyed Wild and Wicked Things so I was curious about this author's next effort as well, but I had some of the same issues with this one as I did with her first. However I loved this enough to take it to a 4 star rating. This Vicious Hunger is moody, atmospheric and dripping with Gothic ambience.......more

Quotes

"A rich, Gothic fantasy of obsession, trauma, and lies that twist and knot like tangled roots. This Vicious Hunger is a queer fairy tale of toxic romance that echoes with longing."  —Tanya Pell, author of Her Wicked Roots

Praise for Wild and Wicked Things: 

"Brimming with romance and gilded with danger, Wild and Wicked Things is a heady, lyrical gem of a book." ―Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

"Haunting, immersive, and seething with dark magic, Wild and Wicked Things cast its spell on me." ―Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching

"[T]his compelling queer gothic gas-lamp tale of witchcraft, wealth, and war is filled with brooding atmosphere, sensual details, and a sense of creeping dread....[a] tale of secrets, lies, and mistakenly raising the dead, will keep readers guessing and turning pages to the very end. Highly recommended for lovers of dark, witchy fantasy." ―Library Journal (starred review)

“Wild and Wicked Things ticked all my boxes. May’s vivid prose carries us off to a world not quite unlike our own and spins the story of one woman coming into her own, another fighting the darkness inside her, and the two of them drawing together to become something more. I couldn’t put it down.” ―Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch’s Heart

"Viciously enchanting, with a spell woven onto every page. Francesca May has given us a cast of wild and wicked women who dare to hold a mirror to the darkest, and most tender, parts of our souls. I couldn't get enough!" ―Heather Walter, author of Malice

“Entrancing, seductive, and decadently beautiful, Francesca May weaves an intoxicating spell. Here is a deep, sensuous exploration of the bonds between three very different, complex women that readers won't soon forget." ―Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author

"A sapphic historical fantasy novel that drips with dark curses and alluring witchcraft. It delivers all the gothic, witchy vibes you could hope for." ―CultureFly

"An intoxicating blend of secrets and glamour, romance and scandal, blood magic and dark pasts. If you’ve ever thought the Jazz Age would have been better with witchcraft, this book is for you." ―H. G. Parry, author of The Shadow Histories

"Even after the last page is turned, this intoxicating story lingers like a deep dark wine. Sparkling and deadly, Wild and Wicked Things enchanted me, and if you're feeling dangerous, it will enchant you too." ―Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong

"[B]eautiful...May’s atmospheric prose conjures the world down to its last detail." ―Publishers Weekly

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