Reviews - A Cruel Thirst | The StoryGraph

637 reviews for:

A Cruel Thirst

Angela Montoya

3.91 AVERAGE

lzprsn's review against another edition

2.25

adventurous slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

krisglomb's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This was…so much better than I expected? I really like the balance of character motivations, plot beats, and romantic tension. Carolina and Lalo are so wonderful together and I loved to see their relationship blossom.

Both characters experienced growth, but I feel like Carolina’s story ended up being more full. Both Lalo and Carolina carry their histories with them, but I felt like for Lalo we got just a moment. Both stories start with a moment, a death of a beloved guardian. But with Carolina we see how she fits herself in her history and against it and how the events that unfold speak to that. For Lalo, he is all that one event. We learn about his character, but it’s hard to paint a picture of his past. Which, in a way, is somewhat reflective as we meet him when he dies which is when he comes to life (as a character in this and his own story) for the first time.

Sometimes we got technicalities we didn’t need (blood work like this, venom works like this) but overall I was tearing through each chapter. I LOVED the use of dual perspective in this book. Carolina and Lalo had such strong and distinct voices. Carolina is physically strong and capable in a believable way. Lalo is bookish and soft in a believable way. And yet they don’t feel forced together. There’s no monologue on how one likes girls who are different and the other likes boys who are different. They just make sense together.

I can’t tell if I fully like the ending. I feel like she really wanted to write an HEA but before we knew we were getting that I thought the weight of the history of this world and its consequences made sense for where we landed. That’s my only gripe. But it is YA so maybe we needed the happy ending.

I’m excited to read more from this author. She made me laugh out loud and clutch my heart and the imagery of the setting was fantastic. Her character work is brilliant and I want to read more of them.

sarahstonerichter's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

1_sage_1's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

thejoyfulreads's review against another edition

4.0

This was so lovely it has me in tears!

Just picture romance, female rage and vampires with a Mexican spark. Doesn't that sound amazing?! It was!!!

From the very beginning I fell involve with the main characters and their dynamics. The book is really easy to read and the storyline is very engaging. The author truly transport you into this slightly dark but beautiful world. Montoya really helps you connect with every character by the way she describes them and immerses you into their thoughts. While I love the romance, I was happily surprised to encounter themes such as found family, vengeance, forgiveness, acceptance, chance vs tradition, and many more. This is definitely a book you do not want to miss if you love vampires, specially the sweet and caring ones.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC!!

danni99's review against another edition

2.0

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was the newest book club read, and I really wasn’t looking forward to reading it to be perfectly honest. I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but I most definitely do and was judging this book as one I didn’t really vibe. I don’t love books that have historical vibes, even with fantasy, which also affected this. I felt like I had no idea what was happening and the different creatures and situations for the first half of this book, and then after that the rest of the book felt very predictable. Honestly, purely for the fact that it was a HEA and feel good vibes got it the 2 stars, but it absolutely was very YA and just not my kind of book.