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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Yes
Angela Montoya’s A Cruel Thirst is a fresh, creative spin on the vampire genre that had me hooked from start to finish!
The banter in this book is chef’s kiss—sharp, relatable, and at times hilariously used as a coping mechanism for the chaos of life. Other moments? It’s downright endearing, making the characters feel like real people you’d want to befriend (or occasionally hug through the pages).
Lalo, our reluctant vampire, is such a unique and compelling character. Turned against his will in a quest for revenge after losing his parents, his internal struggle is both heartbreaking and captivating. Enter Carolina, a fierce, independent young woman from a family of vampire hunters. She’s fighting to protect her land and people while wrestling with the crushing expectations of being a “proper young lady.” Watching her refuse to conform and blaze her own path was inspiring—she’s the type of heroine you cheer for out loud.
When Lalo and Carolina’s worlds collide, the sparks fly, and the tension builds beautifully. Carolina learns that Lalo despises his existence as much as her family does, creating an unexpected but deeply satisfying bond between them. Their journey of trust, discovery, and resistance against familial and societal norms is as emotional as it is thrilling.
The side characters shine just as brightly, with arcs that are well-crafted and memorable. Angela Montoya’s humor weaves seamlessly through the story, making even the darkest moments bearable and adding layers to an already intricate narrative.
One of my favorite aspects was Lalo’s quest to uncover the origin of these monsters and his desperate search for a way to reverse his transformation. It’s creative, suspenseful, and adds so much depth to the story.
Overall, A Cruel Thirst is fun, heartfelt, and refreshingly inventive—a perfect read for fans of vampire tales with a twist. Angela Montoya’s writing continues to impress, blending humor, emotion, and action in all the best ways. Highly recommend!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
medium-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:
Yes
A Cruel Thirst was amazing! I’m living for this hey vampires are bad or at least morally gray revival we are having. Even more so when they’re BIPOC vampires. I love the mix of Latine culture mixed with the folklore Montoya created for the vampires.
Lalo is a freshly minted vampire, he hates vampires after they killed his parents. He was a bookish introvert as a human so he pretty much is the worst vampire you will come across, which made it so fun!!! He despised violence. He just wanted quiet and his books but his love for his sister forces him to find a way to stop the vampire who killed their parents, and turned him, from hunting them and to socialize with the vampire hunting family that runs the town they’re investigating.
Carolina is a force to be reckoned with. All she wants is to be part of her father’s guard protecting their town and hunting vampires. She loves her large family but also feels unseen by them and she is forced to play a traditional woman’s role. Meanwhile her cousin, Nena, and her mother flourish in these roles. Same for Lalo, while he may not like being part of a community or aggressive, you see how the men in Caroline’s family need to be in order to provide for their family.
Lalo and Carolina have an unusual relationship where Carolina is the stronger one but she matches Lalo for wit and brains. Lalo gets defense lessons from her because he needs to keep up. As Lalo learns to open himself up through the book, Caroline goes through the most character development from being stubborn and prideful to learning to be humble and open to other points of view.
The audiobook narrators did an excellent job. I also love the newspaper and diary snippets between chapters. Ultimately, it was a story about everlasting love and how that impacts everyone around them.
Lalo is a freshly minted vampire, he hates vampires after they killed his parents. He was a bookish introvert as a human so he pretty much is the worst vampire you will come across, which made it so fun!!! He despised violence. He just wanted quiet and his books but his love for his sister forces him to find a way to stop the vampire who killed their parents, and turned him, from hunting them and to socialize with the vampire hunting family that runs the town they’re investigating.
Carolina is a force to be reckoned with. All she wants is to be part of her father’s guard protecting their town and hunting vampires. She loves her large family but also feels unseen by them and she is forced to play a traditional woman’s role. Meanwhile her cousin, Nena, and her mother flourish in these roles. Same for Lalo, while he may not like being part of a community or aggressive, you see how the men in Caroline’s family need to be in order to provide for their family.
Lalo and Carolina have an unusual relationship where Carolina is the stronger one but she matches Lalo for wit and brains. Lalo gets defense lessons from her because he needs to keep up. As Lalo learns to open himself up through the book, Caroline goes through the most character development from being stubborn and prideful to learning to be humble and open to other points of view.
The audiobook narrators did an excellent job. I also love the newspaper and diary snippets between chapters. Ultimately, it was a story about everlasting love and how that impacts everyone around them.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
I loved the premise and overall story but the execution fell flat for me. I think it was a mix of the writing being a little choppy and the narrators for the audiobook that made me feel a disconnect with the story.
I did enjoy Carolina and Lalo as characters and the idea of vampire x vampire hunter, but the pacing of their romance just didn’t sell it for me. I loved seeing them come together, but found it hard to believe they were so madly in love.
Anyway, yay vampires and Latinx characters!!
I did enjoy Carolina and Lalo as characters and the idea of vampire x vampire hunter, but the pacing of their romance just didn’t sell it for me. I loved seeing them come together, but found it hard to believe they were so madly in love.
Anyway, yay vampires and Latinx characters!!
Unfortunately this one didn't really work for me. It wasn't that it was BAD, but I know that I personally am getting away from young adult books. I was hoping this one would be one that worked for me and it just... didn't. The way the characters were acting just felt very young to me, which makes sense since they are young, but it just made me not enjoy my time reading it. I think that I would really like to keep an eye on this author though and if they do end up releasing something in the adult category giving that a try! I did like the characters and the overall story, but it just was a bit too young for me in relation to how the characters were acting.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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:
No
This was a really great story! I've always enjoyed vampire novels and I loved the world building of this novel. It's always a mystery (in most vampire novels) how vampires were even created but you find out exactly how in this story! It was a really refreshing take on the myth. I enjoyed Lalo and Lina's bouts too. They were really funny together and worked really good as a team. They were so adorable too.