Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - Thirst

Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk

9 reviews

readingpicnic's review against another edition

3.75

Erotic, but also deeply sad. The dreary, crumbling cemetery setting of most of the novel works so well towards creating a bleak atmosphere. This book wasn't the sapphic romance I initially thought it would be. It centers more on persecution and murder in an ever-changing and unfamiliar world in the vampire's case, and being a single mom and drifting away from everyone while grieving her ever-ailing elderly mother in Alma's case. I do think I preferred the vampire's chapters over the latter half of the book and found them more interesting; Alma's chapters dragged for me at times and it didn't feel like much was happening.

Content Warnings

dfrancis's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I was excited by the concept of this book. And I did enjoy it. But it left me wanting more, and not in a good way. I feel like there needed to be more of a build up to the ending and a bit more mingling of the two POVs. It’s a translated book, and I feel like at moments it felt a little stilted and I can’t tell if that’s the author’s writing or the translation. Overall, enjoyed but expected/hoped for more.

Content Warnings

bookishvicky's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

“We’re all standing at death’s door; someone has to be next in line”

THIRST was a beautiful novel about death and wanting, about mourning and identity versus an ever changing world. This unique take on the vampire genre was refreshing and wonderfully melancholic, yet animalistic to its core. Even as a vampire, she remains flawed, scared, lonely, emotions we see reflected in Alma, a human mother watching her own mother slowly fade from life.

I adored this book; while I did think the plot slowed down toward the end, the overall story was more than enough to keep me interested. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a new take on vampires!

Content Warnings

tifftastic87's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

In Buenos Aires two women are united through odd circumstances. An unnamed vampire arrives on the shores of Buenos Aires and watches as the world around her changes, after the Paraguayan War in 1870 a plague hits and the vampire's connection to the city begins to change. In the modern day, Alma is struggling with her mother's terminal illness, her own medical troubles, and motherhood accidentally awakens the vampire from her long slumber changing Alma's life forever.

This was very poetically written, eerie, and tense at times. Very low on plot, high on vibes. Both women's lives were tragic in different ways and overall was just a sad book. There was a lot of grief and anger here. I really liked the conversation around religion from the vampire's story, honestly, my favorite part. Both women lost in different ways, their whole family. I really appreciated the view on rage and anger and how emotions are processed within the constructs of the time. However, the ending was so meh. I just wanted a bit more explanation. Based on the setup it didn't feel like a valid ending for Alma and I am disappointment by it. Overall, it was a bit boring and didn't live up to some of the expectations given by the listings.

Content Warnings