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salemander's review
5.0
SUCH an interesting book wow. i wasn’t expecting such a deep look into the grief of having a sick parent and the ways you watch this person you’ve known so well all your life slowly disappear. alongside this intense look into terminal illness, you also have this incredible and unique look into immortality and the way trauma causes you to slowly lose your humanity. also sexy vampire lady killing people slays
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
ladynocturnal's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-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
2.75
A lackluster vampire novel that somehow makes the human character more interesting than the vampire. The characters were just not good enough to hold my attention and the story was disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide attempt
junejunejulyjuly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
raisinreads's review against another edition
reflective
3.5
I had really high expectations for this based on the blurb and that it had basically all of my favorite tropes (vampires, sapphics, loneliness, yearning) but uh that's on me, my bad. it was okay. i do love vampires and people being gay though
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide attempt
30something_reads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Death had come to inhabit my body. It was a possession, not a visit.
I'm still trying to figure out my full feelings about the ending but overall, this was gorgeous. The narrative structure was really compelling- I could not stop reading!
-------
A sweeping journey from the Old World to modern day Buenos Aires, this story is told in two parts from two very different women.
The first half of the narrative is told through the eyes of a centuries old vampire as we follow her journey from her violent conception and across the world to Buenos Aires for a new beginning.
The second half is told through the eyes of a modern day woman in Buenos Aires as she navigates her career, motherhood, and the inevitable loss of her own mother to a terminal illness.
Two seemingly unconnected stories slowly begin to intertwine in a haunting, obsessive tale about grief, female agency, and desire.
--------
All of the dark, gothic, sapphic vampire vibes that I was hoping to get out of AEoM- I got them here.
I'm still trying to figure out my full feelings about the ending but overall, this was gorgeous. The narrative structure was really compelling- I could not stop reading!
-------
A sweeping journey from the Old World to modern day Buenos Aires, this story is told in two parts from two very different women.
The first half of the narrative is told through the eyes of a centuries old vampire as we follow her journey from her violent conception and across the world to Buenos Aires for a new beginning.
The second half is told through the eyes of a modern day woman in Buenos Aires as she navigates her career, motherhood, and the inevitable loss of her own mother to a terminal illness.
Two seemingly unconnected stories slowly begin to intertwine in a haunting, obsessive tale about grief, female agency, and desire.
--------
All of the dark, gothic, sapphic vampire vibes that I was hoping to get out of AEoM- I got them here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Confinement, Sexual content, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I absolutely loved Thirst. This fast-paced novel includes all of the best vampire tropes. Best of all, these tropes are included in ways that wink at the genre rather than seem played out. The unnamed vampire at the center of the story is as alluring and fascinating as any vampire fan could hope! Furthermore, readers are allowed to witness immense changes in the city of Buenos Aires from a resident who watched it all from the shadows. I love that Thirst is historical fiction without being dull or overwrought.
The novel is divided into two parts: the vampire's perspective & the perspective of her eventual liberator, Alma. Both women are complex, sensual, and occupied by death. I enjoyed each of their narratives and, especially, when the two women finally get close to one another.
Thank you @netgalley and @duttonbooks for the advance reader copy of Thirst in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The novel is divided into two parts: the vampire's perspective & the perspective of her eventual liberator, Alma. Both women are complex, sensual, and occupied by death. I enjoyed each of their narratives and, especially, when the two women finally get close to one another.
Thank you @netgalley and @duttonbooks for the advance reader copy of Thirst in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
chelsaat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
This is the year of sapphic vampires, apparently!
Despite the shorter page length, this dragged for me unfortunately. Probably shouldn't have read this so soon after A Dowry of Blood as the vibes were too similar. I did appreciate learning more about the founding of Buenos Aires and the city's history. Just wished I had connected to the characters more, especially Alma in the second half.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Despite the shorter page length, this dragged for me unfortunately. Probably shouldn't have read this so soon after A Dowry of Blood as the vibes were too similar. I did appreciate learning more about the founding of Buenos Aires and the city's history. Just wished I had connected to the characters more, especially Alma in the second half.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
not_another_ana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Es solo la carne la que conoce el horror; los huesos, cuando están limpios, bien podrían ser fósiles, pedazos de madera, objeto de curiosidad. Pero la carne es lo que me desvela estos días.
Hay una vampira suelta en la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Acecha de día y de noche, sedienta, en busca de su próxima víctima. A través de sus ojos podemos ver el desarrollo de esta ciudad desde el siglo XIX en adelante y lo pesado y solitario que es ser inmortal. En la otra mitad del libro una mujer argentina del siglo XXI se pasea por el cementerio de la Recoleta y entra en contacto con este ser sobrenatural.
He visto otras reseñas donde se critica la estructura de este libro y estoy 100% de acuerdo. La primera parte está dedicada solo a la vampiresa y su historia. El cómo, cuándo y por qué. Es además una novela histórica, traslandándonos a las calles de una Buenos Aires que apenas comenzaba y por un evento histórico importante como lo fue la epidemia de fiebre amarilla en 1871. Disfruté la narración pero la trama en sí no me pareció original, al menos en cuanto a ficción sobre vampiros. Ya hacia el final le agarré más cariño solo para que terminara esta historia y me aventaran al siglo XXI.
La segunda mitad ya transcurre en la actualidad y es contada por otro personaje. Esta parte es la más débil de la obra y creo que es porque le pone un freno a la trama anterior. Pasamos de una historia más emocionante, de una narradora sobrehumana, a un tema más terrenal y humano. En la segunda mitad esta nueva protagonista está lideando con la salud de su mamá y su futura muerte. La madre padece una enfermedad degenerativa que le está robando la movilidad y que pronto la llevará a la tumba. Es un drama más sutil, más interpersonal y emocional. Creo que por separado las dos historia me hubieran gustado más, una enfocada en los vampiros y otra en el duelo.
Eventualmente las dos mujeres se conocen pero ya para ese momento no estaba tan interesada en la conexión que compartian. Me pareció apresurado el final y nunca sentí que de verdad existiera algo entre las dos que las llevara a tomar las decisiones que nos presenta la narración.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
sol_journal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you Isabel DaSilva for reaching out with this arc! All thoughts on this read are entirely my own!
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The Storygraph
Posted on: 6 December 2023
4 out of 5 stars.
Yuszczuk is an author I haven’t heard of before. I was honestly quite surprised when I got an email from Isabel DaSilva inviting me to check out ‘Thirst’, but I decided to give it a chance since I was waiting to hear back from other ARCs at the time, and this one did not disappoint. Told in two different points of views of women who knew different eras of the same city, ‘Thirst’ invokes a sort of self-reflection through its words. Often, I found myself contemplating what it meant to live and what it was to exist- and while I’m not sure if that was one of the main points of this novel, it certainly made relating to the characters a bit easier as they go through similar pangs.
I think what I enjoyed most about this read is how achingly human the characters are. I’m not too deep into women’s fiction reads or more adult genres in general if I’m honest (a glance through my recent reads will show a lot of YA sci-fi and fantasy, and just fairly recently some adult sci-fi and fantasy) so it was a bit different to read about the pains of being a women, a mother, a monster in times where all these expectations and desires are painted upon the female figure. But ‘Thirst’ shows how desperate these two women are to live, to heal, to love themselves and to pick themselves up when it seems like nobody is in their corner to help them. It was different to see more mature characters handling life and desires (and depression and sorrow) and I think that just really stuck out to me in a way that made this book a heavy hitter.
‘Thirst’ may be about two women eventually crossing paths and leaning into one another for unexplainable reasons, for a connection, for a desire to both live yet feel something more than just living, but at it’s heart, it’s about two women who wanted to survive when death lingers deep within them. It’s a poem and a eulogy and a representation of the dying that occurs when you’re still alive, of the decay that lingers within the soul, and of the depression that sinks it’s fangs deep into the flesh of even the seemingly-strongest of people. It’s a reminder of the futile yet beautiful yearning that exists inside of people, and the desire to feel whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
pil4r's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent