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ada_rosales's review
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
batbaby's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I devoured the first half of this book in one sitting with thunderstorm sounds and gothic classical music in the background and it really matched the vibe.We follow a vampire for a few decades and watch how the city of Buenos Ares grows and changes in that time. I loved how dark the story felt and anytime you might be foolish enough to think the vampire had changed and maybe had a bit of humanity she’d prove to you the monster she was. There’s a point where the vampire doesn’t know how much time has passed and the chapter doesn’t have a number, I thought that was really clever.
The second half was a little harder for me to get into at first but I still really enjoyed it. We follow a main character who is continually grieving as her mother slowly succumbs to a degenerative disease. She becomes obsessed with things and ideas maybe in a way to distract herself from what’s really going on. She spends a long time considering and worrying about a Pandora’s box that her mother tells her not to open and her need to rebel against that. My only complaint is I that I wish the ending wasn’t so opened ended and we got a tiny bit more maybe even a page. I just don’t understand how she could abandon Santiago like that when the majority of the book we see how infatuated she is with him.
This book looks at the complexities of identity and humanity when facing death and grief.
#ad I received this book for free as an arc but the opinions are entirely my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
inlaraland's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
In "Thirst", the author has you walking the line between life and death with our two main characters in this story. The parallels between their emotions and experiences makes this novel an emotional read. Set across two different time periods, the story follows a vampire from Europe who just arrived to Buenos Aries and a woman in modern times struggling to come to terms with her mother's terminal illness.
Our characters are connected through time, events and experiences. A monster and human mirroring one another either through their connections or finding their opposing traits in each other. This story touches on themes of identity, isolation, sensuality, motherhood, grief, hunger and mortality. Death is pretty symbolic in all aspects of this work, where life is either taken through our vampire or naturally lost through our human's eyes. The setting is also pivotal at not only showcasing the passage of time, but also at reinforcing what is lost and will be lost in the present.
This is a vampire story that is beautifully written and absolutely heartbreaking. I particularly enjoyed the overall mood of this work as the ambience was tense throughout the story. I thought part one was excellent, but I did feel like part two had a slower build up. Towards the end I was just sad and it was quite unexpected. The novel itself is surprisingly touching, and as far as vampire books go, this one is fantastic.
I recommend this to readers who love vampire literature, gothic horror and historical fiction.
Our characters are connected through time, events and experiences. A monster and human mirroring one another either through their connections or finding their opposing traits in each other. This story touches on themes of identity, isolation, sensuality, motherhood, grief, hunger and mortality. Death is pretty symbolic in all aspects of this work, where life is either taken through our vampire or naturally lost through our human's eyes. The setting is also pivotal at not only showcasing the passage of time, but also at reinforcing what is lost and will be lost in the present.
This is a vampire story that is beautifully written and absolutely heartbreaking. I particularly enjoyed the overall mood of this work as the ambience was tense throughout the story. I thought part one was excellent, but I did feel like part two had a slower build up. Towards the end I was just sad and it was quite unexpected. The novel itself is surprisingly touching, and as far as vampire books go, this one is fantastic.
I recommend this to readers who love vampire literature, gothic horror and historical fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood
ashworks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A much more somber and literary treatment of a vampire novel. This book spends a great deal of time contemplating death and two different characters' relationships with death. Fits squarely in that "makes me sit with myself for a little while" camp that is hard to rate and pinpoint at a star rating, but I'm marking 3.75 for now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical content
rheagoveas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Blood
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
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Abandonment and Sexual harassment
bookishvicky's review against another edition
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!
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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
sofipitch's review
dark
slow-paced
3.75
This one feels really mixed to me because it feels like two completely different books smashed together. I really enjoyed the first half from the pov view of the vampire, but I'm also aware that there's not much that I felt that was stricklingly original in that bit. It read a lot like interview with the vampire which is why I enjoyed it. But it did have it's moments where I really liked it. Then we got to modern day and it kind of became any other literary fiction genre novel. It just felt boring and like I've read this story before. This is also very much a covid novel which may be a pro or may be a con depending on who you are. So my opinion is mixed, if it were just the first half 5/5. The main characters don't meet until the last hour of an 8 hour audiobook. Given I picked it up based on the back cover description I expected more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Sometimes, there's a book I don't particularly enjoy, but is so undeniably good that I can't help but admire it. This is one such book.
There is so much very good about this book. It explores grief - and specifically grief for someone still living - in such a nuanced and beautiful way. The longing and sadness are incredibly illustrated throughout the novel. The writing is lyrical and fluid and really drew me into the book.
And yet... I was bored. I never really latched onto the characters, and I can't help but feel like the pacing and tension might have been better if the vampire's story was spread out throughout the novel and interwoven with the modern story instead of dumped at the beginning.
Still, it's undoubtedly a good book, and one I will recommend to anyone looking for lit fic about loneliness and grief.
There is so much very good about this book. It explores grief - and specifically grief for someone still living - in such a nuanced and beautiful way. The longing and sadness are incredibly illustrated throughout the novel. The writing is lyrical and fluid and really drew me into the book.
And yet... I was bored. I never really latched onto the characters, and I can't help but feel like the pacing and tension might have been better if the vampire's story was spread out throughout the novel and interwoven with the modern story instead of dumped at the beginning.
Still, it's undoubtedly a good book, and one I will recommend to anyone looking for lit fic about loneliness and grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Violence
tifftastic87's review against another edition
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.
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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Murder