Reviews

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison

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jamidawn8's review

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funny slow-paced

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

3.5

joshhansonhorror's review against another edition

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3.0

I've finally determined that Rachel Harrison's books just aren't for me. I'm certainly not the target audience, but there's just something about her characters that rubs me wrong. I'm happy with characters who are unlikable, but every one of these characters is just frustratingly annoying and lacking in any real depth, and I want to shake them all by the shoulders.

That said, So Thirsty is pretty fun, and it has a solid first and third act, but the middle seems to be missing. We don't get to see this new life they've "chosen," and the romance that is built up through the first half goes absolutely nowhere.

That's a shame, because slowing this story down and letting characters interact when there isn't either a crisis or a love scene might allow them to show themselves as more interesting. As it is, the event that shocks these two out of their everyday lives could have been anything, and we wouldn't need a batch of generic Eurotrash vampires at all.

sweetheartstitches's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-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

2.75

I’m actually really bummed I didn’t like this book. This has been one of my most anticipated reads since last year and my library finally got a digital copy. With my Libby app ready to go, I was ready for a chaotic and bloody journey. That is, unfortunately, not what I got.

The entire book takes place in just about 5 days. There really is no plot; the plot is watching these two best friends come to terms with their vampirism and struggle with their thirst. As someone who’s been obsessed with vampire since about 2007, the vampire “lore” - if you can even call it that - was basically nonexistent. These vampires don’t even have fangs!

We go on this journey with Sloane and her best friend, Naomi. They’re opposites in every way. Which, when done well, is a dynamic I absolutely love. However, their opposite traits really just brought out the worst in the other. I was constantly being told how strong this friendship is, how much Sloane cannot live without Naomi, how they’ve been through so much, and know each other so well, but with how they interacted with each other over the course of the book, I’m struggling to understand how and why these two women are friends.

The main character, Sloane, who’s head we are stuck in throughout the novel, is literally the worst woman to become a vampire. She’s wishy-washy, a major hypocrite, and loves being a victim (this is something she literally admits). She projects all her anger at Naomi, especially for the circumstances that turned them into vampires, but Sloane refuses to take responsibility for anything. Look, I love complicated, messy, female characters - I will defend them until my last breath. Sloane was not complicated, though. Ultimately, because we spend so little time with her, her character was not able to be explored to its fullest.

This book also suffered from a very cringey case of insta-lust. Which, sure, I love it when vampires are bloody, hedonistic, and sexy, but this was not that.

The other vampires were much more interesting than Sloane and Naomi. I wish this book was about them, their histories, how they found each other, and why they decide to live this nomadic lifestyle.

I did enjoy Harrison’s writing style. The book could get tense, gory, and bloody when it needed to. However, that is not enough to save this wet paper towel of a horror novel about vampires.

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