I love a book with an anti-hero. Sometimes I need to read something a little darker than the other books I have read. Something that is more true to life than the romances that I love to read. I got it with Thirsty.

I will warn you guys, Thirsty gets off to a very slow start. But it is worth sticking around for. Oh, so worth it. The author lays the groundwork for Sal and Vanessa’s romance in those first few chapters. More importantly, she explains how Vanessa is connected to Sal.

Sal was trying to rebuild his life after going to jail for 5 years. Trying to stay away from the gang that he was born into is hard. Even harder is trying to keep away from Vanessa. Vanessa is his unwilling landlady who is also the widow of a fallen gang member. Can he stay out of trouble and the gang? Or will he go right back into the lifestyle that he was born into? Will Vanessa and his love survive? Or will it become a casualty?

I loved that the author made Sal imperfect. I loved that he acknowledged that he did wrong in the past and he was trying to move past it. His anxiety attacks and the resulting self-harm made my heart hurt for him. I also like that he was a quiet guy. He didn’t have much to say. I thought that he did make a good try at trying to stay away from the gang. It was hard for him, seeing that he was living in the neighborhood that they ran. But I had to give him credit because he tried so hard to stay away.

I thought Vanessa was kind of witch with a b in the beginning of the book. But I got to thinking about it and you know what, I don’t blame her. She was trying to keep her daughter and grandmother out of the gang. So when Sal shows up in her garage, I don’t blame her for blowing a fuse. He also brought back memories of her husband, good and bad. As the story went on, though, you could see her defenses going away. The only thing that she asked of Sal when they got together, was that he stays out of trouble.

The sexual tension and sex in Thirsty were through the roof hot. Sal was a horny guy from page one. I knew that the sex was going to be good when the scene with Sal masturbating in the shower was hot. I wasn’t disappointed when they had sex. What got me, and what I liked, is that Vanessa and Sal were into kinky stuff. I don’t see enough of the kinky stuff written in romance books. I loved it.

I didn’t see the romance between Sal and Vanessa at first. It was all sex, which was fine with me. The night of the carnival was when the romance part of the book hit me. Sal was heads over heels for Vanessa. But it was rocky because of Sal’s gang association. When certain events happened in the book, I didn’t blame Sal for leaving or Vanessa for kicking him out.

Besides the plotline where Sal is trying to rebuild his life, there are a couple other major ones. There is the plotline with Sal’s father, who died when Sal was in jail. He was greenlighted by the head of the gang. But there is a twist in that plot that surprised me. There is also the plot with the gang and Sal’s relationships with different members. Both of those plotlines were not resolved at the end of the book. They were both left open.

The end of the book was sweet. I loved seeing how far Sal had come from the beginning of the book. Not going to lie, I did have some happy tears towards the end of the book. The epilogue, though, was fantastic.

The author does include a note to the readers from the author. Let’s just say that I am glad that she had such in-depth access to information that helped created her characters.

I would give Thirsty an Adult rating. There are some graphic sex scenes. I wouldn’t recommend for anyone under the age of 21.

I would recommend Thirsty to my family and friends. But with a warning about the sex scenes and violence. I would also reread this book. I enjoyed reading it and connected with the characters.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Thirsty.

All opinions stated in this review of Thirsty are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

DNF 20%

Boring...slow and boring. I couldn't finish the book because it couldn't hold my interest.

The main character tells you right off the bat on the first page that he’s no hero. As you read on, you’ll see he has nothing to hide, and there’s a lot not to like about him.

But...

As we get to know him through his candor and character shaped by the mistakes and regrets of his past life, we as readers are rewarded by the purely likable character that is Salvador Rosas. No, he is not the prototypical white twenty something billionaire with blue eyes and private jets.

He’s something better.

He’s a real human being who knows the value of life and freedom, and is working hard to right the wrongs of his past and make a good future for himself.

Overall, this story exceeded my expectations. It has a very interesting premise: it’s the story of a young Hispanic gangster just released from jail, trying to escape his gang ties by attempting to start his own brewing company. Really, really cool concept! It enthralled, entertained me, and pulled at my heartstrings. I found myself rooting for Salvador and his tough as nails love interest Vanessa, who is a very real woman with realistic flaws and strengths.

The plot is tightly written, and the author does a great job of increasing the stakes and upping the tension at every turn. The sex scenes were very hot and had me fanning myself every time.

What a well written contemporary romance. As a WOC growing up in Southern California during a time when gang culture was popular, I was able to relate to the story on a certain level. Thank you Mia Hopkins for doing your part to bring diversity into the mainstream. This one is definitely a page turner and I look forward to the next book in the series. I am forever a fan!

I would give this 3.5 stars - it wasn't quite a 4 star read for me, but it was good. It started off really slow, as others have also noted, so it took a while for me to really get into it and finish the book. I also wouldn't classify this as a romance since there was very little of that (maybe the 2nd book will have more about Sal and Vanessa's relationship). Most of the story concentrated on Sal's inner battle now that he's out of prison and trying to make something of his life, while also still belonging to a gang that wants him back in. I can't say I still completely understand the intricacy of the gang life, but the author did do a good job of explaining it all. I've read other books revolving around gang life, but this was the first one where the gang was Hispanic and it seemed to run a bit different than others I've read.

Sal has been out of prison for 6 months now, working at night as a janitor for a spa and gym. When he's kicked out of the place he's staying, he ends up sleeping in the garage of Vanessa, a single mom from the neighborhood who is raising her daughter with the help of her grandmother. Vanessa is one of the people in the neighborhood who actually have a good job and is studying for her CPA exam. Vanessa reluctantly agrees to let Sal stay in her garage for 2 months. Eventually, things heat up between Sal & Vanessa and they begin a sexual relationship. It's sweet to see how much Sal cares for her and that he really wants to do right by her, but the gang is still trying to pull him in, which Vanessa wants no part of.

As with most books, things go bad between Sal & Vanessa after the gang interferes with Sal's hopes to stay clean. But things work out in the end, but not before there's a surprise cliffhanger. I would say this is a HFN book though and I wasn't left completely disappointed by the ending or the fact that I have to wait to read the next book.

I really liked Vanessa and Sal, so I can't complain about the characters. Vanessa was an incredibly strong and smart woman who wanted the best for her daughter, but still stuck to her roots and the neighborhood she grew up in. Sal went through an emotional journey in this book, but he remained as strong as he could. He was very smart, sensitive, and a caring person, despite his not-so-good upbringing in gang life. I loved the whole brewing/hipster spin in this book. It was so cute to see Sal interacting with the bar owner and I look forward to reading about his next step forward in life.

One thing that made it harder for me to enjoy was the use of all the slang or hispanic words throughout the book - I didn't always understand what they meant and the Kindle translation/dictionary didn't always know the meaning either. Sometimes it was easy to figure out what it meant based on the sentence or something that followed, but a lot of times, I couldn't tell if what he was calling someone was good or bad (I just finished a book recently where the hero was Russian and I always knew what he meant when he said something in Russian because the author would offer something right after that explained it). The translation was just lost on me, but to some that may not matter. I just like to know what words mean when I run across those that I'm not familiar with. Had there only been a few here and there, no problem, but the book was littered with unfamiliar words. I love learning other languages and their common phrases or slang, I just wish I knew what a lot of what was said meant in this book.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sal/Ghost has had a hard life. Growing up in a bad neighborhood and part of a gang. Sal tries to break away from the gang after doing a stint in jail, but the life keeps trying to drag him back in. Vanessa is a single mom who is trying to make ends meet. Living with her grandmother, Vanessa tries to provide a good life for her and her daughter. When she and Sal get together, it was only suppose to be for a short period, but their feelings begin to develop. Sal and Vanessa overcome several obstacles to be together.

This book started out very slow for me, however, I stuck with it and in the end wound up liking it.

This book started off a tad slow for me. I was ready to quit. Then it changed and I loved it. The way things were explained in this story were great. Gang life was explained well.
I'm so ready for the next book, this one ended in a cliffhanger.

Despite this cliffhanger ending I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book and found a new to me author. Thirsty was more than I had anticipated. I thought the characters were well developed and interesting.

Despite his troubled youth Sal was really trying to succeed at creating a new beginning. He struggled at times but knew what he had to do. Unfortunately, the streets he grew up in were calling him back. You could feel his emotions leap off the pages.
Vanessa was from the same neighborhood. She was smart and determined to get out in her youth however her life took her on another path. She unexpectedly became a young mother and wife. After her husband dies she is doing her best to finish school and be a mom to her daughter.
Both Sal and Vanessa overcame such adversity at such young age. I often had to remind myself that they were only children forced to grow up too fast.
Besides the main characters, her grandmother and his friend Alan were using heroes. They helped these two succeed .
The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Which should have been mentioned in the blurb.

Once the characters chemistry clicked for me it became a hard book to put down. It's nice to read about something other than the rich white guy who helps out the poor white girl!

Bit of a slow start, but it didn't take long for the story to pick up. I liked the chemistry between Sal and Vanessa, and especially how gang life was explained.

Honestly I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. The first few chapters had me on the verge of disinterest but, midway it hooked me and I couldn’t put it down. Would recommend.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. Although I had a hard time getting into this book there was just something about it that wouldn’t let me put it down. Vanessa and Sal have major chemistry in this hot and steamy read. Definitely an eye opener on how gang life can be. I find it interesting the author explains her connection/work with gang life and I like that she spoke of truth through this story. 3.5 stars

This was my first read by Mia Hopkins and I really enjoyed her writing style and loved that it was told in his POV.

Sal is out of prison and is a free man, but is he really free? Will his past let him go? Can he escape it and survive? Sal isn't your typical hero. He can't come in and save the day and he doesn't look like your average prince charming. He is hard and quite.

Our Heroin, Vanessa, is strong and loves fiercely. She makes lemonade with all the lemons life has handed her. She is smart and beautiful. Tough with a heart of gold.

This is a story of second chances not only with life but love. About getting up after being knocked down. Though I couldn't relate to some aspects of this story I really enjoyed it. The story flows and is full of emotions. I can't wait to see what happens next!

I absolutely LOVED this book. It had everything that I love in a book, and I couldn't get through it fast enough.

Thirsty is a beautiful and tragic love story that’s brilliantly written! It’s so easy to love Sal despite his mistakes and Vanessa is a kick-ass heroine. Together they try to rise above the crappy cards they’ve been dealt and learn how to love along the way.

I typically don’t like gangster and crime type stories but I like this author so I gave it a try. The characters really resonated with me. I was also pleasantly surprised that it was told from the male POV. It worked for me, I enjoyed it, and I even like that it ended on a little cliffhanger.

Thank you Loveswept and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 for me. I liked this, a lot. It's more inner monologue about Ghost's road to a better life. I usually prefer dialogue but for whatever reason, this one really sucked me in. I liked the way he was so raw and honest, how he dealt with things I could really relate to. I think a lot of people would be able to relate, as well. The story was sweet but suspenseful, a romance with second chances, and best of all, it kept me reading til the end. It's a definite recommend for those who enjoy these second chances and people overcoming their hardships.

(3.5 STARS)

This book was good but it could have been great if, in my opinion, Sal's gang life and affiliations would have been explored more. We do get a glimpse into the life towards the end but I believe it would have been a more powerful and vivid read if the interactions were throughout the book instead of at the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and flowed well. The intimate scenes between Sal and Vanessa were hot and heavy. I loved how Salvadore could be badass but also sweet and tender when needed. I think I have a crush. I definetly can't wait to read more from this author and from what I see, there is another book!

This is a story about Sal and Vanessa, who despite rough starts in life, find love with each other. He is an ex-con who got into jail due to gang activities and she is a young single mom struggling to make ends. They meet again (they knew each other growing up) when he is forced out of the house where he was sleeping on a couch and he needs somewhere else to stay to save money for his own place. Vanessa’s grandmother decides to rent him the garage. Vanessa is not happy at first when she learns he will be living in her home and he has a key for the house.
This story was written well and I did somewhat enjoy it, but I couldn’t really get into it due to the gang aspect. I thought it would just touch on it, but it is a big part of this book. The main part.
This was my first book by this author and this appears to be a standalone until book 2 is released. I am willing to read other books by this author with a different storyline.

A solidly written romance with a unique and interesting storyline. Enjoyed