I loved this slow story about a young woman and her first introduction to love. It was atmospheric and lush and tense and made me remember what it's like to fall in love. So good.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this beautiful story in exchange for a review.

After reading the authors earlier work last year, i knew i wanted to pick this up and boy did it not disappoint.

I really loved the lyrical and beautiful writing in Thirst for Salt. I liked the romance, even if the characters were flawed and it won't work out as hoped.

Will be reviewing a physical copy of this one. Thank you again for the ARC and hopefully this opens up a space for someone else.

THIRST FOR SALT is a gorgeous, deeply felt novel about first loves, impossible loves. The language is lush, the emotions well-rendered. I couldn't put it down, not because so much happens, but because I was so drawn into the relationship between the two characters. Lucas has a particular eye for place too, the seaside that can be so hostile, at times scorching, at times brisk. This debut delivered, and I can't wait to see what Lucas writes next.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.

Madelaine Lucas’ beautiful debut novel “Thirst For Salt” is a love story that we know from the jump will not have a storybook ending. The complexities of commitment form the spine of disquiet that casts shadows over a wonderful, touching, erotic “coming of age/coming out of mid-life despair”, unforgettable saga.

Lucas’ writing is sublime - poetic and highly descriptive. The settings are vivid, the characters are carefully drawn, especially our narrator, a budding author, and Jude. The most compelling theme concerns intergenerational insights, needs, and desires. Birth, death, attachment, abandonment - all narrative elements that cut to the bone.

It was a pleasure to read a rich, contemporary book that featured the inner lives of flawed human beings rather than gadgets connected to networks. Mobile phones factored in most often when they did not function as planned for one good (or bad) reason or another. Social networks were in their infancy, hardly mentioned.

Rather “Thirst for Salts” “action” took place in the ocean, on the beach, during long walks, in intimate moments where only the birds and the sound of the sea served as backdrop. Characters didn’t have to go shopping when relations hit a rocky patch. Rather, antiques were restored, clothes were handed down, time was set aside for others, life lessons were shared and sometimes over-shared.

It all added up to a literary pleasure that exceeded all expectations.

Thanks to the wonderful Tin House and NetGalley for the eARC.

I could not put this book down. I appreciated the lyrical writing and the way the words flowed from page to page. I enjoy a book about a love affair and this one did not disappoint! It was also interesting to learn more about Australia and the beach town where most of the story takes place. I feel like I would read this book again during the summer months! Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

"Thirst for Salt" is an unexpected pleasure. I was drawn into the story right away from the lyrical writing and the electricity of the love affair. More than a love story, it speaks to home, loss, memory, and mother-daughter relationships. This book is special. I will be revisiting it in years to come. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.