🎬 Read this if you like:
Interview with the Vampire
Love Lies Bleeding
⏰ Best time to read:
Part I: When you’re home alone at night with candles lit
Part II: When you can hold your family close
📝 Themes:
Vampire Horror, Historical Fiction, Two Timelines and POVs, Death and Dying, LGBTQ+, Spicy, Translation
👍 What I liked:
I absolutely loved Part One! It’s a classic vampire tale, filled with history and sensuality.
❓ Synopsis: During the 19th century, a vampiress arrives in Buenos Aires by ship after escaping persecution in Europe. Witnessing plague and war, she hides in the shadows. After her lover violently attempts to force her to turn him into a vampire, she hides from the world locked away in a crypt. A century later, Alma comes across a crypt key from her mother, who is slowly dying of a debilitating illness.
📣 Review: I forgot how much I love vampire tales until read this. I was as entranced as the vampiress’ victims. Part Two is very different in its feel, as Thirst switches from an atmospheric haunting to a story about a woman facing the impending death of her mother. I was less captivated by this half, but was still moved. I appreciate all of the ways that this book confronts death and what it means to “live.”

This book felt like a lot of nothing to me -- when I finished it, I wondered what I had just read. Granted, it's short, so this doesn't matter to me as much as it would have had this book been over 200 pages. I felt that this book was attempting to do something, but I wasn't sure what exactly. A positive, though: the two narrators had *very* distinct voices, and I felt that their characters were portrayed really well through the writing. Other than that, I don't really have much to say about this.

4.5 rounded up

wow. this was a really beautiful and striking take on the vampire and their eternal struggle with loneliness… the writing and the atmosphere was captivating and i really felt like i understood her choices when in so many other vampire stories i can’t always be convinced by their decisions.. i felt like her story was a bit rushed though, i would’ve loved to linger in her history a bit more and i think it only would’ve enhanced the story … because while i enjoyed alma’s part a lot, i wanted to get more into the vampires head when she is woken up into this new buenos aires that alma is barely managing to stay afloat in throughout her mothers illness… i don’t know! i loved it but i’m also left wanting more. i did enjoy how the author finished it off and i think it was very fitting and satisfying, not sure if everyone will agree though.

This is a vampire book I can get behind! It was sad, it was violent, it was brutal, it was sexy! I am a huge vampire fan so this hit all the dark gothic and historical vampire wants for me. I enjoyed the points of view of both women and the differences in both of their lives and the challenges both women struggled with and faced.

I enjoyed the atmospheric writing. I easily pictured myself on the streets of Buenos Aires covered in dirt and grime too. The storytelling was beautiful.

I cannot wait to tell others about this book and read more from this author!

Thirst is a dual-timeline exploration of themes like grief, femme rage, motherhood, and acceptance. We are introduced to an unnamed central character that becomes our favorite little enraged vampire who lets us travel her life journey for centuries with her. Then we meet Alma, a separated single mom who is experiencing the process of a terminally ill parent. These two characters cross paths in an unusual way, and we are left to ponder their connection and impacts on their world.

I loved this book, so very much. I loved seeing the vampire’s thought process through her POV then seeing her in contrast through Alma’s POV. There is a specific arc that was very profound and had me sobbing towards the end of this book.

My only complaint is the ending, and wishing it hadn’t felt so rushed. That might just be because I wanted to see more of their venture, rather than just what’s hinted at.

Thank you Netgalley and Dutton Publishing for an ARC!

First, the things I liked. The ambiance of this book is killer (no pun intended). Very gothic--think spooky cemetaries, crypts, abandoned buildings, a city plagued by disease, and obviously vampires. I really enjoyed getting to know our main (unnamed) vampire lady. Really, the first part of the book is an intricate portrait of our vampiress and all of the things that drive her (and anyone) to being a monster (think greed, revenge, anger, desire).

My quibbles? The second half of the book wasn't as compelling for me as the first half. We are introduced to Alma, a present day character with a young son and a dying mother. I thought that the author did a good job at drawing parallels between the suffering mother and the vampire, and with juxtaposing a young child full of life with the overaching gloom of death that permeates the rest of the story. HOWEVER, I kind of wanted more of a romantic connection between the vampire and Alma--to be honest this was not nearly as sapphic as I was expecting based on the description.

Thanks to NetGalley, Dutton, and Marina Yuszczuk for the eARC!

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this, but I absolutely loved this! The writing and story echoed a lot of my favorite feminist Gothic writers, and it was a great read from beginning to end.

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 seeming 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.

This was okay, I enjoyed the first half the most and had a hard time with the second half as most people have mentioned. I wonder if some of the author's voice was lost in translation. Or if too much was condensed into the last half.

The first half tells the story of a vampire fleeing Europe and arriving in Buenos Aires. There she must be more discreet than she was before and takes to hunting at night. She watches as time transforms the city and how things change when yellow fever arrives.

In the present day, a woman is dealing with her mother's terminal illness. Her mother passes her a key that neither knows much about but it leads her to the city' cemetery, where she encounters a vampire.

Thanks so much to the author and Penguin for this ARC to 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.

3.5/5

After an amazing first half - a near perfect reading experience - I became bored with the second half. Merely because of the tonal shifts and lack of atmosphere. May be worth reading just for the first half experience.

Woah. Like I’m going to need some time to process this.

Thirst is a translated fiction story by Marina Yuszczuk, an Argentinian writer, who tells the story of two women from two different time periods (one of whom is a vampire) who come to grips with the isolating insanity that their loneliness brings. It covers themes of female independence, sapphic love, the rotting binds of desire, and confronting death.

This story to me was absolutely entrancing: the prose is so wonderfully poetic and raw. These women go through some absolute awful trauma that is unfortunately relatable and as a reader, seeing how its described keeps you reading each page. The tone is super gothic (which, personally love to see) but it also reminds me of the way Allende and Marquez describe their magical realist worlds with such beautiful rawness and directness.

The themes were absolutely phenomenal. I normally support all forms of escapism but I truly enjoyed how this book just hit the mark on its themes of feminine agency. Its a central part of the book but it does not completely overwhelm the actual characters themselves, which I thoroughly appreciate. I think in this post-COVID era we are all coming to terms with death and its presence it our world, and this story felt sort of relatable to that with one of the protagonist’s overwhelming grief and watching her mother’s illness take over and feeling absolutely helpless. Its definitely a must-read in the right headspace (please see the CW/TWs on Goodreads) but I cannot recommend it enough. Its one of my favorite reads this year, and its definitely inspiring me to read more translated fiction and more contemporary lit.

If you are looking for a plot driven thriller about a vampire, then Thirst is not for you. However, if you love a closely detailed character study about vampirism, bodily autonomy, and the loneliness of living an immortal life then this is exactly what you are looking for.

Deliciously gothic in its atmosphere, the story is set in Buenos Aires and broken into two parts. The first follows the life of an unnamed woman from the time of her imprisonment and transformation into a vampire through her journey from Old World Europe and her eventual settlement in Argentina. The second part of the story is set in modern day Buenos Aires and follows a young mother named Alma whose mother is dying of a neuromuscular condition and she knows that she too will ultimately succumb to the same fate.

Gorgeously written prose (hats off to the translator) that is full of sensual spice, both hetero and sapphic, made this the perfect one sitting read for a rainy day. Recommended for fans of Anne Rice, sapphic romance, character driven novellas, and anyone in their Vampire Era.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton, and Marina Yuszczuk for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sapphic vampires, feminism, creepy old crypts...I have been SO excited about this book. Overall, it doesn't really let down. While I enjoyed the translation, it left me wishing I could read the book in its original text, especially as the original blurb draws comparisons to Shelley and Jackson and other gothic greats.

The first half of this book is AMAZING. A vampire struggles with survival and bloodlust as she tears through the world and we get a really compelling backstory. She was compulsive and evil and I was engrossed just to see what she'd do next. In comparison, the second half lulls as we get the story of a modern-day human woman as she struggles to care for her sick mother. I was less engaged. There's a lot to get through before the two stories connect, and when they do, it is more cerebral than physical. It's a satisfying ending although it happens quick, so if you're expecting a romance, this book isn't that – it doesn't dwell on their specific connection. It draws one with the world at large, about women and how they express grief, shame, desire and other "ugly" emotions often limited by society.

Overall, I really liked this! Hope more of this author's works are translated or I'll just have to learn Spanish.

I am not usually a fan of vampire novels, (except for a teenage Twilight phase), but I thoroughly enjoyed Thirst. The fact that there was Argentinian history in this was mostly interesting and added to the story. The way this was told was also very readable and kept me intrigued. The dual narrative structure was also fun and unique! I definitely recommend checking this out even if you don't think you will love a novel about vampires.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Latine horror. It is so diverse and such a mixture of lit fic and horror. I was so intrigued to see how our two main characters were going to cross paths and when they did, I was so surprised.

In this story, we are given two fully fleshed out (no pun intended) stories of two women in two points of history feeling lonely and dealing with grief- one just happens to be a vampire.

I was left feeling so sad, but also so complete and content and I am not sure how that's possible.

All that to say, this is definitely what one would expect from Latine horror and it packed so much into a sub-300-page book.

This was the female vampire story I never knew I needed. After years of vampire books mostly involving beautiful unattainable men (boring), we get this absolute masterpiece. I wasn't expecting to love this one so much, but I am glad I did.

Told from two vantages, we get this sloping and weaving story about desire and blood-lust. I went into this completely blind and I'm so glad for that. The writing just flowed so beautifully. This is dark and psychological, but lyrical and full of passion.

I cannot recommend this book more!

This is a vampire story set in Buenos Aires and written in two parts. Each part is written in the first person, but from two very different woman. Part I is the unnamed vampire: we get her history (which seems based on Dracula's wives) before she boards a ship that takes her to Buenos Aires. Although we're never certain of the exact year, it seems like this portion takes place in the mid-19th century. The vampire gluts herself on the blood of different Portenos until she finally decides to lock herself away. Part II is set in the present day, as we read the journal of Alma, a single mom who's also dealing with her mother's terminal illness. Alma discovers the vampire and befriends her ... or are they actually friends?

The prose of the book is a real pleasure; Heather Cleary's translation doesn't feel forced at all. That said, I'm not sure what the book means to convey. For example, I recently read Woman, Eating (Claire Kohda), another lit fic female vampire; its theme and meaning felt much clearer. The vampire here, for example, is truly monstrous. Even the bit of sympathy you feel for her at the beginning is swiftly erased as she chooses to engage in more and more vile acts. I liked Alma much more, but even she is more and more disconnected with her own feelings and desires towards the end. The resolution of the whole text is truly unsettling.

I feel like this would be great as a book club pick. Honestly, I'd love to take a class with someone who could explain it to me! I do recommend it, but it's not for the fainthearted.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

In Thirst, we follow two characters: One, a vampire, over a century ago as she moves from Europe to Buenos Aires; the second, a modern woman struggling with a lot of current-day problems like single motherhood, the illness of a parent, and general dissatisfaction with life. While I did appreciate a lot of the things this book had to offer, a few left me wishing for more. So, as I love to do, let's break it down!

What Worked For Me:

►The location and time periods! I do wish we'd gotten to see a bit more of Buenos Aires, though I was quite excited to be there! I also loved that we got to experience it in two very different time periods (technically, even more I suppose, but two for sure), which showed two very different examples of the city. I mean, did you know about the Paraguayan War? I didn't, but now I do! There was also a plague, and to the best of my sleuthing, it seems to have been yellow fever? Regardless, I know now quite a bit more about the history of Buenos Aires than I did before, and that is a win.

►I quite enjoyed the character of Alma. I mean- don't get me wrong, the vampire part was fascinating, too. I just liked the character of Alma more. (Interestingly, I read plenty of reviews that felt the opposite, so do with this what you will!) I did enjoy the journey to see how these two very different women, with stories vastly differing from each other, would connect. (As you'll see below, I did not enjoy the way it all went down, but I did enjoy trying to figure out how it would all happen.) I felt a lot for Alma, and her current life situations. She was compelling, for me, and I was eager to see what would happen next.

►The atmosphere was on point. This definitely had a gothic, vampiric feel to it, which I definitely appreciated!

What I Struggled With:

Okay here's the thing, my biggest issue with this book: the character development is completely incongruent with the choices they make. I am keeping this vague, but I will do spoiler tags to explain more. But look- I actually liked the character development, especially that of present-day Alma, like I mentioned. But then some of the things that end up happening make absolutely no sense to who the book has been making her out to be all along! It could be that something is lost in translation here, but I can't say for sure, as me and my very basic Spanish can't exactly translate it ourselves. It just kind of made me feel like the whole of the story is pointless, if nothing that Alma said or felt was genuine, if that makes sense? (view spoiler)

Also, I didn't fully understand what made the vampire character tick. Bloodlust, obviously, as the title implies, but little else. As such, I could not understand fully the appeal of her, as a character. That part may be on me, as I said above, others seemed to quite enjoy her character, even if she didn't do it for me.

Bottom Line: A dual-timeline, dual-character POV story that I enjoyed but also felt let down by at times.

Important details about Thirst

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Maria and Alma)

Trigger Warnings: Thirst contains themes that include the death of a parent, blood, murder, terminal illness, death, suicide, violence, suicidal thoughts, grief, body horror, chronic illness, gore, physical abuse, sexual violence, medical content, suicide attempt, pandemic, confinement, sexual assault, medical trauma, child death, racism, and classism.

Language: There is moderate swearing in Thirst. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is graphic sexual content in Thirst.

Setting: Thirst is set in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Maria’s (the vampire) backstory is set throughout Europe, but she ends up in Buenos Aires reasonably early in the book.

My Review

Thirst is a dark book. It starts dark (with Maria’s mother giving her to her Maker) and ends dark. Usually, this would put me (I do like a bit of light showing up in my horror/gothic books). But in this case, it worked. I finished this book more disturbed than when I started it.

Thirst’s storyline is separated into two parts. The first storyline follows Maria. The storyline explains how Maria became a vampire, her exploits across Europe with her sisters, her fleeing Argentina, her killings in Buenos Aires during several periods, her friendship with an immigrant, and her deal with that immigrant. I did enjoy this storyline. I found it well-written, and it scared me at times. It also showed that Maria did have a little bit of humanity left in her. But it also showcased what a monster she was.

The second storyline follows Alma. This storyline focuses on Alma, her mother’s illness, and how it was affecting her and being a mother herself. I did sympathize with Alma. She had a lot going on in her world and was losing control. This isn’t a gradual descent into depression; the author plunged us in with her. Her feelings of motherhood were interesting (I related to the dentist scene because I had been in that exact situation with one of my kids).

The storylines merge when Alma accidentally releases Maria. She doesn’t know what she did except that something happened in the vault, and Alma couldn’t account for a few hours. It isn’t until Maria makes herself known that Alma puts two and two together.

The horror angle of the book was terrific. Again, to reiterate, this is a very dark gothic book. The author kept the vampire myth very simple, and in that simplicity, she was able to write a truly terrifying story. Maria didn’t glitter, she couldn’t daywalk, and she wasn’t exactly beautiful (Alma’s first good look at her likened her skin to corpselike). But the horror also extended to Alma’s mother’s terminal illness. During Alma’s storyline, her mother went from being bedridden and at home to being hospitalized with tubes coming out of her. It was terrifying for Alma to see and witness.

The end of Thirst was interesting. I understood Alma’s decision and what she asked of Maria. And I also understood why Maria said yes. It wasn’t a happy ending. I mean, for Alma and Maria, it was. But for everyone else in Alma’s life, what she asked would have long-reaching repercussions. And that made me so sad for all of those people.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton, Dutton, NetGalley, and Marina Yuszczuk for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Thirst. All opinions stated in this review are mine.