I just want to rave about Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk (Translated by: Heather Cleary)

This might be my favorite sapphic vampire book I’ve read this year! My dark gothic heart loved everything about this book. I’ve been looking for the longest time for a vampire book that would steal my heart like Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. I finally found it. It also had the perfect amount of smut for me… Perfect for fans of Mariana Enriquez, Samantha Schweblin and Ana Paula Maia.

It’s split into two parts. The first part we meet the vampire and how she had to flee to Argentina to survive. It was fascinating to read how she survived all by herself and had to deal with the yellow fever and hiding her thirst for human blood.

Surprisingly my favorite part was the second one. I really loved Alma’s section. She’s a single mother who has been taking care of her mother who has a terminal illness. Her mom reveals a family secret that’s been kept for generations. I’m very close to my mom so Alma’s POV really hit me hard with the emotions.

You don’t want to miss out on this book!! Thanks at Dutton and Netgalley for the e-arc!

A woman who was left for dead in a vampire infested castle funds her way to Buenos Aires and experiences desire and loss across centuries. The pace of this novel ebbs and flows, but the lush prose and interesting characters will keep readers invested in the story

DNF 59%
There were back and forth moments where I was into the narrative. The issue was that I had nothing to look forward to. It didn’t seem like the story was going anywhere. I had nothing against character driven stories but I have to be invested in the MC. I didn’t find her compelling. I did like the human man who kept her secret and continued to visit her. I admire their relationship and that she kept him alive and human. I appreciate that he didn’t turn her in. I like that the girl she turned really disliked her and resented being a vampire.

thirst at its core is a bare bones interconnected dual storyline about female desire and how the way society structures its social roles prevents women from having what they want. however, it's also about deal with grief and how to prepare oneself for when someone you care about leaves this earth. i just wish the execution was a little better as i definitely preferred the ideas of the first perspective more than the second.

In a strange and unexpected turn of events, the kindle file was corrupt and didn’t work on my device. I wasn’t able to read it. I guess it’s appropriate, considering the topic of the book…

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Thanks to Net galley for the opportunity to read this novel. In nineteenth century Buenos Aires a deadly beauty hunts in the darkness unleashing feral sexuality. She also unleashes death. Locked away, entombed, she bides her time, waiting. In the current century a young woman struggles through the cruel grief of watching her mother succumb to her final illness. When she is given the keys to an abandoned tomb in an old cemetery she will learn that sometimes damnation and salvation walk hand in hand. Thirst is an exquisite,gothic exploration of life and death.

A special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk is an exploration of hunger, a meditation on grief, and a wonderful insight into the human condition.

Though this book is short, it’s immensely profound, and I found myself in love with the prose and themes present within the story, especially in the first half, which followed our unnamed vampire. I think that the author did an exceptional job at really nailing the atmosphere, and though this is not a historical novel, parts of it definitely felt like one.

The second half of this novel was an unexpected exploration of grief that caught me entirely off guard. While it didn’t necessarily align with what I thought I’d be getting out of this book going in (which was sapphic vampires and a little bit of horror), it was still just as profound as the rest of the novel and made me immensely sad. It’s not often that the act of grieving before a person has passed is written about, and the author did an exceptional job at capturing the feelings of helplessness and sadness of something like that.

All in all, this was a very, very, very good book. It would have been five stars if the ending had played out just a little differently, as I was slightly disappointed that the two main characters didn’t even meet until almost the end. That said, this is definitely a book I recommend you pick up.

"Thirst" by Marina Yuszczuk is a sumptuous and gorgeously- written vampire novel. It is so much more than a horror novel; at its core, "Thirst" is about what is is to be a woman with desire. The dark, claustrophobic atmosphere created by the author's words is perfect for a book about how women must stifle their more carnal urges in order to be accepted by society. Though it is relatively short in length, this book is one of the best I've read this year and I look forward to more from this author. I love genre-defying novels and this certainly is one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this astoundingly beautiful book.

This story is beautiful...absolutely stunning.
I've learned that it has been translated into English - which I found made the entire reading experience have such a depth. It reads as though you're in the actual mind of the characters (even when you're not), and what a beautiful place to be!

I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Group Dutton for an ARC copy - Definitely recommend!

_Thirst_ by Marina Yuszczuk explores the lives of two different women of different time periods, and how they find one another. Set in Buenos Aires, Yuszczuk blends history with fantasy as the reader follows a vampire as she arrives in the city and experiences a pandemic and the growth of nineteenth-century Buenos Aires. The reader is then transported to the present-day and follows a mother as she experiences loss and uncertainty. The two women ultimately meet, and feel a transcendent connection. I enjoyed the descriptions of Buenos Aires and the separate narratives of the two women, but felt it was a bit rushed in the conclusion.

This was an interesting, unexpectedly reflective story, but it didn't quite deliver on the energy that I was expecting from it. There were several moments throughout both parts where I felt like I was being told about events rather than being shown events, which held me apart from the characters and their emotions, and slightly sanitised the narrative for me. I think "genre-bending" is a tall order for such a short book; THIRST gave it a valiant effort, but ultimately, unfortunately, I wasn't sold.

A translated gothic vampire novel?! Gimme it!

I foolishly used to think I didn’t like vampire stories. But over the last few years, there have been some wonderful examples; Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste, The Hacienda by Isabela Canas, recent TV adaptations of Interview with the Vampire and Dracula, and THAT episode of UK anthology show, Inside No. 9.

And now, we can add Marina Yuszczuk’s novel Thirst to the list (translated by Heather Cleary). Thirst is split in half; the first section of the novel is told from the perspective of a female vampire, recently arrived in 19th century Buenos Aires. Essentially homeless, she finds ways to survive and feed, as a pandemic strikes the city.

In the second half, we’re still in Buenos Aires, but our modern-day narrator struggles with divorce, parenthood, and the decline of her aging mother. When our narrator learns a strange crypt is part of her inheritance, the two stories intertwine beautifully.

If you don’t want to overthink the inevitability of death, I suggest you avoid this novel. I love how the narrator’s battle to survive in the first half of the book is totally at odds with the narrator’s mother losing all the joy from her existence in the latter half. The problems of the two narrators are so completely different, but the constant struggles that come with being a woman remain.

I raced through this novel so quickly. Yuszczuk’s uncomplicated style propelled the story forward, but nothing was sacrificed. I loved both narrators; I would happily have read hundreds more pages on either of them. And, it’s a vampire novel, so there is obviously sex and violence, but neither are gratuitous.

I really hope Thirst is embraced, and we see more work in English from Marina Yuszczuk.

The first half is stronger than the latter half, although overall this is a fun read. I enjoyed this in no small part because of so recently finishing a dracula re-read. Alma’s character adds some depth here, but I was a little confused overall about how we should feel about her character. The parallel between vampirism and Alma’s mother’s illness is not entirely effective, and I ended up strongly preferring the vampire PoV and was disappointed when it didn’t return. The gothic language is really evocative though, and is interesting in combination with the setting, which felt gritty and richly textured. Overall would recommend to fans of the genre.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this opportunity!

This book! This freakin book! I can’t express my feelings towards it. I don’ think any word would do it justice. This was an entire new experience in itself. It had gothic themes. It was written in such a unique way.
I feel like i’m not making it any justice but only thing i could say anything else other than please read this!
This was my only 6 stars read of the year.
Perfection.

This book is absolutely stunning. Lush, erotic, and effectively scary at times, both the prose and the story are beautifully done. This is what I've always wanted in a vampire story! It's difficult to put into words how impressed I was, I truly can't recommend this book enough.

4/5 stars

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk is a beautiful literary story about a vampire making her way through to world and finding connection. The prose in this book was breath taking and it felt like you were walking alongside the characters.

Marina’s main characters feel deep, encompassing, and utterly human even when they aren’t. We get to see both main characters on their separate timelines until ultimately they come together. The richness of the story leaves you eager to see the uniting and what that may mean.

I thought the themes of family, living, and choice were prevalent throughout the novel and we got to see each chapter grow into themselves as they navigated these themes separately and together.

If you love LQBTQIA+ books with haunting prose I would absolutely recommend picking up this book. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️

A vampire travels to Buenos Aires from Europe and watches as the small village turns into a city over the centuries. She lives among humans and experiences love and loss, all while experiencing the unrelenting thirst. In the present, Alma struggles with her mother’s terminal illness, but inherits a mysterious set of keys and a deed to a tomb.

I mentioned that this book gave me vampire Addie LaRue vibes! Instead of people forgetting her, she just ends up killing them-slay 💅

The first half of this book was so fascinating, I loved the perspective of our unnamed vampire protagonist as she lives among humans. I found the graphic descriptions of yellow fever to be truly effective horror! There was beautiful use of imagery when describing architecture and statues, it felt so gorgeous and gothic.

The second half of the book is where it fell flat for me. Although I found Alma’s struggle with her mother’s illness to be emotional, the story took too long to converge the storylines to keep me engaged. I did not really understand the relationship between the main characters and found it undeveloped and rushed.

If you’re like me and you have to consume vampire media, consider picking up this gothic, feminist tale of love and loss when it comes out on March 5th!

When a vampire arrived in Buenos Airies, she gets to watch a village transform into a large city for the second time in her life. She learns to adapt, be discreet, and intermingle with humans.

Now in present day Buenos Airies a woman finds herself at an impasse. She’s grappling with her mothers terminal illness and her own relationship with motherhood. When she first encounters the vampire, something ignites within them both and there is no turning back.

I really enjoyed part one of this book. It was really interesting reading about the origin story of a vampire. I enjoyed getting to know her and her story. I enjoyed the writing style, and it had some pretty spicy scenes that were lots of fun. However, things fell apart for be in part two. It felt like an entirely different book, and I just didn’t get it. Part two was more about mother daughter relationships and how they work. When it finally did connect to part one, it didn’t make sense to me. The writing was engaging and held my interest, I just wish the two parts worked more cohesively together. This was a great gothic book in part one and I did enjoy learning some Argentinian history as I read.

If you are looking for a spooky queer vampire book, then check this one out.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton, Dutton, and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

🩸Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk
📚 LGBT/gothic horror
🌟 5/5 stars

“Humans have invented countless stories in which those of my kind have no life of our own; if I might be permitted a moment of lyricism, we exist only to populate their nightmares.”

I’ve been so excited to share this book since reading just the epilogue. Also my first posted Netgalley review, thank you so so much to the publisher & the author for providing me with an early copy!

Starting off by noting that I have never been a HUGE fan of vampire fiction. But when I saw this cover and read the words “lesbian” and “vampire” together, I was intrigued. Um… I totally get it now, the appeal was so clear as I read this. The cover doesn’t even begin to hint at how stunning and captivating Marina Yuszczuk’s writing is, this book truly is a masterpiece. (But this cover is fucking gorgeous is it not??)

The beginning half of the story especially just screams gothic through and through and I was here for it. It follows our vampires origin story, from Europe (in I believe the 1500s) through her arrival as an immigrant in Buenos Aries. I can say that I honestly didn’t know much about Argentinas history going into this, so I really appreciated the detail that was put into the historical components of the book. Her story in particular is one of passion and thirst while being dark and gruesome. However, in the second half, we meet Alma who’s story is bound in loss, loneliness, and confusion. Parts of the last half of the book hit me like a ton of bricks, especially the ending. It may be a tougher read if you struggle with loss or grief, as it deals with Alma’s struggles of slowly losing her mother to terminal illness while trying to cope with being a recently separated mother. The books is also prettyyy spicy at times in the best ways, and there’s a specific scene that I think my dark romance girlies will just eat up.

My absolute favorite part is just how full of emotion and atmosphere every single page of this book is filled with. Yuszczuk has a way with words that is just so entrancing. I definitely will be reading this again in the future, it easily became one of my favorite books of all time.

Vampires are never just vampires; in fiction, they exist as a very flexible metaphor. Frequently, they're sex. Sometimes they're the threat of the unknown. Sometimes they're the violence of class stratification. In "Thirst," I think the author intends for the vampire to be some form of metaphor for . . . all of the above? Or nothing? To be honest, I'm not really sure. The book is divided into two sections: one where the vampire tells the story of her life, and one where the narrator, Alma, encounters her in present day. Thematically, the two sections have very little connecting them. Until Alma actually met the vampire, I wasn't sure what they were doing in the same book. After the meeting, things started to come together, but the narrative overall still felt underbaked; Alma's story of dealing with her mother's impending death and her relationship with her young son didn't cohere with her relationship to the vampire, and her choice at the end felt baffling and more than a little cruel. (Not that a character doing something cruel ruins a book - but when it seems to go against everything that's been established up to this point, it leaves a sour taste.) It felt like the author had an idea that she wanted to write a literary vampire story, but she didn't have a clear vision of what she wanted to say with it. Th prose is nice, and I enjoyed the process of reading it, but it left me feeling unfulfilled.