Thirst is captivating and atmospheric. The prose were lush and the first half of the book felt almost intoxicating and addicting to read but then when we switched to current time, it was harder to get through and felt much slower and a bit weighted down. I will add that slugging through the slow part was worth it in the end!

This was a very interesting and confusing story. Its broken up into two different time periods about two different women who end up meeting in the future. I was confused for most of the second part because i wasnt sure where the storyline was headed but around the 75% mark it started to fall into place. The book and storyline was enjoyable and entertaining but i found myself not really interested in it as much as i thought i would be.

Thirst is an addictive literary fiction read ultimately about the desire to find connection. I loved the elements of mystique, subtle horror, and sapphic romance throughout—even if I was left thirsty for even more.

The first half of the book is written from the perspective of an unnamed vampire, who after fleeing Europe, begins a new life in Buenos Aires and must walk the fine line between satisfying her need for blood and having her identity discovered. This character had such an intriguing backstory, and I was immediately hooked on her half of the novel. I would honestly read an entire prequel devoted to her life with her Master, diving further into detail those first moments of being a vampire which sounds like a fascinating point of view.

The book enters the present day with narration from Alma, a single mother who is afflicted by grief, loneliness, and the weight of her own mother’s declining health. Though overall a compelling read with an accurate representation of grief, the second half of the novel lulls in comparison to the former. It certainly takes time to discover how exactly these two women are intertwined, but it’s rewarding in those moments when they are at the end of the novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the book’s publisher for an advanced copy - so glad I was able to finally get to reading this!

the idea of this book was so fun, but i feel like for a book with a premise this wild, i need to feel grounded in something — whether that be the writing, the characters, or the world. all of those things felt silly or distant, so i had a hard time getting into this book.

Thirst is one of the most phenomenal novels I have read in the past year. The vampiric element of the novel is neither center nor dismissed but rather a beautiful way to discuss femininity, grief, and love in the same vein of Anne Rice and Bram Stoker the Vampire here is much more than just a simple monster or an allegory for sexuality but rather an incredible tool in which we can find ourselves moving through history and through time to discover the essence of what it means to be lonely and human.

I would highly recommend this for both Vampire genre fans, who are looking for a book with great substance and writing, as well as to most literary fiction and horror fans. As not only is what Yuszczuk achieves here comparable to some of the masters of the vampire genre but also to some of her wonderful fellow contemporaries, with similar themes to Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro and Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth, other two five star reads for me this year. I can't wait to look up more of Yuszczuk's writing and hope that she will have more titles translated to English soon.

Cruel Sapphic Vampires for the win.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3

This is my first ever NetGalley* review and I feel like this was a great book to start with due to its fast paced nature. The first part of this book is a stunning historical exhibition that I fell in love with and couldn’t put down. The unnamed narrator is a true morally gray vampire that kept killing people no matter how often I wished she wouldn’t (justice for poor Justina). Her story is told quickly, dramatically, and somewhat emotionlessly due to her inhuman nature, and I loved her all the more for it. I loved Yuszczuk’s storytelling because she breathed life into this history, but I wish that the poetry and nail-biting experience had carried over better to the second, modern-day half of the novel. Here we meet Alma, who is introduced earlier on with her young son Santiago; in this portion I feel like we learn little about Alma besides the connections she has to the people around her, and it makes it hard to connect with her. Both stories connect deeply to death, which seems obvious in a vampire book that primarily takes place in a frightening Buenos Aires cemetery. Our unnamed vampire’s connection to death is reminiscent of obsession, yet as (human) readers we hopefully shouldn’t be able to relate to her. Later on, Alma’s story confronts us with death in a brutally relatable fashion, the death of a parent. Alma witnesses the slow and painful death of her mother, and it makes me wonder if she herself felt like a vampire during that time, as a vampire would also witness the slow death of their loved one over time.

*Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC!

One of my favorite books of the year so far!! And a top contender to be number one. I love the story and the characters and felt like I really was submerged into this world.

Thank you Net Galley for the early copy!

"Thirst" by Marina Yuszczuk (translated by Heather Cleary) weaves together two different stories in different time periods. This explores numerous human emotions: fear of mortality, loneliness, and desire. This is a work of feminist Gothic horror and provides a thought-provoking meditation on the human condition.

In the nineteenth century, a vampire arrives in Buenos Aires, with some trauma - witnessing the growth of humanity while they grapple with the ravages of yellow fever. And she's generally pretty monstrous as she lives among them, though she is the product of her circumstances.

Meanwhile, in present-day Buenos Aires, a woman faces her own existential crisis as she confronts her mother's terminal illness and struggles with the challenges of single motherhood. When she encounters the vampire in a cemetery, a profound connection is forged between them, leading to a journey of self-discovery and transformation.

This is the story that most resonated with me. Her journey mirrors the universal experience of grappling with mortality and the complexities of familial relationships, making her character both relatable and compelling.

Overall, this is an atmospheric novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy literary fiction and gothic horror. This begs to be a book club book.

I haven't read a vampire novel since twilight and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It had lesbian representation which was unexpected. Nothing too crazy happened and it felt pretty predictable but it was still enjoyable.

I knew I wanted to read this as soon as I’d heard of it. If the book description sounds interesting to you, I’d highly recommend you read the book before reading reviews. I had a great time discovering things for myself (I personally prefer to go into a book knowing as little as possible). The short version of my review: It’s a great vampire novel that explores grief and loneliness. The writing is beautiful and atmospheric. Much like a vampire, it’s alluring and will pull you into it’s embrace.

We follow two women in two different time periods. The story is told in two parts. First we have an unnamed female narrator recounting the strange events of her life as a vampire. The second part follows Alma who is a divorced mother having to cope with losing her mother to a degenerative disease. Both parts were well written and interesting but I do have to say that I enjoyed the first part a bit more. Without saying too much, I love the way the two stories came together in the end.

For those of us that really love our vampire books, this is for you. This book gets dark, violent, and bloody. It reminded me a bit of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. This book isn’t afraid to delve into bleak subjects, like how hard it is to lose someone slowly. Alma’s story with her mother was painful to read, as was the vampire’s attempts at connecting with others.

The only criticism that I have is that in the second part of the book slowed down in pace considerably. I also felt that the second part could have been a bit longer as the ending felt a tad abrupt. Otherwise, I’d say this was a perfect book.

I’d recommend this to anyone especially if you’re looking for sapphic vampires, enjoyed Interview with the Vampire, and like books about grief and death. Also, definitely read this if you’re into walks in the cemetery.

I loved this book and I really want to read from this author again. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and the author for providing me with an ARC for review.

Thank you for the chance to read this book.

I always enjoy a good vampire novel, especially one with an interesting and dark take such as this. First, I love reading books that take place in Argentina and Buenos Aires, and this was a dark, twisted way to view the history and growth of the city. The book itself is split in two: Part 1 focusing on our vampire and Part 2 on Alma, a mother and daughter to an ailing mother herself, coming to terms with the role she has been forced into. I think what I enjoyed most about this was how bestial and feral the vampire is made into, while parts alluded to that sensualness of a predator and the allure of violence and danger, in the end the vampire was a beast fueled by its thirst. Alma longed for something to remove her from the grief and struggle of her life, as a child she had dreamed of something new and grander, but then life with its struggles and disappointments snuck up on her. While she loves her son, she feels she has lost all control especially as she watches her mother deteriorate from a paralyzing disease. How the pair: vampire and woman meet creates a propelling and dangerous ending to this book. Very good, a quick read, and at times very poignant.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great sapphic vampire story. I really enjoyed following both point of views but the first POV was definitely my favorite.

This wasn’t what I thought it would be, and honestly didn’t connect for me. The first 1/3-ish of this novel intrigued me but the back half dragged and left a lot to be desired. I really wanted to like this, but I don’t think this really came together by the end and unfortunately it was not for me.

I loved this! Everything you could want in a short queer vampire read. The timeline jumps were executed very well and didn't detract at all from the ability to follow the story. We learn just enough about each character to understand their decisions and the flow of the story but not so much that we are weighed down with unecessary information. I do wish the queer aspect was more of a focus at some points in the story - it felt almost brief in the beginning and at the end, but unmentioned for much of the middle and felt like an afterthought. Overall a great read and definitely will be a recommended read on queer book lists this year!

I was convinced this was going to be a five star read until the end. The vampire perspective was perfect. She was a fascinating character and narrator and it really felt like all of that momentum and interest was gone when it went back to the modern day perspective. As the modern timeline kept going forward I found myself wondering when the vampire character was going to come back into the story. I really wish there were equal levels on interest, plot momentum or character development between the perspectives. I would read something by this author again. I absolutely adored the majority of this novel

I enjoyed this book immensely and would have devoured it in one sitting if I didn’t have a day job.

Thirst is a gothic, sapphic (sorta) vampire, literary and (kind of) historical fiction novel… which is to say it’s a fantastic book that bleeds beteen genres. It is told in two parts, where part 1 tells the origin story of a vampire who is grappling with the unending thirst and solitude of immortality, and part 2, in present day, follows a woman who is witnessing her mother deteriorate in front of her eyes and is trying to come to terms her inevitable death.

I enjoyed Part 1 SO much. Moving through the vampire’s experiences was exciting and horrifying (in a but I can’t look away kind of way). I also really liked part 2, but it felt like a totally different book - the tone and atmosphere changes so abruptly and it’s hard to recalibrate. I loved discussions of grief, so part 2 hit deeply for me.

I only wish we got to see more of the two main characters together. I loved the time we got to spend with them individually and it informed so much of the underlying tensions and the things that go unsaid once they meet, but I just wish there was morreee.

Anyway, I totally recommend this for the gothic, literary fiction girlies!

This was so boring I wanted to DNF it so bad.
The story is told in two parts, one that is in the 1800s that follows an unnamed vampire with an unquenchable thirst and one that is in present day that follows a woman dealing with the slow death of her mother. While I think the idea of this book is interesting, I simply could not care less. The vampire spends the majority of her time doing heinous acts that she’s proud of (which isn’t the bad part because it actually made her cool) but to no end. She has no goals in life other than to fill her need for blood. I wish there was just more substance than her just living her day to day life. The second part with our other main character was not entertaining as well. As her mother is dying, she is given these clues to help discover a big secret that is hiding in the mausoleum that she is so drawn to.
Honestly, I just wish there was more. The ending as well really ticked me off. I wish I could’ve just enjoyed this book for what it is but I can’t.

The first half of this book was so incredibly weird: a vampire is chased from her home country to Buenos Aires, where she proceeds to creep around, alternately stumbling into and (sort of) seeking out connections. The trouble with this is we basically just get a series of episodic chapters in which the MC meets someone and eventually kills them (this happens several times. do not get attached to any of these characters, they just get murdered before the MC moves on with little more than a shrug), until she finally meets someone whose help she needs, so she doesn't kill him. And it's not even like, she's so eeeeevil, what a mean and bad sexy vampire!! It's like, okay, so she doesn't care about anyone or anything. Then why am I supposed to care about anything she does?

Then the second part comes like an intruder storming into your quiet house and throwing you across the room and into a whole other novel. In this whole other novel we meet a character who's not having a great time either, but at least this is a story about being sad, rather than a story about being nothing. Our two mains are brought together by circumstance, and get together because this novel is labeled LGBTQ+, I guess, because I can't figure out from the narrative what they even see in each other.

Although it takes swings at being several different genres, Thirst ultimately reminded me of the all-too-common style of contemporary novel that's about a tired millenial with no friends, no goals, and no desires outside of bare-minimum survival. If I wanted to read about a bored bisexual without a lot going on I'd just go back through my own Twitter archive (oh, self burn!). Points to the second MC for blithely abandoning her child though - fuck them kids, am I right ladies?!

My thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC.

Heather Cleary's translation of Marina Yuszczuk's Thirst is able to maintain beautiful, hypnotic prose that firmly establish the classic gothic atmosphere. The narrative follows two women, one a vampire newly transported to mid-19th century Buenos Aires, and the other a single mother in the 21st century struggling to balance her work obligations with her family after her mother falls ill.

Character motivation and world-building are sometimes sacrificed in favor of the engrossing prose that carry readers forward. Unfortunately, this results in both women feeling two dimensional and incomplete. The first 80% of the novel, split between the two women, moves very slowly only for it to wrap up at breakneck speed. They don't meet until moments before the book ends in something of a whirlwind that does nothing to clarify their relationship or motivations beyond the typical ambiguity of the gothic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This novel was so interesting. I love the fact that this is a retelling of the classic Dracula story, but focused entirely on the female perspective. It gave a unique and compelling depiction of how sex and sexuality plays into the vampire canon. I also really enjoyed the way the novel was split into two parts. The prologue was very compelling, and I couldn't put it down. When we shifted into the first major part, the narrative slowed for me a bit, but quickly picked up. Strangely, though the second major half of the novel felt like it was were the author wanted to spend most of her time, this part was slower for me to get through. That said, I still very much enjoyed it. Great alternative to a classic tale.