**3.5-stars heavily rounded up**

I feel so bad. My head hurts. I have many mixed feelings on So Thirsty. I love Rachel Harrison, and her quirky Cozy Horror style, but this wasn't great for me. Unfortunately, I was mainly bored. It took me close to a month to finish. I just felt no sense of urgency, or compulsion to pick it up again once I had set it down.

This is the 6th-book I have read of Harrison's, most of which I have adored, but this one is down there on the list. If not the bottom, it is close. However, even Harrison's slowest story for me is better than many others, so there's that.

In this story we follow Sloane, who at the start of the tale is gifted a Girls Trip from her husband for her birthday. She, along with her best friend, Naomi, will be staying in a cozy rental cottage for the weekend. Sloane wasn't looking forward to her birthday, but reconnecting with Naomi, somewhere away from home does sound like a relief. Sloane and her husband have been having some issues and it's been weighing heavily on her. Naomi lives a completely different lifestyle, traveling the world with her rock star boyfriend, and she's always good for a distraction.

Once there though, Sloane still doesn't feel into it. Naomi literally has to drag the smiles out of her. It's a struggle and their relationship seems to be feeling the strain. The second night there, Naomi has something a little irregular in the cards for them. A house party with an attractive group of mysterious strangers. That's the night that will change their lives forever.

Generally with Rachel Harrison's books, I become attached and invested in the main character. Usually, I find them highly relatable and more often than not, feel like they think, or see the world, very similarly to me. But I just couldn't connect with Sloane. I didn't care for her, she felt like a rain cloud. Sadly, I couldn't stand Naomi either. I found them both insufferable. Sloane seemed like such a Debbie Downer and Naomi was a selfish, self-centered twat the majority of the time.

I did enjoy the Horror concepts and how a lot of the action played out, I just wish it would have been with a different cast of characters. The 4-stars are for the vampire bits and the scenes involving body horror and dangerous circumstances. I actually feel like I am being quite generous as I now sit here reflecting upon this reading experience.

Nevertheless, you can't fault Harrison's writing style, or her ability to create nuanced characters, whether or not I personally enjoy them. I know so many Readers have loved this one, so I feel like a lot of it will depend on how much you're able to connect with Sloane and Naomi's story.

I will say the first half did work more for me than the second. Around the halfway point, it started to drag, even though, one would think because of the timeline of events, the second half should have been more exciting. I think perhaps I was just over Sloane and Naomi by then.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Regardless of how salty I sound, I do absolutely adore this author and am looking forward to reading whatever she chooses to deliver us next!

I didn't love this one but I don't want to give up on the author. It's my second book by her and I like her vibe but I think part of the problem is I wasn't in the right headspace (Hurricane Helene). I listened to the audiobook and the over-the-top accents annoyed me, as did the cheesy romance scenes.

Would you be a good vampire? Or a bad one...⁣
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I honestly never thought I’d be a vampire book girlie. Perhaps it was that popular sparkly teen love story that gave me bad blood (I think I was just too old...) but those bloodsucker stories have just never been my thing.⁣
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What IS my thing? Any and ALL Rachel Harrison books forever and ever amen.⁣
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I went into this one totally blind, was immediately sucked in (pun intended), and found myself immersed in a fun and utterly fang-tastic romp with murdery Thelma and Louise vampire vibes that I was all too happy sink my teeth into.⁣
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Put a stake in it - you’ll be batty for this deadly take of one woman’s journey when a night out turns into the last and first night of her new life… and how friendship can endure… even after you’ve bit the big one. ⁣
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It was love at first bite for me and I’m now devouring any and all vampire books I can get my hands on. And still, will forever read anything Rachel Harrison writes until death parts us.⁣ Because they are always a bloody good time.

Another campy fun spooky szn read by Rachel Harrison! So thirsty is about exactly what you’d expect - vampires 🧛!!

Two best friends go on a weekend trip to escape their failing relationships and wind up meeting a motley crew of people that are more than they appear. And soon, so are the friends and they have a choice to make - say goodbye now or never have to say goodbyes

Best friends Sloane and Naomi head off on a girl's weekend, set up by Sloane's husband, to celebrate her birthday. They have been best friends since they were teenagers and I loved the story about their friendship. It felt so real to me -- how there are ups and down and tensions and love and frustration with each other and a desire to see the other one happy. There's so much history between them and I think Rachel Harrison does an outstanding job of portraying the complications and beauty of female friendships.

The hitch to this story is while they are away they make some new friends during a night out and at a party at their perfectly creepy mansion things take a turn for the dark and messed up and hello, eternal life!

Full disclosure, I'm newly braving my way into horror and did get a bit squeamish. This book is bloody so I maybe read some paragraphs with one eye closed....haha! But I really enjoyed the story and wasn't sure where it was going, which is part of the fun.

I really enjoy Rachel Harrison's writing and how so creates such strong characters that are relatable --- even within a horror novel. She's a gifted storyteller and I will continue to read more from her.

Huge thank you to @prhaudio @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review. This audiobook gives all the spooky season vibes!

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Another book to add to your #spookyseason reading list! I read this one with my #spookyseason besties and I can’t wait to discuss. Sloane is ready for a weekend away but she doesn’t anticipate what kind of weekend this will turn out to be. This one weekend will change her life in ways she could never have expected. This was a wild ride that had me listening to the ending a few times over.

This is a story about a girls trip!

I really enjoyed this one, and I’m so glad I read it during spooky season bc it absolutely had spooky vibes. Without any spoilers, I appreciated the creature feature element including a humorous band of misfits. I also appreciated that the protagonist is in her 30s bc I would love to see more of that.

Thank you so much Berkley & Prha!

Rachel Harrison did it again!! A delightful vampire filled story that had a road trip, just enough blood, and explored the importance of long term female friendships. I love the metaphors that Rachel Harrison is able to weave into her horror and the way her characters make me nostalgic for New Jersey.

I'm a huge fan of Rachel Harrison's and I really enjoyed this one! The book was fun and was perfect for spooky season!

Love the feminist perspective on vampires; this book is much more than a horror story - it's about female friendships.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Pub, for the complementary book! All opinions are my own.

Oh my goodness this book was actual and literal perfection! Once I started, I just could not stop. I loved every single minute of this hilarious and spooky story!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Very Thelma. Very Louise.
But make it... vampires.

Rachel Harrison has a way with making fantasy horror feel very real. I was completely sucked in (ha! pun intended!) from the very beginning, building instant connections with the characters as we went. The dread and gloom of Sloane's fear of aging and refusal to look the reality of her life in the face, weighed very heavy.

Once the story takes a turn to the darkness, I couldn't stop internally screaming for her to just "LET GO AND ENJOY THIS RIDE". I understood her mistrust and concerns, but geeze girl, get it together!

This book is a wild trip. You'll just have to read it for yourselves. (Pro tip: Greta Van Fleet's "Highway Song" pairs excellently with chapter 34.)

Trigger warnings: cheating, self-pitying FMC.

📚Trope(s): Best Friends, Ancient and Broody Vampires
What you get: 💀🫦🧛🏻‍♂️🌛🩸
⭐️Plot: 4/5
🔥Chemistry: 3/5
🌶️Spice: 1/5

Loooooved this book! This was such a fun start to my spooky season reading. Rachel Harrison just knows how to entertain. She has clinched her spot as one of my auto-buy authors. My only suggestion would’ve been to not rush the ending. I think it could’ve been fleshed out a bit more and it would’ve been more satisfying. But I loved every second I spent in this book. So maybe I just didn’t want it to end???

I had fun with this book. Not my favorite ever, but a good time. The MC gets dragged to a party by a friend, and knows she’s going to end up saying I told you so, but had no idea just how bad it would be.

I’m a pretty big fan of this author, but I gotta say I thought this one was just fine. If you want a girl power feminist vampire story this is a fun one… but I think it was lacking a little plot. That being said, I love her writing style and I thought these characters were very fun. It’s a little gory, but it is a vampire book after all!

Perfect for spooky season, So Thirsty is a paranormal thriller with vampires, creepy & atmospheric cottages in upstate NY and mysterious strangers.

It kills me to say this, because I typically love Harrison’s writing style, but this was a let down for me. It just didn’t pull me in the same way her other books have. I found myself really distracted with the toxic relationship between the two main characters who were supposed to be best-friends. My god, they were awful to each other!

So.. my feelings aside, I would NOT say to stay away from this one. I did give it 3 stars (which means I didn’t totally hate it) and I can definitely see some people really enjoying it. I’d say this one is worth a shot!!

Not what I was expecting for a horror/ supernatural fiction book, but this one was my first book by this author.

It opens with 2 very different friends, one fun and adventurous (Naomi) , and the other insecure and almost scared of showing who she really was(Sloan).

They are going to a weekend birthday retreat for Sloan, who is turning 37 and is very unhappy with what she sees in the mirror.

When Naomi plans a crazy night out with some guys, and something escapes, they turn them into vampires. This is in the synopsis, not a spoiler.

One of them chooses to do it, to save the other, but then proceeds to cry and moan about somebody doing this to them.

Sloan is unbearable, insufferable, always thinking yes I want to do that, but the word that comes out her mouth is no…

She complains and complains about stuff she can’t change, and leaves her crazy friend to go do stuff while she is contemplating life’s choices.

The middle of the book got really slow, with scenes and events that lead to nowhere.

This is the kind of book that I call the “now what?” Because once you get to the synopsis part… there is no goal, no end game. No trying to survive, no real purpose, so they wander.

Then, at the end, it seemed like it was going somewhere but no, just a whole lot of wandering and characters reactions to where they were.

The vampire characters I felt like they were not developed enough, I had no idea who they were and the little we learned wasn’t enough to understand them.

The friendship between Sloan and Naomi was almost toxic, lots of secrets and overall seemed like they used to know each other but not anymore. It didn’t look like a real friendship.

It dragged, I got bored and it never got better.

I gave it not less than 3 stars because the writing was great, I just didn’t like the characters or relationships.

the audiobook and narrator is amazing!

Unfortunately, the story wasn’t for me, but I’m happy to see that a lot of people enjoyed it.

No horror, little paranormal, the vampires seemed nice, not scary. I think they were the most “sane” in this book.

Thanks to Libro.fm and Penguin Random House for providing this ALC.

Yes, I read it in a day.

Thank you, @berkleypub, for my gifted copy!

Quick and Dirty
-perfect for Fall reading
-best friend story
-open door romance, 🌶️🌶️/5 spice level
-funny AF

Thoughts
I loved this so much that I binge-read it in one day, which I rarely do. There’s just something about Harrison’s writing that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let up. Her characters are so fully formed that you feel like you know them, understand them, and could be them. Her razor-sharp wit, combined with her effortless tension-building, make for a super fun read every time. In this case, her friendship story had me ready to drive across the country to see mine. (I flew instead 😂) Harrison’s latest is HIGHLY feminist and full of VERY relatable relationships, aging, and being female. It’s perfect for anyone who needs an escape this scary season but wants some fun, a few unexpected twists, lots of gore, and a splash of spice.

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison is a captivating exploration of obsession and desire set against a backdrop of supernatural intrigue. The narrative follows a woman whose quest for connection leads her to a mysterious and enchanting figure, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Harrison's sharp writing and rich characterizations immerse readers in a world where longing and thirst take on darker meanings. With its blend of humor and horror, this novel is both thought-provoking and entertaining, making it a standout in the genre.

I loved this! This was the perfect thing for me to read for the summer to autumn season change. I just finished reading something very heavy, so this Thelma and Louise with vampires story was very refreshing. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it was a such a fun time. This is my first Rachel Harrison and it won’t be my last! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this for review!

3.5. Not my favorite Rachel Harrison, but it’s an engagingly wild ride. I loved the thread of friendship and feminism woven throughout but found Naomi annoying—especially at the beginning—despite her redeeming qualities. I also wish both her and Sloane had more depth to them (they seemed caricature-esque). Also, the epilogue?