Book Review: 3/5 ⭐️

Pros:
-Banter was fun and cute
-FMC and MMC were really lovely and refreshing characters (Specifically Lalo’s lack of training in combat and overall personality of not being a brute made him really likeable for me personally)
-The characters had very distinct and clear motivations for why they were doing what they were doing.
-Lalo (I love him)
-From mama to the cousin Nel, the family dynamics were really incredible from start to finish.
-The world wasn’t hard to understand and made sense. I was able to easily follow what happened the entirety of the book.
-The chemistry between the main love interest felt real and not forced (until the end)
-I liked the incorporation of Spanish into the book. It flowed well (most of the time) and set the scene.


Cons:
-Lalo’s little mustache took me out IM SORRY
-The emotional scenes sometimes felt like they were rushed and lacked build up. Like the characters would burst out crying and it felt like it came out of nowhere sometimes.
-The end was so rushed, honestly should have started the journey through the forest much earlier and let the tension build some more between the characters. Maybe at like the 50-60% mark or just should have made it longer to really get into that part of the story!! It was really so good up until that point!
-I also personally hated the fade to black during the singular sensual scene. It took me out of it completely. I understand not wanting really explicit content in the book but there was like no emotional pull from that scene after and during. I just wanted so much more after spending the last 300 pages falling in love with the characters! Like when they kissed for the first time, the emotion was there but during that scene, it felt flat and just like a scene that the editor made the author include even though she did not want to. At that point you may as well not even include it (which is also a fine option).
-We needed like one or two more scenes with the red headed vampire to really seal that she was stalking them and being evil. When she died I did not feel the weight of her death as if we didn’t spend thr whole book getting to that point. The stakes did not add up to that conclusion.

Vampires are a very hard sell for me. It was the promise of Latin mythology that got me to try it, but the stiffness of the dialog and above all the insta-love made it difficult for me to read, and I finally quit at 50% when the angst just kept spinning out.

You know the book is going to be good when it has an author dedication page that starts out with, “For Wild-hearted daughters:”. Yes!!! This paranormal YA book captivated me from page one. It was a breath of fresh air too to read about characters and settings in a different culture. If you like paranormal enemies to lovers romances that are slow burn and include mythology from other cultures, then pick up this book. I was entertained from the start and my only negative review would be that it was too short! I could read 800 pages of Lalo and Carolina.

this book put the BIGGEST smile on my face! everything about it just made me giggle and kick my feet at every turn because you're giving me a vampire AND a vampire hunter! YES, YES, YES!! this was my first book from this author and it certainly won't be my last!

A Cruel Thirst was a thrilling and swoony second book for Angela Montoya! With a rich setting that sucks you in and the perfect amount of action mixed with romance, it was such a fun read guaranteed to please vampire-lovers of all types!

From the very beginning, the reader is hooked in how the story is set up, with the male main character wanting to avenge his family, yet failing and getting turned into a vampire. Seeking answers and refuge, he travels with his sister to find just that, only to encounter our fmc, who's been trained to kill people like Lalo. But knowing they both have a common enemy, the vampiros, they become allies to to try to stop this plague that's taking over.

I loved how the author included humor in the story in Lalo's character. He's awkward, clumsy, flying by the seat of his pants. I mean, the poor guy is in the process of getting unalived, and he's still trying to talk his way out of it.

I was not expecting the romance in this book to be so freaking cute, but it was! I couldn't get enough of it!

“If you are ever lost, simply search into my heart and there you will be.”

A Cruel Thirst is such a thrilling vampire x vampire huntress story you won't want to miss!

A Cruel Thirst is a YA paranormal romance centering a reluctant vampire and a vampire huntress teaming up to fight the scourge of vampires that have damaged both their families.

While I was excited for a fresh new take on vampire lore with a latine sensibility to it, I found myself pulled out of the story again and again by stiff dialogue full of non-sequiters (I lost count of the number of times a response to a spoken sentence felt like it hadn’t been edited to match up with what was said directly before), inconsistent characterization, and, death knell to my enjoyment of a romance arc, instalove. I appreciate Montoya’s quickness of plot and her ability to set a mood in a scene, and her worldbuilding was consistent re: lore and vibrant re: setting the stage for action. However, neither of her leads were particularly proactive in terms of their search for a way to end vampirism—the supposed heart of the plot. Rather, information fell into their laps to make room for awkward internal monologues about how hot the other party in the romance is, and unfortunately a book that handwaves the parts of it I like to make room for the parts I feel don’t work as well is never going to be to my taste. Also, and it’s a nitpick, but I felt the tossed in single words of Spanish to be awkward and shoehorned instead of adding to the narrative, especially when it seemed arbitrary whether they or the English translation would be used.

I recommend A Cruel Thirst to readers who like their paranormal stories to be very romance forward, and like their romances to be very “opposites attract” in nature. It’s for readers who can appreciate a new take on vampire lore tied into a pantheon of gods but don’t mind the world taking a backseat to character interrelationships, even when that means the plot takes a bit of a backseat. It’s for readers of Twilight that want the classic vampire story to have a little more Something, and who frankly are sick of seeing such tales be so overwhelmingly white. Though I’m not the right reader for this story, I know it will find its readers in the YA market.

I found A Cruel Thirst to be a delightful, emotional and adventurous blend of fantasy and romance. A boy who sucks at being a vampire and a girl who’s desperate to be a vampire hunter was a delicious combo. Carolina was fierce, headstrong and independent and Lalo was so endearing, uncoordinated and serious. I was charmed by their banter, their family dynamics and the humorous moments. The undercurrent of hope, exploration of grief and coming of age themes made this a captivating YA read. Moreover, I found the plot and character development to be immaculate and engaging, I couldn’t put this down.

First and foremost thank you to NetGalley for approving me to read this ARC, as always I have to be honest with my thoughts. So initially I was super excited for this one.. the cover I think is beautiful and the trope of the hunter and the hunted? I’m starting to really enjoy. Unfortunately I did decide to dnf at 70% and here’s why;

• everything leading up to 50% was great, it felt like the plot was moving along quite nicely. Now at this point I was truly confused if this was actually a romance but then I realized it’s YA and that’s my fault for not realizing sooner..

• the writing was great, I just felt like there was so much filler after 50% that nothing was happening.


• by 70% it seems like Lalo and Carolina are starting to see each other in a different light but by this point any sort of actual relationship between these two would be rushed and not flushed out (in my opinion)


• at the point where I decided to stop I just feel like we’re going in circles and I’ve lost interest.

I think overall this book isn’t for me, I’m just not the audience for it but I can see how other people would enjoy it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

A Cruel Thirst follows vampire hunter Carolina and newfound vampire Lalo as they team up to rid the world of vampires.

I love a romance, and I love a vampire romance, so the pairing of newborn vampire with vampire hunter was an absolutely irresistible concept for me as a reader. And boy, did Angela Montoya deliver! This is one of those YA romances that's so easy to sink into and is chock full of iconic tropes that are executed with a mastery that keeps them from feeling tired. While I would make the argument that the prose and the plot are not as tight as they could be, these factors weren't major detractors for me as a reader, since I ultimately was so enthralled with our romantic leads and all the vampire escapades. Plus, the world they inhabited was quite richly developed, and it's certainly a world I'd read more about in a heartbeat.

It may not be THE YA vampire romance to end all YA vampire romances, but A Cruel Thirst is certainly a worthy addition to the collection.

A romantic historical fiction where a vampire and a vampire hunter are forced to work together to try to rid the world of vampires entirely. This book had a perfect blend of romance, tension, and danger where you wanted to keep reading to see if they could not only succeed in their mission - but if they could stay together to the end of it.

The historical worldbuilding in this book in regards to the vampires - their powers, their strengths, their weaknesses - I thought was a very interesting take on the vampire genre. This book combines well-known vampire lore with some new changes, and provides a realistic in-universe explanation for all of it. I liked following Lalo as he grappled with his newfound curse and tried to discover everything he could about it - and how when confronted with Carolina, he had to justify his discoveries.

The romance between Carolina and Lalo was fun and a blast to read through both of their perspectives. I loved how we’d get a chapter from the point of view from one of them, and then immediately the other point of view would tell us how much they actually liked the other. I did feel like a bit of the romance was done very quickly, with a big focus on how attractive they found each other, but I did like how nothing actually happened until their feelings caught up with everything else. I also loved how both Carolina and Lalo grew and changed as people due to the influence of the other, but that neither of them asked or expected the other to change - they simply grew as people together.

My only issue was that the ending seemed to be a bit rushed, and I felt that once their goal was completed every antagonist within the book was suddenly forgiven for their previous actions. However, I did have a blast reading this, and if you were wanting a book that felt like a softer version of Vampires of El Norte, I’d absolutely pick this up.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Random House Children’s for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Also, this doesn’t matter in any way, but there is a scene where Carolina - who knows how to fight - is teaching Lalo how to punch, and she has him tuck his thumb under his fingers which is the opposite of what you’re supposed to do if you don’t want to break your thumb. I’m only adding this because it stood out to me and I was waiting the entire book to see if she had perhaps done this as a prank, because with him being a vampire it wouldn’t have been a permanent injury.)

I’m here to spread the good news about this fang-tastic ya romance you are going to want to sink your teeth into - It’s Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya.
Lalo has been turned into a sediento -a “thirsty one” and this vampire is super thirsty for the beautiful Carolina.. Unfortunately, Carolina comes from a long line of vampire slayers and killing Lalo is priority number one.
Lalo simply sucks at being a vampire. He is a scholar, a bookworm, and extremely awkward around the ladies- blood even makes him squeamish. All this becomes increasingly endearing to Carolina. Soon she becomes a little hot blooded for Lalo, especially since she is used to being surrounded by machismos trying to keep her down.
Here are a couple of my favorite things- the gorgeous cover, under the cover we there is an embossed dagger surrounded by flowers. There’s a family tree that I was constantly referring to.
Montoya has created this whole parthenon of gods and a detailed myth of the deity who guards the land of the dead. It is said that Tecuani transformed into a jaguar and drained the blood of his victims. Time to close the coffin on European vampire lore once you hear this origin story.
The book includes little additions that help the reader better understand the context - religious scripture, clips from gossip columns and newspaper articles, journals, history books, and love sonnets.
I promise Cruel Thirst will leave a mark on you, so be sure to pick it up at your local indie bookseller or your public library.
Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this novel.

This was a fun ride! Who doesn’t love a fake dating trope between a vampire and a vampire hunter lol. Now working together to end vamps from the world

carolina fuentes has always wanted to join her family in hunting vampires, but her father is more concerned with who she’ll marry. carolina’s determined to prove herself as a capable vampire slayer to everyone. when she meets a kind and handsome sediento, though, she begins questioning everything she’s been told about vampires.

lalo villalobos just wants to take care of his younger sister. after being turned into a sediento and being forced to flee the city, this task proves more difficult than he anticipated. he just wants to return to normal, and when he runs into a vampire slayer with a common enemy, he’s sure he can achieve his goal.

ever since i saw this cover, i knew i had to read this book. i love vampires and ships from opposing sides, so i knew i’d like this (and i was right!). i loved both characters so much, especially lalo, who is entirely different from your average YA vampire. he was recently turned, and even before that, he knew a lot about vampires as he wanted to avenge his parents’ deaths. he also doesn’t have the best people skills. carolina, on the other hand, is a strong character who knows what she wants and goes for it. these two worked so well together and i really loved seeing them grow both individually and as a couple!

i’d highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy.

Angela Montoya’s A Cruel Thirst delivers a compelling blend of romantic tension, action-packed adventure, and rich cultural texture that would translate beautifully into an HBO Max series. Set against the vivid backdrop of a small pueblo plagued by monsters, the novel introduces Carolina Fuentes, a fierce and determined vampire huntress, and Lalo Villalobos, a reluctant fledgling vampire. Their uneasy alliance is fraught with emotional depth and charged with sizzling chemistry, making their journey as captivating as their shared mission.

The narrative’s exploration of family expectations, personal identity, and moral dilemmas adds layers of complexity to the characters, making their arcs feel authentic and gripping. Montoya’s world-building is immersive, painting a vibrant yet darkly magical landscape populated by creatures and traditions that feel fresh and inspired. The pacing is brisk, with moments of heart-pounding action balanced by intimate, character-driven scenes that allow the story to breathe.

An HBO Max adaptation would elevate A Cruel Thirst to new heights. The duality of Lalo’s internal conflict and Carolina’s fiery resolve offers the kind of nuanced characters that thrive in serialized storytelling. With its richly imagined world, intense stakes, and forbidden romance, this novel is perfect for a visually stunning, emotionally charged series. Fans of True Blood and The Witcher would find themselves instantly hooked.

"A Cruel Thirst" by Angela Montoya is a mesmerizing, culturally rich novel that reimagines the vampire genre through a vibrant Hispanic lens. This captivating book is a breath of fresh air, injecting new life into the cult classic vampire tale.
The characters are expertly crafted, bursting with color and depth. The rich characterization brings the main and secondary characters to life, making it easy to become invested in their stories.
One of the standout aspects of this novel is its refreshing take on the traditional vampire dynamic plus the banter between the main characters is witty and playful, often leaving me giggling out loud.i found the writing to be engaging, making it effortless to become immersed in the world she's created.
"A Cruel Thirst" is a satisfying, happily-ever-after romance that will appeal to fans of vampire fiction and Hispanic literature alike. With its diverse cast, rich cultural heritage, and addictive storytelling, this book is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Lalo watched his parents be murdered by vampires and has spent all of the time since then trying to get revenge. When his revenge goes awry, he must go to where he thinks the first vampire was created, which just happens to be where Carolina Fuentes aspires to be a vampire slayer. However, there is no denying the connection between the two. After a few attempts on his life, they understand that they have a common enemy and it is a race to see if they can defeat them together. A new take on vampires, blending in some mythology that I did not know about. I also adored Carolina and Lalo, as well as the supporting characters. Really enjoyed this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this title!

3.5 rounded up
"There is power in blood and vows. We make a promise here and now that we will find each other again. No matter what happens, you will return to me. We have believed in each other enough to get us this far, let's not stop now."

this was a very “just fine” book for me. it was entertaining and quick to read and fun, but it doesn’t stick out to me in comparison to other books out there.

A Cruel Thirst follows Lalo after his parents have been murdered by a vampire in his city, but no authority figures will believe him. he decides to go after her himself (with no real plan in mind), and ends up pissing the vampire off and becoming a vampire himself.

he still wants to avenge his parents, and keep his younger sister safe, so he flees with his sister to a small town far away to try and find a way to end all vampires. the town is ruled by the Fuentes family — a family famous for their vampire slaying skills. here we meet Carolina, a young woman who is fiercely independent and strong, like all of the men in her family, but she is not allowed to participate in the same way because she is a woman.

(picture Bridgerton, but set in Mexico and add vampires)

when a vampire attacks her town, she also goes on a quest for revenge, which places her directly in Lalo’s path. upon meeting, they go from enemies (loosely) to reluctant allies to lovers.

Lalo and Carolina were cute, and the lore behind the vampires in this story was also super interesting and a fresh take on vampire lore. the entire concept was pretty original, so it was a lot of fun to read something different in the world of vampires. unfortunately, it’s just not a story that’s going to stay with me for a long time after I read it.

one thing that bothered me a lot though: Carolina cuts her hand. Lalo knows his saliva will heal Carolina’s cut, but why does he insist that he drink his blood before he licks her cut??? he said vampire blood will heal deep wounds, but I’m pretty sure the cut isn’t THAT deep..??? and if it was, why did he ALSO need to lick it? and then why does he act shocked when he realizes she’s turning, like? you had to know that drinking vampire blood was a part of the turning process so again ??? WHY did you have her drink your blood, Lalo????????

plot: ★★★★☆
I truly cannot ever complain about a vampire x vampire hunter plotline. I mean I literally grew up on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, so what else can you really expect of me? I think Maricela’s background is the only weak point. she didn’t feel like a very good villain because I didn’t “get” her. besides being pissed off at Lalo, what’s her story? how is she this evil vampire queen of sorts? her reactions/anger towards Lalo felt extremely intense too like maybe there should have been MORE reasoning for her to want to literally torture him to death.

writing: ★★★★☆
the writing was well done, but I do wish there had been a glossary for the Spanish terms/words that were sprinkled in throughout. most of them were basic enough that I already knew them, but there were others that I had to rely on context clues for or wait for a character to give a definition, but then if the word came up again later in the story, there were moments where I didn’t remember what it meant, so I would have liked having a glossary for quick reference.

the world building was probably my favorite part. Angela Montoya did a fabulous job of painting the scene of this Mexican rancheros, with a massive family and farm animals and parties that last well into the next morning. I had such clear pictures in my head of how the scenes were playing out and that made for a really fun reading experience.

unfortunately, it felt like the ending was rushed and needed to be tied up in a pretty bow. I was kind of hoping for a messy ending (but I am aware I’m the unpopular opinion for this scenario—I love a good sad ending). it just seemed like we were heading in a Romeo & Juliet direction for a little bit there. also felt a little too neat in a bit of a “too convenient” sort of way. like: Carolina loves Lalo enough to keep him from totally passing on, but like... she couldn’t have been the ONLY person who loved a vampire who drank their blood. it felt like a bit of a slap in the face to anyone else who lost someone to being turned. especially when this has been happening for generations.

pacing: ★★★★★
this is a very fast paced story. it is knit together in a way that makes it easy to binge read. I did struggle a little bit to get into it at the beginning. I think I opened the book and stayed on page 1 for like 7 tries before I finally got myself to keep reading, but once I did, it was like I blinked my eyes and suddenly I was already at 40%.

romance: ★★★☆☆
Lalo and Carolina were super cute. the romance was fluffy—not super deep or intense. I would have liked to see the story slow down a tiny bit to give them more time to fall in love so we could get more of their sweet moments. the moments we did get of them letting their walls down around each other were *chef’s kiss*.

characters: ★★★★☆
Nena and Fernanda kind of stole the show, ngl. I would enjoy a short little novella spin off that shows their romance evolving. I love that they’re both very much of the “I’m just a girl” mindset, but also super dedicated to their family and creative and smart about using their roles to their advantage in unexpected ways.

Carolina was rough for me at the beginning. it felt like she was just doing a little too much when she first met Lalo. like damn girl just chill out for like one minute, please. but she was funny as f*ck. once she stopped trying to murder Lalo, she was great.

Lalo also had to grow on me a bit. once he started coming into his own and finding his confidence, I was like okkkkkkkkkk Lalo what’s up!!! I am a bit of a sucker for the bookish type MMCs.

over-all: ★★★★☆ (3.5 rounded up)
I enjoyed this book a lot and it was really easy to read. I think anyone could start and finish this within a single weekend. it’s a fun story, but just not anything groundbreaking.

Angela Montoya’s A Cruel Thirst offers a fresh take on the vampire romance genre with a blend of adventure, self-discovery, and unconventional characters. The story follows Carolina Fuentes, a headstrong young woman striving to break free from societal and familial expectations by proving herself as a vampire hunter, and Lalo Villalobos, a reluctant vampire grappling with the loss of his humanity and seeking redemption.

The book also stands out for its rich cultural backdrop and the infusion of Mexican-inspired folklore. This setting enriches the world-building and highlights Montoya’s ability to bring authenticity to her characters’ journeys. Secondary characters, like Lalo's supportive sister and Carolina’s complex family, further elevate the narrative by exploring relationships beyond the central romance.

Vampire hunter×vampire romances will always be elite in my book, and this one was right up there for me. Definitely on the younger side of YA, but a fun read nonetheless.