This book = perfection.
I loved this book so much.

Carolina Fuentes has always dreamed of hunting the monsters that terrorize her village, but her father insists she marry and leave town. Determined to prove she’s better suited to slaying vampires than being a wife, Carolina’s plans change when she meets Lalo Villalobos, a handsome and kind vampire. Lalo, once destined to carry on his family’s legacy, was turned into a vampire and forced to flee, seeking a way to break the curse. When Carolina and Lalo cross paths, they realize they share a common enemy. As they fight together to destroy the evil creatures, they might also discover love along the way.

I couldn’t put this book down, it was so enjoyable. I loved the romance and banter between Carolina and Lalo. They are so perfect for each other. The chemistry was so good!

My favorite character I have to admit is Lalo’s sister, Fernanda. I love sassy and sarcastic little sisters.

My only complaint is that the way the cure to vampirism was a little anticlimactic and too easy but the journey was great.

Hail Queen Angela Montoya, you have outdone yourself.

I am not going to lie when I say the cover and premise are what made me decide to reach out and see if I could get an advanced copy of this book. The art is stunning and our main characters are everything I imagined they would be.

The premise follows Lalo and Lina. One a vampire and the other a huntress. The two become entangled with each other when Lalo sets out north with his sister in the hopes of answers about how the first vampire is turned. Lina, on the other hand, would rather drive a sharp pointy stake into his heart.

I loved Lalo and Lina and their relationship. The banter. The chemistry that oozed off the pages. You could see the slow burn for these two lovebirds. Honestly, I was cheering them on since their first meeting. Both of them were nicely fleshed out.

Lina's sorrow upon losing her Abuelo tugged at my heart. I kinda did see it a mile away but it still hurt especially for Lina because plot device is always needed to drive a character forward and grow them. It was the same for Lalo but in slightly different circumstances. He went out to hunt the vampire that destroyed his family only to be transformed into the one thing he never wanted to be - sentito.

I LOVE vampire romances. I have loved them since I was a teenager and this one was a hit for me. I know this is Ms. Montoya's sophomore novel and I am going back to her freshman novel. I have had that one on my radar for some time and since this one hit all the right boxes for me, I am sure the other one will too.

*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, her publishers, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions of this review are mine and mine alone.

This book has officially stolen my heart, wrapped it up in a cozy, vampire-filled embrace, and then shoved its way to the number 1 spot of my faves list. This was an incredible journey, and I can’t thank Random House enough for the ARC. Honestly, so grateful Angela Montoya even exists and wrote this story into existence because I would be missing part of my soul without it!

As a vampire enthusiast, I knew this book was going to be a fun read but I was NOT expecting the western, Regency(ish), Spanish themed mashup. Add in the beautiful enemies to lovers, the sprinkle of banter, y el español? I’m aghast, I’m cooked , take me out of the oven I’m done. It was the reading experience I didn’t know I needed but will never recover from. Have I peaked? Probably. Will anything top this? Doubtful.

There were moments I was nervous about where the ending would take us. But Angela? She wrapped that up so perfectly she put bows on it and made sure there were no questions left. Honestly, I’d trust her with my will at this point. Angela, have your people call my people.

Folks, do yourself a favor and mark your calendars for December when this baby drops! You won’t want to miss it.

i love vampires!!!!!!!

4 ★

arc review:

first i want to thank netgalley and angela montoya for sending me this arc! though i struggled a little, i actually ended up really enjoying this one.

this is a mexican based mythology/lore i believe (don’t quote me on this im not 100% sure!) and it was really fun. i liked the take on vampires and what happens to our main characters in relation to vampirism. i feel like the vampire tropes can get a little trusting frustrating and almost a bit too spicy depending on the book, but this was a really unique and fun version of vampires!! this is a vampire x vampire huntress book and the little quips / banter was to die for. i loved how strong the fmc was, she took NO shit from anyone. i also loved how fiercely she cared for her family and even our mmc and fernanda.

i will say, the romance is just a tiny bit insta lovey but not too crazy! she quite literally hates our mmc but also finds him wildly attractive so it balances out in my book! i also loved to see a little lgbtq representation in here as well which was nice. this reminds me a lot of the first like two seasons of teen wolf (if you know with allison and scott, and her family) it’s a strange comparison but one that my brain thinks makes sense haha!

overall the plot and the world was good. i liked the lore and the little excerpts we got through out the story! it was again really refreshing to see this take on vampirism and i liked the way everything wrapped up!!!! such a fun little vampire ya romantasy!!!

go pick this up on release day! dec 17th!!! thank you again for the arc ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was a cute YA fantasy, but I unfortunately DNF'd. It was a bit too YA, and I understand I'm above the target audience, so I'll definitely be recommending this to the teen community! It just wasn't for me, but I'm sure the characters and story will be well-loved among YA readers. Pick this up if you're looking for a spooky story with vampire lore!

This cover is toooo good! I enjoyed this one much more than Sinner’s Isle, which I was a bit let down by. But this was fun! Lalo and Carolina were so cute and funny together, and the whole premise of “a vampire who sucks at being a vampire’’ is so enjoyable. I flew through this fast and was entertained for the majority. Would def recommend this one for a spooky fall time read!

This was such a fun twist on vampire romance. Watching the hunted become the hunter and the dynamic between them was delightful.

Cruel Thirst is an interesting take on vampires. The plot was good and I enjoyed the little snippets of Spanish that were thrown in throughout the story. There were places where it felt like the story was dragging and that there could have been more character interaction/dialogue to convey the same narration. Those spots made the book drag some. Overall, I liked the book and I like the way it all came together at the end! I would recommend to others!

This book was magical! I truly enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It is filled with Aztec mythology, Latino characters and the Spanish language. I fell in love with this book which is saying a lot because I don’t typically read YA books. I finished in 1.5 days. Angela Montoya has such a way with words. This book will make you laugh, cry, get angry at the world and build up your hope in humanity! Lalo and Lina are a wonderful couple. If anyone can recommend a similar book with Taino mythology please let me know. Tlazocamati.

4.5 stars!!

I loved this book - I thought the premise was sooooo good, the characters were interesting and exciting, the dialogue could be a bit childish at times but nothing crazy. I think the story was just so well thought out and everything happened in the right amount of time - I didn’t think anything was rushed except I would’ve loved more of an ending! I want more of Lalo and Lina!!!

Carolina proviene de una familia de cazadores de vampiros y desea convertirse en una de ellos. Cuando su abuelo es asesinado frente a ella, jura vengar su muerte y deshacerse de todos los vampiros.

Lalo es un erudito que busca a los responsables de la muerte de su padre, y así descubre la existencia de los vampiros. Sin embargo, al intentar encontrar a la responsable de su muerte, es convertido en uno de ellos y ahora está contrarreloj para buscar una cura o morir en el intento.


Ojalá la versión final incluya un epílogo; necesito saber cómo es su vida años después.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really really enjoyed this book! It was so unique, so funny, so heartwarming and yet full of action with a fast pace. I adored the enemies to reluctant allies to lovers plot line between a vampire who hates vampires x a wannabe vampire huntress. The banter was top notch and I loved Lalo’s soft side so much. This is really quite a special read & I really recommend it!

A fang-tastic read! I absolutely adored this story. It had a fresh twist on vampiric lore. the romance was full of tension and pining, and the narrative voice was captivating. Furthermore, I especially enjoyed having a fantasy book with Latinx characters written by a Latinx author! Angela Montoya is an auto-buy author.

for all the girlies who love jasper whitlock but didn't like the confederacy of it all this book is for you!

I really loved the premise of this book--Buffy meets Zorro, kind of? It had a refreshing take on vampires and a new mythology. All of that was great. I felt like the execution, though, started losing steam about midway. It was hard to stay invested in the characters and their goals. Chapters were interspersed with excerpts from news articles and whatnot that didn't really seem to add anything to the plot. Overall I wanted this to be a fun romp but I think it might have been taking itself too seriously for the level of prose and it created a disconnect for me. I'd recommend for younger YA readers.

I genuinely really enjoyed this book. It had a bit of everything which made it fun to read. You get family holding together while also having a family feud. You get true love while also having frenemies to lovers. You also get the feel for a family’s history. In my opinion, an amazing romantasy. While it does relay on romance, it doesn’t feel like it’s overpowering. I absolutely recommend this book if you like vampires!

such a gorgeous cover with gorgeous characters and gorgeous plot. THIS WAS SO GOOD!!

thankyou netgalley for the arc. all opinions are my own!

#ACruelThirst #Netgalley

Thank Netgally for the Arc!
Can I just saw this cover!!!!! It’s what sold me and the inside of the book was equally as amazing!

The atmosphere of the books was amazing! This author does not play when it comes to imagery. I felt like i was in the world. The cultural lore was so intriguing.
The romance as slow burn , with top tier banner. For my girls who look fake engagement/marriage of convenience. She does it so well in this book. The fmc was a badass who didnt take anyone’s crap I loved her. The tension from them was dripping off the page. It was overall a good read

Everything was amazing one minor critic would have to be sometimes the pacing felt a little off, and we’d move from one point to another but other than that it was a good read!

If you’re looking a vampire romantasy please pick this up!

This was such a great read! After reading Sinner’s Isle, I fell in love with the author’s writing style and the mix of adventure, heart and romance in her stories.

So to say I was pumped for a vampire romantasy was an understatement. And this did not disappoint.

The chemistry & banter between the two main characters was fantastic and I loved their slow burn romance, but the best part of this story was the blend of adventure with the dark humor. It really felt like Vampires of El Norte meets Warm Bodies and the end was seriously adorable after having such a fast paced plot.

Angela Montoya is for sure an auto buy author for me now.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an ARC to review! ♥️

Whoa, that was a good book.

This is a great one to go into somewhat blind. I’d recommend skipping the synopsis and diving in without too much detail, that is what I did and I really enjoyed the unexpected (but would otherwise be expected, if you read the synopsis) events!

What I loved…
- Such a unique take on the vampire/vampire hunter
- laugh out loud funny
- Grade A+ banter
- the most perfect MMC
- badass strong, takes no crap, FMC
- family forward (they’ll do anything to protect their family and community!)
- imagery & atmosphere for dayyyyssss
- adventure, a quest, and some really great fight scenes.
- detailed world, brimming with cultural and lore.
- enemies to lovers, fake engagement - but these “tropes” don’t feel like tropes they are done flawlessly and naturally! 10/10

What I didn’t love…
- The only issue I have is very minor… At the beginning of the book some of the prose was choppy, but it was only at the very beginning of the book, and quickly resolved itself.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s (Joy Revolution) for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.