I’m a sucker for novels that have age gap romances, but where the stories are actually more of a slow revelation of their relationship rather than a typical romance book. “Thirst for Salt” fits that bill.

I found myself drifting in and out while listening to this audiobook, and at first, I thought it was me or the narrator. But after awhile, I realized it was because there isn’t much engagement. I didn’t care for any of the characters, and the story didn’t have much of a plot. This book is written in a meandering way, and I never quite really knew where the story was going.

If you like stories where they’re told as the lives of the characters unfold, then you’ll like this book. I like something with more of a typical plot line, where there’s a reason for the story to be told in the first place.

I loved how tender the writing was, how easy it was to slip into and be an observer of this season of our protagonist's life. Lucas does a phenomenal job of portraying the rapid rise and fall of all-consuming love. The only thing holding this back from being a five star read for me is I really wanted to dig deeper at times, especially at points where major decisions were made, I felt like we stayed fairly shallow in terms of diving into these characters' emotions.

This is a story about a relationship, a perfunctory love, sure. But what made me stop in my tracks, one earbud in and one earbud out so I can hear my own children while consuming this audiobook, was the mother-daughter revelations so beautifully written into the story. How the roles of mother and child, at a point in life, reverse, and changes are made, inevitable. It shudders me and this depiction of it is beautiful.

Enter the emotionally unavailable male, 18 years older than the main character. Hello heartbreak? It’s me.

“What about Jude? I wanted to stain him, like pollen. I wanted to press into his skin, remember me here.”

“Love had a way of doing that. It could collapse or rearrange time, the way I thought only art or memory could.”

Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas took place in Australia in a sleepy, quiet coastal beach town one summer. It was told from the POV of the narrator who was a twenty-four year old woman who had recently graduated from college. She was at Sailors Beach with her single mother and younger brother on holiday. Her upbringing had been quite unconventional. The narrator switched back and forth between her present day life and her earlier years throughout the audiobook. This allowed her to reflect upon her childhood and what her life had been back then. The unconventional way she was brought up impacted her relationship she had with her mother and brother. More than that, it played a role in the way she viewed and handled the relationship she found herself in that summer. She met a man named Jude at the beach one day. He was almost twice her age and was a local that worked in an antique store. Although the relationship between Jude, the almost forty-two year old man, started off well it wasn’t long before it turned toxic. She was seeking stability and the relationship offered her that stabilizing force for awhile, at least she thought so. When she witnessed something on the beach one night, it made her second guess everything she thought she had found.

Thirst for Salt was Madelaine Lucas’s debut novel. I listened to the audiobook that was narrated by the author herself. Madelaine Lucas’s writing was quite descriptive and made it easy to visualize the Australian scenery. I found Thirst for Salt to be quite slow and I had difficulty connecting with the characters in any meaningful way. My favorite part was when the couple found an abandoned dog on the beach. I enjoyed the tenderness and love they each openly felt towards the dog. Even though this was not high on my list of enjoyable audiobooks, I would give this author another a chance.

Thank you to Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas through Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a delightful coming of age novel about a young lady torn between the love of an older man and the love of an unknown future. There are heavy and sensitive topics of abortion and miscarriages in this, hopefully that are noted somewhere so others who are sensitive to such can opt out if necessary.

The notion of having a child to keep a man or having a child in turn means a proposal is such an outdated idea. While I am old soul at heart and love the classic tales of girl meets boy, they fall in love, get married, have a kid, grow old and the such, this is what works for me - it doesn't work for everyone. This novel shows that there are different types of love, different love stories, and not all have happy endings, beginnings, or even middles.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this audio.
Thirst for Salt is a poetically written age gap romance. This was an entertaining listen and was very well narrated. I would recommend to fellow readers.

Thirst for Salt
Author: Madelaine Lucas
Publisher: RB Media
Format: Audiobook

This is the sensitive story of a young woman raised by a single mom who craves the idea of a family unit with a father, mother, and child. She meets an older man that she falls for hard and fast while on a beach vacation with her mom. He is symmetrically 42 to her 24, but she grapples with the decision to give up her dreams of a bigger life and travel to settle down in this seaside home with her first love.

Listening to the author narrate this book was like having a long, intimate conversation with an old friend. (If I had grown up in Australia taking summer vacations to the beach with my best friend at Christmastime because that is when summer occurs in this part of the world).

It occurred to me throughout the book that the name of the protagonist is never provided. But that is intentional since it is told in first person POV it seems like an honest memoir, reflecting on a past relationship.
Thank you @NetGalley and @RBmedia for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I listened to 16% of this book and sadly could not get into it. I have no doubt others will enjoy it but this one was not it for me.

Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Madelaine Lucas
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars

Thirst for Salt is a novel about love and motherhood. It is a story about a 24-year-old woman that falls in love with a 42-year-old man. Told in somewhat melancholic poetic prose about their time together and how their relationship developed in roughly one year.

The author narrates this audiobook, which adds value to this novel. Thirst for Salt is a quick read or listen with beautiful prose that, in an audiobook format, often sounds like an extended lyrical poem.

Thanks to Recorded Books for the ALC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

She’s 24 the first time she sees Jude at the beach. On summer holiday with her mother, she learns that Jude is 42, a local man, and works with antiques. The more she thinks of him, the more she becomes intrigued, and soon finds herself wanting to leave her old life behind and settle with him. The stability he offers becomes her safe haven, but the longer she stays with him the more she realizes she doesn’t know much about him. When a woman from his past becomes more present in their lives, she begins to question just how happy she truly is.

This work is an introspective character study. But it lacks the emotion I want from a work of this nature. Everything is told to us from the woman’s POV but feels detached emotionally, even from her described emotions and inner thoughts. This makes for a bit of a dry read, even more so because there’s not much plot present. It takes a long time to really learn anything about the narrator, which made it difficult to find any way to connect with her for the first portion of the work. We never really get to learn much about Jude either, which made him feel like a part of the background. It was unfortunately impossible to become invested in the characters.

The author did a good job at bringing the setting to life, describing the ocean and the small beachside town in a way that made a lovely backdrop for the story. I did dislike that a future event would be mentioned or referenced, then it would be several chapters later before that event happened. I also think I would have liked this work more if it had been shortened – there were several instances where things were significantly overwritten without adding much to the characters or plot. But there were also some instances where the author wove words together in a beautiful and descriptive way.

I read this hoping for an emotional, introspective book that would make me feel melancholic and reflective, but unfortunately found it to be boring and disconnected. I wouldn’t be surprised if some folks really love this read, but it wasn’t for me. My thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas is an immediately captivating, poetically-written novel about a young woman who has just finished college and enters a love affair with a man almost twenty years older. It jumps from the present day when she is 36 back to 12 years prior when she was 24. The writing is so thoughtful and gorgeous. I loved how the author paints a picture of what happened and her ruminations on it. Though the relationship takes place when the author is 24, she is quite inexperienced, so this is a coming-of-age story. They first meet when she is on vacation in a small Australian seaside town with her mother. He is a mysterious and enigmatic 42 year old. I really liked seeing how the protagonist's relationships with her bohemian mother and transient father informed her view of the world and romantic relationships. I listened to the audiobook which is perfectly narrated by the author. She brings great voice to the narrator.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

ufff … finished this book a little over two weeks ago and since then I was not able to pick up any other book. i really really love this book with my heart. the audiobook was a lovely experience to listen to and would listen to every single time again. the narrator’s voice became comfort to me afterwards. every now when i hear her voice i get chills. this book touched me in many places and made me re-live experiences i never had. or maybe deep down there had been dreams of my own. i looved how this is a love story of two people having an age gap and not making one feel bad for this. showing that there are versions of age gap relationships that worked and weren’t abusive. big fan of this part of the story! so grateful for showing a healthy version!
there are so many other turns and twists in this book. the mother-daughter story, the growing up with a single-parent, missing father roles, girlhood and trying to find one’s place in the confusing world of a newly adult. THE LOVE TO BOOKS AND WRITING. friendship and jealousy. the standing to one’s feeling and in one’s way sometimes. as i said, i haven’t picked up any book yet since reading this cause i truly wonder if this is it. if this is maybe the best book i’ve ever read. so much love to this book, everyone having the pleasure of reading this for the first time and big big hugs to the author <3 wonderful piece of art created!!❤️

Set on the Australian coast, a woman reflects on a past relationship she had at 24 with a 42 year old man. A quiet, tender story with a non-linear timeline that deeply examines how intensely our first love impacts our life and can forever shape our views of intimacy. The beautiful, atmospheric writing was what really kept me hooked.

A warm and deep investigation into parental relationships through the eyes of a daughter who is experiencing a colourful life in Australia. Embracing the hardships of growing up in an environment that tests both to their limits.

Incredibly raw, real, and GORGEOUS writing. I felt every inch of Madelaine's character and all the depth of her emotion. The imagery is perfect and the thoughtful commentary on complicated relationships was so poignant and well done (mother/daughter, romantic, friendship). The entire novel was so feminine and real, which at once made it relatable and heart wrenching.
There was something so comforting about listening to the author read her words and made for a really beautiful experience with the story; however, I do feel like I would like to revisit this one in print when I can get my hands on it to spend more time with some of the writing, especially in a few particular highlighted passages and the small but beautiful details. A pleasantly surprising find, thank you Netgalley and RB Media for the opportunity to listen and for introducing me to this talented author!

A young woman meets a man whilst out swimming off a beach, in New South Wales, Australia. He christens her Shark Bait and a friendship begins which blossoms into a love affair. Years later the woman sees a picture of the man with a young child, it seems she’s been tracking him online for some time. The photograph prompts memories of their time together. It’s possible she’s obsessed with him; it was only a relatively short space of time but it was an intense and memorable period of her life.

She was twenty four years old, he was forty two. She liked the symmetry of that. Was she hunter or was she prey? It’s hard to sure, but her descriptions of that time are peppered with phrases describing her longing: she was always a beggar for his heart even if his heart was a dry country. Make of that what you will.

I listened to an audio version of this story, read by the author. I’d describe Madeleine’s accent as something approaching a posh English but with a discernible Aussie twang. In my view it suited the character perfectly. The tale is effectively a long monologue which in addition to describing the romance and it’s ultimate breakdown, touches on relationships with family members. It’s a slow, thoughtful and thought provoking piece. I liked it a lot.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.


This was such a beautiful and melodically written novel. Madelaine Lucas captured the all encompassing feeling of first love. The way it consumes you until it eventually burns out slowly. Leaving you with an empty space of longing that never fully goes away.

I don't see myself in characters very often but I really saw so much of myself in the main character here. Not just her relationship with Jude but also her relationship with her Mother. My mother was constantly in motion, moving from home to home, town to town. I understood the complicated relationship you have with a Mother that treats you like a peer. I love the relationship our narrator had with her brother as well.

I will admit to openly crying by the end of this lovely novel. Madelaine Lucas is now on my must read authors.

Debut novel.
Sublime writing.
Love, longing and loss.
A meditation of love and desire.
A beautiful and tender story about a young woman’s first heartbreaking experience of loving an older man.

Listened to the dulcet tones of the author read this audiobook.

Loved it.

Definitely recommend.

Thanks to Madelaine Lucas, RB Media and NetGalley for a gifted audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The writing was exquisite and I was enthralled from the very beginning. I may have to go out and buy myself a physical copy of this book so I can annotate my favorite quotes!

In this book, we are following our main character as she navigates a complex relationship with an older man and how she begins to lose herself in the process. Jude, is her ideal man and she would do almost anything to make him happy. However, maybe Jude doesn't feel the same way...or does he?

This book has so much more to offer than just this romantic relationship between our narrator and Jude. It also delves into family dynamics, identity, friendships, and even just figuring out what we want out of life.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of 'Conversations With Friends' by Sally Rooney!

love love loved this book and it was extremely calming and effective to listen to on audiobook as well which is always a plus. great work of literary fiction that i will definitely be recommending to all my fellow readers esp those in their 20s.