I am always down for a sexy vampire story. I was especially intrigued by the description of Thirst as a sapphic vampire gothic. I generally enjoyed this book, but I found the structure to feel a little disjointed. The narrative is split roughly into two halves: the history of the book’s unnamed vampire protagonist and a woman in more-or-less contemporary Buenos Aires who finds herself drawn into the vampire’s life. I found the transition between these two sections jarring, and lost the flow and intrigue in the second half. I missed an overall stylistic or thematic connection to really drive the book home.

Recently translated into English, Marina Yuszczuk’s queer vampire novel, Thirst (Dutton, March 5, 2024), is partly what I’d hoped for in a vampire fiction, and at the same time, it was nothing like what I’d expected.

Although it’s a Gothic, vampire novel on the surface, Thirst is really a feminist novel about two women’s experiences of life, loss, trauma, and haunting across centuries. Taking place over two different time periods in Buenos Aires, what seem at first like the totally disparate narratives of two women who live in entirely different circumstances eventually come together in a dramatic and bittersweet conclusion. In nineteenth-century Buenos Aires, a vampire arrives on a ship from Europe, fleeing the death and violence she and her sisters found there. She is less a Dracula-like figure arriving at Whitby on the deserted Demeter, and more of a lost scavenger, uninterested in human lives even as she grieves her own losses.

As the world transforms around her—moving from isolated villages into cosmopolitan, interconnected cities, the vampire must adapt her existence in order to intermingle. In the same city in the present day, a seemingly ordinary woman struggles to cope with the terminal illness of her own mother while also looking after her young son. When she sees the vampire for the first time in a Buenos Aires cemetery at the opening of the novel, the two women are set on a collision course that promises both revelation and destruction.

This novel is marketed for fans of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), and I can definitely see the parallels. This is a conflicted, confused, and introspective monster novel with just enough of a dash of broken moral compass to make this interesting. Thirst is also compared to the writing of Daphne du Maurier and Carmen Maria Machado, which is something I understand a bit less—to me, Thirst is unique in its style, and it’s a fascinating take on the vampire story.

For me, much of my enjoyment of this novel came in the first half. The first chapter had me completely hooked and I loved reading about the vampire’s origin story. Dark, gory, and dramatic, the image of the nineteenth-century queer female vampire wreaking havoc on Buenos Aires society amidst an abundance of crime and death was gripping. I couldn’t look away!

The second half, which focuses much more on present-day Buenos Aires, was less exciting for me, although I loved the relationship between the two women. It felt at times in the second half like this was a feminist novel with a Gothic overlay, and that the vampire plot was secondary to the narration of these women’s lives. This disrupted my expectations and made me enjoy the novel a bit less, although I may have been more engaged had I understood from the beginning that this was more of a novel about the way women see the world.

Thirst is absolutely worth reading if you’re looking for a new and exciting feminist Latin American author, or if you’re a fan of queer vampire stories and historical fiction. I think it’s an interesting addition to the canon, and I would love to read more by this author.

Sapphic human and vampire literary (love?) story with enough decades between our ultimate women that it makes the age gap in Carol look elementary in comparison. Two women, two time periods, two jarringly different vibes; we begin with 19th century plagues and then after being party to a suffocatingly long term entombment we travel into modern day, home to a different unfortunate kind of pandemic. I read this as an audiobook, and in this format found this book decently entertaining and as disturbingly yet blandly intimate as a date in a decrepit tiny mausoleum. This book at most times leaves a lot of setting and mood to the imagination, feeling more emotionally focused and proceeds to somewhat blindly explore this campy hypothetical love story through these women’s stressful minds rather than a more weighty execution including a thoroughly fleshed out narrative with any in depth backdrop. Our modern woman is losing one woman in her life as she gains this new one, and this book explores the intensity of conflicting vibes present in a life of grief and potential, but unless you are specifically in the market for a translated vampire novel with a dizzyingly evasive plot, maybe this isn’t a must-read.

I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately the second half of it dragged on and made me resent the entire book. It definitely is more of a mood read than a plot or character development read, but I suppose I was not in the right mood for it at all.

I loved that the vampire in this book actually felt like she had the traditional animalistic nature that is often lacking in contemporary vampire stories, at least with non-fantasy and maybe non-horror books. However, the second half of this book was like a completely different book compared to the first half, and it felt very disjointed to me because of that. I also wouldn't market this as "sapphic vampires" as that denotes some kind of love story, but this is truly a literary book focused on grief and anticipatory grief. I am interested to see what else this author writes.

A literary gothic tale following along an immortal beings life as she navigates her way through decades of existing alone surviving many of the worlds hardships, unable to fight her hunger she leaves behind a trail of bodies. Eventually locking her thirst away to only be released in present day with just a key.

What an absolutely mesmerizing tale. Wrote with such beautiful prose. Full of beautiful descriptives that will keep you in a vampiric transe.

Separated into two parts, that give very different vibes. Part one exploring older times while part two is a present day experience. With both sections shining light on struggles surrounding each character as well as the inside struggles both main characters are choosing to face alone.

Even though this is of short length I felt it to be kind of a quiet tale making it a slower one to process and consume for sure.

And the underlying sapphic love story was done so uniquely well. When these two women connect, it definitely delivers an unexpected conclusion and definitely left me begging for more.

A huge thank you to @marinayuszczuk @duttonbooks and @netgalley for the free advanced copy of Thirst. I absolutely enjoyed getting to know these characters and experiencing the unique hungers they each thirsted for.

Gothic, sapphic, feminist, vampires

I loved this and I will always remember it. It felt like a ghost story passed down by generations. The different perspectives of death throughout life really got to me. This was profound and a must read for vampire lovers. The ending actually left me stunned.

Rec for readers who really enjoyed A Dowry of blood by S.t. Gibson as well

Sapphic gothic vampires! I am wondering if part of my issues are translation because it feels stilted in some areas.

I'll admit that at first, I was thrown off by the change of pace at the start of the second part, which made things feel a bit rushed initially. As the story unfolded however, I did enjoy the journal-like entries used to move the story along. Without giving too much away, I do wish there was a bit more character development and background in the second half of the story however, I did enjoy how the overall story came together at the end.

Overall, I enjoyed this one! Would recommend and will likely read from this author again in the future.

My favorite part of this book were the description of historical Buenos Aires and how it evolved over time. I didn’t love the structure but I think it’s a worthwhile entry in lesbian vampire canon.

Loved this book and can't wait to see more from the author. Thanks to the author and the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Unfortunately, this isn’t for me. There’s a disconnect for me with the writing and I just had the hardest time getting into this story.

This is a classic vampire tale, gore and all. Vampire stories will be told forever (much like vampires themselves) so I am always amazed with authors who can still bring something fresh to the genre and make it feel new. This one had a unique take on queer relationships while being set in an area with an interesting backdrop. I recommend this one to vampire lovers everywhere.

This is sad because it should not be so difficult to make queer vampires interesting but the storyline and narration was dull especially in the second part once the narrator switched. I just did not feel any investment in what was going on and for such a short book it was hard to get through.


thanks to netgalley and penguin dutton for the arc!

I enjoyed the dual timeline in this novel. It was very visceral so if gore is something you're opposed to, maybe skip this one. It didn't bother me though. The writing was beautiful and striking!

Queer Vampires? YES PLEASE!!!
The writing was *chefs kiss* beautiful! soooo mesmerizing!!! I was so invested in the story throughout the entire book. I just loved everything about it.

I received an ARC via Netgalley for Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk published March 5th 2024. Thank you so much for the chance to read this one!

I had heard very little of this book before getting into it. I have been putting it off because, on second thought, I didn't think a sapphic vampire novel would really be my thing after all. But this book was so much fun. I wasn't expecting to be so enraptured by the gothic style chapters. I started to get slightly disappointed when we were focusing so much on present-day in the latter half because I loved the first 1/2 so much. But the second half helped in winning me over. The takes on anticipatory grief felt so poignant and raw. By the time we get to the climax of the story (no spoilers!) you can really feel the urgency our MC experiences in all of her panic.
And now, I desperately need a physical copy because the cover is GORGEOUS.

Written in two parts. Part one, yikes. Part two was better.

I'd summarize part one as a vampire vampiring in olden times. The setting, Buenos Aires during a plague, was the only thing bringing originality. The rest felt like borrowed ideas from other novels. Well written, but not unique. It was also too fantasy melodrama for my taste. I couldn't have read part one for too much longer.

Enter part two to save me from DNF. Part two takes place in modern times. It links up with the vampire from part one, but it centers a new group of human characters. As a human, I found this section more relatable. It felt fresher. More creative. I enjoyed it way more.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'll admit, this book is not what I was expecting. I was expecting more shock factor, but this book ended up pleasantly surprising me with a slower, thoughtful, and emotional exploration of life, hunger, and grief.

The first half of the book goes through the centuries that a nameless vampire woman has lived through, and her debilitating thirst for blood. I really enjoyed this portrayal of vampirism, with none of the weaknesses that most vampires fall prey to (sunlight, garlic, holy water, etc.) save for the need to keep the deaths hidden. I thought it was very interesting that this novel explored how much more difficult hiding her crimes got for the vampire after so many centuries.

The second half of the book follows a woman whose mother is slowly dying from a terminal illness and how she grieves this excruciatingly slow loss. I don't think I've ever read a book that dealt with the feelings associated with a slow decline, rather than a fast one, and this book showed those emotions so beautifully.

I really enjoyed the connection of the two storylines. I have seen other readers describe it as forced, but I found it to be quite beautiful and organic. The intertwining of these two storylines was clearly intricately plotted out.

All this to say, I greatly enjoyed this introspective, literary fiction take on the vampire story. I would love to see more vampire lit take this approach, and I eagerly await more novels by this author!

I took a chance on Thirst— the last time I read a vampire book was Twilight and I know, I know, that was almost 20 years ago.

The first half of the story is a seductive and atmospheric story about an unnamed vampire who is forced to find her place in an ever-changing world that is hostile to vampires. She has an insatiable thirst for blood and relentlessly kills for it, as any good vampire should. After finding herself in a precarious situation, she travels from Europe and settles in Buenos Aires in the nineteenth century.

The second part of the story is about a modern woman who is burdened with taking care of her terminally ill mother. Death is always at the forefront, but slower-paced and drawn-out due to the nature of her mother’s failing body. She finds a family heirloom, a key to an old tomb and thus, the vampire and woman cross paths.

This story creates a semi-interesting look at vampires, death, and queerness. I did not expect the story to go this route or the ending itself, but it was short enough to read to stay slightly engrossed. I wanted more blood and seduction, less mom dying and withering away.