"Thirst" by Marina Yuszczuk is a haunting, visceral journey that blends the Gothic with the deeply personal, exploring the nature of transformation and desire. This novel, rich in queer representation and lush, lyrical prose, deftly navigates themes of fear, loneliness, and mortality through two intertwined stories set in different periods.

In the nineteenth century, a vampire arrives in Buenos Aires, witnessing the city's evolution while grappling with her need for discretion amidst the chaos of yellow fever. In the present day, a woman faces her mother's terminal illness and her ambivalence towards motherhood. Their paths cross in a cemetery, igniting a connection that blurs the lines between life and death.

Yuszczuk's narrative is a slow burn, focusing not so much on overt sapphic elements but rather on the intense, often "unseriously horny" journey of becoming. The protagonist's struggle with her bloodthirst and nocturnal existence adds complexity to her character, making her both relatable and otherworldly.

The dual-time period structure enhances the novel's depth, with each era shedding light on the other. Yuszczuk's writing is reminiscent of feminist Gothic greats like Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier, echoing Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein." Her exploration of female agency and desire's consuming power is compelling and unsettling.

One poignant quote encapsulates the novel’s existential dread: "Finding balance is impossible, though. We're all standing at death's door; someone has to be next in line." This reflects the constant tension between life and death, human and monster that permeates "Thirst."

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review it.

This title was too unbalanced for me. The first part was slow but intriguing enough to keep me reading, but when the POV changed I really lost interest. The contemporary character was not interesting enough to follow through to the end. I wanted to see what had happened to the character from the first half so I finished the (mercifully short) book.

This book was probably written just for me, because it was everything I've ever looked for. I'm so late in posting this review, so if you're looking at these reviews to decide whether or not to read, please take my advice and READ IT! You won't be disappointed.

I wanted to read gothic vampire story with a strong female character. What I did not want to read, especially on a Mother's Day, was matricide... while leaving a son behind... to follow a vampire into a crypt.... without knowing what exactly would happen to you... hoping that you'll come back to that son one day...

A vampire from back in the day managed to run away from dead's death in central Europe and found her way to Argentina. She was walking the streets of Buenos Aires and sampling blood from many clueless folks. When epidemic hit Argentina, she thought her carnage would be better hidden. However, a guy who understood what exactly she was changed everything: he was smart, he knew how to corner her and get her demands. He made sure her photo was taken and she could no longer hide. But our girl was smarter: she hid herself in a crypt and made a deal with the groundkeeper. No one will open this crypt... forever...

Until this other woman showed up. Her mother, who was really sick, handed over a package and a key to her. Not understanding what it meant, the woman started a research expedition. She knew she shouldn't have anything to do with this crypt the documents led her to, but something was calling her name. When she opened the door to the crypt, she wasn't only going to let a monster out but also was going to turn herself into something much more evil

THIRST is a modern Gothic horror novel set between mid-nineteenth century and present-day Buenos Aires, primarily following a vampire named ALMA aka "MARIA". Alma exists on the fringes of society, a spectral figure residing within the Cementerio del Norte. Driven by her thirst for blood, Alma drains her victims in eroticized bursts of violence amidst a severe malaria epidemic. When one of her erstwhile victims forcibly takes her picture after she murders his brother, she will stop at nothing to retrieve the photograph, as if chasing for a measure of her essence which was been stripped away. Many generations will pass before Alma comes into contact with a woman grappling with grief over her mother's terminal illness. Their shared journey encompasses a reckoning with mortality.

I enjoyed the narrative, particularly during the first half of the novel set in the nineteenth century. Alma's journey is cut short as she goes to ground, evading pursuit for the string of vampiric murders she has left in her wake. This propulsive first half clears the stage for a soporific second half. Alma, a character who is largely concerned with self-preservation at any cost, becomes a maudlin and subdued presence upon reawakening. The epic sprawl encompassed by Alma's backstory outweighs the quieter, more personal end to her journey. Overall, I enjoyed the narrative style and I found the story engaging -- though the ending left me wanting more.

~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

The cover art immediately caught my eye, and I requested based on the cover alone; however, what got me really reading was hearing that it was a sapphic vampire literary fiction. "Thirst" tells the story of a centuries-old vampire moving through Europe and modern day Brazil. It's broken up into two parts--the first being told from the vampire's perspective and the second being told by a modern-day woman in Buenos Aires. I really loved the kind of distanced feel of the first part. Time moves rapidly, because of the agelessness of the vampire, so the jump to modern time can be jarring. However, I think that the story as a whole has a lot of interesting things to say about death and desire. I really appreciated the work as a whole, but because I would have preferred staying in one perspective instead of two, I am going to give this three stars.

This was amazing. I devoured this book. I’ve been on a vampire kick lately and this book was perfect for the mood I was in. Definitely worth the read.

4.25 stars. The two parts felt disjointed because of how different the two perspectives were but this book was so beautiful it made up for that. Part 1 is hedonistic and melancholy while part 2 is gut wrenching. This is such an incredible depiction of grief and really resonated with me. I’m so so impressed by the translation and how good of a writer Yuszczuk is

First of all, I would like to thank Dutton Publishing for giving me an advanced readers copy of Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk and translated by Heather Cleary!

Unfortunately I did not like this book as much as I thought I would. It has a lot of things I enjoy, such as vampires used as a way to convey complex morals as well as exploring what immortality means and how craving something only humans can provide can separate one from others. I think this book offered a great exploration in the topic and I always love seeing it. I also will always love sapphic representation as well as appreciate tales that center women and their desires.

The plot, the topics, and the themes were all enjoyable, however, what made this book fall apart for me personally was the writing style.

I don't consider myself picky on how a story is told, however I like to be immersed in a story instead of being told what is going on, and I never felt that full immersion. It felt like the narrative was just telling me what was happening, and I never got to actually be inside the characters head and feel what they are feeling. The writing style felt more like a synopsis or summary than it did a story and because of that unfortunately it turned what I thought would be a good story into a chore to read.

Across two different time periods, two women confront fear, loneliness, mortality, and a haunting yearning that will not let them rest. A breakout, genre-blurring novel from one of the most exciting new voices of Latin America’s feminist Gothic.

Despite this novel primarily being composed of internal monologues heavy with introspection, it demanded my attention through its stunning prose and take on a traditional vampire story. However, the second POV was much more interesting and it felt like a completely different story. The two story lines did come together at the end, but not in a way that was satisfying. I thought I was here for the vampire, but what got me most in the end, were the explorations on grieving for someone who is still there but you cannot fully connect with anymore.

Beautifully written with some concerns about plot.

I had a hard time with this book.
There was a lot that I did like, especially some of the descriptions of Buenos Aires and the atmospheric elements that set the eerie tone for the book. Even the story itself I thought was interesting.
But the book just dragged. It took me significantly longer to read than it should have and there were many points where I thought "oh okay this is the climax of the book", just for it to them keep going and somehow find a new sub-plot to follow.
I think this would have made a stellar short story or novella, but it did not deliver for me as a novel.
That being said, I probably would still read more by this author. The writing was strong and there was a lot to intrigue me.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Sapphic vampires, but it’s insta love and it reads like a historical summary, not a book. For a book pitched as lesbian bloodsuckers, there’s an awful lot of dicks.

On my do not read list.

Pre-reading:
I heard lesbian vampires, and I was in. I love this cover.

Thick of it:
This is all lost on me because I don’t have a sense of smell.

Ew, a child.

Ha ha, why do I feel like some knockers are gonna get grabbed alright. Samantha, jail. (I expected this book to be so horny, and it was not.)

didactic

Samantha, you’re barely into this book. You can’t claim it’s boring already.
Watch me.

T Swift luggage behavior

I’m gonna call that a title drop.

She’s not like other girls. She’s not afraid of violence against women.

I’m at DNF territory. Like I don’t care, and it’s instalove.

What is with all these jaguar books? Pick a new animal.

I'M BORED

Not a man!

Who cares. Literally who cares. Fuck these historicals.

I don’t think it’s just a bad translation. I think the book itself is bad.

This is Immortal Pleasures all over again. And the Familiar.

This book has no stakes. I am so bored.

I’m so confused by Leonora’s backstory. Are they saying that like the politician husband was raping her? Why was she having blackouts?

soporifics

Girlypop, you’re literally immortal. If you wanna fuck a statue, just do it.

Oh thank fucking god, part two. Please let something happen!

Sticking your fingers where-

I know it’s like the juxtaposition of life and death, but like I do not wanna hear about how you fingered yourself and then touched grandma‘s forehead!

This book is literally pointless. There’s nothing being done with the story. It has nothing to say.

Just let your mom die. That’s so mean.

Is there literally any point to this little boy’s toothache and dentist experience other than the author perhaps working through some dental trauma of her own? (No!) I’m so bored. This book sucks. (And that’s not a vampire joke.)

I just don’t get the point of this book at all. It’s not a meditation on grief. It’s not a sapphic relationship. It’s not an interesting historical. It’s literally just a whole bunch of nothing.

Girlypop, why are you trying to open coffins in a graveyard without gloves on at the very least?

I know this is meant to be sapphic, but it reads so for the male gaze.

Why is she like oh, I’m horny again? It’s probably from visiting the ceremony and not my hormones from being on my period. What do you mean? (Also, how are you gonna write me a lesbian vampire novel and no one gets their cooter licked while they’re making like the cherry gusher? Emerald Fennel is disappointed in you.)

I appreciate that it’s trying to mimic the classic by doing the journal entries, but this book is so boring.

My roommate, the vampire

Everyone saying that they liked this book… like you’re lying. You’re lying. You did not.

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I hate a mom who fucks off and leaves her kids. I hop up on this soapbox all the time, but children are literally optional. You better stick them somewhere safe before you fuck off.

Post-reading:
I am convinced that everyone who said that they liked this book was lying. Nothing and I do mean nothing happens in this book. It’s not even moody and atmospheric. There’s no lyrical writing.

The first half of this book reads like a historical summary. It is all telling and no showing. The characters are interchangeable cardboard cutouts with no personalities and no emotional depth. There is nothing for the audience to connect to. The second half is about a mom who abandons her kid to get some immortal puss. And the author doesn’t even dignify that by making it a horny book. When the book does try to get smutty, it has a terrible male gaze lens to it where women exist to be naked prey. It’s pitched as a sapphic book, but that seems like bi-erasure when both your main characters have relationships with men too. There are so many pointless filler scenes. The book features an assisted suicide framed like a mercy killing, and you’d think we’d at least get a sentence or two with some social commentary, but we don’t. Everyone in this book is too busy sipping on dumb bitch juice to get anything done. The immortal vampire’s greatest fear is the police because they have a picture of her. I’m gonna let that sink in.

There’s not a single character with any motivation in this entire novel. Everyone helps out our bloodsucking girlypop on nothing because she’s just so goddamn hot. And sure vampire thralls, but there’s no discussion of that. Everything is instalove. She is infatuated with everyone she meets, and they catch the feels right back.

There’s no logical rule for how long girlypop can go without feeding, and she kills most of her victims with an overgrown thumbnail. It’s hard to feel threatened by someone who could literally be taken out by a nail file. The book has absolutely no stakes to it, other than the ones that the villagers pulled out of their asses to kill her sisters with. How did those villagers discover that vampires exist and where did that knowledge go in the society? Who knows. This book won’t tell you.

This book is a complete waste of your time, and I don’t think anyone should pick it up.

Who should read this:
Historical fiction girlies

Do I want to reread this:
Nope.

Similar books:
* Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro-historical retelling with vampires, instalove
* The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo-historical retelling, magical realism, vaguely vampires
* Bride by Ali Hazelwood-paranormal romance, urban fantasy
* The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab-magical realism, historical, romance
* Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares-magical realism, historical, romance
* Starling House by Alix E. Harrow-gothic romance, fairytale retelling, less plot just vibes
* The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi-gothic romance, fairytale retelling, less plot just vibes
* The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores-insta love, YA fantasy romance

This is my first experience with Yuszczuk's work and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the writing was engaging and the story offered such a unique take on vampire lit. I look forward to exploring more of her work in the future and I'm looking forward to the release date.

I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the first half of this book that was set in the past, the spooky gothic lesbian vampire vibes were immaculate. But the switch to the present POV with a seemingly unrelated main character with a dying mother was jarring and I'm not going to lie, I kind of lost interest. As a whole, Marina Yuszczuk's writing is very good and she is very talented and I am looking forward to more works from her. I just felt like I was reading two novellas that were squished together into one novel. The first half of the book reminded me of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing (and I mean that as a compliment), but it kind of fell off once it got to the modern day part of the story. I'm rounding up to a 4 star rating, but I would probably actually give it a 3.5 if good reads allowed half stars. Also, for those that are concerned, please check trigger warnings. I feel like you kind of know partially what you're getting into when you read a book about vampires, but other things are a little more of a surprise like the <spoiler> suicide attempt </spoiler> in the second half.

With so many vampire books that have been written, it’s refreshing to see new ones emerge. This one in particular is quite different telling two tales at once across times. It is hard to pin down a genre for this book it seems to have everything.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I'm conflicted about this one! The writing was captivating but lacked depth in places. Initially intrigued by the vampire's perspective, I found it repetitive without clear motivation. The second perspective felt like a different story altogether. While the two narratives merged at the end, it felt forced.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Hot hot hot. This book is gayyyyyy and I loved it! It was a book out of my comfort zone but I was thirsting after this and I want moooore.

5 stars! devoured this book in a frenzied state and will recommend to any Carmilla fans. honestly one of the best books i have read this year so far! putting the lust in bloodlust !

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.