Genuinely I didn't expect to love this YA book. I think the biggest pieces is that I loved more the underlying tropes then the romance. The family dynamics in this book made me feel so much for a family I definitely craved. Genuine tears for this one for sure. I 1000% grieved for Lalo and Carolina’s losses throughout this novel. I loved how they also had family to support both of them. No matter the issue, large or small. I genuinely loved how open and loving the Fuentes family was to Lalo and his sister, yes was it not immediate-yes. But the family got there and accepted them regardless. Also a daddy's girl- I loved how the relationship between Carolina and her father changed from beginning to end. It felt chaotic, real and I preferred a real story with more realistic emotions then a fake one.

I was so surprised by the relationships, story and different take on vampires and eternal love this book offered. Again as YA I didn't believe this was something I'd fall in love with. Angela Montoya’s writing made me cry, squeal, smile and laugh. I would recommend to anyone who loves banter and fierce MCs plus romance and vampires!

Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Cruel Thirst follows Carolina and Lalo, a vampire huntress and a vampire. Carolina has always wanted to be a vampire hunter and follow in her family’s footsteps. But her father doesn’t believe in her and refuses her help as she’s a woman. Instead, he decides to marry her off. But Carolina will not let that happen and when she runs into a kind vampire, she realizes the world is more complex than she thought. Lalo is a new vampire who refuses to drink human blood and only wants to protect his sister. As the two flee from Lalo’s maker after he massacres her people by accident, they find themselves in Carolina’s town. After an explosive meeting, the two agree to work together as they realize they have a common enemy. The line between hate and love is thin, and Carolina and Lalo find out just how easy it is to blur the lines.

This is such a fun romantasy! I loved the take on vampires in this novel and adored the enemies to lovers with the vampire x vampire hunter trope. The plot is really engaging and paced really well. I was hooked from the very beginning. I thought the world building was well done and everything made sense to me. I quite liked the gods element and was fascinated with the history. I really enjoyed the vibe of the world. This is a really enamouring tale that is perfect for romantasy and vampire lovers.

Carolina is such a badass, headstrong, and fierce main character. She knows exactly what she wants and is so incredibly capable. Her bravado is very much backed up by skill. I loved her relationship with her grandfather—it was so sweet. Lalo is such a sweetheart. I loved how he did not want to be a vampire whatsoever and how gentle he was even when the thirst was intense. It was so fun that he was so scholarly as they’re such polar opposites but had such good chemistry and were so well matched overall. Their romance is a little fast, but I still really enjoyed it and found it so swoonworthy. I loved Nena and Fernanda—they were so cute and wholesome. I could totally read a whole other book about them. There’s a really great cast of characters.

Overall, if you’re a fan of vampires and romantasy, definitely go check this book out! Also, like, omg this cover!! SO gorgeous!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen CA for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest I am struggling with this book mostly because of the Spanglish used. Not because I don’t understand it, but because it is used in an unnatural way and keeps pulling me out of the story. The cover of this book drew me in and the premise seemed interesting but I don’t think I will continue the story.

I loved this unique take on vampire lore. Once again a really strong female lead character who knows what she wants and is determined to prove that she is just as capable as the men in her world. Only her grandfather believes in her.

After hunting for the vampire that killed his parents Lalo himself is turned and is desperate to find a cure and protect his sister. They travel to where the first vampire is said to live in order to find him, kill him and rid him of the curse before he turns into an animal.

Carolina's whole family are vampire hunters and protectors of their village. When she first encounters Lalo she tries to kill him until she actually listens to him and learns more about her family, their connection to the vampires and what she can do to help.

The interaction between Lalo and Carolina is hilarious and fantastic. I loved it. This book is geared toward the younger side of YA but I thought it was beautifully written and anyone would enjoy it. The vampire lore is unique and well done. It's rare you find a book that has a different take on vampires so I really appreciated it. Definitely a great read.

I was intrigued by the premise of A Cruel Thirst after reading its blurb. It wasn’t so much that it was an enemies-to-lovers tale about a vampire and vampire hunter falling in love. That’s been done before. It was the fact that it was that sort of story and was derived from Mexican mythology. I’m always curious to read novels based on mythologies I’m not as familiar with or haven’t see represented as much. I’d also heard in some reviews that it was a novel with some witty and humorous banter between the dual main characters.

At the start of the novel though, the setting is not humorous at all. In fact, we follow Lalo, before he’s made into un vampiro, right into a den of them. It makes for a very eerie and gothic beginning that I found reminiscent of a Poe tale. I wasn’t sure from there if this would be the book for me. I can’t often do dark, scary horror. But I kept going. I had to see what became of Lalo. However, after leaving Lalo in a deadly situation, we are taken to a different place, one far from the big cities, where we meet Carolina. We soon learn that our would-be vampire huntress has been training to be a slayer in secret against her father’s wishes with the help of her abuelo. After a horrible attack on the pueblo where Carolina lives, she vows to slay and kill any vampire she sees from that point on. From here, Angela Montoya sets up some excellent conflict for our dual main characters, who should be natural enemies even though they are instantly attracted to one another. They are forced to work together though in order for Carolina to avoid being married off and sent away and to find and destroy the head vampire to get the vengeance they both seek.
As many reviews claimed, the banter between Lalo and Carolina is humorous and fun. I also loved the fact that Lalo is a vampire, but he isn’t very good at it. Plus, the lengths he has to go to in order to fool Carolina’s family into believing he’s an ordinary scholar in love with her is hilarious at times. Especially considering he’s having to fool a band of vampire hunters without tipping them off to the fact he’s un vampiro. I also enjoyed the fact that the mythology of how vampires came to be is influenced by Mexican or Latin American myths and their pantheon of gods.

A Cruel Thirst was a very entertaining young adult read. If you enjoy paranormal enemies-to-lovers romances that are slow burn ones, I highly recommend this one. I will say that if you are considering this novel for a young adult reader, it is geared more toward a younger reader for that audience. Even though the main characters are in their late teens, the story is set in the 1820s or 1830s and so they are both portrayed as being more innocent than a modern teen of 18 or 19 years would likely be. But that is entirely believable given the novel’s setting and time period. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for giving me a free ebook ARC of this novel in exchange for this honest review.

I liked this book! The pacing was fast, the romance was sweet, I loved the world and the setting, but did have a few notes.

Pros:
- The romance is really cute and sweet, Lalo is this well mannered, gentle and slightly innocent man and Caroline is the more "act first and think later" of the two of them and that combo worked so well!
- There was some really good character development for Caroline, she starts off kind of stabby and annoying but throughout the story becomes more thoughtful and open minded.
- The author threw in come clever and humorous banter and I was throughly entertained by it.
- The Mexican inspired setting/ terminology worked great with this story, I loved getting a peak at what living in a rural Mexican town in the past felt like.

Cons:
- There were some plot conveniences that resolved the story a little too quickly and conveniently in my opinion which brought the enjoyment of the story down a bit for me.
- The dialogue was a little clunky and awkward in certain parts of the story
- Some of the world building seemed inconsistent and maybe needed to be a little more hashed out to make sense.

Overall I would recommend this book for a quick and romantic fantasy read.

This is a vampire story set in Mexico. Lalo is a new vampire who meets a vampire hunter and falls in love. He goes through all sorts of escapades trying to hide his true nature. Once Carolina figures out what he is she has a hard time convincing herself to kill him. They decide to get to kill the vampire that started it all, no matter what happens to Lalo.

I really enjoyed this different take on vampires. I will definitely read more by this author.

This was such an enticing story!! I absolutely adored the banter between Carolina and Lalo, and I enjoyed the fresh take on vampires with Lalo being newly turned, and not already some 100+ year old, grumpy immortal being. I also loved the Latin atmosphere and mythology underlying the story! Overall, a great enemies to lovers storyline with lots of family focus woven in that definitely had me tearing up in the last few pages.

Desafortunadamente este libro no me gustó :(

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I had to stop at 30% I couldn't get into the story. I thought it was not interesting. It had not supernatural feeling that I expect from a vampire book, there was no world that I could connect and wished to know more of it. I know that this is a YA but the characters, seemed very childish and boring. Nothing exciting was really happening.
This book did not make me feel anything at all.
Glad everyone else us enjoying it.

3.5.

Teens are going to love this. However, me as an adult reader, this had some amazing moments and some OK moments.

First off, Angela Montoya knows how to describe a scene and how to smoothly get her characters to where they need to go. My biggest issue with her writing is her dialogue. It often felt mismatched from the truly wonderful description and action parts. Not all the dialogue, but there was enough that made me notice.

Second, the vampire lore was incrediable and so unique. This was one of my favorite things about it.

Third, the romance was kinda a let down from me. I wanted more banter and more between them, but I think that goes back to the dialogue issues I was personally having.

Overall, if you are interested in this book, I say give it a go. It's worth your time, even if it's a new favorite or not. Also, I would totally watch this if this became a movie, like Mask of Zorro or The Mummy. Fun action times.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

(3.25) 🌟

The first good impression I had with this book was the beautiful cover that introduces the two main characters. Even the plot manages to leave that itch of attraction. Unfortunately, as I progressed with the story, the solidity of the first chapters deflates towards the end.

A Cruel Thrist is a story rich in culture, prose and a delicate romance. What I highlight most about this book is precisely the lore that is intertwined throughout the plot. I was fascinated by the origin of vampires in Mexican culture, the richness that this brought to the plot and how it unfolded easily in each event. Truly incredible. Still, after several promising aspects, I was unable to connect with any character, even though they were very original and distinctive characters. The plot started very strong, but it became flat and without depth, at least not as much as I expected. The romance was delicate, as I already mentioned, even though the circumstances were not. But it is something in which I needed a little more connection, passion and chemistry. I didn't feel the necessary tension between the main characters. Another reason why this book doesn't achieve its goal was the rushed ending. With a few more pages, it would have achieved its happy conclusion in a more fair way.

Although it wasn't one of my favorites, I would definitely love to continue reading the author since her prose is wonderful. My only criticism is that the change from English to Spanish in words that didn't provide a sudden change in the prose was excessive. Not with topics that referred to Mexican culture, but with insignificant words (example: town - pueblo). As a Spanish-speaking reader, it became a bit hesitant and slowed down the reading pace a lot.

In short, it's a good book and it's perfect for vampire lovers. So I won't hesitate to recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House Children's for this ARC!

Such a fun and heartfelt read. I loved Carolina and Lalo so much, they were multidimensional and relatable. Their relationship was extremely endearing. I think a found a new trope I love: FMC fighting and trying to kill the MMC but he’s just like “Hey what’s wrong with you?? Why are you doing this? You’re psychotic leave me alone!”

Thank you so much for providing me with this arc! I plan to read the book when it comes out on release day as well :)

The blurb and cover had me thinking this was going to be Serious and Dark but I was delighted to be wrong. There is some seriousness going on in A Cruel Thirst but it's also really funny and just what I needed to break out of a run of blah reads. The world-building is top-notch, the take on vampires is fresh, and Lalo and Lina are some of my favorite protagonists I've read in quite awhile. Fantastic read.

This book took me a while to get into, but once I was in I couldn’t put it down! Once the characters started bantering I was hooked. The relationship and comedic moments between Carolina and Lalo had me obsessed and they really helped this story shine. I also loved all of the Latin culture in the book and how deep rooted it is in the story. My only critique is how rushed the ending felt. I wish it had been expanded a bit more, but I still really enjoyed this book!

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up!

A latine vampy book? Yes please!

I loved this book so much. It was different than I expected it to be for a paranormal romance (baby vamp) x vampire hunter in a good way!

Carolina is a strong-willed and feisty FMC. We see her struggle with her family's machismo and trying to assert herself. She is witty and tough. I really liked her character.

Lalo is just baby vamp trying to protect his sister and fix the mess he is in. When he finds a beautiful huntress trying to kill him, he can't help but admire her. I love it when they admire their partner's ferocity 🤭

The side characters were.also enjoyable and so funny!

The plot got a little sleepy for me in the middle, and the ending wrapped up really fast. I wish it would've been a bit more balanced, but I still loved and recommend this!!

This story is about a vampire and a vampire hunter who team up together to take down the original vampire in their village. I found Carolina to be very funny and relatable. She was a girl that just wanted to be her own person and make her own decisions about her future.

This was a YA, so the one “love/smut” scene was a fade to black. The Latin culture representation was also beautiful in this story. I love the way this family came across on the page. I did cry during the death scene at the start of the chapter - I had a feeling it was coming but it still got me! The lore of the vampire in this story was something I’d never read before and that was a large part of the enjoyability for me. Nena and Fernanda were the perfect comedic relief duo. The ending did feel a little bit rushed to me, but overall it was a really enjoyable read.

A Cruel Thirst is an absolutely DELICIOUS read! Montoya has delivered a wonderfully unique take on the standard vampire romance; it will be impossible for any reader not to fall in love with Carolina and Lalo.

A Cruel Thirst is one of the best enemies to lovers books I've read in a long time! The stakes are high, the plot twisty, and it will keep you hooked until the last drip of blood.

4.5 ⭐️

first off, thank you to random house children publishing for providing me with an eARC of this book!

oh i absolutely ADORED this! i wasn’t sure at first but i was quick to latch onto the humor or carolina and lalo. now, this isn’t your “typical” vampire romance and i think that has added to its charm for me. it was hilarious how clumsy and unconventional they are when it comes to being a vampire & a hunter. the banter between them and scenarios they found themselves in had me audibly laughing out loud at times.

love carolina and her spirit to fight back no matter what. the end made my heart warm.

also, I LOVE NENA AND FERNANDA! please please give us book 2 with them?

If you liked Sinner's Isle -- You will love this even more.
If you didn't read Sinner's Isle, please do so. And then read this one. Or read A Cruel Thirst first. Either way. Read both.
Lalo is everything I love in a leading man -- soft, tormented, attracted to strong women.
Carolina is who we all pretended to be while playing in our backyards. Don't try to pretend it isn't true. ^_^
I devoured this book. Loved it. Had so much fun with it. A vampire story for those of us who missed them terribly, but don't want to read the same thing over and over again.
Until you reread this one.
Brava.