A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya - eArc from NetGalley

Angela Montoya’s A Cruel Thirst is a fresh, creative spin on the vampire genre that had me hooked from start to finish!
The banter in this book is chef’s kiss—sharp, relatable, and at times hilariously used as a coping mechanism for the chaos of life. Other moments? It’s downright endearing, making the characters feel like real people you’d want to befriend (or occasionally hug through the pages).

Lalo, our reluctant vampire, is such a unique and compelling character. Turned against his will in a quest for revenge after losing his parents, his internal struggle is both heartbreaking and captivating. Enter Carolina, a fierce, independent young woman from a family of vampire hunters. She’s fighting to protect her land and people while wrestling with the crushing expectations of being a “proper young lady.” Watching her refuse to conform and blaze her own path was inspiring—she’s the type of heroine you cheer for out loud.

When Lalo and Carolina’s worlds collide, the sparks fly, and the tension builds beautifully. Carolina learns that Lalo despises his existence as much as her family does, creating an unexpected but deeply satisfying bond between them. Their journey of trust, discovery, and resistance against familial and societal norms is as emotional as it is thrilling.

The side characters shine just as brightly, with arcs that are well-crafted and memorable. Angela Montoya’s humor weaves seamlessly through the story, making even the darkest moments bearable and adding layers to an already intricate narrative.
One of my favorite aspects was Lalo’s quest to uncover the origin of these monsters and his desperate search for a way to reverse his transformation. It’s creative, suspenseful, and adds so much depth to the story.

Overall, A Cruel Thirst is fun, heartfelt, and refreshingly inventive—a perfect read for fans of vampire tales with a twist. Angela Montoya’s writing continues to impress, blending humor, emotion, and action in all the best ways. Highly recommend!

This was a really engaging and well written YA historical romantasy. I really flew through this one. I loved the way the author brought the atmosphere to life in this book. I also really enjoyed all of the history behind vampires and the Mexican lore woven into the story. I think that both of these elements is what really made it stand out.

In this book you follow a new vampire and a vampire huntress who have to work together to rid the world of monsters.

Read this if you like:
🩸Enemies to lovers
🩸Fake engagement
🩸High stakes
🩸Vampires
🩸Mexican lore

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a gifted copy of the book.

Enemies to lovers
Vampire & vampire hunter
Dagger to the throat
Badass FMC
Fake engagement

I had a lot of fun with this one. I read it one sitting. I really enjoyed the pacing of the first half-ish of the book, things got a little muddled after that but nothing that ruined the read for me. Some of the dialogue was a little cheesy & the relationship with the FMC & MC happened a little too quick for my taste but still enjoyable. The romance scenes were a little more than I was expecting from a YA novel, to the point where I had wished it wasn't YA (I love spice just typically not in YA). So if you tend to not like a little spice in YA novels, this may turn you off the book.
I am all for the revival of vampire stories that seems to be happening recently.

Though I had read the blurb while signing up, while starting the book more than a month later, I had forgotten it. So, I went into the book blind which was the perfect way to start this romantasy.

I loved the chemistry and banter between Lalo and Carolina. The enemies-to-lovers trope is beautifully executed by the author. So, it doesn’t feel like a trope.

Also, both of them loved their family to bits and moved mountains to ensure no harm came to them.

I loved Carolina's determination to prove herself as a fighter to her father. Her refusal to submit to his control endeared her to me a lot.

I also loved the visually descriptive writing style. But the author was versatile enough to switch to a more brusque writing style when it came to the action scenes.

The nail-biting finish was the cherry on top.
Overall, I liked the story as well as the characters. A solid 4 🌟 from me.

This was a really great story! I've always enjoyed vampire novels and I loved the world building of this novel. It's always a mystery (in most vampire novels) how vampires were even created but you find out exactly how in this story! It was a really refreshing take on the myth. I enjoyed Lalo and Lina's bouts too. They were really funny together and worked really good as a team. They were so adorable too.

A Cruel Thirst was cute but it was, unfortunately, a big disappointment for me. Admittedly I went into this book with the wrong expectations. The cover and posts I had seen on social media led me to expect a darker, more mature YA story. A Cruel Thirst is definitely something that is targeted at a younger YA audience, bordering on middle grade in many ways.

At the end of the day, this was just too childish and corny for me to enjoy. I found the characters a little bit tedious and unoriginal. The dialogue was cheesy and overly dramatic. Character arcs were abrupt with some characters completely changing their opinions with no explanation. Relevant information for the plot was just dropped in the character's laps without them really having to work to solve anything. The romance felt rushed and over the top. It had the instant, bashful attraction of a first crush but also grave talk of forever or mature scenes that felt out of place in the story. I think the tone of the story and these characters would have suited a young-love, flirtatious romance plot better.

I did enjoy the lore around the vampires and the history of Carolina's town. I would have rated this lower based on my enjoyment, but I also recognize that I was not the intended audience for this one.

OMG THIS WAS SO CUTE!

Do you want a book where SHE holds a dagger to HIS throat? Amazing banter? A conspiracy that needs to be uncovered? Complex relationships?

It is amazing! I don't really have any criticisms for it, I think if you like vampires and love stories you're gonna vibe with this one.

When I say I am my vampire era, I want you to know I am not kidding. I have read so many vampire books this year and I am so thankful for all of the ones I have been gifted. Montoya is also the author of Sinner's Isle (her debut) a book I heard so much praise for so I immediately signed up for the opportunity to read A Cruel Thirst. Not to mention, this cover is goregous and immediately drew my attention. As someone who loves young adult stories (Legendborn, The Dividing Sky, Warrior Girl Unearthed and The Scarlet Alchemist to name a few) I was sure this is something I would really enjoy. However, this book felt like it read on the younger side of the young adult spectrum. Which depending on who you are and what you like may work well for you, but it was unfortunately a miss for me. I think this story is well suited for someone who is looking to marry middle grade and young adult. I think if I was still enjoying that particular taste of YA I would have enjoyed this more. I really enjoyed the banter between the characters, the family dynamics, and our FMC's desire to want to prove that she can do more than just be a prize for a potential suitor. Just because this one didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you. If this sounds like something up your alley, I would suggest checking it out.

thank you so much to tbr and beyond tours and netgalley for the early copy! all opinions are my own!

i just love when i abandon a book for a while only to devour it in two days 😅😅
tbh this book was phenomenal. dual POV with a vampire who doesn't want to be and a vampire hunter who will stop at nothing to prove her family she is worth it. and their match was really funny, i couldn't hold my smile back most of the time these two were together. i adored their fireceness in protecting those they love, how they continued to fight despite fate not smiling upon them. and i adored their pure and innocent love so much, gosh those eyes and the words they spoke were REALLY INTENSE, my heart was not prepared 😱😱 the world building was amazing, loved the setting and the adittion of the Spanish words didn't feel forced or anything, something i'm always afraid of whenever i read a book like this. also, the names keeping their Spanish origin? yes please and thnak you, loved it 😍😍
my heart needed a book like this, filled with vampires who have no idea what they are doing and a vampire hunter who could hunt me down and i would say thank you. 4.5 stars 💜💜

Okay this was the first book i read that has Spanish vampire lore and i ate it up. It was perfect for what i was looking for and it was beautifully written. I loved our strong female lead who broke gender barriers within the time she lived.

I was really excited for this but it was boring to me. Can we just get a vampire book like twilight again? Maybe this author just isn't for me because I read her other book and I didn't like that one either.

I adored Lalo instantly and these two idiots are just a joy to read. For two characters who are so driven and smart they are dumb when it comes to each other. There is so much familial and protective love throughout this entire novel. This was just a fun time and a good lighter read amongst some of the darker things I've been reading.

This is an exquisitely told dual perspective enemies-to-lovers vampire tale.
I was lost in the pages from the moment I started until the very end - If I was a father reader, then this would have been a book finished in a single sitting. The world in which the story takes place is not particularly complex, as it takes place in a small village. Despite this, the other does a very good job setting the stage. I felt like I was part of the Fuentes family, living in their home, visiting the village, and hunting vampires alongside them.
Carolina is fierce and determined. She will stop at nothing to be noticed by her family as a vampire hunter and not someone to be married off to someone in the city. Lalo just wanted revenge for the death of his parents and is instead cursed to live as that which he despises most. With his sister (and research) in tow, he escapes the city - and his tormentor - to find a way to break the curse. This brings him to the very town inhabited by the Fuentes family, cue ominous music. Lina and Lalo are natural enemies drawn to one another with inexplicable chemistry. Did I mention that we have some highly unlikely fake dating here too? maybe even some star-crossed lovers? This book just has IT ALL! Including an intriguing mystery behind the vampire curse as well and how to stop it.
This book contains moment after moment - swoony and meaningful/inspirational. I have so many quotes highlighted in my ebook that I will tab in my physical copy. This book deserves a spot on my shelves. I definitely see myself reading this again and recommending it to everyone.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House Canada/ Joy Revolution and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

The book cover is what got my attention and plot sounded interesting. The beginning was good, but it lost steam in the middle. Still romance, even though it didn't have much of tension, was cute, just like characters.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a cool story!! This ya romantic fantasy is about a vampire and a vampire hunter who must work together to bring an end to all vampires in their lands forever. 🧛

I loved the setting so much. It takes place in a fictional version of the Mexican countryside in the late 1800s. I loved the culture, the folklore, and the picturesque landscapes!

The forbidden romance was PEAK. Ugh I love vampire x vampire hunter. And to top it all off, Lalo is new to being a vampire and despises it. I love how he teaches stab-happy Carolina that not everything is black and white. Their pull to each other is incredible, and I loved watching the tensions rise! 🥰

I found the mystery of how to end the vampiros really fun to try to solve with them. And the action scenes of fighting monsters were so exciting!! And then to top it all off there was sweet romance. It really had something for everyone! ⚔️

Thanks to the author and publisher for the review copy!

Book Review: 3/5 ⭐️

Pros:
-Banter was fun and cute
-FMC and MMC were really lovely and refreshing characters (Specifically Lalo’s lack of training in combat and overall personality of not being a brute made him really likeable for me personally)
-The characters had very distinct and clear motivations for why they were doing what they were doing.
-Lalo (I love him)
-From mama to the cousin Nel, the family dynamics were really incredible from start to finish.
-The world wasn’t hard to understand and made sense. I was able to easily follow what happened the entirety of the book.
-The chemistry between the main love interest felt real and not forced (until the end)
-I liked the incorporation of Spanish into the book. It flowed well (most of the time) and set the scene.


Cons:
-Lalo’s little mustache took me out IM SORRY
-The emotional scenes sometimes felt like they were rushed and lacked build up. Like the characters would burst out crying and it felt like it came out of nowhere sometimes.
-The end was so rushed, honestly should have started the journey through the forest much earlier and let the tension build some more between the characters. Maybe at like the 50-60% mark or just should have made it longer to really get into that part of the story!! It was really so good up until that point!
-I also personally hated the fade to black during the singular sensual scene. It took me out of it completely. I understand not wanting really explicit content in the book but there was like no emotional pull from that scene after and during. I just wanted so much more after spending the last 300 pages falling in love with the characters! Like when they kissed for the first time, the emotion was there but during that scene, it felt flat and just like a scene that the editor made the author include even though she did not want to. At that point you may as well not even include it (which is also a fine option).
-We needed like one or two more scenes with the red headed vampire to really seal that she was stalking them and being evil. When she died I did not feel the weight of her death as if we didn’t spend thr whole book getting to that point. The stakes did not add up to that conclusion.

Vampires are a very hard sell for me. It was the promise of Latin mythology that got me to try it, but the stiffness of the dialog and above all the insta-love made it difficult for me to read, and I finally quit at 50% when the angst just kept spinning out.

You know the book is going to be good when it has an author dedication page that starts out with, “For Wild-hearted daughters:”. Yes!!! This paranormal YA book captivated me from page one. It was a breath of fresh air too to read about characters and settings in a different culture. If you like paranormal enemies to lovers romances that are slow burn and include mythology from other cultures, then pick up this book. I was entertained from the start and my only negative review would be that it was too short! I could read 800 pages of Lalo and Carolina.

this book put the BIGGEST smile on my face! everything about it just made me giggle and kick my feet at every turn because you're giving me a vampire AND a vampire hunter! YES, YES, YES!! this was my first book from this author and it certainly won't be my last!

A Cruel Thirst was a thrilling and swoony second book for Angela Montoya! With a rich setting that sucks you in and the perfect amount of action mixed with romance, it was such a fun read guaranteed to please vampire-lovers of all types!