Thank you to the author, their publisher, and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75/5 ⭐️
1/5 🌶️ - some descriptions, but most is implied/behind closed doors

I (unlike some of the other reviewers, lol) saw two men in the cover and the title of “Thirsty” and I was like - this sounds so gay, COUNT ME IN.

This book follows a human relationship advice columnist (Charlie) and one of his college friend’s exes, a 200+ year old vampire, Lorenzo. This was an enemies to reluctant friends to lovers. The slow burn slowwwwww burned hard but in a good way.

Lorenzo reluctantly (and unknowingly) is helping Charlie with his advice column that is now geared toward supernatural relationships and not just human relationships. There is lots of campy, supernatural fun along the way. Of course, this same advice column will lead to problems…

I picked this book so I could try something different, but this was definitely not my type. I had to dnf it because I was just dragging reading it. Maybe just a matter of the type of books I read but this definitely wasn't for me

Okay, so apparently, I'm in my silly paranormal romance arc because I loved this. Was it ridiculous? Quite a bit. But it was also SO fun. Exploring all of the different paranormals with Charlie was so exciting, especially because it introduced us to so many fun side characters. I rarely say that I wish books were longer, but I did find myself wishing we had a bit more of this one. Because the resolution was so speedy. And we didn't really have the page count to spend time with characters other than Charlie and Lorenzo. But, I did still really enjoy this! Can't wait to see what ridiculous romance I pick up next :D

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

4.25/5

I really enjoyed this book! I went into it totally blind and found myself fully immersed and invested in the story. Usually the "I'm hiding something from you that could ruin everything" trope turns me off from a book, and admittedly, there were times that I felt myself bracing for impact, this one was done well and the blow up wasn't drawn out or overdone. I definitely would be interested in reading more from the world if that ever came about!

This book is just bursting with charm. It has two things that many paranormal romances lack: great world-building that goes beyond just one or two types of supernatural being, and a large cast of supporting characters who are all drawn as individual people. Charlie, the lost twenty-something, and Lorenzo, the lonely vampire, are such a terrific, somehow inevitable pair. I loved seeing Charlie questioning his ambitions, Lorenzo finally admitting how adrift he feels, and both of them realizing the value of emotional connections with each other and with their community. Charlie's relationship with his dad is given short shrift, but honestly that's not what I was there for. This was a hilarious romp of a book.

I was so excited to get this arc loved the description and the cover hooked me in was so cute I loved the little plus size representation in this book you never see that much made me feel seen where it doesn’t always happen the relationship between Charlie and Lorenzo is amazing was a huge roller coaster of emotions can’t recommend this book enough

I had such a fun time with this book. From the moment the two MC’s meet it’s pure rom-com bliss. I’m so into the rom-com/supernatural element and I absolutely gave into it from the beginning and loved it. It has a lot of the usual romance tropes but done in a very genuine way so the story flows very nicely. Honestly obsessed with the world setup of how it was explained that the supernatural was basically exposed and the world was in a horrible place that no one batted an eye. The book had some world building and explored other supernatural beings within this world, which I didn’t anticipate but very much enjoyed. Definitely a great feel good mm romance to make you giggle and just have a fun time with. Thank you to St. Martins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved the premise of this book and was so excited a queer paranormal romance, but the entire story fell flat. I found that the world-building was lacking and the character development with delivered in bits and pieces. Additionally, the relationship progression felt stilted and wasn't paced well. Lastly, we got the end of the book and for some reason ended on like an open-ended note for no reason. This wasn't for me and didn't fill the void that a queer paranormal romance needed to fill.

This - despite the 80s horror throwback cover - was a super sweet MM romance, a cosy cute read! Absolutely loved it!

Thank you so much for the early access. I’m not sure why the horror story title font because this is a very sweet rom-com. I don’t understand the jacket image choices but they DID compel me to pick this up and read, and I've been telling people about this book. Would read another book in this world. Rachel and Isolde!

This is a cute MM romance between a vampire and the human who had previously wronged him. It's usually exactly the kind of book I love, but Thirsty ultimately fell a little flat for me. I'm not sure if it's the characters themselves or their initial motivations that just don't seem that interesting to me.

A fun, adorable romcom with an endearing hero at its heart. This was exactly what I was craving! I loved the paranormal aspect and the way that the "coming out" of all the magical creatures was handled.

Unfortunately this book and I just didn’t click. I really wanted to like it because I love a good paranormal romance and make it lgbtqia+ and I’m even more down, but I just couldn’t get into this one….. the first interactions of the characters just left me completely uninterested and a little annoyed. Between Charles randomly shouting Lorenzo’s name in the coffee shop giving me second hand embarrassment and Lorenzo’s quite frankly childish grudge against Charles I was lost it was really childish behavior for a few centuries old vampire.

i was so pleasantly surprised by this! very pulpy, very cute — the perfect cozy romance for those who are craving queer paranormal that feels like a warm hug. the article sections in this are hilarious. if i had to complain about anything it’s that i wish the romance was a little more developed — but i enjoyed this a lot more than most of the paranormals coming out recently.

This was so adorable, I had such a blast! Honestly, I was in the mood for a fun rom com with an interesting set up, and this didn’t disappoint. I loved Charlie and Lorenzo so much, and the supernatural element really did it for me. I loved seeing them progress into an actual relationship, and honestly, I was in the mood for something a little more fast burn, and luckily this was that for me.

If you’re looking for something campy yet heartwarming, I think this will scratch the itch for you. I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy lately, so I needed a palette cleanser. This book came at the perfect time for me. It was adorable, I loved the characters, and it was relatively low stakes. Just a quick read full of enough sweetness to make me giggle and kick my feet.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martins for the arc! I enjoyed this one.

A cozy paranormal romcom with fun worldbuilding, but the romance and character development feel a bit underbaked. The supernatural elements shine, especially the found family dynamic, but the central conflict resolves too easily, making the emotional stakes feel low. Entertaining, but not quite as sharp or immersive as it could have been.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

If you’re looking for a cozy MM paranormal romance, Thirsty delivers on that front, but don’t expect a lot of depth or rom com level humor. While the book sets up an intriguing supernatural world with a diverse cast of creatures, the romance and execution left me wanting more.

The highlight of this book for me was definitely the worldbuilding. I really enjoyed seeing how different supernatural communities integrated into modern society, and the found family theme was a nice touch. But that’s where my enjoyment mostly stopped. The romance? A bit bland. The stakes? Too low for me to stay fully invested. I know cozy romances don’t dive too deep, but I would’ve liked to see more than a paragraph or two dedicated to Charlie and Lorenzo actually working through their issues. Their attraction also felt sudden—one moment they were annoyed with each other, and the next, bam, romantic tension.

And speaking of things that didn’t work for me…
🔹 Lorenzo’s revenge plot – A 200 year old vampire holding a grudge over a university fling? Felt a bit meh.
🔹 Charlie’s advice column subplot – Why were all these internet strangers seeking out his column instead of, you know, Reddit?
🔹 The writing/editing – There were formatting issues (hoping this gets cleaned up before final publication), including missing italics and quotation marks that made it difficult to follow. Some chapters also jumped forward in time abruptly.
🔹 The pop culture references – Some felt too niche or outdated already, which can quickly date a book.
🔹 The first spice scene… on a wrecked car? – Not only was this placement odd, but the scene itself was so awkwardly written that I couldn’t tell what was happening. 😬

Despite these issues, if you love cozy paranormal romances and don’t mind a low stakes, fluffier read, you might enjoy this more than I did. But if you’re looking for something with stronger emotional depth, a more engaging romance, or polished execution, Thirsty may leave you feeling a little… parched. 💀🩸

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Lehane, and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Lehane, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me access to the e-arc.

Paranormal romcom is one of my favorite subgenres. So I thought I would love a story about a human needing help understanding the supernatural world from the vampire who wants revenge on him. But this book did not work for me. I found the main character's reactions and decisions throughout the book frustrating. Their romance came out of nowhere. I enjoyed Charlie getting to know different supernatural traditions. I found that to be interesting. I wanted more of that. I saw the potential of this book. I hope others enjoy it more than I did.

Rounding up from 3.5.

Charlie is an advice columnist struggling with writers block, who moves back to his hometown to save money. He runs into Lorenzo, an ex-boyfriend of a friend of his, who turns out to be a vampire. Lorenzo is angry at Charlie for advising Olivia (a school friend) to break up with him, and Charlie is desperate to have an in with the local supernaturals (werewolves, trolls, poltergeists, druids, etc) so that he can use that information to revitalize his advice column. As they spend more time together, a romance blossoms.

I think the story was fun, and I like a flawed protagonist, so I could forgive Charlie doing the predictable thing and not telling Lorenzo about the column until his father let it slip. I also really enjoyed the found family aspect, and Lorenzo’s roommates had such interesting stories I wanted to know them better.

However, I do feel that the issues between Charlie and Lorenzo were resolved too quickly and easily, not even counting the column reveal. Lorenzo’s whole feeling about Charlie at the beginning is that he wants to make him miserable because he contributed to his breakup with Olivia, but then that is only ever addressed in a short scene. I would have liked to see them flesh out the actual details of their conflict a bit better. I feel like other characters in the book had a more thorough discussion of hurt feelings.

I did really love Lorenzo getting into the feelings of sadness and ennui from being immortal and feeling like he was lacking purpose. That’s always such a compelling theme in vampire lit.