Thirsty

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST • A gangster hiding from his past. A single mom fighting for her future. Can she show this bad boy the man he’s meant to be?

“A powerful, honest look at love as both a motivation and a risk.”—The Washington Post

“Heartrending, raw and beautiful.”—USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog

My name is Salvador Rosas. Back in the barrio, my past is written on the walls: ESHB. Short for East Side Hollenbeck, my father’s gang—my gang. Hell, it’s a family tradition, one that sent both my brothers away. They used to call me “Ghost” because I haunted people’s dreams. Now I’ve got nothing going for me except a hipster gringo mentoring me in a new career. An ex-con making craft beer? No mames.

Still, people in this neighborhood look out for one another. That’s how I became Vanessa Velasco’s unwelcome tenant. Chiquita pero picosa. She’s little, but with curves so sweet they’re dangerous. I remember Vanessa from the old days, the straight-A student with big plans. Plans that were derailed by another kid stupid enough to think he was bulletproof. Now Vanessa knows better than to believe in empty promises. There’s fire in her . . . and if I touch her, I might get burned.

I’m trying everything I can to go straight. But when East Side Hollenbeck comes calling, I might have to risk it all to find out if there’s a future for Vanessa and me. Because she’s the only one who can quench my thirst for something real.

The Rosas brothers will return in Trashed!

Praise for Thirsty

“Thirsty held me captivated from its first page to its last with its heartrending, raw and beautiful story. . . . Mia Hopkins sublimely blends blunt realism with romantic fantasy and sharp-eyed social observation and delivers a happy-ever-after that is much more than a neat conclusion to a love story. . . . A singular reading experience.”—USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog

“Thirsty is a brilliant read. There are good writers, and then there are writers that just leave you in awe. And Mia Hopkins has definitely left me in awe after reading this novel.”—Hypable

This standalone novel includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.