Sloane
Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn’t need a reminder she’s
getting older, or that she’s feeling indifferent about her own life.
Her
husband surprises her with a birthday weekend getaway—not with him, but
with Sloane’s longtime best friend, troublemaker extraordinaire Naomi.
Sloane
anticipates a weekend of wine tastings and cozy robes and strategic
avoidance of issues she’d rather not confront, like her husband’s
repeated infidelity. But when they arrive at their rental cottage, it
becomes clear Naomi has something else in mind. She wants Sloane to stop
letting things happen to her, for Sloane to really live. So Naomi
orchestrates a wild night out with a group of mysterious strangers, only
for it to take a horrifying turn that changes Sloane’s and Naomi’s
lives literally forever.
The friends are forced to come to terms
with some pretty eternal consequences in this bloody, seductive novel
about how it’s never too late to find satisfaction, even though it might
taste different than expected.
I was eager to dive into Rachel Harrison's So Thirsty as it was her "vampire" novel and you all know how much I love a good vampire book! While it was a cute story, I guess I keep hoping for one of her recent books to be more like her first book, The Return. That one definitely had the creepy horror vibes I enjoy but ever since then, her books feel more casual and not at all terrifying. But still mildly entertaining in some aspect.
Sloane is nearing the big 4-0 and it's starting to wear on her. But when her adulterous husband surprises her with a weekend getaway for her and her best friend at a resort, she figures, why not. Sloane suspects her husband might be cheating on her again, but for whatever reason she decides to stay with him. She's had a bit of a troubled past and staying with him is just normal, contentment almost. I feel like she's not staying with him because she loves him anymore. It's a weird relationship they have going on, but based on the story's premise, I suspect it will be coming to some sort of end.
Sloane meets up with her best friend from high school, Naomi and they prepare to have a fun girl's weekend, but again, Sloane just seems to be going through the motions. It's like she's not really "living." But then Naomi, who is wild and carefree wrangles her into going to a house of some random guy she just met who's foreign and has an amazing accent. But the gathering is far beyond Sloane's comfort zone. Until it takes a dangerous turn and, you guessed it, they are vampires! They were in the house of a crazed vampire who attacks Naomi and she's bleeding out until the enigmatic, Henry tells Sloane there's a way to save her friend, but it will involve becoming a monster. Sloane tells him to just save her friend, and ultimately change herself as well. The next day, the two friends awaken as vampires and everything changes.
In some ways, this book felt a lot like Harrison's werewolf book, Such Sharp Teeth. Except this time at least, we are getting more paranormal happenings and less focus on the mundane human lifestyles, and the added switch to vampires instead of werewolves. So it had that going for it at least. Sloane and Naomi are trying to navigate being vampires and Sloane can't help but resenting Naomi a little bit for this new life they have, even if she initiated the actual change. If it wasn't for Naomi forcing her to go to this stranger's house and party it up, they would be sitting at their resort hotel human and alive.
The vampires they were essentially partying with, offered to help them adjust to their new lives, but Sloane was insistent that they would be fine on their own...and naturally they are not.
The book was rather interesting in some aspect. The take on vampiric culture was a little different but still had some familiarity to it. There are all kinds of vampires these days and I thought Harrison's vampires were very believable. They weren't too many extreme differences from what we are used to and some traits are the same.
The book also explored the friendship between Sloane and Naomi. Told from Sloane's point of view we basically see her questioning her own life choices over the course of time that led her to where she was at prior to becoming a vampire. I guess in some ways the book also just explored our own human mortality. I felt for Sloane at times, yes she might have made poor choices at times, but the lot that drew from life was pretty harsh too.
Sloane does pick up a bit of a love affair with Henry, one of the vampires in the group she and Naomi met. Henry is sort of the de facto leader of the group as well. I feel like Harrison was giving a subtle hint to who he could possibly be really, as we learn Henry isn't his "true" name. But sadly, we never get confirmation on whether or not who he might have been. But based on what I recall, I don't think it could be who I was initially thinking. Lol.
I'm a bit perturbed as to how these books keep getting classified as "horror." Yes, The Return definitely fits the bill in that area, but So Thirsty didn't really give off that terrifying horror vibe. Yes, there are vampires, but vampires doesn't automatically make it a horror novel. There was no puzzling mystery either and I found that sad too. The Return had that creepy mystery vibe going for it and I absolutely loved it! It was fantastic! But now in this one...there's no mystery to solve. No mystery figure to identify. Everything is laid out as it is. It's truly just two women trying to adjust to vampirism and overcome their gnawing thirst.
I did still enjoy the book to some degree though. I love vampires and vampire books are where I started my passionate love for the paranormal. So having a book with a woman trying to deal with real life problems and the added vampirism was almost kind of refreshing? But at the same time I would have killed for some little kind of mystery to solve or shadowy figure to uncover. Just something to add a little more danger to the story. Like there's a vampire hunter after the two women...just some added tension or danger to really amp things up.
In the end, the book became more about friendship and perhaps some self-acceptance? I felt like we did get a little wishy-washy a bit with Sloane's feelings and trying to adjust to her new life circumstances. I mean the feelings are totally valid, I guess I just wasn't expecting SO much emphasis being put on them and having this turn into the plot. While I did enjoy the book, I am starting to feel like Harrison's books are turning more into contemporary paranormal which is a genre I did not think could exist as it's kind of an oxymoron when you think about it.
While So Thirsty did contain vampires and the delightful transitioning to a new life kind of story, I just felt like it could've been better if there was an added danger or enemy to overcome instead of just trying to adjust to a new lifestyle. Still a worthy read if you don't need the added danger or suspense, but a little mild for my tastes.
Overall Rating 3/5 stars
