the classic messy chaotic twenties girl group hwowevr with the added stress of the one year anniversary of their friend's death, with all of them still reckoning with the fight they'd been in when she unexpectedly died. the girls all cope in their own way, from their alcohol and drug use, to their love lives. i really liked how present their shared home was, how long these girls had known each other, and the way it all ended

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, simply because it wasn't engaging or interesting to me. I made it about a third of the way in, and decided to DNF because it took me so long to even get to that point and nothing was happening. The characters weren't likeable, the writing style was a ramble, and I just didn't care enough about the directionless plot to want to continue.
Not for me.

Really enjoyed this one - great for fans of Dolly Alderton and Caroline O'Donoghue. A good insight into female friendships and and complex female characters.

A raw, reflective debut about friendship, grief, and growing up (late).

Thirst Trap follows three Belfast friend - Harley, Róise, and Maggie as they hit 30 and try to make sense of life after the sudden death of a close friend. It’s more vibes than plot, with a focus on messy relationships, self-sabotage, and the struggle to grow up.

The writing is sharp and often funny, with strong local flavour and a great take on grief. But I struggled to connect with the characters and found the emotional depth a bit lacking. It felt like it was aiming for Sally Rooney-style introspection but didn’t quite land.

Still, there’s an audience for this kind of story—especially if you enjoy character-driven fiction about female friendship, identity, and the chaos of your late twenties.

Let's face it, female friendship in your twenties can be horribly messy sometimes. No one knows you better, and no one has the ability to hurt you more. Thirst Trap captures all of that vulnerability and angst as three young women, sharing a flat in Belfast, try to deal with love, grief and the pure chaos of modern life whilst navigating the uncomfortable transition into their thirties.

With razor sharp wit and genuinely funny laugh out loud moments, this is a refreshingly clever book that adds the wealth of incredible story-telling that's been coming out of Belfast in recent years. There were parts I struggled to relate to, the partying and casual drug use in particular, but the relationship between the Maggie, Harley and Róise and the emotions behind it resonated nonetheless.

A true, unexpected delight and definitely one worth reading!.

Hilarious, smart, and scandalously fun 💋📱. Thirst Trap is a whip-smart, modern rom-com that dives headfirst into the world of dating apps, social media, and self-image. Gráinne O'Hare’s writing is sharp, relatable, and packed with laugh-out-loud moments. I loved the flawed but lovable characters, the clever commentary on online culture, and the sizzling romance that kept me hooked. It’s fresh, fast-paced, and perfect for fans of Emily Henry or Sophie Cousens. A fantastic, feel-good read with just the right amount of bite.

This was a book I read, but wouldn't particularly say I enjoyed - the characters are fairly unlikeable and the reliance on drugs put me off them a lot. Having said that it is excellent writing.

Thirst Trap is a raw, messy, and sometimes painfully accurate portrait of female friendship in the aftermath of loss, and the chaos of your twenties when everything feels like it's falling apart.

O’Hare’s writing shines in its wit and realism, especially in the dialogue and day-to-day observations that feel grounded and familiar. The depiction of mourning, emotional inertia, and friendship fatigue is honest and often poignant.

However, the novel’s emotional payoff feels somewhat undercooked. While the tension simmers between the characters, the pacing falters, and key moments lack the depth or resonance needed to fully land. At times, the story leans more on mood than momentum, and the characters, though vivid, don’t always feel like they grow beyond their grief or patterns.

That said, Thirst Trap still offers a compelling snapshot of young womanhood at its most vulnerable and volatile. It captures that weird limbo between being young and being lost, with just enough heart and humour to keep it afloat.

Messy, chaotic accurate show of leaving your twenties behind and trying to figure your shit out.

A funny, and emotionally honest portrayal of female friendship wrapped in grief.

4/5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Thirst Trap takes an honest look at the messy, messy lives of three women, Harley, Maggie and Róise, as they turn thirty.

It took me a while to warm up to this book. Maybe it's because the lives of these women is so far from mine (like all the drinking, drugs and partying is so foreign to me). But as I continued reading, I grew a little attached to these three, how they navigated their not perfect lives as flawed individuals, especially after the death of their close friend Lydia still haunts them.

I recommend this especially to people who are nearing thirty and feel like they are going nowhere in life, this should be very relatable to you all. Also, this book would be even better to anyone who's Irish, since the book is very rooted in the place and culture.

Thank you to NetGalley and Picador for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was a book reflective of its time with unique characters, sharing a house and a sense of loss following the death of their friend and housemate Lydia.It was a fun, light read

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare is a pure delight! This is the story of four friends who live in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They are all turning 30 – on the cusp of a new decade – and Thirst Trap is all about their friendship and lives. As the cover art indicates – the tone is distinctly dry and very funny – while being touching and tender too.

Our lead characters are Maggie, Harley, Róise and Lydia. The things is, Lydia is actually dead. She died in an accident a year prior to when events in the books are set and the story explores how her three friends (and housemates) are coming to terms with it a year on.

They are also all grappling with the reality of ‘growing up’ now that they face the reality of leaving their 20s and being serious, 30 year old women.

There’s tangled love affairs, boundaries broken with landlords, step brothers and the intricacies of female friendship. It was such a relatable and satisfying story that draws you in from the very first page.

Also, Thirst Trap is the first book that’s made me laugh-out-loud in quite a while and I realised how much I’ve missed that. From the gang paying special attention to the type of potatoes on a menu to amazing lines like this (Maggie is actually talking about how hot she is in a club):

‘I’M MELTING!’ Maggie hollers in agreement, her reply helpfully coinciding with a drop in the music to sound like the frenzied screech of the Wicked Witch of the West.

This book was the perfect blend of tough emotional situations and shining a spotlight on the small moments in life and friendship that make it all worthwhile. Such a great read, add Thirst Trap to your TBR now!

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare

Prize for the best book cover of 2025? Clever and evocative, it captures the book perfectly.

I feel I’ve read a rake of books set in Belfast over the last few years - Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, Exile by Aimee Walsh, Close to Home by Michael Magee, Lazy City by Rachel Connolly and Common Decency by Susannah Dickey among them.

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare adds to the canon. It’s a snappy novel about three young women (Róise, Harley and Maggie) approaching 30, living and partying together, and struggling in their own ways in the aftermath of their friend Lydia’s death.

Touching on grief, loss, female friendship, the housing crisis and coming of age when you’re 30, Thirst Trap is warm, moving and laugh out loud funny in places. I read the book with a Belfast accent in my head at all times.

Readers are loving this book and it’s garnering many 5 star reviews. I didn’t completely love it, the endless drug-taking and hardcore, messy partying grew a bit tiresome (I had the same issue with Close to Home - do people really take this many drugs and hold down jobs? 😨) but I loved the writing, the humour, the ebb and flow of the friendship between the women and the way in which Lydia is woven into the story. 4/5 ⭐️

Huge thanks to @picadorbooks @cormackinsella for the #gifted proof. I was lucky enough to hear the author read an excerpt at a Picador event last October. Thirst Trap was published this month (June 2025) and is widely available in all good bookshops and your local library.

This was such a fun and raw book about girlhood and the meaning of friendships. For this into lit fic you will love this. The cover also is soo good!

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare is a bold, emotionally charged novel that dives into the complicated mess of grief, friendship, and figuring life out in your twenties. Set in a rundown Belfast shared house, the story follows three young women—Maggie, Harley, and Róise—as they stumble through the aftermath of their friend Lydia’s untimely death.

What makes this book shine is its sharp humour and punchy dialogue. O’Hare captures the chaotic energy of post-party conversations, impulsive decisions, and emotional hangovers with remarkable clarity.

Told from the alternating viewpoints of the three friends, the narrative offers layered insights into how each of them is coping, or rather failing to cope. This shifting perspective adds depth, showing how loss and guilt can distort reality in personal and sometimes contradictory ways.

There’s a real emotional honesty here. The characters are flawed, and their healing process is neither clean nor straightforward. The novel leans into that messiness, giving it a raw authenticity that’s both heartbreaking and relatable.

That said, the book does have a few bumps. The plot can feel a little slow, more like a series of emotional vignettes than a story building toward an obvious conclusion. Additionally, while the different narrators offer variety, their voices occasionally blend together, making it more difficult to distinguish one from the other.

Still, this is a confident and compelling first novel. O’Hare’s ability to mix heartbreak with humour makes Thirst Trap an engaging and affecting read that offers a lot to love. Though not perfect, it’s a strong four-star debut that promises great things from a fresh new voice.

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare is pure chaotic fun. It’s hilarious and heartfelt, it’s a messy, real and modern romcom that had me laughing a lot and was rooting for the characters from the beginning. If you have had date fail and can laugh about it, this book is for you. Witty, relatable, and funny. Such an entertaining ride I thoroughly enjoyed.

I liked this book but I didn’t love it! I found the first half so good and I was hooked but I started to lose interest towards the end 🙈 I can totally see why people loved it but I think because I read so many books like this, it might have been a bit lost on me.

I liked the friendships between the girls and the way we were made to feel like we were one of the group! I also listened to the audiobook alongside this and found it brilliant - an Irish accent for an audiobook is always a good one! I think it’s the sort of book that would be so good to read while growing up so you realise that not everyone has their life together and everyone is different!

I’d recommend this book if you like messy friendship books!

I loved Thirst Trap; it felt like a contemporary novel about 30-somethings that was more realistic than most in this category. It made me laugh, cry, and nod my head in agreement and understanding.

4.5 stars rounded up

I absolutely flew through this - it’s one of those books that gets under your skin without even trying. It’s messy, raw and honest in a way that feels instantly familiar, especially if you've ever navigated your twenties with more questions than answers.

I loved how it explored the tangled, complicated nature of female friendship - the kind where love, resentment, loyalty and frustration all live side by side. These women felt real to me, like people I might’ve shared cheap wine and late night existential crises with.

The writing is really strong - sharp when it needs to be, but tender in the moments that matter most. What stood out most though, was how it handled grief. There’s no neat resolution, no 'moving on' narrative. Instead, it captures the strange, slippery way grief shows up - unexpected, unpredictable and often quietly overwhelming. It’s not always at the forefront, but it’s always there, reshaping everything in the background.

And the house they share? It’s more than just a backdrop. It reflects everything they’re trying (and sometimes failing) to hold onto - comfort, familiarity, connection. It’s falling apart, sure, but it’s theirs. That metaphor wasn’t overdone, but it hit hard.

This story didn’t try to clean its characters up or force growth for the sake of a tidy ending and I respected that so much. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

4.5 starsI love reading stories about messy women, so long as the story's point is not that they saw the error of their ways and cleaned up their act. This book definitely doesn't follow that path - what it does instead is show how the things they are dealing with have played a part in their messy behaviour...and let's face it, we were all messy to one degree or another in our twenties. It feels like such a genuine portrayal of friendships, relationships, house-shares, social lives, and just trying to figure out what it's all about whilst the world expects you to be a grown-up. The girls in this book would absolutely have been my friends.

The other place where authenticity shines in the writing is in the parts that deal with the grief of losing someone. There is no one-size-fits-all way to navigate your feelings, and your recovery will never be linear or even necessarily always be progressing. Grief is like jelly; it moves constantly, reacting to its surroundings, and it's not a solid thing that you can hold safely. Gráinne O'Hare captured this excellently.

The house that the girls share is like a metaphor for how they presently see their lives - they're clinging to the comforting shoddiness of it, but it's falling down around their ears, and they're going to have to take some kind of action. It feels like so much more than just a house; it's their ecosystem. A physical manifestation of their relationship with each other and with Lydia, and they fear letting it go.

As someone who struggled much more with turning 30 than I did with turning 40, I found this book incredibly relatable and even more enjoyable