Harley, Róise and Maggie have been best friends since school. They grew up together, went to college together and have spent their twenties living in a barely habitable Belfast house share, working dead-end jobs to fund cheap cocktails and coke, and supporting each other through break-ups and ill-advised one-night-stands. But now the girls are approaching thirty, and a life governed by the lure of 'the sesh' is starting to feel played out. Moreover, the first anniversary of their friend Lydia's death is looming, prompting the girls to examine their lives - and their friendship - and wonder whether the party is finally over.

Thirst Trap, the debut novel by Grainne O'Hare, is an exploration of grief and the struggle to find yourself as you enter 'proper' adulthood, but it is first and foremost a celebration of female friendship in all its complicated, messy glory.

The narration switches between the three girls, and O'Hare adeptly gives each of them their own distinct voice and perspective. Róise is still processing the end of her first big relationship and struggling with the fact that she and Lydia weren't speaking at the time of Lydia's death, leaving her feelings unresolved with no outlet. Maggie has been battling panic attacks since Lydia died, whilst enduring a torturously non-committal flirtation with the gorgeous, maddening Cate. Harley channels her feelings of grief at Lydia's death and a life-long sense of inadequacy into meaningless sex and partying.

Even the girls' home, which they once shared with Lydia and which still feels haunted by her absence, acts as a character in its own right - its increasing dilapidation mirroring the girls' path towards the point where they will be forced to stop miring in grief and indecision and grow up. One moment towards the end of the story beautifully illustrates the final breaking point for both the house and the girls' extended adolescence, and a fantastic visual shows how each character's connections lead to this point.

O'Hare's writing feels raw and realistic and, while the characters' specific circumstances may be unique, there is plenty to relate to for women who have experienced a similar evolution of childhood friendships, or who have been gripped by a post-university sense of possibility and fear of growing up. The prose is at turns hilarious and very sad. I was truly invested in each character's journey and that of their friendship, and flew through huge chunks of the book whenever I had a chance to pick it up. I love the cover art too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An incredible read full of humour and chaos. A realistic look at modern female friendship, the good, bad, complicated and sometimes toxic.

Full of witty humour, sharp on point writing and laugh out loud moments. A real feel good read.

Thirst Trap is a fabulous book. A modern and refreshing story of a group of friends wrestling with the loss of their friend, and how this affected not just them, but the people around them, and every aspect of relationship with work, family, and each other. It was dark in places, but it felt real, and relatable. I'll be looking out for more books by Gráinne O'Hare - I really loved her writing voice. Thank you for the chance to read this!

Hilarious and real
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In a series of hilarious and real vignettes, four young women weather friendships, relationships and bust-ups in a Belfast that plays fast and loose with everyone’s emotions. Sharing a house together, when one of their number is tragically lost while in the middle of a rift between them, the remaining three of Harley, Róise and Maggie have to learn how to be a trio while the memory of Lydia remains in the house they still share, the clubs and bars they frequented, the friends, lovers and exes who swirl around them, the past as alive as the present.

Written in short chapters structured like short stories, that change point of view from one woman to the next, Thirst Trap has a very specific audience in mind and takes the reader on a chaotic journey of first times, bad choices and worse consequences. There are moments you’ll laugh out loud, others where you’ll be holding back the bile, and moments when tears are all that you can offer. You’ll feel the heat of besties and wish these women were your friends, warts and all.

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.