I did not want this book to end!

So happy I was granted access to the ARC and was able to enjoy this book now – thank you NetGalley and Picador!

“Thirst Trap” is a coming-of-age story about three different women facing their big 3-0 while they grief their friend, struggle with their emotions and try to hold on to their rowdy twenties. So enjoyed the pace, the humour, the dialogues, the messy characters – it all felt authentic and almost scary to be able to recognise myself in some of the situations! Don’t we all “grow up” the same way, making the same mistakes, falling for the same “games” other people play? Gráinne O'Hare wrote one funny and yet heartbreaking book. I will certainly be recommending it!

Why four stars? I thought the girls were a bit too juvenile for their age – they were all +/- 30 and yet behaved very immature. Or is it a Gen Z thing?

I really enjoyed how effortless this one was to read. So grounded in contemporary references and a really rooted sense of what navigating female friendships is like that it felt immediately accessible.

I loved how honest the approach was to friendship, especially those facing grief, without romanticising particular topics for the sake of the plot. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Thanks to Pan MacMillan/Picador and NetGalley for this ARC!

Thirst Trap is like Everything I Know About Love crossed with Blue Sisters, with a touch of Acts of Desperation — i.e my favourite kind of book, full of love, loss and friendship.

Róise, Harley and Maggie may be turning thirty, but none of them have their lives together. They’ve lived in the same crumbling house in South Belfast since university, they’re all working dead-end jobs and they still haven’t stopped partying hard and sleeping with the wrong people. They’re also grieving their fourth friend and housemate, Lydia, whose sudden death a year ago left them with an unwanted tortoise called Barnaby and an unresolved rift in their group.

The novel moves between the girls’ perspectives as they try to find their feet while still refusing to grow up. It’s a story of cocaine-fuelled house parties and morning-after regret which is entertaining and heartbreaking in equal measure. The characters are well-drawn and authentic, each with their own weaknesses and anxieties, and the writing is full of naughties nostalgia and sharp humour. I really loved this novel, which is sure to be a big-hitter when it’s published in June next year!

This book takes a raw, unfiltered view of grief and how it can effect us in our day to day life. I liked the characters and it explores some interesting ideas - how can we forgive the dead when they are no longer here?

A nostalgic, coming of age story about the life of 3 women turning 30 and the complicated emotions of grief they each face after loosing their friend.

I really enjoyed Thrist Trip. Each charcater was messy and complicated and that just made the whole thing feel so real and authentic.

Funny, yet heartbreaking at the same time, Gráinne has a beautiful story telling ability that captures your full attention.
The final few pages left me with hope that these 3 women would be OK in the end.

THIS is one to watch out for when it releases next year! I will definitely be recommending it!

An absolute delight. O’Hare’s talent is unmatched, and I can’t wait for this to publish so I can tell every single person I know to read it. Heartbreaking and hysterical and so incredibly intelligent. Just such a pleasure to read.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the privilege of this arc.

Huge thank you to the lovely team at @picadorbooks for granting me access to this ARC on Netgalley!

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare is a bittersweet and bitingly funny story of three friends—Maggie, Harley, and Róise—navigating the aftermath of their twenties in a crumbling Belfast houseshare. Still grieving the tragic death of their friend Lydia and haunted by an unresolved fight, their friendships are tested as fault-lines begin to emerge.

O’Hare’s writing style is stunning and truly captivating, and I felt every ounce of emotion along with each of the girls. I laughed, cried, and absolutely adored spending time with them throughout this novel.

At its core, Thirst Trap is a profound and relatable reflection of friendship in your twenties; of enduring bonds through triumphs, catastrophes, and the chaos of growing up.

Biggest, FATTEST five stars from me

Despite not being a huge comedy fan, I absolutely adored this book. I started reading it in class and had it finished by the next day. Each character was so well written and I felt I really connected with them all. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the proof, I cannot wait to handsell this title!!

Great new female voice look forward to reading more from this writer. This book was a pleasure to read sparking memories of friendship the good, the bad, the ugly and all that's in between. Deeper than than your average rom woman's fiction it gave me early Marian Keyes vibes. Strong characters and well paced it was very much a treat to read this ARC.

Loved this book. The friendships were so true and real feeling.
Death of a friend is a different pain, the love and loss felt is described so well and how each friend is dealing with this are describing brilliantly in this novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Thanks to the publishers and Net Galley for an advanced ecopy of this book in exchange for a review. This was a great book. Very current and on trend. This follows the story of Maggie, Harley and Roise 3 friends since teenagers who are now all turning 30 living in Belfast, Ireland. They live together as well as party together. The book follows them as they try and navigate the first year after their other friend Lydia is killed in a car crash. The book covers grief, friendship and love and has lots of casual sex and drug taking. I liked the writing and how much like real life the story was. I will be recommending to others

This is such a gorgeously heartfelt and bittersweet story about friendship. The writing was just beautiful, I adore the way it was written. The style of writing worked perfectly with the story and so was the pacing. It kept me engaged and I didn’t want it to end.

It was good to see within the friendship group, how much that Lydia had an impact on them and how they are coming to terms with her passing. The fact they remained living in the same house when one of them is no longer there was so heartbreaking to read. They had such a connection to their house, even if it was falling apart. They wanted to hold onto the memories that they made in that house during their twenties.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

I absolutely loved Thirst Trap! This book is so beautifully well written and the dialogue is top tier. It made me laugh and feel so much sadness for the girls in this book but ultimately it made the characters feel so real.

I can’t emphasise enough how much I loved the writing style. I thought it suited the book so well and really made it so easy to read and enjoy.

Very excited for Thirst Trap to be published so more people can love it!

Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley!

This made me nostalgic for my slightly misspent youth, and the friendships I had.
The four girls/women in their tight knit group, and the grief of losing ond of them.
Some lovely moments in here, along with some reckless ones.
Definitely recommend.

Maggie, Harvey, Roise and Lydia share a house as students.

A decade later, what has changed?

Lydia has been dead for a year, killed in a road accident. And the others remain in the house, which is falling down around their ears. As indeed they are.

There are an awful lot of unresolved issues as their thirtieth birthdays approach...

Profoundly beautiful and a true reflection of friendship in your twenties. I loved this so much, each one of the girls felt real and raw with their grief and sadness. Lydia herself even felt monumental, despite only existing as a ghost of their past.

The writing was beautiful and subtle in its emotions, one minute I’d be smiling to myself at the humour and the next I was fighting back tears. I found myself thinking of these women even when I wasn’t actively reading. They reminded me so much of my friends and the decisions we’ve all made so far in our twenties, and the decisions we’ve yet to make. This story had a heartbeat and a real sense of love and friendship. I loved reading about these girls.

I loved this fun take of girlhood. It was fun and interesting and such a delight! Enjoyed this one very much