So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars heavily rounded up**
I feel so bad. My head hurts. I have many mixed feelings on So Thirsty. I love Rachel Harrison, and her quirky Cozy Horror style, but this wasn’t great for me.
Unfortunately, I was mainly bored. It took me close to a month to finish. I just felt no sense of urgency, or compulsion to pick it up again once I had set it down.
This is the 6th-book I have read of Harrison’s, most of which I have adored, but this one is down there on the list. If not the bottom, it is close.
However, even Harrison’s slowest story for me is better than many others, so there’s that.
In this story we follow Sloane, who at the start of the tale is gifted a Girls Trip from her husband for her birthday. She, along with her best friend, Naomi, will be staying in a cozy rental cottage for the weekend.
Sloane wasn’t looking forward to her birthday, but reconnecting with Naomi, somewhere away from home does sound like a relief. Sloane and her husband have been having some issues and it’s been weighing heavily on her.
Naomi lives a completely different lifestyle, traveling the world with her rock star boyfriend, and she’s always good for a distraction.
Once there though, Sloane still doesn’t feel into it. Naomi literally has to drag the smiles out of her. It’s a struggle and their relationship seems to be feeling the strain.
The second night there, Naomi has something a little irregular in the cards for them. A house party with an attractive group of mysterious strangers.
That’s the night that will change their lives forever.
Generally with Rachel Harrison’s books, I become attached and invested in the main character. Usually, I find them highly relatable and more often than not, feel like they think, or see the world, very similarly to me.
But I just couldn’t connect with Sloane. I didn’t care for her, she felt like a rain cloud. Sadly, I couldn’t stand Naomi either. I found them both insufferable. Sloane seemed like such a Debbie Downer and Naomi was a selfish, self-centered twat the majority of the time.
I did enjoy the Horror concepts and how a lot of the action played out, I just wish it would have been with a different cast of characters.
The 4-stars are for the vampire bits and the scenes involving body horror and dangerous circumstances. I actually feel like I am being quite generous as I now sit here reflecting upon this reading experience.
Nevertheless, you can’t fault Harrison’s writing style, or her ability to create nuanced characters, whether or not I personally enjoy them. I know so many Readers have loved this one, so I feel like a lot of it will depend on how much you’re able to connect with Sloane and Naomi’s story.
I will say the first half did work more for me than the second. Around the halfway point, it started to drag, even though, one would think because of the timeline of events, the second half should have been more exciting.
I think perhaps I was just over Sloane and Naomi by then.
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Regardless of how salty I sound, I do absolutely adore this author and am looking forward to reading whatever she chooses to deliver us next!