Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya. Thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Joy Revolution for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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TL;DR: A Cruel Thirst was a great romp of a read! This YA historical paranormal romance had engaging characters who were easy to root for and an entertaining action-packed plot that kept me turning the pages. I loved Carolina and Lalo and enjoyed their enemies-to-reluctant partners-to-lovers dynamic so much. Despite recognising certain flaws in the story that would’ve normally irritated me, the humorous writing and witty banter made this such an enjoyable laugh-out-loud read, that the flaws didn’t seem to matter! I would recommend it to those looking for a relatively light-hearted but action-packed story featuring an interesting vampire x vampire hunter dynamic that’s heavy on fun, romance, and banter!

“We all have the ability to do terrible things when we feel like hope is lost.”

This is my first book by Angela Montoya but it won’t be my last. I came into this expecting a dark and serious story about vampires in a historical setting but what I got was a humorous, banter-filled story that had me laughing out loud constantly and brims with love for family. Objectively, there were moments when I found myself questioning the inconsistencies in parts of the narrative and I was admittedly disappointed that there was still one major element that was flippantly answered away at the end. However, I was able to look past and accept this for the most part because I came for the vibes, found myself genuinely enjoying the story, and didn’t want to spoil the read for myself. I think if you can do the same, you’ll enjoy it just as much! This reads like a classic telenovela where character interactions and dialogue are exaggerated, the lust-to-love is instant, and the drama dramas hard. 😂 It was very entertaining!

“The kind of weapon doesn’t bring us triumph, Lina. The ferocity of the person who wields it does. Believing in yourself and what you are capable of is sometimes enough on its own, no?”

The plot is pretty straightforward and fairly predictable as more elements come to light. There wasn’t a need for a lot of snooping or heavy planning because Lalo, the brilliant nerd that he is, already had years of research tucked under his belt about vampires, their origins, and how to possibly vanquish them. This introduced us to one of the more unique aspects of the story: the Mayan lore about vampires originating from the powerful deity, Tecuani. This was new-to-me lore that I’d not previously read about or seen in fantasy before, so I enjoyed how we got passages from historical texts woven between chapters. I also enjoyed the other passages from one of Lalo and Carolina’s favourite writers, a poet who wrote beautiful and achingly romantic lines that just fit their story so well. All of this was great but what made the book for me were the characters and their relationship dynamics.

He was dusty and grimy and stiff from head to toe, and it felt almost as bad as being knifed by that fiend. “I spent a whole day trappped in some foxhole. I have been stabbed and assaulted with cookware. I’m hardly all right.”

Carolina Fuentes was a headstrong, sharp-tongued, and fiercely loyal young woman who had a “take no prisoners” attitude when it came to hunting vampires and protecting her family. She wants so badly to prove to her father that she’s more than capable of being taken seriously as a vampire hunter alongside the men in her family and I admired that no matter how many times her father shot her down and had no faith in her abilities, she never gave up fighting. She’s not fearless but she is incredibly brave and tough! Honestly, she was such a baddie and I admired her fierceness, fighting skills and bravery. I especially loved how she was the “armoured knight” in her fake fiancé-ship with Lalo! I also loved her relationship with her cousin Nena and I’m a bit sad that she didn’t continue to play a bigger role in the story. Nena is hilarious though and the way she spoke made the whole thing feel even more like a telenovela! 😂

“And what is a few moments when our souls have known each other since the beginning of time?”

Opposites certainly attracted between them and in total contrast to her fierceness, Lalo Villalobos was a deathly serious, soft-hearted, socially awkward, and scholarly young man who loved his books and hated peopling (hard relate). Lalo was adorable! He was such an easy character to empathise with and root for. Much like Carolina has been disregarded because she’s a young woman, he has been ignored or labelled a weirdo simply because he’s serious, studious and isn’t your typical “machismo” man of that period. It was great to see him (very) slowly embrace life and start doing things like dancing and laughing and asserting himself in situations where needed! Similar to Carolina’s great relationship with her cousin Nena, Lalo also had a wonderful and complex relationship with his younger sister Fernanda (who was all cheek and sass and it was incredible!). Family is a big theme in this book and it’s clear how much he cares for and loves her. There was this one scene involving a letter that made me tear up a little because it was so sweet! 🥹 Honestly, he was such a thoughtful romantic and could be so swoony when he wanted to be. I loved it!

She swung again, smacking him hard against his templed with an open palm.
Irritation blazed within him. “You demon!”
Carolina batted her lashes. “Takes one to know one.”

Despite the enmity from the moment they lay eyes on each other there is also a big physical attraction between the two. It was amusing at first to hear them be shocked at how beautiful and handsome the other was while they were fighting for their lives against each other (lol) but if I’m being honest, it got tiring after a while how often their attraction was pushed on the page. Their attraction/romance was also a lot more “telling” when “showing” how they felt and what they saw in each other (instead of simply my gosh, he’s handsome) would have been so much more effective. That said, I still enjoyed their dynamic a lot! Their banter was A+ amazing and I often found myself cackling at how good Carolina was at needling Lalo and getting him all worked up for little reasons. 🤣 Their back-and-forth snipping and sniping was so good and I’m so glad that didn’t let up the whole way through, even when it came time to the confession of feelings towards the end. It was a little instalove, I’m ngl, but somehow with all the action and the high stakes, it didn’t feel like they knew each other for so short a time.

“I often mistake love and loss. They are twin sisters. Holding hands and scampering past. Teasing me with their wicked beauty. Both make me feel like my world is large and small. They remind me I should be grateful but also terrified.”

Overall, this was a great romp of a historical paranormal romance. It was definitely not the vampire book I thought we would get but I loved it all the same. It was so entertaining and I loved how much the story and these characters made me laugh. I would recommend it!

“To love is to fight. You must fight for love every day. Don’t you agree?”

Have you read A Cruel Thirst or is it on your TBR?

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