Review: "Thirst Trap" by Gráinne O'Hare

Thirst Trap by Gráinne O'Hare
Published November 2025 via Crown
★★★★

They're thirty, or almost thirty, but Róise and Harley and Maggie don't feel grown, not yet. They're still living together in a grimy share house, still sleeping with the wrong people and doing too many drugs and grieving the loss of Lydia, the fourth of their tribe. They're stagnating, each in her own way. They all know something has to change, but nobody is sure what, and nobody is ready to take the plunge.

This is funny and sad all at once. I'm not sure quite what genre I'd put it in—something at once both chick lit and lit fic; coming-of-age for adults. Character-driven but not slow. (Might be a good gentle entry into lit fic for those who are curious?) It took me a minute to get into the rhythm of which character was dealing with which issues, and how, but these are compelling characters. Again, this is not a book in which anyone is perfect; they mostly run around screwing up in various ways. They manage to be sympathetic characters anyway.

There are a number of romances throughout the book, some longer-lasting than others, but what I love most is how much of the story is about friendship, about platonic relationships. The women are acutely aware that what they have can't last forever—eventually one or more of them will want to move in with a partner, or move to another city, or just want a slightly better daily quality of life. There's a feeling of...pre-grief, I guess, of knowing that it can't last, on top of the active grief they already face related to Lydia's death. Even without having had that sort of friend group, it's relatable and oddly nostalgic.

I hoped from the cover alone that this would be a good fit, and it didn't disappoint. More along these lines, please.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.