"Thirst Trap" is a rare book that has successfully captured what it is to navigate friendship through your twenties, with all of the growing pains, the love, the tragedy and the fraughtness of what it is to finally grow up. The story follows the lives of three closer than close friends who have to navigate their relationships in the aftermath of losing their fourth to tragedy. The book is a very real and very human exploration of grief, of what it means to have things unsaid and then abruptly end with no resolution. O'Hare deftly balances humour and gut punching grief and anger without ever dropping the ball. The book feels like we are watching these young women's lives unfold before us in all of their messy glory, pulling us into every feeling and every decision they made. It is chaotic in the way that lives are at that age, where everything feels high-stakes and ludicrous all at the same time.

Honestly a fantastic read that I hope flourishes. I couldn't put it down as I was so invested in it.

Three female friends approaching thirty, still flat sharing and living their lives pretty much as they did as teenagers. They are all struggling with grief and traumatic events in their lives which is affecting them in different ways, This book is therefore dark but laugh out loud funny in parts too. I love the Irish humour throughout so overall a good read.

I was so excited to get to read this novel in advance of its publication. I had very high expectations of it and it didn't disappoint at all!

Set in Belfast, it follows three friends and housemates, Róise, Harley and Maggie, one year on from the devastating loss of their friend Lydia. Their house is falling apart and they are growing up, on the edge of their late twenties and they are all struggling in their own ways; with grief, with life, with relationships, with basically everything.

The novel was so sharp and well written. It was funny, it was heartfelt, it was reflective, it was poignant, it was witty and it was heart wrenching. Each character was so well-developed and the narrative flowed seamlessly between each one. I loved their complicated friendships and relationships. It was refreshing to read a novel that on the one hand felt very "young" but was depicting three women entering their 30s. I think it captured that feeling that a lot of us have that by a certain age we will be sure to feel settled and sorted but that's just not reality and its reflected so well in this novel.

On a totally separate note, it was nice to read a novel set in Belfast that made no mention of The Troubles. As someone from Belfast, I realise that this part of our history is pretty important but it's good to get a break from reading about it.

Would highly recommend this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Picador publishers for the chance to read this ARC.

“Thirst Trap” by Gráinne O’Hare is a chaotic, emotional dive into the lives of a group of friends teetering on the edge of turning 30, a year after the tragic loss of the fourth member of their group. If you love messy characters who are equal parts lovable and exasperating, this book delivers.

Each character had a distinct voice, their own tangled struggles, and a deep sense of vulnerability that made them feel real. O’Hare captures that liminal space of late twenties uncertainty so well—the feeling of being stuck, unsure of what comes next, watching friendships shift and splinter under the weight of life’s pressure.

What hit hardest was the raw portrayal of female friendships. The love, resentment, loyalty, and distance—it’s all in there, honest and unfiltered. Not every moment was easy to read, but it all felt authentic.

It’s not a book that ties everything up neatly, but that’s kind of the point. Life’s messy, and “Thirst Trap” doesn’t shy away from that.

I really liked this. It’s one of those books that quietly gets going, bringing you along for the ride.

I found so much of it relatable, especially having also been a woman in her twenties sharing a house. The friendships felt real and messy in the best way, and I thought O’Hare captured that particular mix of love, grief, and growing up so well. Some parts made me laugh, others hit surprisingly hard, others sparked nostalgia and I kept thinking about the characters even after I’d finished. Would definitely recommend if you’re into character-driven stories with a lot of heart.

The writing in this was so witty and I loved exploring each of the characters, the different perspectives were so intriguing and definitely added to the novel.

This was my first read from this author and I would definitely reach for her works again!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Great novel, enjoyed reading this so much on a recent trip.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my feedback.

Grainne O'Hare's novel is full of dark delicious humour. There are some hilarious laugh out loud moments. While being very funny there is a definitive edge to this novel. I loved the nights out and general madness the three friends found themselves in. The depections of growing up whilst feeling that they should already be grown up were brilliant. I did however find the characters very hard to warm to and disliked the three girls. Perhaps this was the authors intent. It did take a while before I really started to care about the characters. Overall I enjoyed this book.

Thirst Trap is a sharp, funny, and deeply relatable exploration of female friendship as it shifts from the carefree chaos of our twenties into the more uncertain terrain of our thirties. The novel captures the widening gaps in maturity, expectations, and personal growth with humor and honesty.

At the heart of the story are three friends clinging to the crumbling home they share—both literally and figuratively. Their house, falling deeper into disrepair, is almost a character itself, creaking under the weight of their lives and unresolved emotions. Haunting them all is the presence of their friend who died a year earlier, her room left untouched, her absence a lingering shadow.

What makes Thirst Trap truly stand out for me is its dialogue—sharp, witty, and so natural it feels like eavesdropping on real conversations. The relationships between the characters are complex and deeply authentic, capturing the push-and-pull of friendships tested by time, grief, and personal change. O’Hare balances humor with emotional depth makes this an enjoyable novel that really resonates.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really loved Thirst Trap, it was such a roundabout book of emotions around womanhood and was nice to read about it happening with woman in their late twenties reflecting on the previous 10 years, especially after Lydia's death. It was really such an eye opener to just grab every moment of life as it passes by so quickly and that you will waste your life away just waiting for good things to fall in to place. I loved the honest chaos the woman (Maggie, Harley and Roise) are going through and makes it more realistic and relatable and does cover some TW, further adding to the realism that women go through and not always verbalising their struggles.
Very emotive read but enjoyable with a lot to take away.

Thirst Trap is a hilarious yet deeply poignant novel that perfectly captures the turbulence of grief, friendship, and the chaos of entering a new decade of life.

Set in Belfast, the story follows three friends still reeling from the sudden loss of their housemate, Lydia, a year after her passing.

As they navigate their lingering grief alongside the presence of Lydia’s pet turtle, they are also forced to confront the painful fallout that occurred between them before the accident. And trust me, when the reason they weren’t speaking to Lydia is revealed, it is a jaw-dropping moment.

What sets Thirst Trap apart is its ability to balance emotional depth with sharp, laugh-out-loud humour.

From the very first line, the book is packed with witty observations and relatable moments that will resonate deeply with anyone who has stumbled their way through adulthood.

It perfectly encapsulates the delusion of believing that turning thirty will suddenly bring clarity and direction - only to realise you still don’t feel like a proper grown-up.

For anyone who has ever lived with a group of friends, this book will hit home in the best way.

The dynamics between the characters are so authentic that you’ll find yourself saving quotes to send to your own friends with a “this reminds me of you!” message.

Gráinne O’Hare captures the messy, complicated, and fiercely loyal nature of female friendships with heart and honesty, making this a truly standout debut.

Equal parts funny, heartfelt, and painfully real, Thirst Trap is a must-read for anyone who has ever navigated grief, quarter-life crises, and the chaos of shared living.

An enjoyable and engaging read about female friendship, love, and grief. This character-driven story tackles some heavy themes but balances them well with moments of humour.

Told from the perspectives of three friends navigating their shared home and the grief of losing a friend. The book explores relationships, career struggles, turning thirty and knowing when to move on in life.
Each character feels distinct, making it easy to connect with their journeys.

Overall, a thoughtful and enjoyable read. 3.75 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A genuinely funny book with memorable characters and a gorgeous sense of place, set in a new Northern Ireland with all of its diversity and colour. I'm not necessarily the target audience but this was a vibrant, very well written novel.

Thirst Trap is reminiscent of Lena Dunham’s Girls, Lisa Taddeo’s Animals, or Emma Morgan’s A Love Story for Bewildered Girls. Its meandering style reflects the interwoven, messy lives of the women at the heart of the story. I thought it was accurately marketed as I would also describe it as 'a blazing, bittersweet, bitingly funny, and painfully relatable story about friendships'.

I liked how well it reflected the reality of ‘twenties panic’, and showcased the enduring, tough and beautiful friendships between women. A moving exploration of grief and friendship.

Thanks to Net Galley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an ambitious novel that will take you on a ride through the messy lives of three friends painfully making the transition into adulthood. A compelling new voice!

Róise, Maggie and Harley are all celebrating their big 3-0’s and still living life as if they are college students in a moldy, falling-down house share, shared custody of a turtle called Barnaby and a lot of romantic exploits and dramas still following them around. All three also still mourning the death of their friend Lydia, whose death was sudden and happened before an argument could be resolved.

This book is chaotic and heartwarming showing female friendship at its finest and its worst, and a combination of sad girl/messy girl. Perfect for fans of Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident or Ghosts by Dolly Alderton.

The pacing and the style of the writing is easy to fly through and you almost feel hungover yourself as you travel along on the girls’ nights out from pub to nightclub to…museum. Grief is a big element in this book as the ghost of Lydia is with them all the time from her room which still holds her vibrator (and yes, Harley thinking about using it was a bit of a step too far), as well as the echoes of their last argument with her and the forgiveness that can never be shared.

Each girl is going through their own stuff - Róise is still reeling a bit from her past relationship but ends up entering a sexual relationship with her boss Adam (who is actually a pretty decent guy) and her issues may end up stalling it before it’s really begun. Maggie, the lesbian of the group, is in a toxic relationship with her ‘friend’ Cate who keeps her at arm’s length but also pulls her in every chance she gets. And then Harley definitely takes too much drugs, likes her landlord/dealer a little bit too much and could probably do with making better, healthier decisions with her sex life.

The book feels more character focused than plot as we follow the girls from one exploit to another, or one mistake to another. TW for some descriptions of disordered eating (stemming from anxiety rather than body image), abortion, and heavy drug and sexual content. I would have liked to have seen a bit more character growth throughout rather than a lot of it being shoehorned in at the end in the last chapter even though it was nice seeing the girls all a bit healthier and happier.

With this eye-catching cover, Gráinne O'Hare's debut novel is a tender story of friendship and grief. It was a real slow-burner and I found myself pausing often while reading it. The writing made the characters quite real, describing the everyday life, their thoughts and feelings. All three characters try to deal with grief, the messiness of late twenties, while also struggling with "having to grow up" as they approach 30. At times I felt amused, at times sad and emotional, at times I even felt bored while reading this book, but I am still glad I read it, because it was something a bit different from the plot-driven books that I often read.

Thirst Trap is a poignant and humorous exploration of friendship, loss, and the transition into adulthood, capturing the essence of contemporary life in Belfast.

Thirst Trap is an emotional rollercoaster of a novel, focusing on friendship, grief and betrayal. It follows three friends, Maggie, Harley and Röise, stumbling their way towards their thirties getting drunk and high, barely maintaining their mouldy shared home. They are still grieving the loss of Lydia, their friend and housemate, and struggling to come to terms with how she died so suddenly during a fight that none of them had been on speaking terms with her when she passed away.

Whilst juggling some heavy emotional turmoil and dark material, O'Hare still manages to keep a humourous undertone whilst exposing the stark and often bleak realities of life and growing up, and there are some truly brilliant moments of forgiveness and enduring frienship that really lighten the tone. An impressive and thought-provoking novel, I would definitely recommened!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

This was funny, heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. Following three flatmates grieving the death of their best friend Lydia, this book never felt sappy or overly sentimental. Instead the characters felt fully realised and the depth of their grief comes out in ways that are so heartbreakingly human. I loved feeling fully enmeshed in this group of women trying to make sense of their lives following this loss; making mistakes, learning from them and sometimes still making those same mistakes all over again. I also thought the structure of this book was really unique. We slipped in and out of each woman’s perspective so quickly but the transitions felt seamless because each character had such a distinctive voice and perspective. It also helped that these were all women I could see myself being friends with irl.

I’m not usually one for funny books but this is an exception. It’s the kind of humour where you can tell the author is just genuinely funny as opposed to someone trying really hard to make you laugh.
I can see myself revisiting this book in the future because I already miss these characters, which is always a good sign.