My debut novel THIRST TRAP was published in the UK with Picador on 12th June 2025, and in the US with Crown Publishing on 4th November 2025. Thirst Trap was shortlisted for Newcomer of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards, and was selected as the December book for Dakota Johnson’s TeaTime Book Club.
‘Very funny… a little bit Dolly Alderton and a little bit Lena Dunham, with a wholly Irish soul.’ – New York Times
‘An emotional wild ride in all the best ways’ – Dakota Johnson, TeaTime Book Club
A most-anticipated novel of 2025 – DAZED, Irish Times, RTÉ.
‘Hilarious and gut-wrenching’ – Alice Slater, author of Death of a Bookseller
‘Like the literary love child of Miranda July and Carrie Fisher, transposed in Belfast – hilarious, smart and chaotic in the best way’ – Louise Nealon, author of Snowflake
‘Raucous, sexy, and fucking hilarious. A heady mix of Michael Magee’s Close To Home and Lena Dunham’s Girls.’ – Aimée Walsh, author of Exile
‘High velocity, hilarious, and rooted in the chaos and absolute commitment of female friendship.’ – Naomi Booth, author of raw content
‘The characters were so warm and real, I felt like I knew them. A beautiful look at friendship and transition, it was funny, bittersweet, and honest.’ – Chloe Michelle Howarth, author of Sunburn
‘So funny, taut and complex’ – Wendy Erskine, author of The Benefactors
‘An absolutely cracking read . . . Gráinne O’Hare has a keen eye, a sharp wit, pitch-perfect comic timing and a big heart, and spending time with her and her trio of female friends has all the raucous intimate pleasure of a big night out without any of the hangover. I loved it’ – Lucy Caldwell, author of Multitudes and Intimacies
‘Spiky, funny, cool, heartbreaking . . . There were so many turns of phrase I had to read again and again because they were so perfectly put. It’s a deeply fulfilling and tender read about the power of female friendship and of finding light in dark places. A dazzlingly assured novel’ – Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters
‘Think Dolly Alderton, but with the sharp edges of Eliza Clark . . . O’Hare has a true gift for a visceral simile, her sandpapery prose scribbling vivid pictures of messy pleasure that you can practically smell off the tequila-soaked page’. – The Independent
‘An absolute riot – funny, compassionate, observant and wise . . . O’Hare attends so closely, so wittily and so empathetically to every single one of these characters . . . enormously impressive and fun’ – Irish Times
‘It’s one of those novels that you can’t believe is a debut. O’Hare is a writer to watch out for in 2025 and beyond’ – RTÉ
‘A rising star of the Belfast New Wave . . . a book is for anyone who has found themselves on the fraying end of a close friendship, appreciates comedy or experienced their twenties in a blur of high emotion’ – The Irish Post
‘It’s compulsively readable and brilliant on friendship and grief. I raced through it’. – Daily Mail
‘Highly-relatable. A brilliant portrayal of grief – and of growing up. Written with humour, hope, and warmth’ – Irish Examiner
Reader reviews:
‘Made me laugh and cry in equal measure’
‘Laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving . . . I loved every page of it.’
‘Sharp, funny, and deeply relatable’
‘I mourned this being over. It’s sad and beautiful and real and messy. It’s perfect’
If you are in the UK, you can buy Thirst Trap below:
Buy signed copies from Forum Books
If you are in the US, you can pre-order Thirst Trap below:
Thirst Trap will be published in translation in 2026; you can pre-order here:
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