My first 5 star review of the year, and what a debut from Chloe Michelle Howarth !

A day hasn't gone by where I haven't thought about this book since finishing. Set in the 1990's this novel's protagonist, Lucy, resides in a little Irish village, where privacy may be a foreign concept to the majority of the residents. Whilst the typical, and expected, progression in life is to marry and have kids, for Lucy, this could not sound less appealing. But then Lucy meets Susannah, and in a whirlwind, all-consuming romance, Lucy could not be more infatuated if she tried. But with the pressures of her heavily Catholic family, coming face to face with her sexuality and what this could mean for her relationships, particularly with her mother, means that Lucy has to navigate her life meticulously.

‘‘My love now seems to be an aggressive, political thing. It is the ceaseless search for an identity and then committing to that identity. It is a fight to exist in my own home. Is that not exhausting? Is it worth it? It feels like the good parts of loving have been thrown on the backseat and forgotten about."

With decisions surrounding her future rapidly approaching, it is ultimately up to Lucy on whether she chooses to stay emotionally rooted in Crossmoore as a shell of herself, or whether she can truly embrace the woman she is, and has always been.

This coming of age is absolutely masterful in its navigation of the storyline, especially in coming to understand and accept your sexuality. The use of religious vocabulary in the description of the love affair between Lucy and Susannah, creating a sense of ethereal beauty between the girls was perfect. The ability to see Lucy grow into her own skin and become so comfortable with who she is was beautiful. Please read it, you won't regret it!

Truly mesmerising and mind-blowing. The writing was stunning and it just made me flip through the book faster and faster. This book will get recommended by me to everyone I know, from my friends to my family. The plot was truly intriguing and it left me satisfied by the end

I love coming off age novels and this is a classic of the genre. Full of wit, insight and brilliant characters, I fell in love with the story on the very first page. Read it now!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

"Sunburn" by Chloe Michelle Howarth offers a neutral reading experience. The plot revolves around relationships and self-discovery, but it may lack a distinctive edge. Characters are adequately developed, yet the narrative may feel somewhat formulaic. Howarth's novel is a serviceable choice for those seeking a straightforward exploration of personal journeys.

Sunburn is a well crafted debut novel about first loves, falling in love and not being able to act on it. What made 'Sunburn' stand out for me was that Lucy is falling in love with her female best friend, and in 1990s Ireland, that's not an easy situation to be in. Their love story against a background of needing to keep things hidden - just beautifully portrayed with great respect given to all of the characters.

A bit too adolescent-type of narrative for me. I had an impression that I'm not a target reader (I am 32),

I loved it so much. the writing style was amazing I couldn't stop reading, made me feel all sorts of feelings

Sunburn is a sapphic, coming of age melodrama set in the 90's in a small village in Ireland - in those teenage years, where acceptance and fitting in is everything. Sunburn approaches the issues that are seemingly unavoidable in a small village setting, where people are not progressive but your sexual desire is.

Lucy is conflicted - she is under the attentive gaze of Martin, but cannot help but be distracted by Susannah. This narrative forms more than just the basis of the book, it is the book - family aren't open to difference, friends are hit & miss with their embrace for homosexuality, the local community it very 'traditional' but should Lucy break free or please her mother?

I feel like I came away from this book feeling very much the way I did after reading Sally Rooney's 'Normal People' - it was ok. The writing is sometimes a little monotonous, and in parts it was a bit sluggish, during those sections I struggled to feel a connection. The scene setting at the beginning was very good, I got bored in the middle, and raced to the end wondering how this would conclude.

Oh this book transported me back in time. What a read.
Set in '90s Ireland, Sunburn is a stunning book full of longing and wanting and forcing oneself to conform. Its a coming of age story set in when Ireland herself hadn't yet come of age. The author captures this age and point in time with such heart aching accuracy.

The writing is so tender and realistic and I wanted to go back in time and tell Lucy it would all work out and she'd be ok . An incredible debut, the little details helped the main story to soar, I loved this book and can't wait to read more from this author, what a talent.

4.5

I received a free e-galley of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

For the first third or so of this book, I wasn’t feeling it at all — it failed to distinguish itself from other queer coming of age stories. But I’m glad I persisted as it won me over in the end. This book is about Lucy, a teenager growing up in rural Ireland in the 1990s. She’s in love with her friend, the wealthy, glamorous Susannah, while fighting societal pressure to enter a relationship with her childhood best friend Martin.

I think what helped win me over in the end was this book’s skilful portrayal of the relentlessness of societal pressures over the passage of time. Again and again, Lucy chooses to succumb to heteronormativity, sacrificing her chance at love. I really related to this aspect on a personal level — how being queer involves breaking away from the pressures of others and even hurting those closest to you, and the difficulties this causes.

I found this book to also be a great portrayal of rural Ireland. There’s all sorts we can say about Susannah and what she symbolises: the neglected, abandoned, independently wealthy Susannah, and Lucy’s desire for her over the stable, local boy Martin.

So, yes, despite my initial stumblings this turned out to be a great read, and one that gets better the more I think about it!

Amazing. So gorgeously written, it was like reading poetry. The pages flew by, one after the other, carrying the reader through in a way that felt effortless. And yet despite the ease of the writing, the story was suffused with tension, conflict and heartache.

It recreates the love of a hometown which is not good for you, where familiarity is confused with safety and comfort, and the fear of leaving, or worse, being rejected and unable to return, clouds your judgement. It tells a common story for queer people in such intimate detail that it feels new, and yet echoes with all of the histories that have gone before it.

Despite so much pain, self-doubt and punishment, there was also tenderness, sweetness and self-sacrifice. The mother-daughter dynamic encapsulated the difficulty of growing up and facing the world as it is, and not as you hoped it would be; while the depiction of girlhood friendships was so accurate – petty and cruel, loyal and defensive, snarling at you or with you. This novel just hit so many sweet spots, it is the perfect coming together reality and fiction.

“Sunburn” is the most beautiful sapphic coming-of-age novel I’ve ever read. It follows protagonist Lucy who is in her late teens and lives in a rural Irish town in the early 90s. Everybody expects her to be in love with her childhood friend, Martin, but instead she falls for Susannah—beautiful, free, untraditional, cool Susannah. The novel covers four (or five?) summers in which Lucy slowly discovers which kind of woman she is or wants to be.
The relationship between Lucy and Susannah constantly gave me butterflies. Their love letters are so well crafted and romantic—Lucy’s words and descriptions are so heartfelt that they made me fall in love with Susannah, too.
“Sunburn” is a novel about a first love that is infatuating and all-consuming, but so real and beautiful. It’s about juggling social expectations, tradition, and one’s own desires. And lastly, it’s about deciding which life to live when all of the options are somewhat terrifying.

I absolutely adored this book, definitely my read of the summer. This book actually feels sunsoaked and I am obsessed. The story was so sad and beautiful, moving and hopeful all at once. Such a complex exploration of identity, sexuality and trying to please everyone in your life at the expense of your own happiness.

A beautifully written book which was almost heartbreaking in its prose. I don't want to ruin anything but ease read this book

"Sunburn" by Chloe Michelle Howarth is set in a small village in Ireland and brings to life those heady, lazy Summer days in the 1990s that many of us can conjure at will.

Lucy has a small circle of friends, including her closest childhood friend Martin, and enigmatic Susannah, who Lucy finds herself becoming more and more obsessed with. It's Ireland, it's the 1990s, it's a small village - so the notion of anything other than a heterosexual relationship isn't something many will entertain. For Lucy, this brings huge internal struggles - she could settle down with Martin, please her parents, and live the life she's "supposed" to, or she could risk everything to love Susannah.

Lucy's actions, no matter what they are, will devastate someone - but she can't live a lie. Can she?

A beautiful, melancholy, coming-of-age tale set against a nostalgic backdrop make for a compelling and emotional read. I wanted to shake Lucy at times but I understood completely where she was coming from, and why she made the choices she did. It's a special little book, sure to resonate with anyone who grew up in a small town and felt like they had to repress who they really were.

Thank you to Verve for the ARC via Netgalley.

THE COVER, THE VIBES, THE ATMOSPHERIC AURA OF THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. I'll definitely grab a finished copy of this one!

With achingly beautiful, almost lyrical, prose this was both sweet and heart-breaking in turns - I couldn’t put it down. The characters felt so raw and real, so honest to what it's like growing up queer and the setting was really vividly evoked. I felt completely immersed in Lucy’s world and feelings. An absolutely gorgeous coming of age story, and a strong debut from Howarth, who I will be following with interest from now on!

Definitely not my cup of tea; although the plot intrigued me, its execution left a lot to be desired.

"Remember that, without the sweat on her sternum and the Autumn colour of her, in her most basic and fleshy form, she is only another piece of the earth, the same as me. We are all just pieces of the earth. I must take a breath."

Sunburn is a scorching coming of age, coming out story that captures a transcendental moment in time of a young girl questioning everything. It tenderly explores first loves, sexuality, tradition and growing up in a provocative and thoughtful way that was so undeniably compelling.

The setting was suffocating — a searing summer heat combined with building pressure creating a truly stifling and visceral picture. Everything was truly dazzling and descriptive in a massively engaging way.

Our narrator Lucy was something special to read— as we watch her fall desperately in love, we can see the infatuation and obsession form, that unreasonable and intense feelings of first love that is all consuming and leads to terrible choices. But even as see her become consumed by her love and be naive, I couldn’t help but feel for her intensely.

Aside from this love, we also see her try to navigate finding her place in a family that doesn’t quite fit anymore, and facing the realisation that being a woman isn’t that easy — while she searches for the answers. She sits in that confusing limbo between child and adult, perfectly encapsulating the lust for independence and identity we feel as young people, that undeniable need for rebellion and definition and this created such a real, melancholic nostalgia.

Every character has their own distinct personality, and the relationships between people are carefully crafted and complex. Between tense family relationships, beautiful friendships and real displays of sisterhood and solidarity.

Her narration is slow, pacing itself out leisurely like a hot summer afternoon, with not a lot happening but so much to hear and think about as the months and then years fall by — it was descriptive and lyrical at times, moving fluidly between scenes of family life and teenage confusion but always with so much more happening under the surface.

This is an absolutely beautiful story about belonging and beginnings that needs to be on your reading list.