DNF at 10% - This writing style just isn't for me, it's not bad but it's just a bit too abstract for me which makes it harder for me to get invested into the story. It also really hurts my brain when writers don't use quotation marks for dialogue.

Cicada Summer is a mesmerizing, meandering story about Husha, her grandfather, and her former partner as they quarantine together in the remote lakeside wilderness. Husha discovers a book her deceased mother began writing, and together, the group reads each story that eerily begins to resemble their lives in the cabin.

What struck me most about this book was the beautiful writing with descriptive language. As a reader, I was able to visualize every detail so clearly, and the simplest actions and scenes were developed with such cleverness. It was a short novel, but it felt like poking around in someone's dream. I look forward to future books from the writer!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review*.

Cicada Summer follows Husha as she quarantines with her grandfather. They are quarantining at her grandfather’s lakeside cabin in remote Ontario. Her ex-lover, Nellie joins them. Husha finds a strange book whilst cleaning her dead mother’s house. She finds a journal which contains short stories.

This book was an okay read but not something I’ll think about again. Personally I didn’t find the short story elements interesting but I also struggled to care about Husha. It wasn’t bad at all just not to my taste. I would still recommend this but I can’t say I’ll think about it again. It just wasn’t what I was expecting at all and it feels pretty empty to me.

A story told in fragments, dreams and excerpts Cicada Summer follows Husha through her days living with her grandfather Arthur and partner Nellie during the pandemic. Her mother has passed away and we experience her grief and healing process.

Husha finds the beginning of a book her mother was writing, hesitant to read it at first and unsure if it was meant for her to see, eventually Arthur, Nellie and her sit down to read it over several evenings.

As a reader it felt like I was gathering with them to listen to the reading of her mothers stories.

This book asked many questions and felt like an opportunity to reflect on love, life and the meaning of things alongside Husha.

I liked the use of cicadas throughout the story as a continuing symbol and multisensory experience; hearing their buzz, Husha holding them in her hand.

If you like books that make you contemplative and you can revisit to further analyze the meaning of the content then I recommended this.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I feel this book deserved a better reader than me, to pick up the subtleties, and all the emotions.
I fear I didnt understand it quite as I hoped, non the less I enjoyed it on a storytelling level.