this debut feels tender, raw, and devastatingly real. the prose glows with memory and queer longing that’s at once nostalgic and searing. at times it drifts, but it’s exactly the drift of adolescence—restless, searching, inevitable.

This was an instant 5 star read. Perfectly captured the ache and yearning of queer adolescence, the insecurity and the pull of another person. I loved the letters.

I really loved this book and I find it hard to put into words why.

As a queer woman growing up trying to navigate queerness and having to consider "conditional love", this book did a phenomenal job of bringing out all the emotions and hard feelings that come with that. Trying to balance acceptance and feeling "safe" with what you know and how you really feel is not something I could imagine putting into words and Chloe Howarth did it beautifully. I felt like we really got to experience the ups and downs with Lucy as she continues to peel back the layers in her life throughout the book.

I want to thank the author and the publisher for the chance to review this novel.

So far ... 2025 has been my year of queer yearning books and I love it (even thought it makes me cry every time).

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the layers of the characters and how they are flawed and how they handle that while making their way through the world. I think the writing was engaging and the type of style I really like for novels like this. I think the messy and complex relationships develop in ways that keep the readers engaged and wanting to see what was going to happen next and if they would make it through it

Sunburn is set to be a modern sapphic classic! I was moved and felt like I heard a `17 year version of myself reflected on the pages. The prose is smooth and flowing, but acessible that I can recommend to anyone who has struggled with religous guilt or coming out in a small town.

I absolutely loved this book - it completely engulfed me and I was right there in the world with Lucy and Susannah. This is definitely one of my top for the year so far and I think it will stay that way. The queerness, the yearning, the lazy summer love, all of it was so intense and magical.

Following along with Lucy as she grapples with her identity and longings was a delight. Watching her have to choose between what she’s always known and who she is heart wrenching. I felt for her throughout the entire story even as she made countless selfish decisions and hurt those around her.

Sunburn is a coming-of-age story that feels both tender and sharp, capturing the messy, sun-soaked intensity of youth. Howarth’s writing is vivid and sensory—you can almost feel the heat, smell the salt air, and taste the bittersweet moments of first love. The characters are flawed in a way that makes them achingly real, and their choices linger with you long after the last page. I loved how the novel explores the push and pull between desire and identity, without ever feeling heavy-handed. There’s a bittersweet nostalgia woven through the story that makes it as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Honest, atmospheric, and unforgettable, Sunburn is the kind of book that stays with you like the fading warmth of a summer day.

A queer coming-of-age story brimming with young love, yearning, and figuring out what path leads to happiness. Sunburn is full of introspection of a young woman who is at odds of what is expected of her and what she really wants.

The prose was descriptive and a good depiction of first love; how all encompassing it can be and torturous when it goes against everything that you have ever known. It’s 286 pages full of descriptions of [states above] so if that is up your alley, totally give it a shot.

As for some things I didn’t like
There wasn’t much going on outside of this girls yearning. The book isn’t long but approaching 300 pages is enough for me to <i>yearn </i> for more subplots. So much beautiful prose is dedicated to the abstract feeling of love or absence of it, I sort of wanted to see that level of description for the environment or for the main character’s goal. She’s obsessed but like does she really not have anything else going on in her life? I suppose part of that is the point being that she was from a small, but changing, town. I just wanted a little more.

Because of lack of subplot(s), the book felt like it dragged on for longer than it needed to. Beautiful and description prose turned stale and repetitive. I found myself checking to see how much I had left because I wanted it to end soon. It felt like I was in a conversation with someone who would presented me with the same problems over and over again and didn’t want to find a way out of it. Which sucks to feel towards the subject matter within the story. There was plenty of angst (which I usually enjoy) but lacked the last level of emotional depth that would have left me on the floor sobbing.

How could I have waited almost 2 years to read this masterpiece? Without knowing how much I would love it, I first saw this book in a Waterstones in Edinburgh in 2023. The beautiful orange cover caught my eye and as many book lovers do—I snapped a photo of it to add to my ever-growing tbr list. This was the perfect read during the most
excruciating heat wave of the summer.

It’s the early 90s and Lucy lives in a small town in Ireland. She knows what is expected of her: to follow the conventional path of motherhood and marriage to her childhood best friend, Martin. While her friends crush on and hang out with boys, Lucy plays along but could care less because she only has eyes for Susannah, a close friend. It starts as a spark during a long hot summer in Susannah’s garden, which leads to an all-consuming infatuation, and then develops into a devastating & delicate first love. Lucy will have to make some difficult decisions as she comes of age, navigates societal expectations, accepts her sexuality, and fears the rejection of her conservative & religious community.

Irish authors have a special place in my heart and Howarth did not disappoint. Seriously, what a stunning debut! It is a bittersweet story that just immerses you completely. I relate so much to Lucy’s innermost turmoil as she begins to accept herself despite the traditional and religious expectations set upon her. The prose is undeniably gorgeous and perfectly captures the excitement of a first love. The way that Howarth describes Lucy’s observations of Susannah is breathtaking, and these are some of my favorite lines. The implementation of religious imagery is perfect and deeply resonated with me as I also grew up Catholic struggling to accept myself. I adore the letters that Susannah and Lucy exchange throughout the book. I am so glad I finally got a chance to read this and need to get my hands on a physical copy as soon as possible.

The more that I think about it, the more that I love this book. I cannot wait to see what Howarth comes out with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the second book I've read this summer that explores the lives of closeted girlfriends in the 1990s. However, Irish novelists hold a special place in my heart, and Howarth does not disappoint. Poetically bittersweet. I didn’t even notice the main character’s name until about a quarter of the way through—but it didn’t matter. The writing is so immersive, allowing you to feel the character as if she were a part of you. Don't worry, though, because the story belongs to Lucy and Susannah. This isn't a typical, sweet, teenage romance, but a complicated relationship made all the more difficult by the people around them. Especially their mothers.
Martin’s character stood out—I loved him. In stories centered on lesbian relationships, male characters are often absent or peripheral, but Martin is (almost) perfectly drawn and genuinely likable. It’s hard to say who harbored the most toxic form of love in this story. So many good intentions that fell so short. I do wish I knew what happened with Lucy and Susannah, but I think we'll all have our own ideas on this point.
#NetGalley

I really enjoyed this one. We truly did not know who Lucy would choose to be with. It's impressive when you know what a character should do and yet the author makes every choice make sense for the character.
The comparisons to Normal People hold. Set in a rural town that is very much so conservative. Chloe dives into class, homophobia, HS friendships, the debs and gender roles all similar to themes Sally Rooney writes about.
I'd say my only hang up is the pacing. At times this felt slow and would jump ahead where I feel like we missed some of the details in between.

Thank you NetGalley & Melville House Publishing for sending me an ARC of this amazing book in exchange for an honest review. 💕

I went into this book with high expectations as it kept coming up on my "recommended reading," after reviewing other books. The prose, 4 stars in itself, but overall, rounding up a solid (3.5).

This is a true LGBT coming of age story, with our FMC facing her feeling between her male childhood family "crush" / bestfriend that everyone assumes her to be in love with, and the stunning popular girl that she's not supposed to feel that way towards. The authors prose in this story were gorgeous at times, with her detailing just the view of another person in such a breathtaking way that I felt I could see and feel them present. My grievance, at times it felt like it dragged on longer than needed, with some little details turning into pages. While I understood the importance of this for our FMC and her feelings, showing the anxiety and how it consumes her, it dragged more than I felt needed and even the beautiful prose only saved it so long. I would love to read more from this author and continue watching their work!

Sunburn was beautiful, bittersweet, and captured being a teenager in a small town so well.

There was such a lyricism in Chloe Michelle Howarth's writing, but also it felt so painfully teenage—where feelings are too big for your body, too big to express, and too big to know what to do with. Lucy's insights and off-hand comments created such a lush world. The imagery was stunning as well.

It was heartbreaking and had me going through every emotion while I read.

However, there was something just missing for me — I don't even know if I can fully put my finger on *what* it was, which is unfortunate in a review. But, I'd rate it a 3.75 stars rounded up to 4!

This was a brilliant, if hard, read. Howarth's ability to convey adolescent infatuation is brutal strong and uncomfortably close to reality.

I absolutely loved this book! It had me cycling through emotions like no other book I've read. As someone who grew up in the Catholic church, I deeply resonated with the discussions of guilt and "earning" salvation. The religious imagery was so beautiful and using it in relation to things that are often condemned by the church made it all the more poignant for me. Highly recommend! I will be talking it about forever!

This is a beautifully written book about queer teens in a small Irish village, where tradition and religion and the times (early 1990s) make it extremely hard to be out, forcing the narrator to choose between love and living authentically and the rest of the life as she knows it (she feels that she will lose her home, friends, and family).

3.5 stars
I finished this book kind of annoyed by the main character. I get where she was coming from, but she was so selfish (something she clearly admits). And there was just sooooo much lovey-dovey talk. It felt like I was reading the Song of Solomon. It got old. I wanted more story, not detailed descriptions of her feelings.

This book perfectly encapsulates yearning and nostalgia, it is written like an old friend recounting a story to you. Great book, highly recommend.

Sunburn is a feminine coming of age and just the literary type of novel I’m usually in the mood for. The self conscious of teenage girls and the way they can easily bite at and turn on each other , described so well taking me back to memories and moments best for gotten. Part viciousness and part competitiveness. And how easily they seem to bounce back from it all. Were we that flakey? Didn't we hold grudges a little more? This captures the best of the uncertainty of being a teenager but at a more mature comprehension.

In early 1990s Ireland, Lucy is experiencing heartbreak, love and loss- and what it feels like to grow up trying to break out of a small town. Even though this has been out and this is the arc release of the paperback version. I’ve really been enjoying these types of stories lately. The stories of young girls knowing they deserve better, big fish in little ponds so to speak, but having a hard time seeing their way out. Or not having a way out at all. The realization of the main character regarding the acceptability being sought of her is so mature- the way she describes herself as wanting to be something that would make her mother’s life easy is heartbreaking.

This hasn’t been my favorite of the literary coming of age novels I have read recently. The tension build up of Susannah and Lucy is enjoyable to read but the will they, won’t they conversations of the boys vs girls gets a little too repetitive. I would have liked a little more plot to support the character conversations. It does start to progress a little more at the halfway mark. The selfishness of the main character was painful to read, but would have moments of sympathy. She overall was frustrating to me though. But if you have been missing out on a love story with more yearning, I think you’ve found it.