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.

Been wanting to read this one for a while and finally picked it up and WOW. That was a very good book that had me feeling melancholy and wanting more by the end. I gave this book 4.5/5 stars. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC.

*thank you to melville house and netgalley for an arc of this wonderful novel!!*

oh my god. i finished this novel and immediately screamed into my pillow. talk about devastating. this book was absolutely amazing. the writing in this book has some of the most beautiful and heartbreaking dialogue i’ve ever read, so many lines i wish i could highlight or read again for the first time. there’s always something so fascinating about queer love in time where it’s not okay, how it still happens anyway, and how that affects those queer people as they come into adulthood.
i loved watching the characters find themselves in each other, even in parts, as they grew up. i adored each letter between the lucy and susannah, at the start and at the end. i loved how realistic the ending is and how open ended its left allowing the readers to decide what happens.
i absolutely adored this book, start to finish and i can’t wait to recommend this novel to everyone i know

Absolutely heartbreaking, but still so full of life. The poetic nature of the writing adds such a personal touch to the story, and makes it feel so real. The feelings and emotions dealt with are so dimensional and moving, i will recommend this book to anyone that will listen

so incredibly written and achingly beautiful. we are really planted in the mind of our main character and her thoughts and pains and hopes became my own. i loved this book. 5 stars.

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc <3

What an impressive debut. It’s hard to express how beautiful and thoughtful this book is. Sunburn follows Lucy, a teenager living in a small Irish town, as she comes of age. It’s a discussion of self-discovery and the repression inherent in growing up in an insular, religious community, as Lucy is torn between allowing herself to live authentically and honestly or to live the life that she has been raised for, that is expected of her by her friends and family. Most of the story takes place within the summer months, when Lucy is on break from school, and Chloe Michelle Howarth is adept at weaving the environment into the story. At times, the descriptions make this summer feel liberating in a way that is reminiscent of a childhood summer free from worries and responsibilities and at other times suffocating as they careen towards adulthood and must deal with the weight of societal expectations. The longer I’ve sat with this book, the more I’ve loved it and I can’t wait to see what Howarth writes next.

sunburn is a truly impeccable novel filled with sapphic longing, and the inevitability of growing up. i feel in love with the writing within this beautiful book. it became my entire heart.

lucy is a young girl in a small religious town, and she grows up with this group of girls that she feels very close to, along with her best friend martin. we follow her as she goes from middle to highschool, and then to young adult life. lucy finds herself falling in love with one of the girls in her friend group, and that is the main topic followed throughout the story.

i have never read yearning written like this. it was so emotionally raw, so pungent, so gutting, and so endearing. this is easily one of the best books i’ve read in 2025, and maybe ever. i am left speechless and sobbing. i cannot give it enough praise.

not only does this novel dive into sapphic love, but it also has a lot to say about family, identity, and independence. i know that i will never forget the experience i had reading it, and already can’t wait for the day that i pick it back up again.

sunburn is out in both the u.k. and u.s. as of the 8th of july. go and get yourself a copy if you’re looking to be emotionally destroyed and completed at the same time.

*Thank you to Melville House Publishing and NetGalley for the copy of this book! All opinions are my own.*

This book is all sorts of beautiful, devastating, wonderful, every which way you can feel. I pre-ordered my US copy (preferred the cover to the international edition ultimately) of this before I was even halfway done with it digitally because I knew I’d have to have it in my collection. There’s so many gorgeous bits of writing in these pages, it’s an annotating DREAM!

Not to mention the absolute YEARNING that goes on in this book. The young queer love that takes place in these pages is so layered and complex in a way that feels so realistic. It’s messy, it’s fearful, it’s all-or-nothing. It’s just… I adored it so fully.

The complicated familial dynamics - of all shapes and sizes - paired with the complicated way teenage friendships are so aptly depicted made this book feel so tangible to me. Everyone is so beautifully complex, not a single character feels like a forgotten piece.

The only thing that’s kept me from making this a full 5-star read is that I felt the pacing dragging a big in the middle. It loses its momentum for a moment, but it absolutely found its way again. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long, long time. And will absolutely be reading more of Chloe’s work. Incredible.

Grabbed this one after seeing it recommended so widely. Read it in a single day and there were some lovely moments. But, I am not generally a fan of a plotless hook and this one was no exception. Teenage angst portrayed well.

First, thank you so much for the opportunity to read this through Netgalley!! This book has been on my list for a while and I was so happy to have been given the chance to read it here!

This book launches the reader head first into the ever complicated twists and turns of teenaged Lucy's life growing up in a small town in Ireland. With her tight knit group of friends around her, readers walk with Lucy as she navigates her last few years of school, her family, complicated friendships, and societal dating expectations. To say this book is stunningly written is a huge understatement. I felt like I highlighted 2/3rds of it (at least!) The imagery, the push and pull of teenaged petulance, portrayal of queer love, haunting metaphors... it truly blew me away. I audibly gasped at the last sentence, what do you MEAN?! Huge, huge props to Chloe Michelle Howarth, thank you for giving us a glimpse inside your beautiful mind.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this beautiful queer love story. Having to choose to sacrifice being who you are for the approval of your mother or friends is a stark yet very real choice that many have to face, still today. Chloe dealt with the complexities of this in such a nuinaced manner, she didn't shy away from the perceived 'comfort' of giving up on yourself and following your hometowns trajectory - marrying the neighbour who your mammy chose for you and never venturing farther than the Croosmore town centre. She also didn't ignore the deep resentment that grows inside of you like a parasite should you choose that path. This book took me back to that place of adolescent anxiety, where in such a small span of time you go from choosing which cute top to wear to the disco to BIG choices you have to make about the direction of your life. Nobody should face the choice of to love or be loved, especially by your mother.

<u><b>Sunburn</b></u>
Chloe Michelle Howarth
Publication Date: July 8, 2025

ARC courtesy of Melville House and NetGalley.

I was grateful to receive an ARC of this book, first published in 2023, and honestly, has not been easy to find. This reissue from Melville House will be coming out on July 8, 2025.

Adolescence is difficult enough to navigate, what with changes in body morphology, hormones, and parents. Not to mention first love. In this endearing, heartfelt Sapphic romance, Lucy and Susannah deal with the exponential difficulties of self discovery and romantic love in a time and place where tradition holds sway. Sometimes we forget that this is still the case in a large part of the globe. Theirs is a touching and heartwarming story, beautifully written.

I would strongly recommend grabbing a copy while you can.

4.5 stars rounded up

Absolutely unbelievable. Could barely put it down and even then I did nothing but think about this book in-between sessions. Loved every single page. Spent a third of this sobbing and the other two thirds having the wind knocked out of me by every other line. Captures obsession as it ties to queer love vividly and gorgeously, unlike anything I've ever read.

The book begins in 1989 in a small, rural community in Ireland. Lucy, the sole narrator of the book, is 17 and is part of a group of girlfriends, but her best friend is Martin, the boy next door, who everyone thinks should be her boyfriend. Except slowly, Lucy realizes she is attracted to her close friend, Susannah, and spends a long time coming to terms with that before she and Susannah begin a relationship in secret. As they near the end of high school, Susannah wants to come out and publicly acknowledge their relationship, but Lucy is too tied to her family, especially her mother, and her friends to risk anything.

This is a beautifully written and heartbreaking coming of age novel. The author presents Lucy's inner dilemmas and decisions realistically, even when we are frustrated with her. The author's portrayal of the town, the teens, and mother-daughter relationships is complex and detailed.

All in all, a triumph of a novel.

I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley.

Sunburn is an excellent coming of age queer novel. Really well written. Captures the innocence and intrigue of discovering one’s sexuality.

This is a remarkable debut! Set in a very conservative Irish village in the ’90s, the story follows Lucy as she wrestles with identity, friendship, and a desire so totally consuming that it nearly breaks her! The vibe is introspective, restless and so very honest.

The characters are all seriously flawed and painfully selfish, but strangely lovable. Lucy and Susannah’s relationship is tender, intense, and sometimes morbid.
This is a beautiful love story that doesn’t shy away from the darker edges of longing and fear.