Sunburn

By: Chloe Michelle Howarth

Narrated by: Toni O'Rourke

Shortlisted for the 2024 Book of the Year: Discover Award by the British Book Awards

It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, Lucy feels out of place. Despite her fierce friendships, she's always felt this way, and the conventional path of marriage and motherhood doesn't appeal to her at all. Not even with handsome and doting Martin, her closest childhood friend.

Lucy begins to make sense of herself during a long hot summer, when a spark with her school friend Susannah escalates to an all-consuming infatuation, and, very quickly, to a desperate and devastating love.

Fearful of rejection from her small and conservative community, Lucy begins living a double life, hiding the most honest parts of herself in stolen moments with Susannah.

But with the end of school and the opportunity to leave Crossmore looming, Lucy must choose between two places, two people and two futures, each as terrifying as the other. But only one can offer her real happiness.

Sunburn is an astute and tender portrayal of first love, adolescent anxiety and the realities of growing up in a small town where tradition holds people tightly in its grasp.

©2023 Chloe Michelle Howarth (P)2025 Tantor Media

Beautiful

I felt like I was reading beautiful poetry. Wonderfully written and the narrator was great

Amazing Story

I loved this story. One of my favorite sapphic novels ever. I adored this entire book from start to finish and became obsessed with it.

Reader is great

I like the reader. She makes the protagonist alive. Make Subtle thoughts of teenage girl so vivid.

This is by far one of my favorite sapphic novels and I’m so happy that it’s on Audible now!

It talks about comphet and young love/infatuation, religion and family pressure… it’s beautiful and heartbreaking in the best way. Highly recommend

A queer coming of age story that captures those ups and downs of discovering yourself in adolescence

The small town story felt big in my mind; anyone who had endured secret, queer love affairs knows the struggles that come with learning who you are in the face of societal pressures. This novel gets it all right. The selfishness and selfishness that comes with “coming out” is a powerful experience and this book encapsulates it so well.