Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Sunburn

Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

21 reviews

iloponis's review against another edition

3.5

charming, sad, beautifully written, but god are these characters unlikeable. loved the sapphic yearning, but by the end it just felt like paragraph after paragraph of lucy whining. still enjoyed it tho

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lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

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Fundamentally nothing wrong with this book. I do understand why people love it. It just reads a bit too much like YA, which isn't my vibe personally.

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cecereads__'s review against another edition

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4.5

Sunburn is both literal and metaphorical with the mc and first person pov, Lucy, experiencing the gloriously bright sun that’s making her come alive, and the subsequent redness/mark and constant sting that can follow if we’re not careful; if we don’t take care of ourselves enough.

I really loved this. An Irish setting is always going to get me.

A sapphic coming-of-age story including all that comes with first love (eagerness, starry-eyes, forevers, intensity, etc) and with small-town mindsets and religious upbringings.

I know that Martin wasn’t told until the end for a reason. He’s a gem btw. I still wonder what he would have said about it being a shared secret he was in on to stop his heart from breaking too. Idk. Obviously Lucy was not ready to deal with her feelings even when time told her how she would still grow out of the town and the ppl with or without Susannah

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adamparrishlover's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookmaddie's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A bit slow sometimes but the YEARNING! the ANGST! superb. i was so stressed for Lucy sometimes too..

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jo_lzr's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The prose in the book is very poetic. This book describes love and sorrow and portrays everything in a realistic way. Both Lucy and Susannah have their flaws but they are also both humans, trying to navigate life and out of being teenagers into adulthood. Do not read this book if you don't like reading about protagonists who make wrong or immoral decisions.

It's heartbreaking how having no choice but to survive can turn a person into someone they don't even recognize. I think that this story could have also worked as Lucy's villain origin story. I liked the happy ending, I just wish we could have gotten to see more of them now that they have met again. Though, I do understand that it will take them time to get together, since they're both different now.

Recommended songs to listen while reading this book:
Altar - Kehlani
Melt - Kehlani
Making The Bed - Olivia Rodrigo
Not Strong Enough - Boygenius
Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan
loml - Taylor Swift
So Long London - Taylor Swift
Guilty As Sin? - Taylor Swift
illicit affairs - Taylor Swift
How Did It End? - Taylor Swift
my tears ricochet - Taylor Swift
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? - Taylor Swift
Anti-Hero - Taylor Swift
High Infidelity - Taylor Swift
Is It Over Now? - Taylor Swift
Say Don't Go - Taylor Swift
I Know Places - Taylor Swift
cardigan - Taylor Swift
Dear Reader - Taylor Swift
tolerate it - Taylor Swift
coney island - Taylor Swift
ivy - Taylor Swift
October Passed Me By - girl in red

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directorpurry's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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hayleycorrigan's review against another edition

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reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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st4r9irl's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“and suddenly, it is just her and me looking out over her garden, like we have been all summer. like we should always be. the quiet of the sunrise, the cool air of the dawn. being alone with her now, i feel i am the nearest i have ever been to god. it is her, she breathed my soul into me. it is crossmore, our small rural heaven. ”

I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL MYSELF 😭 listening to once more to see you by mitski as ashley recommended.

very slow start, too slow for my liking. i felt like i was trudging all the way through the middle parts, but i was left in awe of the love and yearning they had for each other. the desire to shout it to the world was so pure, raw, and young. it made me love summers even more.

i was sooo frustrated with how things were turning out that i had to pause in the last 5 chapters and message ashley 😭 i desperately wanted the girls to be happy.

aer told last week that i have an affinity for books with the “almost lovers” trope, and we laughed about it. but oh, how desperate i was for lucy and susannah.

the pain, frustration, and agitation i felt were so physical that i even considered not finishing it because i was just so annoyed. it made me realize how selfish i am myself. i would've risked all hell to be with my love. but that's just me.

this feeling reminds me of when i first started reading again and finished the seven husbands of evelyn hugo :) a perfect july read :)

“to be with her is a sin, to be without her is a tragedy.”

goodluck, babe
take me to church
linger

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jordanbolker's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A beautiful coming out story that everyone should read! The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was that there was more internal dialogue and narration than actual dialogue. But it was beautiful, raw, emotional and I loved it overall. One of my favorite summer reads!

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