Summer Hours: A vivid story of youth, desire and obsession

by Alessandra Thom

It's a hot Edinburgh summer, and Roisin's life is stagnating. She spends her days cancelling plans, skipping work and drinking lukewarm wine in the bathtub with her best friend Eve.

When their wealthy mutual friend Claire offers Roisin a significant amount of money under the guise of 'freelance work,' Roisin thinks her luck might finally be changing. But Claire's proposal is not all it seems, and soon Roisin finds herself trapped. Paralysed by both her intense infatuation with Eve and her secret arrangement with Claire, Roisin must walk a delicate line to avoid losing what matters to her most.

'A spry tale of friendship and desire, best inhaled in a single sitting. Summer Hours is astute, funny, and fizzing with life' – Malachy Tallack

Genres: Contemporary, Lesbian, Fiction, LGBT, Literary Fiction, Queer

160 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2026

Reviews

[Tiernan Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled me with so much heartfelt nostalgia that it's hard to not love.

For the folks that have been able to call (or still do call) Edinburgh their home, this novel serves as a love-letter to its seasons, weather, people and hidden places that lucky few really get to know.

I do want to start by saying that Roisin is DIFFICULT to keep up with. Her brash decisions and impulsive acts had me mentally screaming half the time. Bestie, I understand you're yearning but you can't steal people's treasured jewelry.

Behind all that though, a sense of care made me root for her, she's struggling and in that weird post-uni, pre-settled time where everyone around you has either moved on to work finance or is religiously clocking their morning Strava routines. I'm glad she was able to take control, there really isn't anything a walk up Arthur's seat can't fix.

The books descriptions are written beautifully. everything was laid out exactly as i imagined it, framed with the exact smells and colours I associate with my own memories of the city.

A beautiful book and an amazing achievement :)

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Main character Roisin is at times unlikeable and you find yourself willing her not to be so stupid, but at the same time it's really intriguing to see what she'll do next. Additionally the descriptions of the places and people are rich and detailed, and overall the story is sapphic and engaging.

[Roisin Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not my style of book. Was only 145 pages long but felt like nothing really happened.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capturing the essence of summer in Scotland (Edinburgh specifically) this book drags you right into the messy world of Roisin. Roisin is navigating the world of being a young adult, finished with uni but not sure where to go next. Clinging onto a friendship that may have outgrown her and getting into a situationship that doesn’t serve her, you do get frustrated with Roisin but that’s the point!

I loved the writing style, and felt a deep connection to the locations as I live in Edinburgh currently. I think Thom has done a brilliant job at providing a slice of life story.

I read this in the winter and it was a nice reminder that eventually the sunshine will return! Along with the crazy of the Edinburgh fringe 😅

[Jodie Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, sweaty, sticky, heat wave of a novel. Summer Hours is short (145 pages), covering just six months of Roisin’s life, over six chapters. It’s a book you should sit and read in one go, preferably in the late afternoon sun. It’s a book you’ll want to read in one go, because Alessandra Thom’s prose will pull you in, with a heady insistence. A sort of late-coming-of-age novel, Summer Hours concerns itself with the intermingled, codependent, all-encompassing relationships between three queer women.
Roisin is at the centre, the protagonist, although much of her identity revolves around her old, closest friend Eve in the novel. She’s infatuated with her to the point that she’s almost sick with it – and Thom writes this infatuation in such a visceral way. This novel is all skin: blemishes and sunburn and blackheads. Make up caked on too hard and then sweated off quickly. Necks kissed and bodies squeezed together in bath tubs. Roisin and Eve are constantly indebted to each other - both in the literal sense and in the historical sense of their relationship. Summer Hours is an addictive read of an addictive relationship – the perfect slice of messy life.

[Eve Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this as an easy read while away in a log cabin.
Picked up the book cause it was set in Edinburgh and I liked the fact I recognised all the names of streets and places!
Nothing really special, didn’t really know what the book was trying to say - if anything. Thought it was a gay book not actually sure it was, just a girl feeling lost in her 20s post uni - relatable :)

[Lyndsey Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to like this more than I did. Picked it up because it was sapphic and Scottish and I was intrigued but although a very short read, I wasn’t really sucked in by the pacing or the story itself. Often found myself daydreaming or drifting off. I liked some of the descriptions and imagery but feel it was a bit of middle of the road story.. really just about a girl feeling lost post uni and making some questionable choices with zero fucks for others along the way. Didn’t really understand the whole dynamic with Claire.. was she abusive? Was there some coercion going on? Like the rest of the story that relationship just felt kind of on the fence. I wanted it to be clearer one way or the other and maybe that’s the point, life is nuanced, possibly just wasn’t my type of book.

[Maria Ch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the cities were additional characters in the story, but the plot felt a bit claustrophobic and uninspiring. I don’t particularly enjoyed it, but didn’t hate it either.

[danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

laced beautifully with sincerity, emotion and droll humour - Alessandra Thom’s enthralling debut is yet another success story for Scottish literature

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t really know how I feel about this book. It was good, and it was entertaining but I don’t think the story will stick with me. 3.5 stars.

[Izabela Borges · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the most I can say about this book is that it has a very annoying main character and that it is very forgettable.

She has a lot of issues that need to be dealt with but no willpower to deal with them or go see a therapist, which she should ASAP.

This can be described as a slice-of-life story, but the life is of a chaotic barely adult with no urgency, common sense or self-respect.

Love Calum. Claire deserves better (she doesn’t really but well). Eve and Roisin I don’t really cared about. And Ian or Fraser, well dude, you do you.

[Iona📚✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 sat and read this all in one go and had fun, love reading about Scotland written by someone in my kind of age group always so fun and a lot to relate to, the characters are unlikeable but in a way that’s interesting to read, I was definitely wanting to know what was going to happen and keep reading. There were a couple of wee things like one time it said St Enoch Centre but from where it said she was it should have be Buchanan Galleries, I know if you don’t know Glasgow that wouldn’t matter to you but it does to ME lol. A fun quick read for a chill Sunday

[Debbie Orr · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic debut novel. Thom skilfully captures nuances of character and portrays some of the issues faced by young people in finding work to support themselves all wrapped up in a swirl of obsession. Edinburgh becomes a character itself in a rare summer heatwave.
I’m normally such a slow reader but I read most of this in an afternoon and couldn’t wait to pick it up again as I cared about what happened to the characters.
Can’t wait for Thom’s next novel.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Hmmm…I didn’t hate this. I liked the writing and the flow of the story. It’s kinda plotless and is more of a character study of our MC, Roisin. I can get behind these type of stories normally but the short length of this definitely was a hinder for me. Nothing feels all that fleshed out which is unfortunate. Not a bad read in the slightest but just left me wanting more by the end.

Content Warning: Vomiting, Threat of assault

[Jennifer Andreacchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant debut, the perfect short, feverish summer read. It's a blistering sapphic exploration of an obsessive friendship, a truly authentic depiction of limerence and longing, and the Edinburgh setting really brings it to life. Alessandra is definitely a writer to watch!

[ruthie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about Edinburgh, Roisin, Eve + Claire during a heatwave! It kind of reminded me of Evenings and Weekends 🩷

[Britta · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, it had a similar vibe to "Cleopatra and Frankenstein" by Coco Mellors, and it just isn’t my vibe — I couldn’t really relate to the story. I’d give it a 2.5, though, for the Edinburgh descriptions and the queerness.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

the perfect book to read of a singular train journey, which is exactly what i did!

i found roisin painfully relatable at points and found the familiarity of the setting very comforting. however, i did not get the reunion i was desperately hoping and yearning for!!

3 🌟

[Andrea de Vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leuk om een boek dat zich afspeelt in Edinburgh te lezen terwijl ik er was. At times zeker vermakelijk. Hoofdpersoon was wel echt heeeel unlikable en had wel echt moeite met meegaan in haar beslissingen. Wel een mooi einde.

[caoiimh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like an Edinburgh guidebook for thought daughters! made me feel simultaneously great and terrible about my life choices as an Edinburgh 20-something, compared to Roisín <3

[Bianca Acquaviva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful descriptions of Edinburgh and what it’s like to fall in and out of love.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read in summer. A feverish, obsessive sapphic novel. Just wish it was longer and we could have got into the characters a bit more

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Messy. Scottish. Summer. Youthful.

[Emma Hammond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm too old, or too boring to relate tonthe characters in this one. The constant drinking and unemployment bothered me to the point I couldn't enjoy the rest of it.

[Nicole Dixon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Tbh I didn’t really see the point. I liked the Edinburgh setting but that was about it.

I think I have got to the point of realisation that short stories are just not for me!

[Sara Al Blooshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book to read in Scotland.

[Sheila Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of sharp wit and evocative images of Edinburgh in the summer intertwined with the joy (and pain) of complicated relationships. Perfect for a summer evening.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

reading a book in Edinburgh during a heatwave that's set in Edinburgh during a heatwave >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

loved this weird little meditation on friendship and the city of my friendships