Overview

Set during a sweltering Edinburgh summer, Summer Hours follows Roisin, a young woman drifting through life alongside her best friend Eve. Short of money, uncertain about her future and quietly in love with Eve, Roisin accepts an offer from their wealthy mutual friend Claire that promises financial relief. As the arrangement becomes increasingly complicated, Roisin finds herself caught between desire, friendship and the realities of class and power.

Writing & Voice

We found Thom’s writing sharp, intimate and full of atmosphere. Edinburgh feels hot, restless and alive throughout the novel. The prose is economical but never sparse, capturing both the intensity of attraction and the exhaustion of feeling stuck in place.

Content & Perspective

The story stays close to Roisin as she navigates her feelings for Eve and her growing involvement with Claire. Much of the tension comes from what remains unsaid between the characters. Thom handles these shifting relationships with subtlety, allowing desire, jealousy and dependency to emerge gradually.

Themes

Summer Hours explores friendship, queer desire, class inequality and the uncertainty of early adulthood. It examines the ways money can shape relationships and how difficult it can be to separate genuine affection from need, obligation or fantasy.

What Worked

• A vivid Edinburgh setting that feels inseparable from the story.
• Complex relationships with no easy answers or villains.
• Strong emotional tension built from longing, secrecy and uncertainty.

Minor Quibbles

• Its understated approach may not suit readers seeking dramatic twists.
• The ambiguity between characters occasionally leaves questions unanswered.

Final Thoughts

What stayed with us most was the uncomfortable honesty of Roisin’s situation. Thom captures that feeling of wanting more from life while having no clear idea how to get it, and the result feels painfully believable.

Rating: ★★★★½ / 5