Wow, what a book! Loved it. I found it ‘educational’ too, but not in a boring way. It was full of atmosphere, evoking time and place, smells and food. It handles the Turkish - Greek history of generations past and present in a beautifully interesting read. The translation was excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers, Head of Zeus, for this ARC.

As the title suggests, Summer Heat is a sultry, sun-soaked novel set in Turkey, just made for dipping between dips in the sea. It features all the typical elements of a beach read: scorched flagstones, salty skin, drowsy sunset dinners, an illicit affair (salacious references aplenty), and drama.

Our story follows Melike, a Turkish woman in her forties who seemingly has it all: a beautiful home in Istanbul, a career as an art historian, and an attentive husband. However, this just can’t satiate her craving for acknowledgement and acceptance, a craving rooted in childhood abandonment, of which we gain glimpses through her memories.

Having already had several affairs, Melike is about to embark on another, unaware that this will unearth revelations that will force her into confronting her turbulent family history and the tragic influence the 1970s Aegean dispute played in it.

As Melike delves into her past, there are flashbacks to 1974, the year of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, which serves as a catalyst for the disintegration of Melike’s family. 

Melike’s journey of truth takes her from Istanbul to Buyukada, Athens, and eventually Cyprus. The descriptions and vivid sense of place are a wonderful distraction from the cooler months we are headed for.

I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of the Turkish/Cypriot socio-political backdrop and the fabulous yet flawed female characters throughout.

Melike’s wandering eye may be a symptom of a deeply embedded insecurity, but it also reflects her willingness to defy societal expectations and pursue her desires.

Summer Heat is another highly atmospheric and compelling read from Defne Suman. 4⭐

Thank you to the publishers for kindly providing me with a digital review copy via NetGalley in return for an, as always, honest review.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

I really enjoyed the writing style from this author. I loved the main character Melike, she was bold and unashamedly herself. The story of her childhood and living through the war and subsequent splitting of Cyprus is written with their heart on their sleeve and makes it more of a human story than a war story. Which I think served the story a lot better. It was really well written.

Book Review: Summer Heat by Defne Suman

Rating: 3 Star

I recently finished Summer Heat by Defne Suman, and it left me with mixed feelings. The book has a stunning cover that immediately caught my eye, but unfortunately, the story itself didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

The novel follows Melike, a seemingly content art historian living in Istanbul with a lovely home and a caring husband. However, beneath the surface, she’s been indulging in a series of affairs, seeking the excitement that her life seems to lack. As she approaches her fortieth birthday, Melike decides it’s time to put an end to her reckless behavior. But just when she thinks she can turn over a new leaf, she receives an email from a man named Petro, asking for a tour of the city’s Byzantine churches. Despite her better judgment, she agrees to meet him.

From the moment Melike encounters Petro and his charming demeanor, it’s clear that things are about to get complicated. As the narrative unfolds, we learn that Petro harbors his own secrets that not only threaten Melike’s future but also challenge everything she thought she knew about her past. The story oscillates between 2003 and the backdrop of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, adding layers of historical significance to Melike's personal journey.

Now, while I appreciated the beautiful writing and the vivid setting of Istanbul, I have to admit that I struggled to get into the book. The pacing felt a bit slow for my taste, and there were moments when I found myself bored. I really wanted to connect with Melike's journey and feel the tension of her secrets unraveling, but it just didn’t grab me like I hoped it would.

I know that not every book resonates with every reader, and while Summer Heat has its merits, it simply wasn’t my cup of tea. If you're someone who enjoys lush prose and intricate character studies at a leisurely pace, you might find more joy in this story than I did. For me, though, it was a solid three-star read—beautiful on the outside but lacking a bit of excitement on the inside.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

This is probably the kind of book teens mean when they complain about literary fiction only concerning itself with fictional characters going through a divorce. And I guess… yeah?

Melike is married to a devoted husband and spending the summer on Büyükada island across the shores of Istanbul, when she gets jostled out of her lifestyle of idleness and habitual cheating by an offer to be hired as a historical consultant for the filming of a documentary. The Greek man allegedly planning the production seems to be hiding something from her, as their first encounter takes Melike to locations that bring back childhood memories. In particular, memories of her father, who left the family years ago, never to be seen again.

The daddy issues should be expected at this point.

Listen, this was fine, but no way near as mesmerizing as The Silence of Scheherazade, and I admit I was disappointed by the contrast between these two puplications despite the obvious difference in genre. Of course Summer Heat can only hardly be called historical fiction when the events unfold in a dual timeline following Melike’s childhood in the Turkish 1970s and her adult life in the early 2000s (which was a hard throwback, my god), but it also… felt too jumbled for a good old historical family drama. Getting all that information out of the non-chronological narrative was taxing.

Melike, too, was exasperating. She is definitely not meant to be a likeable character, but I can only tolerate a certain amount of self-made problems in others, be they fictional or not. Though I’m afraid some of the salvaging beauty of Suman’s writing was lost in translation this time, and I’m mad about it. There were some obviously literal translations that threw me out of the whole vibe. At other times, a non-English word would be used, only to be repeated in English. This translational practice might be a personal preference, but I do not like it... ick.

Of course I still went on reading this to find out the big family secret, and I will not lie, I enjoyed myself here and there. It just... could have been better, you know?

A fascinating book about the geopolitics of Turkey and Greece told through the story of the family of protagonist Melike. Really moving, really well written.

Melike, a 39 year old married Turkish woman is totally dissatisfied with her life. She reminisces about her childhood with her family and brother as a time when she was happy. Now, she flits from lover to lover, deceiving her perfectly loving husband, seeking out something she doesn't even realise. You don't warm to her character until more details of her life are revealed. Her family story is shocking, fascinating and tragic; the Turkish Greek Cyprus war is revealed in all its horror. Family secrets are unearthed. and Melike finally finds out what she has been seeking throughout her life.
There are plenty of sobering parts to this book but it is ultimately uplifting. Tears were shed by the end, but happy ones! Highly recommended.

A gorgeous yet heartbreaking story of Melike who seemingly has everything, a loving husband, a beautiful home and successful career, yet searches beyond for attention and gratification. After vowing to stop the affairs she hides from her husband, a work trip to the place of her childhood evokes emotionally charged memories of time spent with her grandmother and an intense connection to the young, charming and inquisitive Petro. When confronted with Petro’s true motives of reuniting Melike with the painful past, her immediate reaction is to escape back to the comforts of her husband. Further revelations from her mother brings new insight to her parent’s fractured relationship at the troubled time of her father’s leaving. Carrying the destructive effect of her childhood sense of abandonment into all her relationships, Melike can no longer suppress the locked away emotions that have shaped her adult coping mechanisms. In confronting her past, and told in parallel with the tragedy and horrors of Turkish Greek conflict, there is hope in Melike finding the peace and true love that she yearns. Beautiful prose that bring great depth to the troubled Melike and creates a strong sense of place.

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus of the ARC.

Sadly I didn't love this book as much as I thought I would. I found her neither relatable nor likeable and that really impacted on my ability to enjoy reading it.

This is the story of Melike who has grown up in Turkey with a broken family, her Mum seemed to have mental health issues when growing up and her dad abandoned them. The book uncovers family lies and secrets regarding her paternal grandmothers life and death. The book is based in the times of 1973 to present day 2003 and also the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The book has been translated to English and at times it was hard to keep up with the story and may of been lost in translation a few times. The book looks at Melike as a person and how her childhood affects how her relationships with men are today. I did enjoy reading about the history of Cyprus from the Turkish side as although I have visited many times it has always been the Greek side of the border rather than North.

I was very keen to read this new novel by Defne Suman, having enjoyed her “At the Breakfast Table” a few years ago. Like that book, this novel is full of the tastes, smells and sounds of the eastern Mediterranean and concerns the effects of Turkey’s recent turbulent social history on three generations of one family. The novel has been translated extremely well into English, and is an excellent read.

A beautifully told story that transports you to Turkey and Greece in both the present and these countries turbulent past. Told through eyes of Melike this is a story of family and love, the good and the bad sides of both. At times uncomfortable to read as Defne Suman does not hide from what has happened between these two countries.

A great summer read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Summer Heat.

Wonderful book! Such a beautiful tale by the author who was born in Istanbul and grew up on the island of Buyukada described so exquistly as one of the homes for the main character Melike.
The author had previously written 'Silence of Scheherazade' so I knew the writing was going to be top notch and this was also. The family saga does little justice to the span of generations of relations/friends we come across through Melike from Turkey to Greece to Cyprus where the political and war zone experiences are explained , not in historical context, but in life affecting (and often very violent) disruption of families and communities. As this is only recent history - 1970s and names such as Archbishop Makarios are familiar from the news at the time we get a total immersion in the division (Green Line) across Cyprus dividing Greeks in the South from Turks in the North.
Melike finds on a journey of her own family/love/secret journey a myriad of connections which appear to end in tragedy but leave us with remembrance and hope.
"..the puzzle of my life had been solved'" In some ways this is the conclusion for Melike but there are other family members/partner/lovers also which had to be considered.
I liked the classical references in lands of antiquities and gods which made the locations grow in resonance.
Circles of life certainly are part of this novel but nothing is a perfect circle but often there are breaks along the way and as Melike's mother states, "Love is a door...you don't know where the door will lead you."
An almost ancient epic journey within a novel that has so much to offer. Loved the tortoise Ugur too!

I just love this author, she writes such compelling stories. This novel sees the protagonist, Melike, delving into a mysterious family past she knew nothing about, travelling from Istanbul to Athens and on to Cyprus to uncover family roots she didn’t know existed. Melike is married and successful but somewhat unsatisfied with her life, when Petro shows up under the guise of being a producer scouting locations in Istanbul. Really, he was sent by the father she hasn’t seen in over 30 years, who abandoned her and her family when she was 11. The family mystery is an interesting one and beyond that, one thing I have consistently admired in Defne Sunam’s writings is the rich details evoking the Turkish background - the descriptions of food in particular are numerous and stimulate the senses in a way that give you a real feel of the time and place.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher, Head of Zeus, for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Very moving and poignant. I felt the story in the present day clashed a bit with the historical one, Both were interesting but they felt separate to me.

Summer Heat
by Defne Suman

You could be forgiven for assuming by the cover that this is a light and fluffy summer romance. While the central themes revolve around forbidden romance, there's nothing light about the content and yet the tone contains humour, flippancy and more than a touch of irony.

As Melike castigates herself for her inability to remain faithful to her handsome, successful and devoted husband, the questions about her constant search for elicit excitement mount. We learn early that her sense of abandonment by her father, her grandmother's mental health issues, her mother's remoteness and her brother's coldness are somehow linked to the 1964 expulsion of Greeks from Turkey, and through backwards glances in the narrative, the threads of secrets become revealed.

The locations of this story are splendidly told, from Istanbul to Athens, to Limassol and the mountain villages of Cyprus. As Melike unravels her family's skeletons, we get a history lesson on the violent crisis that split Cyprus along The Green Line when two great cultures, Greek and Ottoman, clashed with devastating consequences.

Earthy and sensual, this is a saga of a family that was pulled asunder. It is heartbreaking and thought provoking, asking questions about what it is to be a daughter, a sister, a wife, a lover. A summer novel bound to sweep you up and away.

Publication date: 9th May 2024
Thanks to@ #NetGalley and #HeadofZeus for the ARC.

Defne Suman does settings and visualisation incredibly well, and the descriptions used in Summer Heat are one of the most addictive things about this read. Easy to read and perfect for enjoying over your own summer, I found the educational mix of history and culture that is included about Cyprus and Turkey to be a brilliant addition.

1974. Melike should be happy: school is shut and her parents have stopped hosting parties for their rowdy political friends. But she's scared. She can tell from her parents' urgent whispers about prison, invasion and military coups that Istanbul is changing. So when the family relocate to a quaint village in the south, Melike is hopeful life might get better. And for a while, it does. But then her beloved father disappears...

2003. Nearly three decades have passed, and Melike has done her best to move on. But despite her successful career as an art historian and a husband who adores her, she has always felt a lingering discontent. When she meets mysterious - and extremely handsome - stranger Petro, Melike feels her fortunes changing. But Petro isn't who he says he is. And when Melike uncovers his true identity, she also lays bare a lifetime of hidden pasts...

I won't say that it's a page turner - it's not that kind of book. But a relaxing and enjoyable read all the same.

I particularly enjoyed the setting of this novel, the multiple beautiful locations and the historical context affecting the present timeline.
Suman’s writing is easy-to-read and fitting.
A great read for those who love father and daughter stories, stories with historical shadows and/or how the family secrets and societal circumstances can shape a person’s psyche.
Though, some aspects of inner thoughts of MC (when she comes to some important realisation) and the subplot with Safinaz at times did not make sense to me.

In Summer Heat we follow Melike, an art historian who is asked by a a filmmaker Petro for a tour of the Byzantine churches and structures. As it turns out, Petro was actually sent by her presumed dead father Orhan, seeking to reconcile the family by revealing the truth about the past. The story alternates between The 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus which resulting in the division of Cyprus, the displacement of populations and loss of life and 2003.
A really worthwhile read