A great second chance story that is lovely and feel-good. Great narrator and a must read for summer.

This book had me both puzzled and rooting for the protagonist, Kate, as she navigates a whirlwind of life changes—from hasty marriage to dealing with her mother's death. The friendships depicted were heartwarming, and the author's evident love for nature added a special touch. The audiobook narration was excellent. However, I found the main character's naivety frustrating at times. Overall, it was an engaging and well-narrated story with a satisfying conclusion.

This book had me wondering why and then rooting for the main character., Kate. We follow Kate as she leaps from being an empty nester to marrying in haste to losing her mother and a myriad of other problems.
I loved the bonds of friendship explored throughout. I also enjoyed the author's depiction of, and obvious love of nature all through the novel.
The reader did a great job.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook. Overall, the book was a happy, feel good story and I did enjoy the ending, but I really struggle with books whose characters are naive and ignorant. The main character, Katie meets a man who seems too good to be true and marries him within a week or so and is shocked when he turns out not to be who she thought he was. DUH! I personally could have done without any of the Covid references in the story line, but that is just personal preference. This was just ok for me.

I liked this book overall. The author does a great job of keeping the reader’s attention all throughout with the evolution of the plot. There is a lot of Covid talk because it takes place during the pandemic which I didn’t like. 3.5/5 stars for me.

Katie is trying to keep to together. She has issues with her mom, her daughter has left the nest and when she thinks she meets the man of her dreams she ignores the red flags and jumps in. The pandemic hits, she loses her mom, her daughter is stuck a few states away and she discovers that her marriage isn’t at all what she was hoping for. With some good friends, seriously good legal help, finally recognizing that loving yourself is the answer and a really good night vision camera Katie finally gets the life she wants for herself and her daughter. An enjoyable, well written, listen with good narration. At times I found myself cringing with some of the situations she was in and wanted her to wake up, but was it was part of her journey in finding her strength and herself.
Uprated to 4 stars from what would have been a 3.5 if half stars were available.

This is the story of Katie Young, a single mom of a new college freshman, trying to re-discover her place in the world after 18 years of focusing all of her energy and attention on raising and caring for her only daughter.
Just as Katie's daughter sets off for college, she lands the job of her dreams in sunny Miami, and even meets Mr. Right the weekend she accepts the job offer. He invites her on a romantic weekend away on his houseboat and they quickly fall head over heels for each other. What could be better than living on a boat, a high-paying job in the tech industry, and a perfect new man?
Shortly after their fast-tracked relationship begins, everything that seemed so right comes crashing down around her- amidst a devastating loss of a family member and a global pandemic. Katie finds herself back in her hometown, alone, trying to heal her heart and pick of the pieces of her now shattered dreams.
Will friendship and love find their way back into her life and heart? Can her relationship with her daughter survive the physical distance between them?
I enjoyed this story, and found the audiobook narration very pleasant to listen to. While I at times wanted to smack the main character for her reckless and short-sighted decisions, I still found myself cheering for her to come out on top. I loved some of the supporting characters, while others I found to be cliche or even slightly annoying. Despite some messy (although minor) plot holes, sloppy writing, forced plot changes, and cheesy storylines, I still enjoyed the story. It's a romance novel, which is not my typical genre of choice, but it's also a story about women re-discovering themselves in middle age, the impact of friendship on our lives, and the importance of close family ties.
I found myself wanting to visit the town of Occoquan, VA to sit around a campfire with Rhiannon, Katie and the Beach Bonfire Babes! I will be reading the next book in the series when it comes out.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable story. It moved very quickly but that’s part of the story. I loved the friendships that Katie had especially with Rhiannon.

Thank you for the arc for my honest review.

What a lovely, feel good story. The Cicada Spring is my first book by Carolyn McBride and I'm looking forward to reading more soon.

Courage and perseverance are the name of the game for Katie as she navigates her life. Life throws her a few really tough curve balls! Finding strength in herself and her friendships, Katie eventually makes it through. In fact, she's made it through and emerges as a stronger person and with better relationships than she had at the start of the book.

The audio version of The Cicada Spring is nicely performed by Maria Marquis.

Katie Young gets divorced and makes some life decisions. She makes some mistakes along the way. This book will have you happy, down, and angry.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Make Waves Press for an audio ARC of this book for an honest review.