I found this to be slow, the characters to be unlikeable and the plot to be off putting. Overall, the characters motivations in many cases didn't make sense which influenced my believability of the story. It's billed as hilarious but I didn't find it to be. This was a miss for me. the one part that somewhat worked was the narrative structure but that's not enough for me to recommend the book

Fans of dysfunctional families finding their way to each other will be happy with this book. With the return of Olivia from a doctor’s mission comes the mandatory 7 days of quarantine which she will be spending with her parents and sister during the Christmas period. Old secrets coming up will make them re-evaluate their values and their family in a different way.

The setting in England is interesting and add to this the typical stoic English trait to a mix of explosive revelations reminds me of Coronation Street; kind of soapy show but nonetheless addictive. The characters can be both annoying and dear at the same time. Read this book almost in a shot, half guessing what would happen next. The ending is quite pleasant and you leave this story with a good feeling.

Seven Days of Us is a fantastic mix of family drama, humor and pathos. The Birches will find their whole world overturned during a Christmas quarantine following their daughter's return from a diseased area. This read is perfect for getting away from relatives during the holidays - the Birches' ups and downs will help distract from your reality!

SEVEN DAYS OF US by Francesca Hornak is an entertaining holiday story about family relationships. Oldest daughter, Olivia Birch, has just returned from fighting an epidemic in Africa and has to be quarantined for a week around Christmas. Her family, Dad named Andrew, Mom called Emma, and sister Phoebe (who is engaged to marry George) step up to the challenge of spending time together at their country home, Weyfield Hall. BUT secrets abound. One member has a serious disease and a potentially compromised immune system, yet another has an illegitimate child and more than one character is affected by a secret romance. There are plenty of misunderstandings, substantial sibling rivalry, and regrets for chances missed, as described by the multiple narrators.

Even though there are some sad moments, this book offers a quick read that will make you laugh and maybe even cringe (in a good way) at the coincidences that occur over the seven days of quarantine. At some points, it even felt a bit like the author was channeling the ridiculously funny play, Noises Off. You will likely see your own family and holiday traditions in a new light. SEVEN DAYS OF US was an Indie Next and Library Reads pick as well as receiving starred reviews from Booklist ("a farcical gem") and Library Journal. Enjoy!

A somewhat dysfunctional spends a week in quarantine. Multiple personal issues arise during that time. A bit predictable but enjoyable book.

Seven Days of Us is about a family who is brought together for the Christmas season and quarantined. You cannot leave! For seven days! It sounds simple enough but being in close quarters makes people crazy. Each chapter is a different family member, which I enjoy. Multiple POVs always keep me moving right along when reading. At first it seems like a fluffy little book but there are some shocking moments in there too that I wasn't expecting. I liked the characters a lot and definitely liked the way it ended and came together. Also, who doesn't look a good British book??

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
I totally loved this book to the point that I could not put it down. It was incredibly well written with well developed characters. The point of view alternating among the characters is deftly handled and flows beautifully. Not normally my kind of book but this one was a winner. It really makes one consider the impact of a deadly disease and the hazards faced by aid workers.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Net Galley - thank you! This in no way impacted my opinions of this book.*

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and this book is a solid choice for anyone who enjoys family-centric stories with a holiday background. Reminding me in some ways of This Is Where I Leave You, Seven Days of Us follows the various perspectives of a family quarantined together for seven days over Christmas when their oldest returns from Liberia after working with victims of the Haag epidemic. Mom, Dad, both daughters, and a previously unknown of son all carry their own secrets and baggage, and as the point of view rotates, the author does a great job making readers empathetic (and then critical) of each perspective is offered. I took my time reading, and after finishing this one, I needed to wait a beat before picking up my next read, and as someone who always has a book in hand, that's saying something.

After several months away, treating an epidemic in Kenya, Olivia is stuck in with her family for the holidays, one week of quarantine being a requirement after her exposure. Not having felt close to anyone in her family for years, spending a week in lockdown at her mother’s family home (where they always spend the holidays) isn’t her idea of fun, but it’s only a week, right?
However, Olivia has a secret that she struggles to contain, and as it turns out, so does everyone in her family. As the days of quarantine pass, all of their secrets unravel, and they are forced to face one another as they are.

A character driven novel with some doses of truth about what it means to be part of a family. How we forget that we have lives away from each other, that there is more that we don’t know than do, that family dynamics – real or perceived – can dictate the face we wear at “home”, and that trust is something that is continually earned. This is the first thing I appreciated about this book.

As it was written from many different perspectives, curtains are slowly lifted and we can see each situation from all of the relevant angles. Definitely a part of the book I appreciated as it goes to show how easily we can misunderstand when we only consider a situation from our own perspective.

That said, the ending left me wanting. After this nice canter, completely appropriate for a relatively light holiday novel, and what felt like an appropriate ending, the pace picked up rapidly and the real ending came to light. It felt like an afterthought, and I didn’t understand the purpose of going that direction. And it highlighted something that was missing in the book: tangible, raw feeling. Or rather, for the ending to have worked for me, the story would first have to have gotten me to a particularly heightened emotional state. Since it failed to accomplish that, it felt forced and trite.

And I couldn’t stand Phoebe. Which would be fine, if not for the ending.

So in a nutshell, it was a perfectly lovely light holiday read until the ending, at which point it tried to be serious and dramatic, and fell apart for me.

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Enjoyable read. Would love to read more from this author.

This novel had the perfect amount of charming family time mixed with humor and some incredibly interesting characters. This novel is the perfect Christmas read and I definitely think that reading this whilst snuggled up in bed with a hot cup of cocoa is a wonderful idea and I would love to re-read this during the season.

Rating - 4

I have to say, this was not my normal reading experience. I normally read a book, connect with at least one character (or find a character I really want to cheer on), and fall in love with the book. Otherwise, I don’t connect, or find anyone to cheer on, and I don’t like the book. However, in Seven Days of Us, I didn’t really like most of the characters, but I still quite enjoyed the book.

This story focuses around a family that is forced to spend seven days in quarantine together. They can’t leave or have any contact with those outside the house until they have finished their week. It also happens to be Christmas. Oh, and to make matters even more complicated, they are rarely all together.

Olivia is a doctor who has been volunteering in Africa. She has been treating the terrible, life-threatening disease Haag. While many precautions were taken while she was there, a voluntary quarantine must be observed once home to avoid spreading the disease. She has seen terrible things while treating this illness, and has a hard time adjusting to life back home. But we have to wonder, did she ever really fit at home? I found it hard to connect with Olivia. While I understand the adjustment to coming home would be quite the challenge (especially with the secret she is keeping), she seems incapable of finding any good in her family members. Rather than try to compromise or find a middle ground, she is often rude and writes them off.

Phoebe is the youngest. She is used to having all the attention and quite enjoys it. Spending Christmas in quarantine isn’t exactly a dream come true for this social butterfly. Spending time with a sister she barely knows at this point only makes matters worse. However, she is newly engaged with a wedding to plan...how bad could one week really be? Phoebe was one of the most selfish characters I have ever met. While she does have some improvement through the story, I am left wondering how long that will last. Even in times of crisis, she is focused on the most ridiculous, selfish things.

Emma is their mother. She wants her family to be happy and enjoy a holiday together. After all, it’s been a long time since they’ve all been together, and this could be their last chance. While she tries hard to ignore the fact that she secretly has cancer, some secrets just can’t stay hidden forever. She tries to pull her family together and make the holiday good for all, but is that even possible? I found Emma to be the most relatable character. She tries hard for her family, but I think some honest conversations could’ve come earlier...and I don’t mean about the cancer. Her daughters are adults and should be treated as such, and Andrews behavior went unmentioned for far too long.

Andrew is their father. He was once a war journalist, but is now a food critic. He and Phoebe share a strong connection, but he is quite detached from the rest of the family. Spending the holiday at Emma’s family home, Weyfield, isn’t exactly a dream come true. In fact, there are many reminders of how her family actually felt about him. Being trapped there with his unhappy family only makes this trip more uncomfortable. And how will be be able to keep his secrets to himself in such close quarters? Andrew’s secrets are only one of my many issues with him. He’s completely full of himself and needs to stop sulking.

Then there is Jesse. Jesse is also Andrews’s son. A secret son Andrew only recently found out about. Jesse wants to connect with his birth father, but what happens when Andrew fails to respond, and Jesse ends up thrust into quarantine with the rest of them? Will they be able to accept him as Andrew’s son? Will Andrew be what he was hoping for, or will he be trapped in a nightmare? I actually liked Jesse for the most part. He did have a tendency to open his mouth at the worst time, but overall, I think he was just in over his head. He was hoping for a fairytale and ended up in a mess. His expectations were rather unrealistic, but I get where he was coming from.

This book was very well written and maintained a focus on both the individual stories of the characters as well as the overall story of the family. It did a great job showing what it was like for each of these unique individuals. Like I said, I had some issues with the characters, but I did like the book. I don’t think I was supposed to miss or accept these flaws, I think they had a purpose. There was character development that helped with my feelings, but I do wonder if it would lead to lasting changes. While reading, I was always curious on how things would turn out. With so many diverse characters thrown together, there was a lot of drama. Each of their stories had some individual drama, but it also had a theme that tied them all together. I really think this book showed how relationships drift apart when they aren’t nurtured. Something that starts out beautiful can be taken for granted and turn into something entirely different. However, all hope isn’t lost. If people want to repair relationships, there is still something that can be returned to with honesty and a change in priorities.

This is a British book, but it is very easily understood. If you are looking for a family drama, this could be a great read for you! Thanks to NetGalley and Francesca Hornak for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably a 3.75/5 for me. While I enjoyed the novel and thought it was good, it lacked any real drama for me. There were twists but you can see them coming and they didn't turn anything upside down or make you see one of the characters from another view point. For me, these people could have been any middle class family with issues and secrets.

If you enjoy the holiday movie, the Family Stone, this book will be your cup of tea. Endearing but flawed characters quarantined in the house together over the week of Christmas. Harmless, right?
Loved it, will recommend to friends and patrons alike.

Place: Christmas in the English countryside

People: Andrew and Emma Birch and their daughters Olivia and Phoebe

Plot: Olivia Birch is a doctor who has spent the past months working to treat patients of an epidemic in Africa. Because the illness she has been fighting is highly contagious, Olivia is under orders to keep quarantined for seven days. She heads to the countryside with her parents and sister for seven days of enforced family together time. And it's an arrangement no one is happy about.

Pacing: Swift

Predictability: n/a

Perspective: Seven Days of Us is told from multiple perspectives, which always reminds me of an epistolary novel, my favorite. It's a format that the author uses very well to tell a story of family drama. As children, sisters Phoebe and Olivia were close; as they grew older, they grew apart, to the point of barely speaking as adults. A similar path can also describe Andrew and Emma's marriage. Once a war correspondent, Andrew now critiques London restaurants. He has grown snarky and bitter. While Olivia pulled away from everyone in order to follow her passion, Andrew and Phoebe grew closer and Emma just did her best to keep everyone in her family happy. The Christmas quarantine brings together a fractured family - each person hoarding a huge secret of his or her own.

What I enjoyed most about the book is how each character, while complete as individuals, holds a key piece of the full picture. As much as we readers can feel the interpersonal tension and know how much the members don't want to be together, they are irresistibly drawn together despite past grievances, transgressions, or the hurt they may have caused one another.

When I read the description of this book, just a family being quarantined for seven days got my attention. That would difficult under the best of circumstances and these were not the best of circumstances at all. The situation shouldn’t have been humorous but as the story developed I found myself laughing over and over again. What else could go wrong?! I liked the characters and enjoyed watching them grow and change with each challenge. Any specifics would require spoiler alerts and I wouldn’t want to be responsible for spilling the beans. It’s as much a page turner as any suspense I’ve ever read. I absolutely loved this book. It was a breath of fresh air.

Olivia has been treating patients with Haag virus in Liberia and now it's time for her to go back home. But first she has to go under quarantine for seven days together with her family in their country house. For the first time in years, they will be all together under one roof. Can they all survive the whole week?

I think I wouldn't mind spending seven or more days with my family specially right. Actually, I'll be spending three weeks with them (not under quarantine of course) starting next week because we will visiting them. I haven't been with them since 2014. Okay. Back to the review.

I was so close to not finishing this book after 6 chapters because almost all of the characters are so self-involved and just plain annoying. But there's something about the Birch family that kept me reading. In fact, I was rooting for them towards the end.

I love that this book is told from the different perspectives of the family members. It allows the readers to get to know the characters well including their secrets and see their thoughts about each other. The chapters are short which made this book a fast read and the author's writing is beautiful though I had a bit of a hard time understanding some British slang words and phrases. But overall, I really enjoyed this book.

I had some issues with the quarantine part. Why does Olivia has to stay with her family during the quarantine? Why not do it alone in some isolated place and meet her family after rather than forcing them all in one house. She doesn't have any contacts with them except online. Is it because Christmas is near so she has to be with them? But she's usually not around so they are probably used to it, right? There are also some events during the quarantine that didn't seem believable to me.

This book has a lot of secrets and coincidences. The characters share their secrets with the readers which makes this book more compelling to read. Some of the twists were quite predictable except that one towards the end that really hit me so hard. I liked how the characters developed throughout the story. The ending is perfect and I really loved the epilogue.

Seven Days of Us is a very heartwarming novel that will make you ask yourself how well do you know your own family and yourself. You might want to pick up this book for the coming holidays.

Just imagine your own adult family quarantined for 7 days. Then add this British family, all with secrets and with multiple plot lines. All of them in one family might seem quirky, but I found them plausible. I fact, I couldn't put the book down. Amid the bizarre scenarios, the author examines some serious social problems.

Seven days of togetherness along with secrets and tension make up the Birch family's Christmas holiday this year.

Emma has a health secret.

Andrew has a really big secret from his past.

Olivia has something she has to keep secret while in quarantine.

Phoebe really doesn't have a secret but is very self centered.

Staying in Emma's family estate is a bit challenging since Emma doesn't like to change anything from when she spent time there as she grew up. Things are old and decaying, and the technological side of it is very slow.

I wasn't sure what this book was going to be like at first, but once each chapter began to reveal things about each character, it became a very good read for me.

I laughed a lot as well as worried a lot. The funniest thing was that each year they planted the Christmas tree back in the same spot and uprooted it again for the next Christmas. The worries about their secret were intense for some of the characters, and I worried along with them.

SEVEN DAYS OF US was well written and a light read even though some of the issues were not light. The family grew on me to the point that I would have liked to be quarantined with them.

An enjoyable read that will have you wondering what decisions you would have made about your secrets and situations. SEVEN DAYS OF US also has some heart wrenching events.

Excellent debut novel - marvelous writing and detail as well as a great story line. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher, NetGalley, and Great Thought's Ninja Review Team in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.