Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC of this book. I will begin by saying that I'm a "head-in-the-sand" person. I don't watch the news. I don't like feeling uncomfortable because of conflict (real or imagined). I don't like uncomfortable topics (political, socio-economic, racial, addictions). All of those things were a part of this book-- as well as some characters that I really liked getting to know and some I wished to know more about. To read about each character's experiences, while uncomfortable for me, was important.

I wish there would have been more about the seven days that Eva and Shane spent together as teenagers-- I think we needed more of a reminder how deep we feel at that age and why, after 15 years, you would still feel that first love like it was yesterday. I enjoyed the banter between Eva and Shane when they reconnected (and there were some excellent steamy sex scenes) but I didn't feel the book was a romance. There were too many other topics brushed upon that made it less of a light read.

Eva and Shane had a whirlwind week together in high school. 15 years later, after both are successful black authors, they are reunited.

This one was just ok for me.

love when a book makes me feel all shouty and enthused. Seven Days In June by Tia Williams is a beautifully written book that I am so excited to talk about. When I saw Estelle recommend it during the Forever Open House webinar, I knew it would be good. BUT WOW, you guys, just WOW. At some point, I definitely want to buy a copy of this book so it is on my shelf. Also, I can totally see why the waiting list at the library is a mile long to read this book. Although I had a Netgalley copy, I also borrowed a copy from the library as sometimes I like reading the physical book. And yes, I did rush through it so someone else can get a crack at this book.

Seven Days In June follows Eva Mercy and Shane Hall, both Black authors who are very successful in their respective genres. Eva is the author of the Cursed series which is a supernatural erotic series that is extremely popular with a massive fan following. Shane Hall writes literary fiction and his work is much acclaimed. The two met senior year of high school and had quite the week together, but Shane disappeared completely out of Eva’s life. Flash forward fifteen years later. Eva is on a panel and Shane happens to be on the same panel – the air is crackling with tension. Will the two get a second chance at love? You absolutely need to read and find out.

As mentioned, I just loved this book. Eva is a single mom and she’s amazing. She does have chronic pain and the book doesn’t shy away from detailing how much that sucks. Anyways, I think one of the biggest highlights for me was just how wonderful of a mom Eva is. Her daughter Audre is a force to behold. When we first meet Audre, she’s getting in trouble with Eva because she’s providing therapy to her fellow classmates. She’s absolutely an intelligent, thoughtful kid and steals the scene every time she shows up.

With regards to the relationship between Eva and Shane, wow, would give this a three out of five on the spicy scale. There are such fireworks between the two. Yes, this does consummate. Those scenes are totally not cheesy or awkward to read, by the way. The pain and trauma that Eva and Shane work through and overcome made me root all the harder for them to have their joy and happy ending.

On the whole, Seven Days In June is a master class of a book. Run don’t walk to your local bookstore or library and get your hands on a copy as soon as possible.

Wow. I’m really not sure what I expected but this book exceeded my expectations. It’s so hard to accurately describe. I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend.

It defies expectation but if forced I would say this is literary fiction crossed with romance. It’s the story of two people coming back into each other’s lives after many years. It’s the story of the way our history shapes our future. It’s the story of family and mothers and daughters. It’s the story of overcoming our past and making new and different choices for our futures.

There’s a lot and I suggest looking for content warnings if there is something you avoid. If not - I suggest picking this up today.

Thank you to Grand Central and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

This seems like one of the most hyped books of the summer, and it definitely lived up to its hype. A great fast-paced and intense love story. I am not sure the charters were all that likable or relatable but I was rooting for them and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. It was an intense whirlwind of a story, one that almost matches the love story itself. Highly recommended, a great summer read.

I've found my new favorite fictional couple. The synopsis did not prepare me for the feelings and experiences this book gave me. Every character sprung to life and I adored it. Shane and Eva were everything! This story showed how important it is to work on ourselves, committing to the journey of overcoming everything life has thrown at us to be our best selves, whatever that might look like.

Relationships with ourselves, families, spouses and friends take hard, transparent work and is not always hearts and flowers but can and should still be joyful. I'm writing this on a whim and really can't explain yet how much this story meant to me. I loved it! It tackled some heavy issues but enjoyable, sexy, hopeful and refreshing none the less. I wouldn't mind getting more of Shane, Eva and Audre, especially Audre in the future.

Excellent read by Tia Williams! Steamy yet real. Just my style. Highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a great romance, brewing for years and ready to explode!

I requested this book on a whim and I think it might be my favorite read of the year!
This book is about Eva Mercy, an erotica author and single mom who reconnects with her high school sweetheart, Shane, after years of not speaking. In high school, Eva and Shane's relationship was incredibly toxic and fueled by drugs and rage. After all these years the two must confront their past and determine what will happen in the future.

This book tackled so many difficult subjects (drug use, disability, mental illness, race, sexism) but it was done in such a precise and thoughtful way that the story didn't become bogged down. Each topic was well developed and important to the storyline. I appreciated that even with all the difficult subjects, the underlying themes were hope and perseverance.

The main characters in the book amazing! They were strong, flawed, and showed tremendous self awareness and growth. I was rooting for Shane and Eva the entire time. Their romance was spicy, tender, and true. I honestly can't say enough good things about this book. As a regular romance reader, this was definitely a standout. It was powerful, entertaining, and amazing!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

I'd like to preface by saying there is absolutely /no way/ I'll be able to write a review that could do this book justice. This read was so unique, so wonderful, and SO stunning.

Seven Days in June follows single mother Eva Mercy, an erotica author, as she reconnects with her high school lover Shane during a book convention. Their one week high school relationship was extremely toxic, riddled with drug use, disability, and mental illness; which is why for so many years they had avoided each other in professional spaces, opting to instead write fictionalized books about each other.

What I connected to most in this book was the disabled representation. Eva has severe chronic pain, which kept her addicted to pain killers for her teenage years. Even as an adult with a healthy diagnosis and prescription, Eva struggles to parent her daughter, stay alert in professional spaces, and write her next book. As somebody whose mother is also disabled, I resonated a lot with her experience parenting her daughter often from a bed. Her daughter takes on more responsibilities, acts "older than her age," and often has to parent herself. I saw so much of myself in her, and fostered so much more compassion not only for Eva, but for my mother.

This romance is a sure-fire standout from your typical romance novel. Shane and Eva pack spice, steam, chemistry, and history all in one delicious explosion just waiting to break. Their reunion told alongside their first relationship is *so* unique and special, and carries the complexities many authors don't dare to write about. It's risky to write a relationship so torrid and complicated, but Williams does it perfectly.

The theme of Blackness is intertwined through every sentence of the story. As a white reviewer, I don't want to spend too much time commenting on this, and would urge readers to seek ownvoices reviews instead, however for the sake of this review perhaps being the first review somebody sees of this book, I definitely want to touch on it. Shane and Eva have a shared unique experience of being Black authors writing Black stories, which is historically super difficult to navigate in the publishing industry, especially when the stories aren't racially related trauma based.

Overall, Seven Days in June was the best reading experience I've had in a while. The author is knock out witty, the romance is SOOOOO charismatic and wonderful to read, and you will fall in love with Eva's relationship with her daughter. READ THIS READ THIS READ THIS!!!!!

I was looking forward to this one when it became Reese Witherspoon's book pick, but I have to say it didn't work for me as well as I had hoped. Although I did read until the end and liked the ending, I had a hard time keeping track of the timelines and difficulty with the writing at times. I would have loved to learn more about Eva's mom and grandma's too.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Eva was an acclaimed writer of supernatural erotica. She suffers from migraines that are debilitating but as a single mother, will do anything to see that Audre has a successful life. Shane is an acclaimed writer also, more well-known that Eva. He has problems too and all his famous books and appearances have been under the influence of alcohol. Now in AA, he wants to make amends. Eva picked Shane as a friend when she started a new high school. She noticed him sitting by himself and convinced him to befriend her. After a painful break up, they are reunited fifteen years later at an author event. They have read each other’s books, noting that one of Eva’s main characters is patterned after Shane, and Shane’s main character mirrors Eva. Their chance meeting renews the sparks, and they hope to mend their relationship. I loved the characters in this book. Audre’s daughter is smart and intuitive. The story portrays the trials of living with a debilitating disease, feeling like you are not good enough to find a family or place to belong, and how you can rise above all the hardships. Great lessons learned.

Sensual, smart, and socially conscious, Seven Days in June is one of the most enjoyable books you’ll read all year. Tia Williams’s latest novel has the sort of detail and emotional resonance that it feels deeply personal, and thus is compulsively readable. While deeply rooted in the Black literary circle and creole history, and populated entirely by black characters, this book is somehow not exclusionary, nor is it to be relegated to the niche of black romance or erotica. The author refuses to fall into cliches of any genre, making the book accessible to people of any race or background and fans of highbrow literature, fantasy, Women’s fiction, and romance.
This is one of those rare books that succeeds in portraying deeply flawed individuals who are still likable. My most common gripes with characters are: they’re too perfect/innocent, they’re one-dimensional archetypes, or they’re interesting but wholly unlikable. There’s none of that here. Even the secondary characters are well developed.
On par with the characters is the plot. Here, we have multiple timelines, complex family histories woven into the fabric of our protagonists, art imitating life, career and creative struggles and successes, social status and racial issues, mental health issues, all wrapped up in a star-crossed romance. There’s so much going on, and so many layers, all working in tandem, but Williams is always in control, never getting preachy or lost down a rabbit hole. The author maintains sight of her guiding light: Gia and Shane.

4.5 stars.

Finally, an extremely well written romance novel that I was able to gobble up in two sittings!

This story follows Eva, an accomplished erotica writer, and Shane, a well-respected literary author, who re-connect as adults in New York, 20 years after their emotional high school fling.

My complaint with romance novels has always been their lack of depth. We never really get a glimpse into real-life issues, and the characters rarely ever have to tackle any hard obstacles along the way. This story broke that mold completely. Tia Williams writes about an all-black cast of characters and tackles racism, alcoholism, drug addiction, self-harm, single motherhood, and chronic pain, and she does it beautifully. Eva and Shane, as teenagers and as adults, are both dealing with some brutal stuff, but they manage to have an authentic and beautiful connection through it all, and it results in a swoon-worthy love story.

My only issue with this story is that I think we could've done without the typical romance trope of a misunderstanding that occurs between the lovers in the last quarter of the book, but this is just a personal romance novel pet-peeve of mine.

This book is sexy, heart-warming, and heart-breaking, all at once. I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a great romance to read.

RATING: 4.5 STARS
2021; Grand Central Publishing

OMG, this was a great excerpt!!! It really drew me in. I wasn't planning to read this one anytime soon. It was on my list because I am doing the RBC reading challenge. Then. This. Excerpt. Happened. So good. I actually downloaded and requested a copy from the publisher. I am so happy to have my own copy.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley, and hardcover from the Publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams was a great read. I will feature it as Book of the Day on all my social media platforms, and I included it in my monthly roundup of new releases for my Black Fiction Addiction blog.

This book was just ok for me. I liked the backstory of the characters more than I liked their current day story. I found her daughter more annoying than cute, and I was just more frustrated that none of the characters seemed to want to really change.

This is different than a typical romance – there are a lot of complex issues explored and I enjoyed reading it! I really liked the characters and rooted for Shane and Eva from the first page. Their rekindled romance is complicated from a past of misunderstandings and unknown circumstances. Throughout the pages, we come to see what split them apart all those years ago, while also rooting for them to be able to find forgiveness to move forward together.

One aspect I really liked about the book was the exploration of an invisible disability – Eva suffers from severe and debilitating migraines – and feel it adds a lot to the conversation of having compassion and empathy for people because we are not always privy to what is actually going on with others. “Sick” does not always have a “look”, and I really remember this when my mom was going through chemotherapy for cancer. The nueropathy got so bad that she would often need to get one of those motorized shopping carts and people would give her the rudest looks thinking she was just too lazy to walk. Yes, on the outside, she looked perfectly capable, but she couldn’t feel her feet so she was nervous to fall down, and after too much walking, her legs would just give out. Anything that helps highlight how we can be better humans will come highly recommended by me!

Everything about this one feels like the perfect summertime read, so be sure to add it to your TBR!

Single mother Eva is known for the erotica fantasy romance series that she has written. Although she writes steamy books, her real life is lacking in that department. When popular writer Shane Hall shows up at an author event, Eva is thrown into a tailspin. She hasn’t seen Shane in fifteen years since they were 17 years old. They spent seven glorious days together and he left her without a goodbye or explanation. Now he is back, wanting to reconnect and Eva doesn’t know if she can bear getting her heart broken by him again.

This was an amazing second chance romance! The story alternates between the present time and those seven days Eva and Shane spent together when they were young and you get a real sense of how deep their connection was from the start. They both were lost, barely surviving life and their relationship saved each of them from going down a road of complete darkness. This book is heavy on loss and mental health struggles and it cut me really deep. The stories of their childhood were heartbreaking.

When Shane and Eva reconnected as adults, they still have that fiery chemistry. I love the confidence each of them have developed in their adult lives. I also loved that they still didn’t have their shit completely together as adults because that is real life!

The social commentary on the need for more Black-centered literature and how much Black authors struggle in a White dominated field is insightful and important in this book. Eva struggles with supporting herself and her daughter while maintaining her integrity and advocacy for BIPOC authors.

Does anyone else wish that Cursed was a real book??? I was so intrigued by the storyline of Eva's fantasy series and I wish it was real so I could dive in!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: substance abuse, overdose, self harm, suicidal thoughts, death of a loved one, chronic illness

I loved this! Although I don’t read romances often, I almost always read rom coms when I do. This book made me realize that I’d like to start reading more romances like this one: a story where there is some humor thrown in, but it essentially tells a serious love story.

For me, this book was unique in a lot of ways (the first way being it’s a romance, not a rom com). Another way was that I found Eva’s daughter Audre, a 12-year-old girl, to be so likable! I typically don’t love when children are main characters in adult narratives, but Audre was so endearing I had to make an exception for her. I also appreciated the attention the book gives to Eva’s migraine condition. While I don’t experience migraines as often as Eva, migraines affect my life, and it was nice to see a character having to deal with them. One thing I especially loved were the chapter titles! To title the chapters, Williams picked a funny line from each chapter. Chapters are hardly ever titled in adult books, and I always wonder about that! I thought this little detail definitely added to my appreciation of the story.

I really don’t think there was anything I didn’t like about this book!

My rating: 4.5 stars

Thank you to Grand Central and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book deserves the hype it got. Tia Williams is an excellent author and the story was beautiful. I loved Eva so much and her story just broke me over and over.