Member Reviews
This was an emotional read for me and I just loved how mature a romance it was, how rooted in Black love, and how full the supporting details made this story. While I knew to expect my happily ever after, it didn't stop me from being stressed about our main characters and their trying to navigate a healthy relationship with unhealthy roots.
As I mentioned, I really loved the details of this story. I loved Eva's family and particularly how her portion of this story felt just as much as it was about romance as it was about mothers and daughters, and family legacies, and improving upon what you inherit. I also loved the portions of this that were about publishing and the way Eva and Shane approached their careers and were treated.
When I initially read the first two chapters I did not believe that I would enjoy the book as much as I did. However as I read on I started to fall in love with the book.
It is such a tragic and loving story of two lost individuals who are on the journey to find and fix themselves.
Shane and Eva are such wonderful characters and this novel tells a beautiful telling of second chances and revisiting old love to make it anew. The relationship between Eva and her mother is a strange and complex one but is very well detailed to make the reader also relate to the emotions and possible anger Eva feels towards her.
The writer does not shy away from hard telling accounts of drug addition, self harm and abuse. Her telling of these types of triggering topics was well written and communicated to the reader.
This is a beautiful compelling modern day telling of a romance story with all the dirty realities which real people face within their childhood and adult lives.
The only thing that faltered my enjoyment of the book was the character of Eva's 12 year old daughter who I found to be annoying and written as if she was beyond her years but I feel that was the writers intention.
I can see why this is a highly recommended book and agree that everyone should give it a chance as it truly is a lovely retelling of a modern romance and the harsh reality that individuals face in life.
A really lovely, beautifully written book that explores romance, writing and a second chance at love. Books about writers are easy to fall for, especially when they’re as well written as this. Highly recommend to anyone after a great summer read.
Eva and Shane’s lives collided as teenagers. In eachother, they found the love and home they had been searching for their whole lives. Seven days is all it took for them to become inseparable…until disaster strikes and both are left alone again. Years later, they are both writers and when they unexpected reunited at a literary event, every memory and ounce of chemistry returns like a lightening bolt. But are they destined to only ever have seven days together?
Seven Days in June is not your standard romance novel. It makes for gritty and uncomfortable reading, but that gives it edge over other novels in the genre which can be formulaic. It’s got the spice and chemistry you are looking for but I found the pace dragged and I struggled to get into it when I picked it up to read again. I liked the characters, particularly Audre, but I didn’t feel connected to them. I am glad I read it but I don’t feel like it will stay with me like other books in the genre have.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review
this book contains one of the greatest and most original love stories i have ever read. high school lovers eva and shane’s relationship ended abruptly and rather tragically at 17. despite this ending, over the years they both stayed dedicated to the other through tributes in their work. 15 years later, both now authors, reunite at a literary event and their story furthers. it is a journey, and one i happily followed them on. hooked feels like an understatement but that i was.
their romance is one to dream of, even for those of us who are perhaps not the most romantic. their love is consuming, and the never lessened devotion is evident despite the years that have passed. they simply belong together as individuals and the pair they unwittingly are.
tia williams has created the heterosexual love story of our generation and i do not say this lightly. it was simply magnificent and i know this will be one of the first books i reach for when i am looking for a reread.
thank you to netgalley and quercus books for the arc!
I have been desperate to read Seven Days in June for a while and it was always out of stock in the book store when I went (a great sign) so was thrilled to be given a copy from NetGalley to read in advance of the paperback release and I was certainly not disappointed. Eva and Shane spent a messy week together 15 years ago. Now they're both famous authors and they finally meet again for another week in June. What will happen? Will they pick up where they left off or has too much time passed?
This was such a captivating, mesmerising book - and a perfect June read!
Eva is a famous writer living in Brooklyn with her 12-year-old, precocious daughter. She should be finishing her 15th book in a highly popular series with a very devoted fan base but she hasn't even started writing it yet. At a book event for Black authors in Brooklyn Eva runs into Shane, a very famous and very reclusive novelist. Eva and Shane haven't seen each other in fifteen years, not after they spent a June week together as high school seniors, high on drugs, alcohol and each other. Shane broke Eva's heart, but also his own - is it too late to reconnect? Will their seven days in June end differently this time around?
I can't even begin to describe all the feelings this book brought up, you need to read it and see for yourselves! This is a wonderful, heartbreaking, swoony and understanding story about trying to rebuild yourself after a difficult past, about coping with crippling disability, about different kinds of motherhood and about letting someone peek inside the walls you have build to protect yourself. Thank you so much Tia Williams, Netgalley and Quercus Books for giving me the chance to read and review this beautiful book ❤
I will post reviews also on Instagram and Goodreads.
This was my first novel by Tia Williams and I just know I'm going to be scouring the shelves for her other books this summer.
This book was the textbook definition of a bumpy ride. Shane and Eva were solid, fleshed out characters and I loved to read their perspectives. Their POVs felt very distinctive and I was never skipping ahead to get to a favourite character's POV as I find sometimes happens in dual narrative books, simply because they were so fun to read. The whole book oozed a smart and sexy vibe and I was along for the ride. I did feel that Audre was written as older than being a "tween" (she felt closer to college age for me, or at least 17), but I feel like in my mind I had already made her older as a character so it ended up not becoming too much of a problem.
While the book felt a little dramatic and clichéd at times, I quite enjoyed the fact that it was quick and fast and in-your-face, every character feeling every emotion at 100%.. There were strong themes of addiction, abandonment, and self-harm that I felt at times were done really well and at other times were skimmed over.
Third person has always been my favourite and I enjoyed the jumps between past and present. However the one part I struggled with was when the POV would quickly switch to a different character on the same page, for about a paragraph, and then quickly swap back. It jarred the narrative for me and it would take a few minutes for me to get back into Shane or Eva's perspective.
Overall, this book was a gorgeous summer read and I feel I'll always be looking for more characters like Shane and Eva in future books. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly, I am at a loss for words after reading this book. I have only just finished and I am unsure of what to do. Eva and Shane will forever be in my heart, they deserve the whole world and I would give it to them if I could. This book was smart, funny and a whole lot sexy and I was living for every second of it. I don't usually read second-chance romance but this was so well done that it might be my favorite out of the trope.
I will definitely read more fro this author in the future!
TW: self harm, alcohol/drug addiction (please check for other triggers before reading)
Let me begin by saying that Seven Days in June is more than just a romance book.
At first glance it may seem that way; Eva Mercy, a bestselling erotica writer reconnects with her first love, the enigmatic Shane Hall (also an acclaimed author), in New York. Although, the flame between them re-ignites, so do past memories of trauma, addiction and self-harm, as well as what happened one fateful day 15 Junes before...
I haven’t ever read a romance book quite like this before. Although some other novels in the genre contain themes of more hard-hitting topics, this novel perfectly encompassed a few mentioned above. Not only that, but we got to encounter a character with a realistic hidden disability (something I feel is often overlooked in novels) and also the rarity of successful black authors, especially in certain genres like erotica. Thank you Tia Williams for the book panel conversation in this book (it is something that will stay with me for a long time). Alongside this, we got to see such a beautiful and emotional story of black love with comedic moments which ensured that the book wasn’t too heavy.
It was definitely a bumpy ride for Eva and Shane but I loved the flashbacks and different POVs utilised in this novel- it definitely made the narrative more meaningful. Williams has an amazing gift of making you love not only the main characters, but other characters introduced in this book (Audre and Cece I’m looking at you!) which made it even more heartfelt.
I’m struggling to articulate how much this novel struck a chord with me. For those who are able to, this is a MUST-READ!
Read: for an evocative tale of Black Love ❤️
NB: Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me an ARC of this book (paperback pub. 07/06/22). I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Loved every beat of this, it's worth the hype. It somehow manages to be raw & sharp and slow & syrupy at the same time. I got totally lost in these two people, it's rare that I've read a book where the intensity and passion leaps off the page so much. Eva and Shane's past might not sit well with some people. For me it's not just a romance but an exploration of trauma, loneliness, and finding the ones that help you put yourself back together. The first book in a while that's brought a real pang when it ended.
This was my second Tia Williams book in 2022 and my goodness can Williams tell a story!
Seven Days in June follows Eva and Shane across two timelines, back when they were lonely teens and when they bump in to each other 15 years later. Eva and Shane are both such complete characters, their behaviour, dialogue and feelings are rich and authentic and this was an utter delight to read.
It would be remiss to not mention the chronic illness representation in this book, Williams handles it both truthfully and kindly and I think it will resonate with many people.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book follows Eva Mercy and Shane Hall who are 2 best selling black authors that were childhood lovers. After going to school together for seven days, they meet again at a book event 15 years later in New York. I love how we get to see them as kids when they first met and get an insight into what shaped them into who they are as adults. We get to see them in both their past and present although it is heavily focused on the present with a chapter in each ‘day’ that tells us about what happened in their past. I loved the cultural representation and feel like I was able to gain an understanding of the black culture.
For the things that I didn’t love, the formatting really annoyed me. I felt that for me personally, how it jumped between past and present was done in a confusing way. This is written in third person which personally I find hard to read as I feel like I can’t understand what the characters are going through emotionally however I did feel like I was given enough that the book wasn’t lacking in emotions or the development of the characters.
- second chance romance
- disability representation
- Diversity representation
I can see how this novel will appeal to a certain market, and will be popular. It just didn’t quite resonate with me. The romance was fun, and well written, but I found some aspects of it problematic (drug use, brevity of time the teens knew one another). There is interesting dialogue on fiction writing and what it means to be successful, which I thought was quite unique.
A fairly solid novel, but not one I shall rave about.
This book was amazing. It was raw, emotional and everything. As a reader it was a great experience to live with this powerful and strong characters. I loved the fact that it was written from a dual POV and that with throwbacks to the period 15 years before.
I have been looking forward to this book for months and it absolutely didn't disappoint! Normally I am not really into second chance romance, but this one was so well written, that it is impossible not to fall in love with the writing, the characters and the story. Absolute must read for me! Can't wait to get my hands on the paperback.
this book is the most beautiful, raw and gut wrenching thing i have ever read. the love between the two mai characters is messy and complicated but their chemistry is so strong, their relationship i can only describe as soulmates - destined to find each other once again.
i loved the time jump between 15 years ago and modern day, the book was also set over 7 days which i think kept it well paced.
This book touches on some complex topics such as racism, self harm, addiction, co-dependance and chronic illness. This book was unapologetically black, it was poetic and beautiful and i think everyone needs to read this asap
4/5 stars, one of the few romance books i actually liked. Thanks to the author and publisher for sending me an e-ARC of the novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.
The most outstanding aspect of the novel is most definitely its characters, Eva, Shane, Audre, as well as all the side characters, are all so well fleshed-out that at times, I forgot they are fictional! (Unless..?) although I was not completely convinced Audre is a real tween and I would personally prefer a 17 year-old, her character still worked for me! Eva and Shane, despite their very distinct and hard lives, are still so relatable in the weirdest of ways. Lifelong trauma they both face still ties in to things that almost everyone feels.
I am a silly little reader who likes her books serious, with no slang or shortcuts. The writing of this book is completely the opposite of that, but I still devoured it! It’s smart, witty, very funny, and reflects the characters it describes perfectly. However, sometimes it was too over the top for me.
The relationships of all kinds in this book, so realistic and well done, make this book an absolute masterpiece. The contrast between Shane’s relationship with Genevieve and Eva is just..chef’s kiss! As mentioned, Audre and Eva also have an unusual yet beautiful relationship. Another relationship I thought was very interesting has to be Eva and her mother. Throughout the entire book, while getting an insight to Eva’s and her mother’s points of view, the reader is also given a lot of subtle hints at their dynamics, which felt like treasure hunting.
The plot was very solid and made me curious, unlike any other romance book that I could have spared time and guessed without reading.
Overall, great book with memorable and realistic characters, a solid plot and very funny writing!
Omg... This book has left me speechless. I think I just found one of my favorite books of all time. If I could give this book 6/5 stars, I would. Eva and Shane are my new OTP. I am so in love with them. I loved this book so much I cried happy tears while I was reading. It was perfect.
I’m struggling to put into words how I felt about this book.
It made me feel emotions that I’m not sure I know the name of.
Yes this was a romance, but this book was really about trauma, young love, racism, drug abuse, self harm, chronic illness.
I read that Tia Williams was influenced by the question of ‘what if Romeo abs Juliet survived’. Would they have gotten their second chance. Eva and Shane were destined to be together and their story pretty much broke me.
Seven Days in June focused on Eva moving between past and present. We learn about 7 days in June, 15 years ago where she met Shane and feel in love. They spent 7 intense, hedonistic days together, after which Shane leaves. Eva has been trying to reconcile this in her mind ever since when Shane enters back into her new life. We then get to learn what happened to both of our main characters since that week. The book is a story of love, which Tia Williams brings a sprinkle of humour to, with some of the supporting characters. Whilst I can see this being a very popular, well loved book, it was sometimes a bit cliched for me.