how can a story be so heartwarming and so heartbreaking at the same time?!?!?
could not stop thinking of the characters!!
I could have read 1000 more pages!

I am so conflicted with this one!!!

This book did one character in particular, one that I liked the most, really dirty... On the other hand, when it comes to love triangles, I REALLY enjoyed that Toon didn't spend the entire book making it glaringly obvious that one love interest would be the clear winner. I prefer when you are just as conflicted as the MC when deciding who to choose between. Thank you to Paige Toon for displaying this in such a way.

This story hooked me so quick. I enjoyed the characters for the most part. I liked the Down's Syndrome portrayal because it was perfectly realistic and not infantilizing. Liv is dealing with a lot of pain and loss in the beginning of this book, a pain that takes her a long time to healthily get past. Finn comes into her life at the time when she is super vulnerable, bonding with her and creating this really sweet, solid foundation. Unfortunately it isn't enough and both of them are adult enough to see they aren't in the position to really make a relationship work. They come to an agreement... he will come back every summer and if they are both single, they will spend the time together.

This understandably puts a strain on both of them in numerous ways... and after six summers of this situationship, Tom enters Liv's life. This book goes back and forth between now and the past summers, giving context at key times, but also dropping some bombshells along the way. And, ALL of this was so fun...

Unfortunately, it felt like this whole book was leading up to this main event, this big decision that Liv is supposed to make, but when it comes to the final conclusion, it is so incredibly rushed. I just didn't get any time of her living her decision... its all just epilogue and info dump. I got to the end and was like, what? that is IT???? That's all we get? I was so disappointed because the path to get there was so good.

Let's be honest - I am NOT a traditional fan of straight romance books. I have probably read less then 10 in my entire reading life, remembering two that I have truly read in my late teens. However, I will do my best to give this an honest review.

Seven Summers is an adult, contemporary romance. The book goes from present time to the past, telling the story of the life of the FMC, Liv. Over the span of 7-8 years, Liv lives through family grief that changes her the way she sees her future, and winds up staying in her hometown. Because she feels obligated to stay in the hometown, her love life becomes complicated and hinged around the MMC, Finn, and when he returns every summer. You can see where this is going... However, as Liv and Finn's love story unfolds to the reader, in present time, Liv meets a new man. Cue the typical heart break, miscommunication (not telling each other the full story), but thankfully no surprise pregnancy trope. There are likely other tropes that this summer romance hits that I'm not well versed in.

Overall, I didn't hate it, but it definitely reminded me why I don't go out of my way to read romance books.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this advanced reader's copy for a review. Reviewed on Goodreads, StoryGraph and Instagram

This book had so much potential. I'm a sucker for second chance romances and a back and forth timeline that slowly reveals what happened between the two main characters. The chemistry between Finn and Liv was just not quite there for me. The trauma they've both been through. The way they only see each other but once a year. I needed more angst, more pining, more EMOTIONS. And then we add in Tom, who, I'm sorry, was just there lol. The back and forth between Liv's summers with Finn and then the present with Tom did not flow well. I didn't think Finn and Liv's chemistry was amazing, but it definitely was way more interesting than her and Tom's. And then that epilogue???? I knew I was in for it when my kindle said the epilogue was 22 minutes long. That was soooo rushed. It didn't match the pacing of the rest of the story. I think if the author had given more time to that part of the story, the whole thing would have come together in a much more beautiful and satisfying way. I actually think this book would benefit from being longer to really flesh out the relationships, especially considering we're spanning more than 7 years of these people's lives.

I did enjoy this in a lot of ways. Liv's relationship with her brother Michael, the way Finn was always there for Liv every summer after what happened, finding love for your passions after grief. Like I said before, there was a lot of potential here. It just didn't quite get there for me.

Side note - This would be a great limited series. I think it would really come to life on screen (kind of like Normal People and One Day).

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC!

This book was a solid 3 stars for me. The story was beautifully written, two characters who keep coming back to each other and yet giving enough space for each other to grow. The characters are hard not to like and root tortilla the end. The last few chapters however. I Could have gone without, they seemed forced and unecessary, 1 epilogue to summarize everything would have been adequate to

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC

While I was intrigued by the premise and enjoyed the first half of this novel, the second half started to feel repetitive, and I didn't like the whole plot line with Tom. The chemistry between Tom and Liv felt inauthentic. Ultimately, I didn't love where the story went, but I did enjoy the setting!

One of my favorite books this season. I kept going back and forth between Tom and Finn but everything worked out in the end. This book was so incredibly well written and I devoted every piece of it.

<b>Seven Summers</b> took my emotions on one heck of a wild ride and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Liv and Finn have known each other since secondary school, but they reconnect while working at a restaurant/bar on the Cornish coastline six summers ago. A tragic event occurs, intertwining their lives and bringing them closer together. But as summer comes to an end, Finn has to return to his life in LA with his band while Liv remains in Cornwall tending to her family commitments and working on her sculptures when she has the time. They make a promise, Finn will return every summer, and if they are single they will pick back up where they left off. Six summers later, Liv finds herself falling for Tom, a mysterious stranger new to town.

The book is told in multiple timelines, current day alternating with the previous six summers. I do not care for love triangles and I normally have a clear favorite, BUT that wasn’t the case with this situation. Be warned, this is not a rom-com. It is both hopeful and heartbreaking. Liv, Finn, and Tom each had their issues but I loved them all. And what I love most about Paige Toon’s books is that she doesn’t rely on the miscommunication trope, but rather life circumstances tend to be the issue which I find quite realistic. She also is able to capture that feeling of young love and show how it grows and matures over the years.

I had a few minor issues, but one of them I cannot detail because I think it would definitely be a spoiler. The other was the epilogue which wasn’t really an epilogue but rather a continuation of the story. For as long as the epilogue was, it breezed over significant events that could have used more detail and which would have been better suited being explored a little more in additional chapters instead being rushed in the epilogue. 4.5 stars rounded up because Paige Toon had me in tears more than once in this book. 💫

I am working my way through her previous books and will continue to read anything she writes in the future. I’ll just be sure to have a box of tissues close by. 😪

** spoiler alert ** I picked this up at 9 pm at night and by 3:30 AM was done. Am I proud of that? Sure. I couldn’t put it down because I fell in love and was hurt by Finn. I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to comfort & slap Liv. I couldn’t put it down because Tom filled my heart & made me suspicious. I felt all the emotions the characters were feeling. At times I couldn’t imagine how she would choose anyone over Finn and then how could she walk away from Tom?

Five stars for me. This should be a top read for everyone this summer!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin/Random House for the Advanced Reader Edition.

Paige Toon has this uncanny way of making her all of novels (at least the ones I've read so far) feel like a swift punch straight to your gut. LOL
I go through the wringer every damn time and this book delivered love and heartbreak in spades. I love when novels that touch upon tender topics of love and grief allow them to coexist.

While I immensely enjoyed the story and read it in one whole sitting, I agree with my fellow readers about their thoughts on the epilogue! Toon's writing is so beautiful and impressive, that I (a notorious love triangle HATER), wouldn't have minded either ending 🫢 Although it might have been a bit obvious how the story might conclude, I still enjoyed the process, though I wish it couldn't been a bit more flushed out and not rushed. Either way I enjoyed it & I'm looking forward to the next book to rip my heart out ! 😃 (& put me back together) ❤️‍🩹

This is my second read by Paige Toon, and I enjoy her writing style. I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in to this book, and it was overall enjoyable, but I do have some things to gripe about.

Firstly, I didn't feel the emotional connection with the main characters that I'm always searching for. I love a good love triangle, but her relationship with Tom felt rushed and out of place, like it was just a plot device instead of being really fleshed out.

Second, that epilogue. I see that it's been mentioned already, but there was SO much packed into it, and it needed to be longer, or have additional chapters added at the end.

I do enjoy Paige's writing and will continue to read her books, but this one didn't quite do it for me.

This is my second book by Paige Toon and she sure knows how to make love hurt in the best of ways.

The premise of this book drew me in and I feel like it really delivered. We journey with Liv through happiness and grief. Throughout the story we experience her highs and lows. I feel like Paige Toon painted a realistic picture of life after experiencing such trauma. I enjoyed the then/now set up of the book. Counting down the summers to current time really pulled on the heart strings. I felt as though the epilogue was a little disjointed from the story, though. I felt like much of it could have been flushed out and added to the actual story given the information we were provided. It felt rushed to provide us what I considered crucial information for emotional impact.

There is so much to this story that I loved. Michael's relationship with his sister/family/friends was so enjoyable. I loved his fierce independence and the way that he looked after his little sister. I loved that Liv had an entire support system to help he through her grief. Liv and Finn are basically trauma bonded and I loved how realistic this was portrayed. I loved seeing Liv learn how to let go and move forward instead of continually sitting with ghosts. I loved that Liv was able to realize that Finn wasn't the only problem in their relationship. And I loved Tom.

To be quite fair, I would have been 100% satisfied with the ending where she chose Tom. It's not that I didn't love Finn, but the whole right person - wrong time was done so beautifully even though heartbreaking. I did enjoy that Liv and Finn found their way back to one another after she had lived happily with her choice of choosing Tom. But that is where the epilogue let me down because it felt so rushed and so short in comparison to their long and harrowing journey back to each other - and maybe that's how it was supposed to be. But something here was missing for me.

I still adored this book and will recommend to all my readers that love a good emotional gut punch.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Seven Summers In exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes a good book is ruined by an epilogue. I did struggle to get into this books and I think it was because the chemistry between Finn and Liv is just not there. I honestly hated Finn most of the time.

Where do I start?
I thought this was going to be a sweet beach read but boy was I wrong. This book is literally just pain and suffering.

Starting with the positives, I enjoyed the authors writing and style and the setting had a lot of potential. My gripe with this book was that SO MUCH happened in the epilogue that should have definitely been a few additional chapters at the end of the book bc without the epilogue this book is so confusing?? Idk just not what I expected at all to be honest.

And also poor Tom???
JUSTICE FOR TOM BC SHE MADE HIM SUFFER AND HE DIDNT EVEN NEED TO EXIST.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Seven Summers
Author: Paige Toon
Source: NetGalley
Pub Date: May 21, 2024

Seven Summers is a sweet story of love, loss, family, community, and first love. Liv and Liam have both suffered tragic losses in their past, and it unites them in the present until obstacles force them to make hard life decisions. The author did an excellent job with the storyline; it is sweet and clean and captures the feeling of young love. It is a romance with remarkable chemistry set in Cornwall, England. I predict Ms. Toon will be very successful in releasing Seven Summers in the USA. #SevenSummers @paigetoonauthor @netgalley @putnambooks #romance #love #death #loss #grief #redemption #heartbreak #renewal #art #chicklit #britain #cornwall
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I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel
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#book #books #bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #bookreader #reader #reading

"You thought we'd just fizzle out? What we have doesn't just fizzle out. I was never going to fall out of love with you."

Seven Summers is a story of 1st love, 2nd love and grief. It's a story of family and falling in love and changing your life's plans because of what life has handed you. It's a bit of an emotional roller coaster that is told over a past/present timeline from one person's POV.

Liv is an artist. She has lived in a small town in England, but has had big lofty goals of becoming a sculptor and getting out of the town that she has lived in her entire life. But one summer changes everything. Her time at her job with her friends and reconnecting with a guy (Finn) from her school days has her summer filled. When Finn and Liv finally cross over a line, she knows that he could be her everything, but all he wants is to get away from their small town and make a life in the US. When life gives Liv the ultimate life altering change, she knows that she has to stick around for her brother and that her life will only be where she is at. A beautiful and intense beginning with Finn is also the beginning of the end.

Told in altering timelines, we meet Liv in the present and then we go back each summer that builds to the present. Liv deals with grief, but has never really truly lived for herself. This is HER journey that is anything but easy. We go back seven summers to her time with Finn and then we keep coming back to the present when she finally accepts her life and moves forward. Each summer we go back to (seven summers ago, then six, then 5, and so on and so on) we see a return of Finn coming back for a someone that he left years ago, but they always know that their time will end. It was heartbreaking that these two people put themselves through an emotional pull each summer, only to leave each other each time because they both knew where their places in their lives were. And apparently they weren't together.

I love reading a story about tortured artists and how their pain gets them to create art. While we did have that here, we also had one woman's journey to get to a place of acceptance and it wasn't easy. I wanted Liv and Finn to have that HEA, but circumstances just couldn't have them together. It broke my heart for everything they put themselves through. When Liv finally moves on and a beautiful soul comes to stay, I just knew that Liv had made the right choice with her life. Tom was a man that knew what he wanted and he was one to stay. Liv deserved someone that stayed for HER. But with that, we kind of got a little bit of a love triangle and I really liked that. I needed that angst along with the emotional pull, but it was also Liv's friends who needed her to move on from a past that was holding her back.

Liv and Tom. Liv and Finn. It was all so confusing and beautiful and emotionally raw. I loved seeing Liv evolve and the decisions she made for herself. I hated what that did to her past, but Liv needed some sort of strength and stability that only one person could really offer her. When she opened her heart, it was cracked, but she was willing to allow someone to fill it. I am being sort of vague here, but you have to understand that Liv's journey was not an easy one. She went through a lot to finally understand who she was and what she deserved in life. I liked how this story was told and the timelines it gave us to see her journey. I did have some issues with her time with Tom though. I felt like we couldn't connect with them as a couple as much as her and Finn because we weren't there as much. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed, but I did accept it.
Overall, Seven Summers is an emotional story that will pull you in all sort of directions, but also have you falling for great characters that made the best decisions for themselves at that time. This is definitely be a book I will see on people's summer reading list.

If you enjoy angst, some good Down syndrome representation, and following along on one woman's journey of love and acceptance with grief and life, this is going to be a book that you will want to add to your TBR. This is my first Paige Toon book, but I have a feeling I'll be back to check more of her books out.

Liv and Finn meet and fall for each other over the course of a summer. But after tragedy strikes, they settle for only seeing each other for a short time in the following six summers. Now, Liv is making a connection with a new man as she realizes that she and Finn may be officially over.

Paige Toon is a master at pulling at your heartstrings! Here's what I loved in this one:

The past and present: The story is told with Liv in the present, meeting Tom while also flashing back to her past with Finn. This sets up some high stakes for both of the relationships.

The Location: I loved this setting. You have a small village, some local watering holes, a beach side town. It has such a good feel to it that I wanted to go there.

The characters: I loved Liv and Finn and Tom and all of the side characters. Everything is so well drawn out in this book. I could honestly live in this book for a while.

The ending: I won't give anything away, but I enjoyed the ending. A lot.

Overall, this is one of those books that will tear your heart out and put it back together again several times. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy.

Unfortunately, I could not connect with the characters of this book. Tom's love story felt rushed to me but the dynamic between Finn and her drove me crazy, which I guess is it's point. I was hoping for more.

This book had everything I was looking for: rock star? angst? slow-burn? love-triange done well? Check, check, check, check. If you’re in the mood for a romance tear-jerker, then this book is for you.

I loved the structure of this story. Told from Liv’s POV between present-day and past summers leading up to now, I fell in love with Finn and Liv, AND Tom and Liv. Both romances felt right for Liv. Okay, Finn held my heart – I’m a sucker for broody, tortured rock stars – but Tom grew on me and I eventually fell in love with him, too. Whereas Finn’s love was deep and passionate, Tom’s love was steady and steadfast.

And Liv’s relationship with her brother, Michael. I appreciated how Toon incorporated Michael’s Down Syndrome as a blessing and a barrier. When Finn confronts Liv that she’s been using Michael as a crutch – and then Michael tells Liv that he’s been looking out for her as her big brother, I sobbed buckets.

This is a story that’s meant to be savored, not sipped. I’m looking forward to reading the next Paige Toon.

Seven Summers features a love triangle, a lot of complex emotions, and sadness. It was too long for me. I think Liv could have used some therapy and I wanted her to be happy even if at times it felt impossible.

3.5 stars but rounding down.

Thanks for the advanced reader copy netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons.