Member Reviews
I’ll start by saying the story here was well thought out, and emotional. I think the pacing really threw me off though, it took me months to get to the final chapters that I was able to get through in a day. The same amount of plot was packed into the epilogue as was included in the entire rest of the book. I also think the developments of the epilogue really negated all of Liv’s earlier decisions and growth, and really made it seem like Paige Toon just wanted to have the best of both worlds which didn’t feel very authentic yo the rest of the story. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
I loved Tom and the wider cast of characters that made up the town. I did like that this was a sadder romance - definitely not a rom-com.
Toon really dove into explanations of medical terms (this pulled me out of the book at times, they just kept going). There were some really heart wrenching lines and I definitely teared up reading. Overall an enjoyable book and story!
A story of love lost, and found again. Of summer romance, and giving your heart away. A story about loving more than one person. A story of summer. This book was beautifully written, in a way that made me smile and cry.
"Seven Perfect Summers" by Paige Toon is a delightful and heartwarming novel that follows the story of Laura and her seven best friends as they reunite at Laura's family holiday home in Italy over the course of seven summers. Through laughter, tears, and unexpected twists, the group navigates the challenges of growing up, forging lasting friendships, and discovering what truly matters in life. With its charming setting, relatable characters, and nostalgic atmosphere, "Seven Perfect Summers" is a perfect read for fans of summer escapades and heartfelt stories about friendship and love.
This book was a sweet, loving story with beautiful narrative of characters who just cannot get the timing right. It was a sweet story that was nice to read on a rainy day.
Oh, what a book this was! It was my first experience with the author, and it won’t be the last. She perfectly switched from the present to up to 7 years back and more. What a relationship, and there were definitely tears.
I loved this. Liv and Finn’s story was so joyous and heartwarming, along with heartbreaking and sad. Such a great book. Please read it!
My thanks to NetGalley for the gifted digital copy. My review is voluntary.
4.5⭐️ Well done Paige Toon! Another stunner. Great characters and storytelling mixed with art and music. I liked Liv and enjoyed seeing her come through grief and find love. I really liked that there was a character with Down’s syndrome, that really added more depth especially to Liv’s character. Get the tissues ready if you plan on reading this!
📚 Book Review📚
Seven Summers by Paige Toon
4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to netgalley for my arc copy of this book! I think it is a great summer read- i always enjoy alternating timelines. (Past and future) builds the story up to the present.
Paige Toon is an author I come back to many times
Keep a lookout for this book coming right in time for a great beach read!
Seven Summers by Paige Toon is an emotional roller coaster ride and is worth every tear. Liv and Finn meet at a bar in Cornwall and fall in love but he's only there for the summer, so when it's time for him to leave they agree to meet every summer and if they are free they'll get together and for six summers, that's what they do. You'll fall in love with them and their love story. But then Liv meets Tom and has another great love, who gets two in one lifetime? This book has everything, it is a gift. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Liv & Finn met 6 summers ago, she’s just returned to her hometown on the Cornish Coast & he’s filling in as the lead singer for a local band that headlines at a local bar where she finds herself working. They share a sweet summer together knowing he’ll be back to the US at the end of it. Then a life altering tragedy for Liv bonds them for life.
Liv decides it’ll be more heartbreak than she can handle to try to make the long distance work. Knowing he’ll return for a short visit each summer they decide, if they’re both single, to enjoy their time together. For a few summers they do, until one moves on. We get to revisit their time together up until the present, seventh summer.
I loved Finn from the get go. I wanted them to find a way to make to work. When Tom entered the picture I wasn’t prepared for how much I would love him as well. Who gets two perfect matches in one lifetime?!
The final summer/epilogue took me on a journey I wasn’t sure I was prepared for. It broke my heart & put it back together.
I LOVED THIS BOOK. There’s not a single aspect I would change. Seven Summers was my first book by Paige Toon & after reading I immediately looked up every past book & added it to my TBR list. This isn’t your easy beach read romcom (which, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE). This book was so well written, I can already tell Paige Toon will become an auto buy author for me.
Thank you to GP Putnam & Son’s, NetGalley & Paige Toon for the opportunity to read Seven Summers ahead of its May 21, 2024 release date!
No one warned me that this book would absolutely rip my heart to shreds. god this was incredible. I enjoyed the push and pull and the past and present.
I am truly not okay.. This book was absolutely gut-wrenching, heartbreakingly, beautiful.
This will go down as one of my favorite books of the year hands down.
I can't stop the tears.
Finn and Liv and Tom and Liv's journeys are both once in a lifetime kind of loves, but Liv was able to live them both. But with all of the tragedy and heartbreak, it took her awhile to find her complete happiness.
I am not usually one who likes love triangles, but this book was so unique, where it didn't necessarily feel like one.
There are so many things that happen during this book that I want to talk about, but you need to go into this book blind. I absolutely and whole heartedly promise you that there is a happy ending at the end of this book, even though I felt like my heart took a beating in the process.
I cannot say enough good things about this book. The emotions I felt. The pull toward the characters. Fantastic. Another great read from Paige Toon. I cannot wait to see this released into the world.
Liv is a sculptor who comes home to Cornwall for the summer to work in a bar to save money. There she falls for a musician named Finn. After a horrific tragedy, Liv decides to stay in Cornwall with family, but Finn’s life is in LA. Liv doesn’t want to keep in contact. She’s not interested in the long-distance thing, but if they are both still single when he returns to visit . . .
The story is told in two timelines. In one, Liv and Finn fall in love and have their hearts broken each summer—he spends what time he can before returning home for his music obligations. It’s also told when Liv comes upon an intriguing stranger, Tom, with secrets he doesn’t share right away.
Tom is great, but I found myself rooting for Finn. Parts of the ending felt a little rushed, but this is well done. There are more sad elements than I’m used to in traditional contemporary romance (which I liked). I think it’s more women’s fiction with romantic elements.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES MAY 21, 2024.
Paige Toon always knows how to break your heart! This was an emotional read. I really enjoyed it. Grab this if you want to FEEL something.
Thanks you to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Such an emotional book that pulled at all my heartstrings!
I couldn't put this book down, I was so entrenched in the story and the journey that Liv was on; from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Finn was a constant in her life; although for only smalls amounts of time, that just kept her wanting more. But his visits were at the perfect time, when she needed him most, after an unexpected tragedy. Finn keeps showing up for Liv for years, but their relationship is ever changing and may not last the test of time.
Liv finally makes the decision to not restrict her life to just the small bits of time that she can see Finn and at just the right time, she meets Tom. Tom fulfills her in ways she never knew were possible; their love comes quick and easy but is so steady and strong. Liv is forced to make some difficult life decisions but she never looks back once she's made them. Her journey was full circle and I loved every moment of the ride, even through the devastating parts.
This story was a true testament that you will find the right people, at the right time in your life and when you do, everything will fall into place.
Seven Summers is about love that spans years and changes as it needs to over time. I loved the story of Liv and Finn, but I also loved the story of Liv and Tom. I was fortunate to read an ARC of this book and it did not disappoint. This book had all the feels...laughter, loss, sadness, anger, frustration..and contentment. If you want to read about love in all its various forms this book is for you.
This is my 2nd Toon book and I’ve realized she definitely has the formula of a love story with some kind of a tragic twist. This book actually has a couple tragic events that happen to the main character, Liv. I loved how the story went back and forth between past summers and the current summer, contrasting her falling in love with two different men, Finn and Tom. I even love how they both came to be a part of her life. I just hate how we got 300 pages of the previous 7 summers, and then only 30 pages to cover the next 14 years. While I like that it was ultimately a happy ending, even if it was a bittersweet road to get there, a little more in depth coverage of the future years would have been nice. I also have a problem with the fact that she did 3 rounds of IVF in her early 30’s and couldn’t get pregnant, but then she magically has 3 kids between 36-42 (if I’m doing my math right.) But it was a minor plot hole.
If you liked TJR “One True Loves”, you’ll like this!
I was introduced to Paige Toon’s work last year when I read “Only Love Can Hurt Like This”-a 5 star read for me.
And, now that I have finished “Seven Summers” it is clear to me that she definitely knows how to pen love stories that tug on your heart strings!! 💔 Her books are definitely NOT Rom-Coms.
Liv and Finn met six summers ago when he was filling in for the lead singer of a band that was headlining at Seaglass-the restaurant/ bar of her beach town on the rugged Cornish coastline.
A devastating tragedy will bond them together for life.
But Finn’s life is in LA with his own band, and Liv’s is in Cornwall where she has family commitments-her dreams of studying Sculpture in London, on hold.
Liv decides it would be TOO DIFFICULT to stay in touch-but if both are single when he returns to visit, they will pick up where they left off. And, for awhile, they do.
The story revisits each Summer from the time that they met, and then follows with SUMMER NOW.
I was immediately engrossed in their lives and rooting for them to make it work!
Just a couple of things niggled at me and prevented me from awarding the book 5 stars.
The first was that they both seemed mature beyond their years, though I could give them the benefit of the doubt because each has suffered things that would force you to grow up fast.
The second was that once we had a resolution in the seventh summer, the end of the book and the subsequent “epilogue summers” felt rushed in comparison.
And, finally, I didn’t cry-which is a requirement for a 5 star rating for me in this genre. Heartbreaking things happen but I didn’t feel crushed by the end result, though other readers may feel differently.
Still, I am definitely a fan who now watches for this author’s work, and I can definitely give this book my stamp of approval!
AVAILABLE MAY 21, 2024
Thank You to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing a gifted ARC through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
😭 this book! My heart! Grab your tissues and do not miss out on this beautiful story. While this may seem like a story about a love triangle (which I’m typically not a fan of but omg this was done SO right), it is more so about self discovery and growth.
The writing was perfect. The pacing was brilliant. Utterly addictive! I didn’t want to put it down. She knows how to write relatable, realistic, and not annoying (😂) characters!! This is going to be a top contender for the perfect summer romance read ♥️
I absolutely adored Only Love Can Hurt Like This from her last year. One of my top reads of the year actually! And this books exceeded my expectations! 🥹
Have you ever finished a book and immediately hugged it to you? This book gave me all those feels! Heartwarming, devastating, love and grief. This book has it all. Liv's story is one of love, loss and second chances. Her work is interesting, her devotion to her brother is beautiful (and his devotion to her!), and her unwavering love to her people keeps you turning the pages. Sometimes stories told in multiple timelines can get confusing - but this story flowed so wonderfully you couldn't dream of getting lost. I loved the slow burn of her romance with Tom. I felt the happiness and the pain of her romance with Finn. This book was unpredictable and breaks your heart over and over only to heal it each time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.