This book spans seven summers before present. Liv and Finn meet again and plan for him to come back every summer. It took me until about 20% to get into the story - and then I was in! I had so many conflicting feelings around Finn and Tom, but I will say the epilogue was probably one of the best I’ve read! Unsure how I’m feeling about it all which is what I think the author was going for!

Let me preface by saying that I’ve read one other Paige Toon book and I LOVED it, so of course I was over the moon to be approved to read Seven Summers. But man, it was so slow for the first 50% of the book. And I believe that because it was so slow I had a hard time becoming invested with Liv and Finn. Such a bummer this one wasn’t for me

i would like to start this review by saying WHAT DID I JUST READ??? seven summers was my first book by paige toon but now i’m intrigued, im definitely gonna read more of her books next year ! i read the book in two sittings because the beginning was kinda boring but it started getting interest by chapter ten, around the time the first summer chapters were ending.

seven summers follows liv and finn’s story, who experienced a lot of life tragedies. finn doesn’t live in cornwall but he promises liv that he will come back every summer, the romance will exist if both of them are single during summer but everything changes after summer number six and no one knew liv would meet someone else during summer number seven, the mysterious tom who changed everything.

liv’s playlist . such a cute thing in the book. if you know me you know i love music and this little detail that we see through out the whole book was so special. her having one playlist for everything and finn being like “im gonna make you one .” to eventually him writing songs about her <3

summer six. liv and finn’s last argument was tense and it got ugly but both of them needed to hear what the other had to say, it was really sad to see but at some point they were gonna explode. while reading i knew that liv needed finn in her life because being completely honest? not having finn would have changed her grief and i don’t know if she would have handle it the way she did. it was good that she had him by her side, as a friend or a partner. grief is one of the things no one should experience but unfortunately it’s part of our lives and both characters started their journey really young. they know that we never know what can happen tomorrow.

summer seven. it was confusing to me. i didn’t know if she was gonna be with tom by the end of the summer to the rest of her life or if she was gonna see finn and drop everything. at some point i was so confused and i started thinking about liv ending up alone, this happened when worlds collided aka finn saw liv with tom, i had no idea of who she would choose or if she was gonna choose someone at all.

i’m glad that she stayed with tom. if she chose finn that summer she would start with the “what if” journey with tom. liv already knew she wanted to stay in st. agnes but for the first time finn offered to move to st. agnes and as i said, i think she would always question herself about a future with tom.

i went through so many emotions reading this book, especially the epilogues. paige toon can you pay me a therapy session? i think i really need it ! but jokes aside, the epilogues were intense, we went from seeing liv and tom happy to sad and we know what happens in the end. i wasn’t expecting the last epilogue but i’m glad liv’s life turned out this way, i don’t think this book could have a better ending and for this i’m gonna rate this book a 5 stars read !

and as always, a huge thank you to netgalley and putnam books team for the arc !!

wow wow WOW. this book wrecked me until the very end. thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this author. this is my second book by her and she doesn't disappointment. she always leaves me with a sad but heart felt read. With this one i got some happiness by the epilogue thank goodness. I loved the past/present tenses alternate chapters. I was rooting for both love intrests tom and finn. In the end love won!

updated full review can also be seen @drbooksreads via instagram



📖ARC Review📖
@paigetoonauthor is an author that is an automatic buy for me. I was thrilled when @netgalley and @penguinbooks sent me a copy of her new upcoming book that release 5/21/2024. Thank You! I read her last book only love can hurt like this, and it was phenomenal.
❤️ This book gives you a two for one in the love story department. Liv is a sculptor and has studied her whole life to be one. Her world is turned upside down the summer after graduation. Yup bring on the grief! That summer she also meets FINN (love interest #1) an old high school mate turned potential rockstar. The chemistry between these two is that once in a lifetime feeling. Fast forward some years and in walks Tom (love interest #2). Tom character is kind of creepy in the beginning but as you keep reading you truly understand the person he wants to be. when you think of a person better complementing you and making you better think Tom. When you think messy, passion/chemistry picture Finn. As you keep reading you see that Liv needed both of them. The love they offered her was different in their own ways. She was able to receive it at the right times in her life. I was a little skeptical at first wondering how the story line of the two love interests would flow but it was perfect. The multiple timelines had me cheering for each guy.
👭 Lets talk secondary characters.... Her parents were loving and supportive. Her friends and I had a love hate relationship. They showed up in her time of need, but I hoped someone would step up to be the voice of reason in her life when left spiraling. I feel like everyone needs that one person that isn't sacred to tell it to you straight. Her brother Michael was my favorite. He has down syndrome, but he doesn't let anything stop him. The development of his character was also fun to read from the beginning to the end.
🛑 Trigger warnings: suicide, car accident, fertility, heart attack, depression.... the author always does a great job of writing love, mixed with grief and life traumas. So when I read the blurb for this one I expected nothing less.
#romance #downsyndrome #grief #heartbroken #art #depression #suicide #paigetoon #ilovebooks #books
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I can see people really loving this and I am happy I got the chance to read it. I was really struggling the first 50% but once the timelines came together I finally started enjoying it. This is not a light read, there is a lot of grief and loss so be ready to be teary eyed or ugly cry. This was my first Paige Toon but I know a lot of people love her writing and this book helped me understand why. I’d be interested in reading her other releases. Good author rec for people who are fans of Coho.

I was completely invested in the story from the beginning. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming in the best way. I love that the book feels very honest with the way that the relationships develop and the complexities of the characters.

I loved both Finn and Tom from the start so I was conflicted about how Liv would choose between the two, but I felt like it had the perfect ending.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Seven Summers from NetGalley and the Putnam books team.

Paige Toon is a master of unconventional romances, and Seven Summers truly did not disappoint. Set along a coastal town, this book follows Liv and Finn as their live’s become intricately linked by shared experiences—and an unbreakable invisible string.

With careers and futures that are worlds apart from one another, Seven Summers explores the whirlwind experience of first loves and second chances. With themes of heartache, grief, and unconditional love, this story was devastatingly beautiful in its delivery and one you won’t want to miss next year!

This was my first time reading this author. What got my attention was how beautiful the cover is. Then I started reading and I was blown away. This book is a rollercoaster of emotions. In the best way possible. I couldn't put the book down. I was pulled into a world I wanted to live in. This book will be in my top 5 books for 2023. Reading books like this brings me so much joy. I am definitely going to be reading her other books. I feel I have been missing out.

Paige Toon does it again. Will be sharing my full review and thoughts to come very soon. What a beautiful cover and love story. Her novels never disappoint. I loved the characters, storyline, and bit of mystery.

I wanted so badly to love Seven Summers, especially after reading and really enjoying Only Love Can Hurt Like This, but I had a hard time connecting with the book.

We'll start with the positives:
1. I personally love a dual timeline read. It gives the characters more depth when you're able to witness the highs and lows that shaped them.
2. The chapter lengths were great. They didn't drag on too long, and as a stand-alone they don't repeat information too much (it's not 4 pages of the same statement repeated over and over).
3. The real-time major plot twist BROKE me. I just did not want that to happen. I got sucked into the plot line and did not see this coming

The things I didn't love as much:
1. The overall pacing felt quite slow. I was really itching for something to come along that would just shock me, or make me FEEL something, but it took a while before we got to that point.
2. The choice that Olive made re: summer communication seemed unwarranted. So much time was spent sharing how she didn't like the decision she made, but then repeating that decision summer after summer. After a few summers in, it just felt it needed to stop.
3. The first act plot twist felt hugely low stakes! Immediately after this event occurs, we're given all of the ways that the characters will be secure and stable. Was it a life-changing event? Absolutely. But it felt like it could have been more authentic to see a deep physical struggle as a result.

TLDR: This book was an okay read for me. I think the heavier plot points could have been explored more deeply, and really caused the reader to feel the weight of this story! I would have preferred some of this exploration over the repetitiveness of each summer.

Thank you to NetGally in exchange for an honest review.

This was a stunning story about love, friendship, romance, grief, and life. I loved Paige Toon's writing style, and the world she created was gorgeous. This was an emotional read, but Paige crafted the story beautifully. I will definitely check out more work from her.

Seven years ago, Liv is fresh out of college and home for the summer in Cornwall. An aspiring sculptor, she has big plans and they’re not in her small town. She soon gets romantically involved with Finn, the alluring lead singer at the local bar’s band. Their happiness is short-lived when it's abruptly shattered by a tragic event, rooting her to her town and forcing her to give up her dreams to go to London to pursue her artistic ambitions. She also has to bid farewell to Finn who is returning home to L.A. But before he leaves they make a pact- that he will visit every summer and if they’re both single, they’ll be together for the season. Every summer, Liv and Finn spend a couple of months of bliss marred each time by separation. Now in the present, brokenhearted and tired of putting her life on hold for Finn, she meets Tom, a tourist with an obscure background. As the summer approaches, she falls in love with Tom and has to decide which of the two men she wants to make her life with- should she choose Finn, with whom she shares a profound and complex history, or should she embrace the uncomplicated love and fresh start offered by sweet Tom? Set against the stunning backdrop of the Cornish coastline, this atmospheric romance full of longing, mourning, and growing up, will appeal to fans of slowburn novels set in scenic coastal UK.

Beautiful tale of two important love stories. I loved this one. It explores, grief, timing, love and sadness all encapsulated in one heartbreaking and heartfelt story.

Wow this book was not what I was expecting at all! I read this in one day and had all the feels, the ending was bittersweet and perfect. Unlike other love triangle stories in this one I loved and rooted for all the characters. This story covers the topics of grief, growth, and love beautifully. Thank you Paige Toon for creating Liv, Tom, and Finn I will carry this story with me for a long time.

Thank you NetGalley and Peguin Group Putnam for early access to this beautiful story.

This is my first Paige Toon novel, and I'm happy to say it won't be my last! In SEVEN SUMMERS, Liv meets Finn six summers ago and becomes enraptured with him. On one night Liv and Finn share an exquisite evening, but tragedy also befalls her family. That creates the inextricable linking of good with bad.

Unfortunately for her but fortunately for him, Finn's music career takes off, and he leaves England for the United States after that summer. But he promises to come back next summer...

It is now their seventh summer. Liv meets devastatingly handsome Tom when he's producing local sand art and is also coincidentally renting the lower floor of her cottage, and in the back of her mind she's wondering if Finn will come back for their seventh summer together.

I loved how Toon wrote Liv's older brother Michael. He has Down syndrome, and I always appreciate good disability representation.

The author took her time laying the foundation of this novel. Some may say it's slow. I enjoyed the foundation laying for the most part. I enjoyed meeting the characters, including Liv's friends - although most didn't get much to do. That's okay, though, because I wanted to spend the most time with Liv, Finn, Tom, and Michael.

What I am taking a star away for is all the epilogues. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say I wasn't a fan. Unfortunately, I can't even say WHY I wasn't a fan because that will spoil it. I am curious to find out if other readers will feel the same as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Liv and Finn were forever bonded by tragedy their first summer together. Finn continues to come back every summer. The rule is, if they’re both single, they rekindle their romance while Finn is in town. But it doesn’t go past that-Liv’s life is in Cornwall and Finn’s is in LA. They can’t seem to get over each other, until one summer when Liv meets Tom.

I loved this book. Liv had so much chemistry with both Finn and Tom-I genuinely believed in both love stories. It was an emotional rollercoaster-it had me in both happy and sad tears. I liked the choices Liv eventually made.

I loved this book!!! It goes back and forth between now and all the summers so each chapter leaves you wanting more! I was not able to put the book down because I just needed to know what happened! There's a couple twists I wasn't expecting but a great love story! Breaks your heart a couple times to piece you back together! I also adored the characters! This was my first Paige Toon book and I can't wait to read more!

I am so heartbroken and filled with joy at the same time. Finn Finnegan, you stole my heart. This book made me laugh. This book made me cry, and cry some more. It also made me feel so much love and joy. Truly amazing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Paige Toon experience and it will definitely not be my last. The writing kept me engaged, but the characters and the story took me on an unputdownable heart wrenching journey.

Liv and FInn met 7 summers ago. The problem? They don't live in the same country. The agreement? He'll come back every summer and if they're single they'll enjoy their time together. After 6 summers they realize maybe love isn't enough.

This isn't your typical romance and will leave you sobbing and wanting more. Cannot wait to read more from her!