This extremely talented author is well known for shining a light on a microcosm of our everyday lives. Her characters don't live the lives of actors in Hollywood, or million-dollar athletes, or billion-dollar tech moguls, or presidential wannabees or has-beens. In this piece of contemporary fiction, she once again takes a small slice out of life and turns it into a tender and arresting story that envelopes you like a warm hug.

Enjoyment of this book may hinge on whether the reader perceives Gail, the main character, to be deserving of sympathy or if she just elicits frustration. However, it is in the little things, such as a discussion about cat dander and what an odd word that is, that makes this story so delightful. As well as how Gail maneuvers through her travails. This may very well be my favorite Anne Tyler book.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Knopf publishing for the digital ARC of this exquisite book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Author Anne Tyler never disappoints. As always, even in this novella-length story, she makes you pay attention and gives you something to think about. It’s only, as the title says, three days in June and fairly short, but it’s packed with a wedding, complicated relationships, and people that have to look at their past choices and/or carefully consider the choices that may well be for the rest of their lives.

At the start Gail Baines seems like a cranky, judgmental woman that doesn’t have many friends and is hard to get along with, but as the story progresses we might unfortunately see more of ourselves in her: someone who isn’t always comfortable, who is bossy possibly because she’s unsure, who keeps to herself and whose inner dialogue is often critical of the people and things happening around her. Her ex-husband Max used to adore her, but something – we don’t know what yet – caused their marriage to fall apart and what she remembers most now is his annoying habits. Their current relationship is amicable, or at least amicable enough so they can attend their daughter’s wedding together.

Debbie is thirty-three years old and getting married. Gail’s inner voice thinks Kenneth’s parents are too this or too that but Debbie is strong, opinionated and vocal so Gail keeps those thoughts mostly in her head. Max looks like the peacemaker, which kind of irritates Gail. Debbie shares a secret with her parents on the eve of her wedding. Gail’s first thought is call it off, Max’s wait and see, but Debbie probably regrets even mentioning it and does not want any advice or further discussion.

Three Days in June just kinds of rolls along, lulling you into thinking not much interesting is happening, until suddenly you realize there is a lot going on beneath the surface; relationships, especially Gail and Max’s, are deeper than we thought. A secret is revealed, unexpected actions are taken – and a cat chooses Gail as her next owner.

Three Days in June is a fascinating book about people: choices made, consequences, the possibility of new choices. I received an advance copy from NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Gail's daughter is getting married. This story takes place on the day before the wedding, the wedding day, and the day after the wedding. Gail is somewhat socially awkward. The day before the wedding she loses her job and her ex shows up for the wedding without a place to stay. Gail has not been asked to help with the wedding. She has a lot on her plate. Her unresolved issues about her marriage and whether her daughter should really marry the guy fill the three days. Also, what is she going to do without a job.
This is a great story about someone who is just trying to get on with their life. How much can Gail's life change in these three days? I found the story engaging and I really wanted Gail to get settled. Anyone who has doubts about relationships will feel for Gail and hope for the best. I recommend this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #AnneTyler, and #Knopf for a copy of this book.
#ThreeDaysinJune

A sweet little story.

"Three Days in June" is a quiet exploration of family dynamics, personal growth, and human relationships. Set against the backdrop of a wedding weekend, Gail, the mother of the bride, has a tumultuous three days. A series of semi-unfortunate events occur in Gail's life, to Gail, to Debbie (the bride) and Max, Gail's ex-husband which all interconnect to dredge up unresolved issues in Gail's life.

While it could have been written as silly, overemotional and over-the-top, Tyler's signature writing shines. She is a master on making her stories and characters represent the mundane, everyday life and it felt very authentic. I think the shorter length of the novel is perfect and keeps the punches concise and centered.

Pub Date: February 11, 2025 thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for the gifted copy. #ThreeDaysinJune

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As if weddings are not stressful enough to plan and attend, Gail, a mother of the bride, is left out of the wedding activities and made to feel like an outsider. Her daughter and the groom's mom have planned everything without consulting her. As if this is not enough, Gail loses her job and her ex shows up without a place to stay, without a suit and a cat.

I really enjoyed this story and found both the situation and characters very relatable and humorous! This is a sweet and touching story with bits of humor and wisdom thrown in. A wonderful read!

"Sometimes when I find out what's on other people's minds I honestly wonder if we all live on totally separate planets."

I really loved Three Days in June - this was a quiet novel that had characters that felt so real, it truly felt like I was dropped into Gail's life for these three days in June - the day of her daughter's wedding and the day before and after.

I would recommend this if you love reading:
- Character driven stories
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
- Family dynamics

Thank you to Knopf for the free ebook to review.

From the beginning of this book, I could feel that everything about this small, pointed novel was totally under its author's control. It presents Gail, a woman in her late middle years who loses her job - due to bad luck, or bad people skills - the day before her daughter's wedding. A few hours later, her ex-husband knocks on her door, along with a foster cat who is absolutely not going to stay.

It's tempting to say that nothing much happens in <i>Three Days in June</i> because the story is rendered through the flat, matter-of-fact lens of Gail's interiority. But, actually, despite the book's slimness, quite a lot transpires: a wedding, reunions between Gail and two of her former paramours, revelations about relationships past and present. And, most importantly, Gail's realization of her own nature and the choices she must make about her life.

Three Days in June was the first book by Anne Tyler that I have read. This was a longer novella and I really enjoyed the format. It was set in three days in June around a wedding. The FMC Gail is kind of awkward and doesn't have a lot of social skills. She is literal and is always thinking about consequences. With her daughter getting married and possibly losing her job, she was pretty stressed out the entire book. This book had a lot of character development even though it wasn't long.

This book was a deep character examination of one family from Baltimore in the days leading up to the daughter's wedding. It was short but chalked full of memories, regrets and growth.

Gail's daughter Debbie is getting married to Kenneth. As Gail reflects on her life and the fact that her role is changing in not only her daughter's life but also her own, she must decide what's next in her life and how to move forward.

The day before the wedding, she loses her job and then finds out her ex-husband, Max, is staying with her instead of her daughter so she must adjust to the situation. Then when Debbie comes over and tells them some shocking news that could derail the entire wedding, Gail must put aside her past prejudices and let Debbie make her own decisions without clouding her judgement.

With past reflections and current decisions, this sweeping book packed quite the punch. I loved Gail’s straight forward manner and loved to see how once upon a time, her and Max balanced each other out.

When Gail reflects upon her life and the choices she made, I feel like she finally gave herself permission to regret and move on. Maybe it's not where she wanted to be but she still has had some great memories with the people she loved. It was sad and satisfying at the same time and really mimicked what real life is about, making decisions and having to live with them.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Ann Taylor
Genre: Contemporary Novel

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Three Days in June
Author: Anne Tyler
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: February 11, 2025

Three Days in June is a little gem of a book introducing us to Gail Baines, a school administrator who gets a job demotion as her daughter’s wedding festivities get underway. Gail does not have a life of fun and frivolity, especially when she isn’t invited to the day of beauty for her daughter, the bride. Life is predictable but rather dull. Enter Gail’s husband and his foster cat, who arrive in town to discover that his soon-to-be son-in-law is allergic to cats. Gail is starting to think this will be a long weekend when her ex asks to stay with her for the duration of the wedding. The weekend turns into three days of shenanigans with an excellent supporting cast of characters. A charming, sweet, and second chance story that will leave you smiling. #fiction #romance #contemporary #cheating #divorce #forgiveness #romance #ThreeDaysInJune #annetylerauthor @netgalley @aaknopf #weddings #marriage #motheranddaughters
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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 and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
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#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader#bookreviewer #secondchance

I love Anne Tyler’s writing, which always evokes emotions and just a feeling of familiarity with the characters. Gail is a very organized, straight type of person, getting ready for her daughter, Debbie’s wedding. When her ex husband Max shows up, staying at Gail’s house, the reader is brought into their relationship and why it failed. I highly recommend this novella to all readers of women’s fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

It is the day before Debbie’s wedding. Her mom, Gail, has not been having the best day- or rather best of years. Gail tries to navigate all of the before wedding jitters for her daughter alongside her ex-husband crashing at her house. Will Debbie have a happily ever after? Or will all three members of the Baines family under one roof stir up trouble?

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler. Thanks to @knopfbooks for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gail has had a bad day. She’s lost her job and her ex-husband shows up unexpectedly with a cat and no place to stay. Her daughter tells them a secret that throws a wrench in her plans of marriage; the wedding is the next day.

This is a novella that certainly has the depth of a novel. I liked stories about older divorced women especially going through a transitional time, such as the daughter getting married. The heart of this one lay within the characters and Anne Tyler is great at writing genuine characters.

Three Days in June comes out 2/11.

I don’t think this book was for me, I loved the synopsis and I was excited to read this one but it was so hard to like the characters and really understand what’s going on. It was really good in the beginning when their daughter came to them with her marital issues and even before that when Gail was having issues at work and was not being considered for a bigger promotion, then after all that I went downhill for me.

This book was amazing.

Anne Tyler's characters are very descriptive, and she always makes them vulnerable as well as very relatable. I always find some similarities to them. For example, the main character is about my age and does not have a lot of social skills or lots of friends, and she’s okay with that. Her daughter is getting married, and his family is uber-rich rich and she just goes with the the flow.

I loved the ending. It alludes to her getting back together with her ex-husband after years of divorce after she cheated on him. The interpersonal relationships are interesting and have similarities to my own life. The only thing I didn’t like was that the book was too short. I wanted more.

For me, the greatest joy of Gail's story in Three Days in June was discovering the heart warming, engaging, important writing of Anne Tyler. I was intrigued by the blurb of this story even though I've not ever read an Anne Tyler work before and it delivered. I cannot wait to read more of her titles in the future. This story though provided a beautiful depiction of the complicated webs families weave no matter how they look. I really enjoyed learning through Gail's perspective and thought it was unique and clever how the author laid this story out over the course of three days with eccentric and interesting characters. I don't read many books told from an older woman's perspective and I found that highly enjoyable as well. Great story for my first by this author!

4.5 stars

Three Days in June is a delightful little story told with wry humor and featuring a tight circle of a family that’s just about to expand. On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, Gail Baines has just been all but nudged out of a job, sort of. Almost. Then, her ex-husband, Max, arrives in town, fairly unprepared for Debbie’s wedding. Having planned to stay with Debbie, he’s defaulting to staying at Gail’s house when, having inexplicably brought his foster cat along, he learns that the soon-to-be son-in-law is allergic to cats.

The rest of this wee novel follows the same kind of rhythms — that bumbling nature that is the hallmark of a family unit…pushing through the couple of days with love and exasperation.

I adored Tyler’s Gail. She struggles with self-awareness, communication, and remaining grounded…and yet her humor aids her with all of these aspects; she just fails to realize it. Max is a delightful bag of side-eye level frustrating and lovable oaf. They are so endearingly human, I think they could’ve walked out of this book to asked if I’d mind if they left through my front door.

When more than cold feet briefly threatens to disrupt Debbie’s wedding, all the effort Gail and Max have put into not talking about their own relationship bubbles up to the surface to simmer on the back burner until after the big day. This was a short but sweet novel that held depth and humor within the frames of these relatable and real characters. Not only can you read this in one sitting, but you’ll want to.

Quirky characters who are divorced come together over the weekend of their daughter's wedding. If you like really quirky older female characters, you will love it!

What a delightful little read! My first Anne Tyler book but definitely not my last. This was so easy to sink into and read for the afternoon. Great characters that were so easy to relate to. Fun and quirky, really enjoyed it.
Thank you NetGalley, Anne Tyler and Knopf for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was initially excited to read Three Days in June by Anne Tyler, hoping for a compelling narrative. However, the book left me with mixed feelings. While the story attempts to blend humor and emotional depth, it ultimately falls short of truly engaging me.

The novel’s predictability was its most significant drawback. Despite Tyler’s reputation for nuanced storytelling, the plot felt formulaic and lacking in genuine surprise. The characters, while somewhat endearing, seemed to follow a predetermined path that didn’t challenge my expectations.

There were moments of genuine warmth and wit that made me chuckle, and certain emotional scenes touched me. Yet, these bright spots were overshadowed by a narrative that felt superficial and incomplete. The book seemed to skim the surface of potentially profound themes without truly diving deep.

The humor was gentle and occasionally charming, but it couldn’t compensate for the overall sense that something was missing. I found myself wanting more complexity, more depth, more… substance.
Would I recommend it? Perhaps to die-hard Anne Tyler fans, but for readers seeking a truly transformative reading experience, I’d suggest looking elsewhere.