Title- Seven Days in June
Author- Tia Williams
Rating– 4/5
Genre- I’m not quite sure, see below
Trope- second chance romance, but I don’t think this is full romance
POV- see below for my difficulties with this
Similar Books/Comps- An American Marriage is the only thing that comes to mind, but they had a lot of differences
Cover– Based on the cover, I wasn’t sure if this was romance, women’s fiction, historical fiction, contemporary or family drama
My emotions- interested and contemplative
Comments while reading-
Page 1- fabulous start. I’m hooked and already have a sense of who this person is. Also, I adore when characters are novelists and bookish.
Page 20- I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the pop culture references
Page 56- NC shout out!
Page 71- I just got a lot more invested
Page 102- sometimes the narration seems to switch to omniscient randomly without warning. Unless I’m understanding this wrong.
Page 179- the realism of their addictions and coping mechanisms through pain is … ufda hard to read and spectacularly written. I’m feeling the heavy heartbreak halfway through.
Page 191- head hopping is starting to happen more often in a single page/paragraph which is a bit confusing
4/5 stars. This author had great story telling skills. There were a lot of layers and themes going on here, so it was a more complex read in regards to the relationships, mental health, racism, chronic disabilities, motherhood, and social issues. I was disappointed with the climax scene and ending because it didn’t feel like a true romance novel as expected. The epilogue fixed that a little but it kind of lost its power at page 306 as if it needed a few more chapters. If that part were changed it would’ve been 5 stars for me.
Plot/Blurb-
Seven days to fall in love, 15 years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again…
Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award‑winning novelist, who, to everyone’s surprise, shows up in New York.
When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that 15 years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can’t deny their chemistry – or the fact that they’ve been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years.
Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect – but Eva’s wary of the man who broke her heart, and wants him out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before Shane disappears though, she needs a few questions answered…
With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy‑as‑hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.
Best part- I love when characters are authors so there’s books inside of a book.
What I’d change- decrease head hopping and lengthen the ending
Quote- “… she was a stolen girl stealing moments in a stolen house and sooner or later, she’d have to pay.”
Pacing- slower
Cassie Swindon 