NEW REVIEW: Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

 

REVIEW:

One of my favorite humans, Kennedy Ryan, was recently raving about Seven Days in June and since she's never led me wrong, I took the first opportunity I could to read it. 

Being completely unfamiliar with the premise of the novel, I had no idea what, exactly, I was getting into and I really enjoyed the unique way the narrative of Eve and Shane was built around a crazy seven days they spent together in their teens woven with their present adult lives. As you got to know who they'd become, you slowly became aware of *why* they'd left such a lasting impact on each other. Both of them came from challenging (such an understatement) childhood and it seemed like they were finally finding some security and stability and yet...yet they both had this undercurrent of yearning for the other (though I think at the beginning both of them would deny it). It was both absorbing and entertaining to 'see' them interact as their adult selves and fight reverting back to their teenage selves. Their connection, denials, and ultimate capitulation to the feelings that would not let go made you want to push them together, no matter how much they didn't think it was a good idea, because their need for each other was so very obvious to us all (I'm including all the secondary characters in that 'us'). 

This novel is a testament to the intensity of young love. So many people scoff that those young loves and doubt that those emotions have any staying power. As a daughter of parents who've been married since my mom was 18, I am living proof that those emotions can stay. As a teacher of teen students, I can definitely see the power and influence love can have--in good and bad ways (and I'm so glad we got to see both). I liked that this novel explored that often wondered "what if". We got to see the "what if" come to life, with all its humor, complications, and the best part--a happy ending.  

Other things I enjoyed: the secondary characters--they were complex and added value to the overall narrative--and the little bit of Louisiana spice that was thrown in. As someone who has lived most of my life in Louisiana, it's always a pleasant surprise to see it play a role in a novel, even if most people just play with the stereotypes (I get it! My state has a mysterious allure that is hard to resist).  

All in all, I enjoyed this novel very much and am eager to read more from Tia Williams.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3DXh6X7

SYNOPSIS:

A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK!

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Named A Best Book by USA Today • Harper’s Bazaar • Oprah Daily • PopSugar • Shondaland • The Los Angeles Times • Bustle • Good Housekeeping • PureWow • CBS News • People • BuzzFeed • Reader’s Digest 

Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by CNN • Essence • Travel + Leisure • She Reads • Women.com • Scary Mommy

Seven days to fall in love, fifteen 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 fifteen 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.