Seven Days in June

Tia's best novel yet, as she moves out of the beauty world into characters, Eva and Shane, who are successful writers reliving a fraught, weeklong encounter from their initial meeting in high school. Her trademark romantic tension and sensual loving now have a powerful addition: Eva's savvy daughter Audre, who acts as shrink to her high school friends and bestie to her mom. As usual, the highlight of the novel is the author's ability to integrate quips that induce bursts of laughter amid passages of drama and emotion. Her skill at capturing the loving support of sister-friends and the overall Black joy and success demonstrate that people are able to create peace and beauty in their lives, despite a country that lends little show more encouragement.

Quotes: " Girls are given the weight of the world, with nowhere to put it down." show less

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams is a contemporary romance filled with colourful characters and emotionally raw yet witty writing that keeps the story engaging from start to finish.
When Shane and Eva, both writers carrying plenty of emotional baggage, reunite after several years, the attraction between them is still undeniable. Their chemistry feels authentic, layered, and complicated in the best way, making their second-chance romance compelling and believable.
Eva’s insightful twelve-year-old daughter, Audre, steals the show. She brings warmth, humour, and heart to the story, and it’s impossible not to fall in love with her character. Her presence adds balance to the heavier themes explored throughout the novel.
I thoroughly show more enjoyed the book, but readers should be aware that it contains potentially triggering content. The story tackles difficult issues such as parentification, addiction, self-harm, chronic illness, and invisible disability. At the same time, it explores healing, recovery, resilience, and second chances, all balanced alongside a steamy romance.
Overall, this is an emotional, heartfelt, and beautifully written story that blends humour, passion, and vulnerability in a memorable way. show less

Wow, this was the best contemporary r0mance I've read in years. Tia Williams has a distinctive voice, and her "second chance at love" plot is funny, dark, romantic, gritty, sexy and memorable. Eva and Shane spent one week together in high school when both were at low points in their lives, and 20 years later they have the chance to see if the magic is still there now that they are both successful and (at least nominally) stable. Spoiler alert: it is, but they still have a lot of work to do before they can really be together again. I loved the way they communicate throughout the novel, and how Eva's disability (chronic, debilitating migraines) is portrayed as limiting but not defining. The secondary characters are essential to the plot, show more especially editor/fairy godmother Cece; Williams has a way of telling everything about her characters in quasi-info dumps, but her descriptions are so sharp and hilarious that you don't mind.

I'm a little hesitant to read the author's backlist because I can't imagine her previous books could have been this good, but I'm willing to try. I had read rapturous reviews of Seven Days in June and for once, a book lived up to its hype. show less

Seven Days in June is everything in a book. It’s such a painful, wonderful, happy story of love, loss and identity that is brilliantly written. It was almost painful to finish this book as I didn’t want to leave the world of Shane, Eva and Audre. Where has Tia Williams been all my life? I need her backlist (which seems to be coming soon according to all the bookselling sites, but it’s not fast enough!)

The story is about Eva. Eva writes vampire/witch erotic fiction which has a devoted, if small, fanbase. There are 14 books in the series and her fans are hungry for more. But the latest book just isn’t flying out of the keys for Eva. She wants to write in another genre about her family’s history but its just not financially show more possible for the single mum. Her daughter, Audre (who definitely deserves her own book when she grows up), has had a super stable, privileged upbringing and Eva wants to keep it that way. Eva also suffers from chronic, 100-out-of-10 migraines that can hit at any time. It doesn’t make her life easy. Then the man she had one crazy in love week with as a teenager suddenly appears at the Black author panel Eva is speaking at. Shane is back in her life, and it’s great, but there are many unresolved issues from the past. Can both of them work through it or are they better left in the past?

Seven Days in June is not ‘just’ a romance. Sure, the chemistry between Eva and Shane both past and present crackles and sparks off the page but it’s a story of pain too. Physical pain like Eva’s disability and teenage Shane’s rebreaking of his arm as punishment. Both Eva and Shane had broken, disruptive childhoods that left them scarred and at times broken. The parts of the story set in the past ooze pain for these kids that lack care, attention and love; for those who had to grow up too fast. Both Eva and Shane have (or are trying to) get past the ‘being bad’ parts of their past. Eva has built up strong walls to hold herself in and to focus on Audre. Shane is trying to replace his demons with the kids he mentors, clean eating and a lot of running. These characters are deeply flawed but desperately trying to right their wrongs for the future. Eva will do anything for Audre (which Audre knows, and the scene where she jumps to extreme conclusions about how Eva solved her suspension from school is comical). Shane will do anything for Eva, but Eva won’t do the same. She’s got Audre and herself to think about.

Audre was my favourite character. A therapist in the making, she offers her advice to anyone (and also manages to make a profit through Snapchat counselling). She’s sassy and bold, as well and practical and mature. She’s also fearless, offering her advice to Shane and anyone else who is willing to listen. She’s very comfortable with who she is, in contrast to Eva, who rewrites history to give Audre a more positive spin on her family. But Eva and Shane are just as lovable, as are the supporting characters. Any of them could lead their own story too. The chemistry is powerful, as are the emotions of these Black characters. I just want to read anything Tia Williams writes; she knows how to infuse a book with memorable characters and emotions!

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

“Maybe they’d always be disasters—but couldn’t they support each other and grow together? No one was perfect! And maybe that was what real, adult love was. Being fearless enough to hold each other close I matter how catastrophic the world became. Loving each other with enough ferocity to quell the fears of the past. Just fucking being there” (322).

I sometimes get impatient with second-chance lovers, especially when half of the plot is devoted to flashbacks. But that didn’t happen at all with this one. It wasn’t a predictable one chapter present and the next past set-up. That can feel like a forced formula. I like the way this ebbs and flows between June then and June now.

The younger G&S are consuming and tumultuous and show more deeply emotional. I enjoyed seeing them in their younger days. Their backgrounds are equally tragic, causing them to feel unworthy and alone—like true misfits. Because of their similarities, their connection is combustible—and authentic for two troubled, self-destructive teens who have been wronged by so many.

The adult version of Eva (Genevieve) and Shane are equally enticing as characters—albeit, a bit more cautious—as they navigate their flaws as successful, adult writers. In present June, we see the effects of decades of unhealthy behavior and their need to atone for or hide from their brokenness. I love that their reunion is just as passionate and intense and frenzied. I love that they’re writers in different genres (hello, Gus and January from Beach Read) who have devoted their careers to writing about the other. They truly are each others’ muses.

I especially like the authentic ending—they see (with a little help from Audre and Cece) that they’re able to work through their shit—to accept themselves and forgive themselves—and still be able to be in a relationship. The former does not precede the latter. They don’t have to work to be perfect before they deserve a relationship. They can grow together. Like a family. show less

There is way more to this book than you might expect. Yes, it is rom-comish, yes, it is happy ever after. Yes, it has the boy and girl meet, fall in love, split, and get back together curve - but the undercurrent makes this book so much more.

Disclaimer: When I started the book, I was a little concerned I wasn't going to "get it." There is no denying Tia Williams and I come from different backgrounds, and I would be remiss if I didn't say that there were parts of the book I didn't understand, references to people, artists, and events, that are out of my wheelhouse. (This is nothing new, I don't understand a lot about many things, part of the joy of reading is what you learn.) BUT, what started as unknown for me became pure respect and show more fun as the pages turned.

Seven Days in June is a light-hearted book with sprinkles of middle-of-the-road issues and some intense and disturbing ones. There is a well-spun mixture of all sorts of subjects in this book: children of neglectful parents who come together to help each other, invisible disabilities that need to be recognized and not shamed, self-harm, drugs, loss of life, great parenting, open communication, understanding. Seriously, this book runs the gamut.

Eva and Shane have history. They knew each other when, and after 15 years apart, their lives collided again. Both have become well-known authors, Shane in a more traditional sense and Eva as a fantasy erotica novelist. When the two find themselves face-to-face at an event, their next seven days are a whirlwind of hot sex, deep conversations, uncovered truths, and unexpected realities.

The book is great, but my favorite part is how it is written. Tia Williams doesn't shy away from her truth and the truth of those she writes about. Tia Williams is a black author writing about black people. I loved the way she wrote with the correct vernacular, slang, and terminology. Yep, I'm a 55-year-old white woman, and some of it went way over my head - and it was beautiful. I don't want to read the same ole same ole written only by white, heterosexual cisgenders (not that this book had anything to do with sexuality or gender, but you get the point). I truly enjoyed the new perspective I got from reading/seeing things from a different point of view.

I also appreciate how Tia Williams spun the breakup part of the typical romance, HEA. In Seven Days in June, there isn't a huge deal-breaking, "I never want to see you again" moment where the girl (guy) storms out and bawls for days to his/her bestie and then 'poof' all better by some magical discovery of, 'oh, I didn't realize that was the case,' event. In Seven Days, the breakup is more subtle, realistic, and organic. Sometimes things don't work out, and we need time and space to figure ourselves out; that is precisely what Tia Williams allowed her characters to do, and I loved it so much.

Read Seven Days in June. You will get a whole new perspective on invisible disabilities (more needs to be written about this), you will need to wipe your brow during the steamy passages, you will fall in love with Eva's daughter, you will root for Eva and Shane to get their s*** together for each other, you will appreciate the realness in the sweet story. And, you will understand and appreciate the difficulties involving family. show less

Erotic novelist Eva Mercy is shocked when literary superstar Shane Hall crashes her author panel at the Brooklyn Museum: she hasn't seen him since they were teenagers, and no one in the publishing industry knows that they know each other. Eva has left her chaotic and dangerous childhood behind, and built a life for herself and her daughter Audre out of her book series, but lately she's itching to write something different: the history of the women in her family and the tiny Louisiana town they come from. Shane, too, had a rotten childhood, bounced between foster homes and eventually prison, convinced every bad thing that happened to him was his fault. Now two years sober, he feels ready to see Eva again, apologize, and explain. They show more still have chemistry; can they iron out their history and find their way forward as adults? (It's not a spoiler to say...yes.)

Quotes

While she'd admit to being a damn good mom and a capable novelist, Eva's true talent was her ability to push weird shit aside and get on with life. (1)

"I don't want anyone to have to really see me....I'm scared."
"Good...I've seen what you come up with when you're scared." (Eva and her agent/friend Cece, 24)

Eva wanted things. She'd just forgotten how to get them. (112)

"I've been roaming around forever, and I've never been anywhere I wasn't itching to leave." (Shane, 318) show less