Reviews with content warning for Grief - Siedem dni w czerwcu

I heard about this book on BookTube and then listened to a podcast with the author, who was featured at a Book Festival. I don't read a lot in the Romance Genre and this one is really a stand out. The characters are well developed and real - this is no cozy, campy or predictable romance novel. Nor is it always easy to read as we learn about this history of Shane and Eva. These characters originally met in high school and had a whirlwind seven days of drugs, alcohol and sex. Fast forward, they are both authors and meet at a book festival to realize that their feelings for each other are hard to suppress. Eva writes erotic fantasy and Shane is an award winning author as well. The novel returns us to the past as well as the current day, as their relationship is described in great detail. On the steam meter, it's probably 9. But this book is more than that - it's an honest depiction of black life, poverty, foster care and homelessness, child abuse, motherhood, chronic health challenges and alcoholism/drug addiction (consider these trigger warnings, dear readers, and choose wisely). I was surprised and pleased by the depth of this novel and would read another by this author for sure. While it's a great read for Black History Month, it's not a steamy, fluffy Valentine's Day read. But it is a satisfying and important look at the challenges of relationship, parenting, success and family history.

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cassidyemaier's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I was really excited for this book, it had a few good moments. I felt like Eva was way too trusting of Shane after not speaking a word to him for 15 years. Eva’s daughter who plays a decent role in the story, should have been written as someone older than 12. The way she speaks is way too mature and it just didn’t feel right? I felt like the build up of their romance didn’t get me giggling and kicking my feet like I hope it would have? the last 10 chapters were hard for me to finish, I almost dnf this book…/:

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ariel_marie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mecmccann's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you Tia Williams for writing the first book club book I adored.

Seven Days in June is a story about Black love. It was poignant, humorous, and hot all at the same time. In this book, we follow Eva, an erotica writer, who is summoned to speak as a panelist at a book event where she unexpectedly runs into her high school fling? boyfriend? situationship? Shane, from fifteen years ago. As she rediscovers what actually happened between them all those years ago, recognizes that they've actually been writing about and to one another for all these years through their books, learns about the man he has become, and about her family's historical curse, she learns about who she is and how everything fits together.

This book did exactly what it needed to do. Each character was fully fleshed out and individualized. In Eva and Shane's partnership, they became the best versions of themselves for and through each other, without sacrificing their core values. Seven Days in June was indeed a romance, but it was so much bigger than just-another-fluffy-romcom (and I love me a fluffy romcom). In this book we explored the effects of chronic pain, substance abuse, domestic abuse and negligence, trauma, and racism on relationships.

Rumaan Alam got it right when he said, "The result isn't escapism (though the book is a delight) but a vision of life as it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy."

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velorum's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I flew through this: the characters leap right off the page & scream “let me tell you about ME!”

There’s a ton of Internet jargon and pop culture references and slang, there’s generational trauma among a slew of trigger warnings and love and family and culture. There was so MUCH (please heed the trigger warnings) and yet so much silliness and lightness that framed this story. Maybe that speaks to the author’s point of how life can be jarring and full and sad.

I prefer my epilogues to be ADDITIONAL to the story. Here, the epilogue was doing all the work to wrap up loose ends.

This story between Shane and Eva (Genevieve) is melancholy and a rapid, all-consuming love story. It burns and burns out. Their second-chance encounter makes you want to know what the hell happed that week in June 15 years ago, and it all unravels as the story moves on.

I think what made me really upset was Ty’s storyline and around the 78%(??) mark, I just wanted to DNF, and pushed through anyway. His death felt senseless and was a lazy way to develop Shane’s character.

On second note, the last three chapters (epilogue included) were just a RUSH of plot and character development, and not in a good way…

TBC…

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rickireadss's review against another edition

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3.0

i went into this one with such high hopes, and i honestly think that was what ruined it for me. i loved the chronic migraines rep. i somewhat tolerated the fact that both mcs were writers - i feel like this is hit or miss with me, but usually a miss. i did not check the CW before reading, and that was definitely my bad, but most of the reviews i had seen on tiktok or insta hadn't mentioned it being a "heavy" book -- this one most defintitely was, and it was much heavier than i could have anticipated. i ended up soft-DNFing this like 50% in and left in untouched for almost a month, but i pushed through hoping it would magically get better (spoiler alert: it did not) this was just not my favorite, and one of my disappointments of the year.

⚠️: self harm, drug abuse, alcoholism, drug use, addiction, chronic illness, suicidal thoughts, mental illness, suicidal attempt, abandonment, gun violence, death, grief, injury/injury detail, child abuse, child death, violence, sexual assault, toxic relationship, blood, sexual harassment, emotional abuse, racism, medical content, car accident, medical trauma, death of parent, domestic abuse, physical abuse, bullying, panic attacks/disorders, murder, forced institutionalization, pedophilia, vomit, ableism, sexism, adult/minor relationship

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nicole_defran's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I’m not sure where to start. I feel a little overwhelmed honestly. I feel like I thought it was a romcom based on the blurb and quotes on the cover but after finishing it there was romance but it definitely isn’t a romcom. I probably should have read the content warnings but I never have before and while romance can include some more serious topics not to this level. I think it will stick with me for sure.

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celery09's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A funny, emotional, fast paced story that really delves deep into characterization. I immediately fell in love with the blunt honesty of Eva (excuse me, John-vee-EV) and how she was connected and how she interacted with the people around her. I also loved Shane and his inner conflict. The romance was sweet, fiery, and broken from the beginning. Right person, wrong time type story.

There were some gaps in the plot though. I feel like Eva’s motherhood was only used to further the story instead of develop her character, as it only came up in the story when it was convenient to push a conflict or further the attraction between Shane and Eva. Otherwise, Audre gets sent off, doing her own thing and being labeled as independent. (I liked Audre’s character, very relatable, I just wanted to see more of them together as a separate entity from the romance or the conflict.)

The trauma between both main characters also was large, and deep. I felt like the book needed to be longer, to feel really connected about how both of these people are affected by the unique tragedies they both faced. And the ending felt slightly forced, as maybe they should’ve waited a little longer without me saying too much.

Beautiful message, though. Great voices about racism and expecting all Black characters so center around some sort of trauma. And well thought out criticisms about the book industry and entertainment industry as a whole about what it means to be a Black creator. And the romance, again, was very well written. I would recommend!

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