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ienbdri's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Medical content
jcstokes95's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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 have seen this recommended by so many romance and more lit fic folks alike and thought it’d be a smash for me. bOy, was I wrong. woof. This started strong for me, I was excited to see a protagonist who was a single parent. I can commend that single parenthood wasn’t some huge plot twist or played as a burden. But, I did really find her child insufferable and it seemed like she wasn’t written like any 12 year old I’ve ever known. It makes a lot of those scenes feel stilted and hard to tolerate. But, this is not my main problem with the book.
I have two unforgivable gripes to discuss. Now is time to tap out of the review if you liked this book. You are entitled to like things and you don’t have to agree with a mean person on the internet (that’s me!). Here are the things:
1. I don’t understand why these two characters give a shit about each other. They knew each other for a few days in a drug induced bender. We are told this was a very profound time. It doesn’t seem that way to me. It seems like they are two 16 years olds who are high and having sex. I’m sure this is fun. But it does not scream ‘soulmates who remembered each other for decades and wrote novels about one another’. It’s weird.
2. The ways this author writes about self-harm is fucking horrifying and annoying. It’s amazing that it is both at the same time. It is horrifying because it glamorizes it into this beautiful, tortured almost artistic thing that Eva is doing in her youth. Also, it simply isn’t how self-harm works. And that is all I will say on that. It just isn’t accurate. It feels like she has a self-harm alarm clock that goes off and she’s got some sort of timecard to punch for it. It’s fucking annoying. Honestly, I’ve never had one scene of a book ruin it so hard. But I really fucking hated it man. Also, be warned that it’s hella triggering. Because this author clearly did not research into how to write a non-triggering self-harm scene. And him just sitting outside listening to her do it like it’s romantic. Fuck this bro.
Okay, look, at this point, you can tell this review is probably a little heated. I’m gonna try to now bleach that scene out of my mind, because, the whole book was not as bad as their time together in high school. I will now say the positive things. I appreciated that they had interests and hobbies outside of loving the other person. I think, in general, this makes for better romances. Sean has his mentees and this made his recovery arc make sense. It helps you invest in him as a character. Eva is a great mom and has great insights into chronic illness.
As individual, adult characters the pair is interesting. I simply do not believe the romance. I am icked out by the sex scenes and disagree with the believability of the premise. I think many people will enjoy this, it is written well on a sentence level. The author is clearly talented, but this story is simply not strong enough to make me enjoy this.
I have two unforgivable gripes to discuss. Now is time to tap out of the review if you liked this book. You are entitled to like things and you don’t have to agree with a mean person on the internet (that’s me!). Here are the things:
1. I don’t understand why these two characters give a shit about each other. They knew each other for a few days in a drug induced bender. We are told this was a very profound time. It doesn’t seem that way to me. It seems like they are two 16 years olds who are high and having sex. I’m sure this is fun. But it does not scream ‘soulmates who remembered each other for decades and wrote novels about one another’. It’s weird.
2. The ways this author writes about self-harm is fucking horrifying and annoying. It’s amazing that it is both at the same time. It is horrifying because it glamorizes it into this beautiful, tortured almost artistic thing that Eva is doing in her youth. Also, it simply isn’t how self-harm works. And that is all I will say on that. It just isn’t accurate. It feels like she has a self-harm alarm clock that goes off and she’s got some sort of timecard to punch for it. It’s fucking annoying. Honestly, I’ve never had one scene of a book ruin it so hard. But I really fucking hated it man. Also, be warned that it’s hella triggering. Because this author clearly did not research into how to write a non-triggering self-harm scene. And him just sitting outside listening to her do it like it’s romantic. Fuck this bro.
Okay, look, at this point, you can tell this review is probably a little heated. I’m gonna try to now bleach that scene out of my mind, because, the whole book was not as bad as their time together in high school. I will now say the positive things. I appreciated that they had interests and hobbies outside of loving the other person. I think, in general, this makes for better romances. Sean has his mentees and this made his recovery arc make sense. It helps you invest in him as a character. Eva is a great mom and has great insights into chronic illness.
As individual, adult characters the pair is interesting. I simply do not believe the romance. I am icked out by the sex scenes and disagree with the believability of the premise. I think many people will enjoy this, it is written well on a sentence level. The author is clearly talented, but this story is simply not strong enough to make me enjoy this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Self harm
Moderate: Child death and Sexual harassment
Minor: Chronic illness and Racism
I believe it is worth being aware that the self-harm content in this book is fairly triggering.taylorsevalia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
_inge's review against another edition
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
When I picked this up I thought this would be a high literary, intense and depressing novel. When I started reading it and realised there was a lot of humour and love within its pages, I knew I’d have a good time reading it. I loved the disability rep, that this love story wasn’t cookie cutter and all perfect, yet the protagonists’ bond still felt really strong all the same.
That being said, their love not being perfect did mean I found the plot itself a bit confusing. Their past romance was a very intensive week together. It’s stated that their connection throughout this was imminent and perfect, so it was definitely believable it had such an impact, but it could’ve easily been perceived as a quick summer fling. I was so wrapped up in these characters that I didn’t really think about it as I was reading though! There’s some miscommunication at the end which could’ve clearly been avoided if people just… stayed in touch, and from the last few chapters the narrative structure really does feel like any other romance book. It felt really original and interesting at times, but still felt into romance tropes anyways. This meant I wasn’t sure if this book would put itself against other romances or if it was meant to be a criticism on them.
The writing style was infused with (black) pop culture references and brands, which got annoying quickly. People would wear Dior dresses which make them look like someone from a music video by Rihanna, people wouldn’t simply pick up their phone but their Samsung Galaxy…. I just opened this book at a random page to find examples, and I already got ‘Serena Williams fused with Wonder-Woman’ and ‘Morgan Freeman in that specific film’. It seems there’s got to be a reference to something on every single page.
Audre especially uses terminology and modern ideas about topics like race and gender in a way that felt jarring sometimes. There’s a segment where Audre sits with kids who she thinks are all ‘mentally ill’, because she thinks they’ve got disorders like OCD and ASD, and then wonders what’ll happen to these ‘psychos’ when they grow up ??? I never understood the purpose of these segments; they address actual issues, but the tone makes it seem like these segments are meant to be funny.
There’s also a lot of time shifts as well as perspective shifts, but they’re not clearly marked in any way and don’t happen within a set pattern. At certain times I was therefore unsure whether I was reading about a past event or not. When Eva calls her mum at one point I was certain this was a past event, until she discusses things which happened in the present.
A lot of these ‘issues’ I’m only considering in hindsight. I really wanted to keep reading this and didn’t want to put it down. The ending wasn’t fulfilling to me in any way, which is maybe why I’m considering other aspects of this novel now too. But I was hooked on this for a while, and for the most part I do think it did something interesting within the romance genre.
That being said, their love not being perfect did mean I found the plot itself a bit confusing. Their past romance was a very intensive week together. It’s stated that their connection throughout this was imminent and perfect, so it was definitely believable it had such an impact, but it could’ve easily been perceived as a quick summer fling. I was so wrapped up in these characters that I didn’t really think about it as I was reading though! There’s some miscommunication at the end which could’ve clearly been avoided if people just… stayed in touch, and from the last few chapters the narrative structure really does feel like any other romance book. It felt really original and interesting at times, but still felt into romance tropes anyways. This meant I wasn’t sure if this book would put itself against other romances or if it was meant to be a criticism on them.
The writing style was infused with (black) pop culture references and brands, which got annoying quickly. People would wear Dior dresses which make them look like someone from a music video by Rihanna, people wouldn’t simply pick up their phone but their Samsung Galaxy…. I just opened this book at a random page to find examples, and I already got ‘Serena Williams fused with Wonder-Woman’ and ‘Morgan Freeman in that specific film’. It seems there’s got to be a reference to something on every single page.
Audre especially uses terminology and modern ideas about topics like race and gender in a way that felt jarring sometimes. There’s a segment where Audre sits with kids who she thinks are all ‘mentally ill’, because she thinks they’ve got disorders like OCD and ASD, and then wonders what’ll happen to these ‘psychos’ when they grow up ??? I never understood the purpose of these segments; they address actual issues, but the tone makes it seem like these segments are meant to be funny.
There’s also a lot of time shifts as well as perspective shifts, but they’re not clearly marked in any way and don’t happen within a set pattern. At certain times I was therefore unsure whether I was reading about a past event or not. When Eva calls her mum at one point I was certain this was a past event, until she discusses things which happened in the present.
A lot of these ‘issues’ I’m only considering in hindsight. I really wanted to keep reading this and didn’t want to put it down. The ending wasn’t fulfilling to me in any way, which is maybe why I’m considering other aspects of this novel now too. But I was hooked on this for a while, and for the most part I do think it did something interesting within the romance genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcohol
bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
charlotteregan's review against another edition
emotional
4.0
For seven days, a million Junes ago.
Wow, just wow. I am unable to write my coherent thoughts all in one go so I’m just gonna say what comes and leave out what doesn’t.
Seven Days in June was everything in a romance book. No, scratch that, it’s more than just a romance book. It’s about two people reconnecting and rekindling what once was and remeeting one another as adults. Second-chance romance books are my favorite genre of romance, there is just something about two people who’ve known each other before try to know one another again (and maybe again and again, for how long it takes it doesn’t matter).
I loved Eva and Shane so much and I’m glad I read this today, the seventh day of June 2023.
This was a buddy-read with my lovely and spirited friend, Unnati (I am so, so sorry for finishing it immediately 😭). Recommended to us by Sri <3 (🙄).
Wow, just wow. I am unable to write my coherent thoughts all in one go so I’m just gonna say what comes and leave out what doesn’t.
Seven Days in June was everything in a romance book. No, scratch that, it’s more than just a romance book. It’s about two people reconnecting and rekindling what once was and remeeting one another as adults. Second-chance romance books are my favorite genre of romance, there is just something about two people who’ve known each other before try to know one another again (and maybe again and again, for how long it takes it doesn’t matter).
I loved Eva and Shane so much and I’m glad I read this today, the seventh day of June 2023.
This was a buddy-read with my lovely and spirited friend, Unnati (I am so, so sorry for finishing it immediately 😭). Recommended to us by Sri <3 (🙄).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Child death
venusinlove's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
my hopes for this book were set up so high! like, the title was insanely good the cover itself is amazing! i loved it all! sadly i couldn't say the same thing while reading it and of course just like with any other book i have icks with i'll list them below. :)
okay, one thing i do not(!!!) understand is how shane came into her life after what seems a pretty horrible past and there is this one scene where they go for ice cream and start talking and he suddenly goes "oh btw you never told me about your mum" AND SHE STARTS SHARING HER LIFE STORY? out of fucking nowhere? that is so unreal and fake and it made me so angry without a practical reason. but see, they have been friends or together or idk for so long and i know they've had a rough past but he's showing up after years of not talking and she starts telling him all the personal detail just like that? ain't no way it works like that in real life. (do not come for me with the "it's just fiction" bc i will throw hands)
that whole character of audre felt so off-putting and it was an overexaggerated form of a teen. i am aware of the fact that it's difficult to write about a teenager without you being one yourself but i did not need all the "peace sign with the tongue out selfie" being made or the whole excessive social media usage. which brings me to my next point why i did not vibe with the book overall and that's because of all the pop/modern references such as stranger things, snapchat (really?!), lizzo and literally anything that exists now. it put me off and i know this is more of a me-problem rather than the author's work one but i really disliked it and it made me want to quit the book every time i met such mentions.
I'm so upset that the execution is so bad...especially the part where we get to know why Eva is not a virgin and the fact that she was rap*d. I'm partly angry at how rushed it was because you can't just drop a bomb such as this one and leave it.
the story between eva and shane felt so flat, it didn't make me feel anything and as it was progressing(?) i realized that i didn't care what their childhood story is.(spoiler, it's literally not that deep, except all the drug use and alcohol)
one thing i did like was the ending when shane met eva and she didn't make a fuss but just listened to his explanation. i very much appreciated that, it was v grown-up. the whole epilogue (aside from the structure and the spongebob-esque "a few moments later" part) was actually great! i loved knowing about eva's past generations. :)
tl:dr, this would have made a great movie, a sweet little rom-com if you will, maybe then i would like it better.
that whole character of audre felt so off-putting and it was an overexaggerated form of a teen. i am aware of the fact that it's difficult to write about a teenager without you being one yourself but i did not need all the "peace sign with the tongue out selfie" being made or the whole excessive social media usage. which brings me to my next point why i did not vibe with the book overall and that's because of all the pop/modern references such as stranger things, snapchat (really?!), lizzo and literally anything that exists now. it put me off and i know this is more of a me-problem rather than the author's work one but i really disliked it and it made me want to quit the book every time i met such mentions.
I'm so upset that the execution is so bad...
the story between eva and shane felt so flat, it didn't make me feel anything and as it was progressing(?) i realized that i didn't care what their childhood story is.
one thing i did like was the ending when shane met eva and she didn't make a fuss but just listened to his explanation. i very much appreciated that, it was v grown-up. the whole epilogue (aside from the structure and the spongebob-esque "a few moments later" part) was actually great! i loved knowing about eva's past generations. :)
tl:dr, this would have made a great movie, a sweet little rom-com if you will, maybe then i would like it better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape
startjpw23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is about two people who had an intense, weeklong romance when they were 17 that didn't end well. They both went on to become successful authors. They hadn't spoken in 15 years until they meet at a book discussion event. They both had very difficult upbringings that have affected them their whole adult lives. The book details their efforts to reconnect. The process doesn't go smoothly. The book goes back in time to their childhoods to show what they had to endure. One of the characters has a serious medical condition that she has to deal with on a daily basis. The book shows how they attempt to deal with their childhood traumas as part of trying to build a new relationship. I loved the book. It was messy and I really cared about the characters. The supporting characters were interesting too. And sometimes funny.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexism
joensign's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, and Self harm
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
honestlybella's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
god. my review will never adequately describe the beauty and pain of this book. and it was funny and witty and unbelievably GOOD. just read it. everyone read it. that’s it. *check content warnings please!!*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Self harm
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment