Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

200 reviews

foxmulders's review

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

well written but didnt live up to the hype imo. the first half is really good, but i felt like the last half didnt sell me on the romance. it starts off beautiful and then feels like a rushed modge podge of black twitter references? which is fine but disappointing after how solid the beginning is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abandonment, Self harm, Chronic illness, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

jkreads's review

challenging 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

5.0

5⭐️

TW: alcoholism, drug use, self harm, child neglect, paedophilia

Just…wow. This book was beautiful. A searing tale of Black love, pain and success told in beautiful prose brimming with emotion. 

Seven Days in June is easily the best second-chance romance I’ve ever read. All of the angst and pain experienced by Eva and Shane had a purpose, none of it was gratuitous or over the top. The journey they went on throughout the book was SO satisfying, and it really felt like I was right there with them, I was so invested.

I’m always nervous going into a book with disability/illness rep because it’s never guaranteed to be done well. That was not the case here. I really loved how descriptive Tia Williams was in talking about Eva’s chronic pain and the impact that this had on every aspect of her life. I also loved that there wasn’t an underlying message of ‘just push through’. Sure, there were times where Eva tried to push through the pain but she knew this would come at a price. So many books that I see being hailed as having great disability rep very much promote the toxic message that ‘if you just push through and accommodate yourself, you can do anything’ when that just isn’t the reality for many disabled people. Eva spoke about parenting from bed or the couch, which I can very much relate to as this is something I’ve had to resort to on days where I’m struggling.

I listened to this on audio and the narration was wonderful, it really helped me connect with the story on a deeper level. I will probably be purchasing a physical copy of this as well though, because it’s definitely going to be one that I reread in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Chronic illness, Abandonment, and Self harm

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

rickireadss's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Self harm, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Sexual harassment, Blood, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Racism, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

moriahleigh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Gun violence, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Drug use, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual content, Cursing, Car accident, Vomit, and Violence

beezinda's review

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a gorgeous contemporary romance novel. This is a Love Story. 

I love the characters and this story unfold and I really like the exploration of what it means to deserve love. The pacing is perfect, the writing is mature, and the story is romantic and heartwarming. 

The book does have some darker/heavier content like addiction, self-harm, and childhood neglect, but never turns into black trauma - it doesnt revel in these issues. Rather these issues are used to help us understand our characters and who they were in their darkest moments. It's masterfully done, because I check-out immediately at any sign of trauma pork, but at no moment did I want to put this novel down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Chronic illness, Drug use, and Self harm

Moderate: Addiction, Abandonment, and Alcoholism

Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

kayladarthur's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful tense 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

I enjoyed this book! I’ve always wanted to read more romance, esp centering Black women. I feel like there’s good representation for us here! And it’s very cute.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment

Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

While this book is mostly lighthearted, there are scenes that can be graphic for some.

mchaw's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Drug abuse

Moderate: Addiction and Abandonment

marstone's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

Wow. 
I don’t read romance books, its not a genre I'm very interested in because I find it predictable, but if I were to read any romance, I am so happy it was this. It was not what I was expecting it to be at all and I almost didn’t commit to continuing it, but I cannot stop thinking about this book now. 
This is about 2 writers who shared an intimate romance in high school which was very brief. Now, years later as adults they have been reconnected and the main character wants to know why their relationship ended so soon and is trying to navigate trauma, chronic illness, and adult responsibilities while also grappling with her feelings towards him and the past that is being brought up again. As authors of different genres, they have been writing their characters based off of each other, in a way sending each other messages that they are still a part of each other’s lives. 
I’m not a fan of stories that include real life social media references or current slang (since I mostly read fantasy) because I feel like it takes me out of the story, but it’s not too over the top in this book and ultimately added a bit of lightheartedness to it. 
This was much darker than I anticipated with the themes it explored and the characters backstory and how broken they were but just trying to keep themselves together now yet there is agony and yearning gnawing at them with the intensity of their intimacy of just seven days and how they are forced to face that again and figure out how they fit into each other’s lives now as adults. 
This was absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching to see the trauma and sense of abandonment (a lot of trigger warnings listed) and figuring out why everything happened the way it did. I was so invested in their story and cried 5 times. I love it i love it i love it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Abandonment, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

samiredden's review

dark emotional sad 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

5.0

I normally don’t enjoy a second chance ,”JUST BE TOGETHER,” trope. I think I was too distracted by my heart being absolutely ripped from my chest to be bothered by it. 
If you like romance novels with very little cringey fluff that leave you blankly staring at the wall after you’ve finished it, this is for you. 
Definitely read the trigger warnings. This book is centered around their trauma and generational trauma with some romance thrown in. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Sexual harassment

antidietleah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Self harm, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Death, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, and Physical abuse