Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

8 reviews

jhabelita's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

I liked the first half of it. I really thought this was a sad story, like Eva knew she had a brain tumor because of those frequent migraines, but she kept it only as a secret. Then she will met Shane again, they fell in love, got together but only for a limited time because she's sick yada yada yada. I REALLY THOUGHT THAT WAS THE PLOT! 😅

But it was only a blinded love of two problematic characters amplified by drugs, alcohol and a week-long sex. 🥴 Trauma bonding, whuuttt??

Miley Cyrus once said,

"They say misery loves company"

I didn't give a fck on the epilogue. I honestly skimmed through the 25% of it just to make a point on the plot that I expected.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Drug use

Moderate: Racism, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

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: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Abandonment, Drug abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Blood

Minor: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Child death, Car accident, Murder, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent

_mack_jack_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

this is genuinely one of the best books i have ever read. williams writes about love, sex, general trauma, race, passion for career, the hardships of both motherhood and teenage years, and so much more so impeccably well. there were several moments i had to physically set the book down to take a breath because i was so excited, and other moments where i had to force my eyes to stay on the sentence i was reading instead of skipping ahead to figure out what happens. she captured a stronger glimpse of the human experience than any author i’ve ever read. i’m left in awe of this book and would recommend it to anyone.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexism, Vomit, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

challenging 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

1.0

Imagine romanticizing a toxic high school relationship you had with a boy you’d only known for a couple days and then using him as your muse to write an entire erotic vampire romance series for the next 15 years….

Then imagine him reappearing in your life because HE’s now ready to talk to you, the audacity.

So much miscommunication, instalove, toxic relationships/habits and tendencies. They are not good for each other, they are constantly running away from things and not communicating with each other. Even 15 years later and they’re both still hurting each other, leaving/running away. They do not help each other be better people.

This book, these characters, it just wasn’t for me.

Also the “twist” where Lizette was the one that sent Shane to jail because she thought he had done something to Eva (which is TOTALLY understandable!) as the scene she walks in on is literally Eva passed out from drugs & alcohol as well as pleading from her self-harm cuts so there’s blood. Why didn’t Shane tell her? I just don’t understand why if you loved them so much you wouldn’t be straight up with him from the get go after he left you? If you guys had such a real and intense connection, how could you let him go that easily?

Also I feel like Ty’s death was written so cheaply? Like a 13 year old innocent boy was just killed and and yet the author only spend a couple of pages talking about Shane’s reaction when this boy meant so much to him. Also, why couldn’t Shane have called Eva to let her know that that’s why he “stood her and Audre up” was because he was literally going to the hospital to say goodbye to his student.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Medical content, and Vomit

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Ableism, Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Sexual content

jaz_gets_literary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I don’t know how to express my feeling about this book. I don’t really like hearing a lot about books beforehand so as to not have preconceived thoughts about it. While I enjoyed the book, it didn’t live up to everything that I had heard about it. This is going to have spoilers so read at your own risk. <SPOILER> Eva and Shane’s relationship was toxic from the jump and is still toxic at the end of the book. While I love a good friends to lovers trope, this was not it for me. I did enjoy the representation of Eva having an invisible disability. I’m happy that by the end of the book that she opened up to everyone and began to live in her truth. I hoped to hear that she has finally opened up to Audre about her mother and told her the truth instead of shielding her from reality. Which probably would have happened after her trip back home. Eva and Shane were both fighting a lot of demons. They both have a lot of work before I feel like they would be able to be with each other without hurting each other. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Moderate: Toxic friendship

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, and Child death

The two main characters go through a period of self harm.

valeriasshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Car accident and Forced institutionalization

now_booking's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5

There’s a lot going on in this book in the best of ways. On the surface it is witty and smart and incisive as it comments on contemporary Black culture without being a book about race. But what it actually is a story about a society where two young Black kids, representative of so many others, fall through the cracks of dysfunction and end up in toxic cycles of relationships and substance abuse. It’s a love story about a woman with an invincible chronic illness, self-harming tendencies and a lot of emotional baggage, and an emotionally-damaged man struggling with addiction, being brave enough to feel, and a lot of emotional baggage. Somehow when these two lost souls meet, they have to figure out a way to heal and lighten each other’s load.

The premise is that single mother Eva is struggling with writer’s block for her long running paranormal erotic romance series when she meets blast from her past, Shane, at a panel about race and is blown away by the strong feelings that never left. But with the trauma and toxicity associated with their past relationship and the weight of the baggage they both still carry, any chance of a second chance romance seems dead on arrival.

The best thing about this book is it’s sharp take on contemporary society. It’s full of smart, funny observations and perfectly excerptable quotes about Black culture and Black lived experience that you’ll find yourself nodding to in agreement as you picture the exact cultural reference the author means. This book is heavy on trauma and is potentially very triggering- there is severe addiction, self-harm, sexual assault, abuse, abandonment, neglect, self-harm, chronic pain (chronic illness), misogyny, toxic relationships, and others don’t like it. The story itself and the way it is told is also absolutely gorgeous- you fall in love with the characters and root for them from the very beginning. Particular favourites of mine were Eva, Shane and Audre. Reading Eva and the people in her life navigate her chronic migraines, felt incredibly raw and it was written with a lot of authenticity and heart and was for me, a highlight of this book. Perhaps I didn’t really “buy” that Eva-Cece-Belinda friendship because I didn’t think it was utilized to the max and it didn’t quite “fit” for me, but even they were likable and inoffensive and I love seeing female friendship celebrated. I loved that the book featured marginal groups from society and positioned them as romantic leads- Eva with her debilitating chronic migraines, and Shane, actively in recovery from addiction. I loved the choice of these characters and how they were portrayed. The thing is that this love never felt quite healthy and there was so much unresolved trauma and damage in their lives, it would have been nice for some more of the healing to be on page, just so you know this time they’re for real. This is one of those where you love the couple together but wonder if they’ll be able to overcome the dysfunction long-term.

One thing that bothered me a bit about this book is it’s attitude towards romance. It’s not that it was disparaging in anyway- but there’s an air of tongue-in-cheek speak about it in this book sometimes that make it feel like a second class genre or not “worthy” or serious. And I felt like sometimes the author’s fatigue with writing her erotic romance series made her indirectly disparaging of the genre and I didn’t like that. I would have liked to see more of  Eva’s relationship with her mother once she decided looking into her family tree. There were crumbs around this plot point and these themes of matrilineal lines and curses and patriarchal systems that condemn difference that left a lot of space for further exploration.

Overall, there’s no denying how fabulous this was. I highly  recommend it to everyone- be safe and consider your triggers.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Vomit