Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

46 reviews

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Suicide attempt, and Addiction

Minor: Rape

marena02's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Blood, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Death, Mental illness, Bullying, Sexual content, Rape, Chronic illness, and Car accident

myriam7'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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Violence

Minor: Rape

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.5

A little spicy, a little sweet, this book is a brilliant love story. It focuses on two broken people and their journey to loving themselves and one another completely. I loved the characters, I loved the way the author including many present-day pop culture references and allusions, I loved the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Abandonment, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug use, Racism, and Rape

zjo_98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Chronic illness, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Grief, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Rape, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Car accident and Body shaming

alyssasaurus's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Racism, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Bullying, Self harm, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

haley49's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

This book was a masterpiece of fiction…aside from a rushed final act this book had everything I wanted: the emotions, the complicated family dynamics, the questions of self, and the angst in love found between two complicated leads. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Racism, Death, Sexual assault, Medical content, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Rape

runitsthepopo's review against another edition

emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Self harm, Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Car accident, Death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment

queenmudds's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

Just wow read it but check tw

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Rape, and Self harm

nouriareads's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective

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

4.0

I loved Tia Williams’ writing style. The book is well-paced and there is a good balance between flashbacks and present day. The characters were funny and mostly pretty realistic, and the attraction between Eva and Shane (as adults) was undeniable. I loved the relationship between Eva and Audre, how protective of each other they are and how Eva would do anything to be the parent she didn’t have. It was interesting to see how Eva tackled life with an invisible disability because she is not public about it and has to pretend to be fine most of the time. The peek into the Black literati community was also refreshing. 

While being so passionately “in love” within 7 days as teenagers could make sense, the same feelings and intensity after 15 years with no contact and within the same timeframe seemed a little much and felt very rushed especially given how things ended. “In love” because that week when they were teenagers felt more like co-dependency and them encouraging each other's destructive behaviours. I don’t think the author glamorized that week, but there’s something I can’t quite pinpoint that made me feel like it was still a little romanticized. Maybe it was because it was written from a limited third-person POV and they thought they were in love. My issue was not feeling the stance “this is not love.” 

I didn’t appreciate how Ty was treated as a plot device for the (unnecessary) conflict and Audre had a few unrealistic traits

e.g. she’s read Freud, watched Midsommar and offers therapy sessions at 12

(though this might come from Eva’s parenting because sometimes they’re more friends than mother/daughter). 

Overall I really liked the book, but I recommend checking content/trigger warnings before reading if it’s something you need. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape