A review by v_abigaila
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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

Seven Days in June is a beautifully written second-chance romance book that explores trauma and how it impacts relationships. Williams has a way with words in this book, and I love it.

The plot
Seven Days in June follows author and single mum, Eva and another author, Shane, with who she had a relationship in the past when they were young. They meet again for the first time since their breakup and there are a lot of unanswered questions that they need to face, mainly their breakup. 
The reason for Shane ending their relationship hints at a pretty significant event outside of the common reasons why people break up, such as cheating. This gives a kind of mystery element to the plot where you're constantly guessing what could have happened for Shane to leave Eva so abruptly. I love how as you read on, the story of their relationship unravels little by little. You're given just enough information to know about Shane and Eva's past but not too much, which entices you to carry on reading. 
I also love how every chapter has a title too! I don't know if it's just me, but I barely see chapter titles in books nowadays! But the titles in Seven Days in June always got me excited about what was going to happen next!

The Characters
One thing about Seven Days in June is that not one character is one-dimensional. Each character is complex, with their own demons they had to face. And of course, with multi-dimensional characters, there was great character development, which was heartwarming to see with Eva and Shane. 
Eva and Shane are both characters who you just want to root for. Both as individuals and as a couple. We see them go through intense struggles and suffering in their younger years to now being successful authors. But the one thing missing with both of them was that closure from their breakup. So them both having a second chance at being together and unravelling everything that went down was bittersweet yet beautiful. 
I've got to make an honourable mention to one of my favourite characters in Seven Days in June. Eva's daughter, Audre is smart and witty for a 12-year-old and I love that she brought a bit of comedy to this heavy story! 

The Writing Style
Williams has a way with words for sure! I had to go back and reread some sentences to soak in how beautifully she described the emotions of her characters. I also love how the different character perspectives in the chapters weren't just confined to Ava and Shane. For example, there were chapters dedicated to Eva's mum's perspective, which gave a more holistic understanding of everyone involved in Eva and Shane's story. 
The only thing that stopped me from giving it 5 stars was the pop culture references! I don't know what it is about them, but I'm just not a fan of pop culture references in books. It wasn't too much at the beginning but I felt like in the last quarter of the book, the pop culture references got turned up to 80%. 
Overall, this book was an amazing read and so beautifully written. I'm excited to read more of Tia Williams's books that she decides to release in the future! 
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