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A review by leonalikesliterature
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I was really excited for Seven Days in June, but it ended up just being mid. I thought the characters and the set up was great! I loved the adult romance with realistic stakes and the chemistry was good. The writing was also witty and fun.
However, there were quite a few issues. The romance felt rushed, especially in the flashbacks (everything happens in 7 days in the past and present, so 14 total) and there was quite a bit of trauma bonding. There is a lot of dialogue and writing choices that are over the top and it made the reading experience very cringey. There’s literally a line in the book, “F@ck me on James Baldwins bed.” Thats what I mean by over the top. In that sense, it was also tactless and would come off as very privileged. Although both main characters grew up poor and struggling, their adult lives are lavish and wealthy and some of the writing came off as insensitive. For example, there’s a line where Eva’s daughter Audre wishes she went to public school instead of private school so she could experience “real oppression.” I’m not sure if that was meant to be intentionally obtuse, but it didn’t come off that way.
The ending was also underwhelming. There’s also something really traumatic that happens at the ending thats disregarded for the romance so it just seemed really unnecessary. I thought it was obvious they would end up together, but it gets drawn out for like a month, which negates the premise of the book because everything is supposed to have happened within 7 days.
Overall, the book was just good, not great. I’m glad I read it but I’m also glad I borrowed my copy from the library.
However, there were quite a few issues. The romance felt rushed, especially in the flashbacks (everything happens in 7 days in the past and present, so 14 total) and there was quite a bit of trauma bonding. There is a lot of dialogue and writing choices that are over the top and it made the reading experience very cringey. There’s literally a line in the book, “F@ck me on James Baldwins bed.” Thats what I mean by over the top. In that sense, it was also tactless and would come off as very privileged. Although both main characters grew up poor and struggling, their adult lives are lavish and wealthy and some of the writing came off as insensitive. For example, there’s a line where Eva’s daughter Audre wishes she went to public school instead of private school so she could experience “real oppression.” I’m not sure if that was meant to be intentionally obtuse, but it didn’t come off that way.
The ending was also underwhelming. There’s also something really traumatic that happens at the ending thats disregarded for the romance so it just seemed really unnecessary. I thought it was obvious they would end up together, but it gets drawn out for like a month, which negates the premise of the book because everything is supposed to have happened within 7 days.
Overall, the book was just good, not great. I’m glad I read it but I’m also glad I borrowed my copy from the library.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Suicide attempt