A review by luckyonesoph
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

emotional hopeful 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

3.75

Beautiful and compelling and electrifying - I couldn't put it down. I thought the jumps between pov + timeline would be confusing, especially because there was also the one-week structure, but the transitions were seamless and perfectly timed. Audre was such a light - probably my favourite character, even though I'd never trust her as my therapist - and she brought so much comic relief to an otherwise emotionally-difficult book. I also loved the chronic illness/disability representation. It felt real. 

I struggled a little bit with the pacing. The book is relatively short, and Eva

and Shane get (back) together so quickly, they're given very little time to develop their relationship on-page. We see so much of them struggling, fighting each other or their life circumstances, and I don't actually see them falling or being in love other than a few conversations and intimacy scenes. And I know the whole point is that their special connection from high school is what sustains them, but it read like a trauma bond to me with little connection beyond that. We are told they are deeply in love, but I just don’t really see it? But then again, I don't think that "this is all tell, no show" is a fair assessment because Tia Williams is an incredibly talented writer, so maybe I will just say that the book should have been 50-60 pages longer so that we could have had more on-page build-up and connection outside of addiction and trauma between Eva and Shane.