A review by imtashamonet
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was in a reading slump for about 4-5 months before reading this book and, OMG, was it a book to come back into reading with. Even now, as I write this review 14 days after finishing it, it has stuck with me. And before y'all start, I know, I know. I am late. I've heard amazing things about this book and I have owned it for quite some time, but never got around to reading it. And even still, y'all...I just feel like I have arrived!

So, before I even start on my thoughts, I do just want to say that I do not typically seek out romance books. It's not because I do not like them, but rather I tend to enjoy books that do not always have a HEA or HFN. I'm a sad b, and I like my sad b books. Perhaps that's why this book hit so hard for me. It is sad and HEAVY as much as it is sexy and fun. How did Tia Williams do both of those things to two tragic characters? I have no idea, but I sure loved it.

​The thing I think I love most about this book is how although it is only over the course of seven days (both in the present and past), it doesn't feel rushed. It taking place over the course of a week allowed for us to be able to slow down and spend more time in the day-to-day, which highlighted a lot of insight into the characters. At the same time, it allowed for the book to also moved at a pace that didn't feel like it was dragging. This, I think, was due to the juxtaposition of the flashbacks with the present-day Eva and Shane. Any time I felt like there was more information that I needed or something didn't make sense to me, a flashback chapter came in with all the appropriate context. 

As I mentioned earlier, this book is HEAVY and needs quite a few content and trigger warnings. In the copy of the book that I own, they are not there, but that does not mean they do not exist anywhere. I do wish I did my due dilligence and looked up the trigger/content warnings prior to reading, so that I could have made sure I was in the appropriate headspace before reading. Still, this book was such a wonderful read for me.