book review : seven days in june
Genre: Romance /Coming of Age /Drama
Reading age: 18+
Rating: 7/10
You’ll like this if you’ve watched or read End of the F***ing World, It’s Kind of a Funny Story or anything which blends love and mental health.
One of my favourite booktokkers always raves about this book, and as it’s black history month, it felt wrong not to read a book by a black author… so I picked up Seven Days in June by Tia Williams.
The first thing that must be mentioned is that this story should be plastered with trigger warnings - self harm, substance abuse, suicide, sexual abuse, physical harm, death. You name it, the book has it - which I wasn’t too keen on, I know real life can be shit but I do feel like the story could have been just as powerful without so many different types of traumatic experiences. It almost diminishes the individual experiences in isolation and makes it seem like they must have a culmination of trauma to be worthy of our empathy.
That being said it was really well written, very poetic. I guess an author writing about authors was always going to be an artsy read. The beginning was a bit slow but I feel like the story was written how the characters would have wanted it to be written, a love story with a deep rooted foundation. And being a hopeless romantic, I liked how the love story unfolded - I love reading about a love worth dying for, or in this case a love worth living for.
The story follows the life of Eva Mercy and Shane Hall, in the past and present as they navigate their troubled backgrounds to becoming successful authors. The story flips between the past and present and isn’t written in the most linear way but the flashbacks are appropriately placed to give you more of an insight into present. The pair live separate lives and in doing so, have separated themselves from their past but their reunion makes them confront the demons within them they have tried to suppress over the years.
One thing I found strange about the book was that although it was written in third person, the information was often felt incomplete, like the author was deliberately holding bits of the story back for us to find out with the characters. I feel like this style of writing makes more sense when the book is written in first person because then the incomplete scenes comes from the individuals' perspectives. A split first person narrative would’ve worked better for this book I think.
Another very personal preference of mine in books I read is that the story must feel far removed from my real life. And even if it is set in a real life setting, I don’t want my real life thinking to interfere with the narrative. The story used a lot of modern day references and spoke about real life celebrities which kind of broke the fourth wall for me, but maybe that was intentional. To show that this is more than just a book and stories like Shane and Eva’s exist in real life.
Tia Williams really captured the difficult themes of this book in a way that didn’t scare me away but made me want to read more, she made me want to see the characters happy. I think this is the benefit of already revealing the present in the start of a book full of flashbacks because you know the characters will make it to the other side… although at one point my anxiety did force me to read the last page.
I particularly liked Williams’ focus on mental health and how important it is to have an anchor. I think the main message Williams was trying to convey with Eva and Shane is that although you aren’t responsible for circumstances you are placed in, you are responsible for how you move on from those circumstances, so acknowledging your emotions and finding a healthy outlet is really important. I loved watching their individual character development and I would’ve loved to see the development within their relationship but I guess that’s why the story is called Seven Days of June, and not keeping up with Shane and Eva for the rest of their lives.
Seven Days in June wasn’t a perfect read for me but it was definitely worth the ride. It’s more than just a spicy love story, it’s a story of the nuances that come with being a human being, of nature vs nurture and of self discovery and self fulfilment. I love a story that allows me to walk in other peoples shoes and see that the world is greater than me and my problems. This story has definitely left an impact on me and I know the characters will stay with me for a while.
Buy it here: https://amzn.eu/d/2c4nyfh
Rating: 7/10
You’ll like this if you’ve watched or read End of the F***ing World, It’s Kind of a Funny Story or anything which blends love and mental health.
One of my favourite booktokkers always raves about this book, and as it’s black history month, it felt wrong not to read a book by a black author… so I picked up Seven Days in June by Tia Williams.
The first thing that must be mentioned is that this story should be plastered with trigger warnings - self harm, substance abuse, suicide, sexual abuse, physical harm, death. You name it, the book has it - which I wasn’t too keen on, I know real life can be shit but I do feel like the story could have been just as powerful without so many different types of traumatic experiences. It almost diminishes the individual experiences in isolation and makes it seem like they must have a culmination of trauma to be worthy of our empathy.
That being said it was really well written, very poetic. I guess an author writing about authors was always going to be an artsy read. The beginning was a bit slow but I feel like the story was written how the characters would have wanted it to be written, a love story with a deep rooted foundation. And being a hopeless romantic, I liked how the love story unfolded - I love reading about a love worth dying for, or in this case a love worth living for.
The story follows the life of Eva Mercy and Shane Hall, in the past and present as they navigate their troubled backgrounds to becoming successful authors. The story flips between the past and present and isn’t written in the most linear way but the flashbacks are appropriately placed to give you more of an insight into present. The pair live separate lives and in doing so, have separated themselves from their past but their reunion makes them confront the demons within them they have tried to suppress over the years.
One thing I found strange about the book was that although it was written in third person, the information was often felt incomplete, like the author was deliberately holding bits of the story back for us to find out with the characters. I feel like this style of writing makes more sense when the book is written in first person because then the incomplete scenes comes from the individuals' perspectives. A split first person narrative would’ve worked better for this book I think.
Another very personal preference of mine in books I read is that the story must feel far removed from my real life. And even if it is set in a real life setting, I don’t want my real life thinking to interfere with the narrative. The story used a lot of modern day references and spoke about real life celebrities which kind of broke the fourth wall for me, but maybe that was intentional. To show that this is more than just a book and stories like Shane and Eva’s exist in real life.
Tia Williams really captured the difficult themes of this book in a way that didn’t scare me away but made me want to read more, she made me want to see the characters happy. I think this is the benefit of already revealing the present in the start of a book full of flashbacks because you know the characters will make it to the other side… although at one point my anxiety did force me to read the last page.
I particularly liked Williams’ focus on mental health and how important it is to have an anchor. I think the main message Williams was trying to convey with Eva and Shane is that although you aren’t responsible for circumstances you are placed in, you are responsible for how you move on from those circumstances, so acknowledging your emotions and finding a healthy outlet is really important. I loved watching their individual character development and I would’ve loved to see the development within their relationship but I guess that’s why the story is called Seven Days of June, and not keeping up with Shane and Eva for the rest of their lives.
Seven Days in June wasn’t a perfect read for me but it was definitely worth the ride. It’s more than just a spicy love story, it’s a story of the nuances that come with being a human being, of nature vs nurture and of self discovery and self fulfilment. I love a story that allows me to walk in other peoples shoes and see that the world is greater than me and my problems. This story has definitely left an impact on me and I know the characters will stay with me for a while.
Buy it here: https://amzn.eu/d/2c4nyfh
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