Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2021
336 pages
Genre: Romance
Publication Information
Seven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget and seven days to get it all back again...From the author of The Perfect Find, this is a witty, romantic, and sexy-as-hell new novel of two writers and their second chance at love.
Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York.
When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry—or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since.
Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered...
With its keen observations of Black life and the condition of modern motherhood, as well as the consequences of motherless-ness, Seven Days in June is by turns humorous, warm and deeply sensual.
"[A] tour de force...The structure of the novel is complex but ultimately rewarding and provides a portrait of a richly layered world. A hugely satisfying romance that is electrifying and alive." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Williams has a knack for realistically portraying how childhood trauma lingers into adulthood. In her exploration of how people cope, she also delivers hope: psyches can be mended and relationships can help to resolve pain. Williams doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of human experience, and her characters are fully formed and believable as a result. This is a winning romance." - Publishers Weekly
"Williams proves once again that there is much more to romance novels than meet-cutes and other reliable tropes. As she deepens the genre with multilayered characters living full and interesting lives beyond their burgeoning romance without skimping on explicitly perfect sex scenes, her characters embody this storytelling duality. The well-crafted love story alone would delight readers, but Williams generously provides even more. She explores motherhood and womanhood, the passion to write, and the sometimes fine line between romance and heartache." - Booklist
"If this cover doesn't raise your temperature a few degrees, the story will. Grab a fan before reading this one, because it really heats up." - Good Housekeeping
"What's on its face is a delightfully steamy read is a story layered with nuance that gracefully examines thornier topics of parenting in the modern age, life with chronic pain, and Black identity. Through it all, Williams' clever and witty writing will leave you clamoring to be part of Mercy's world." - Reader's Digest
"Sparkling with delicious sensuality and an intriguing plot, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams [is] a captivating contemporary story of romantic connection and love in an unforgiving world...[It] also shines in its celebration of strong female friendships and the unabashed pursuit of joy, reminiscent of Terry McMillan's beloved '90s classic How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Williams skillfully blends uplifting, hilarious moments into the story through a sensational supporting cast." - Shelf Awareness
"In Seven Days in June, Tia Williams conjures a seductive fantasy-rich friendships, star-crossed lovers, artistic fulfillment. But Williams, a canny anthropologist of contemporary urban life, is writing realism, exploring personal pain, family entanglements, and the negotiation of black identity in a world defined by whiteness. The result isn't escapism (though the book is a delight) but a vision of life at it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy." - Rumaan Alam, author of National Book Award finalist Leave the World Behind
"I can always rely on Tia Williams for a novel with a delicious plot, compelling characters, and all of the pop cultural references my heart desires. Seven Days In June is nothing short of a good time. It's funny, thoughtful in both a real and thotty way, and its protagonist Eva Mercy may not know it, but she is my new favorite pretend writer." - Michael Arceneaux, New York Times bestselling author of I Can't Date Jesus and I Don't Want To Die Poor
This information about Seven Days in June was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Tia Williams had a fifteen-year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Lucky, Teen People, and Essence. In 2004, she pioneered the beauty-blog industry with her award-winning site, Shake Your Beauty. She wrote the bestselling debut novel The Accidental Diva and penned two young adult novels, It Chicks and Sixteen Candles. Her award-winning novel The Perfect Find is a Netflix movie starring Gabrielle Union. Her novel, Seven Days in June, is a New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub pick, published by Grand Central. Tia currently lives with her daughter and her husband in Brooklyn.
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