Seven Days in June 4.5⭐️/5

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

4.5⭐️/5

A complicated, funny, nuanced, heady romance that spans decades and explores other themes like generational curses, Black culture, disability and chronic pain, heartbreak, and lost love? HI MEET SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE.

Tia Williams treats her reader with intelligence and respect. She creates rich, complex, witty Black characters with the full range of experiences in their personal lives and within the literary community. Her commentary and observations on Black literature added so much spark and insight.

She also maintains so much humor throughout, even while navigating difficult and traumatic events for her characters. Her inclusion of pop cultural references were smart, amusing, and a reminder of how contemporary this is. It contributed to my book hangover - weren’t these two real? I was familiar with the world they lived in.

The shifting back and forth between young Shane and Eva and preset day was seamless, I could have read an entire book of the two young kids with everything and nothing to lose.

I did think there were a few moments where the book was a bit uneven, balancing the steamy romance and the other larger questions it asks, it felt uncertain how it wanted to identify. But it didn’t hinder my love for these characters or desire to watch them rediscover one another. I also had a few moments where her daughter, the brilliant and lovable Audre, was written too mature for her age, despite that being her dynamic with her mother.

I thought Williams wrote some breathtaking dialogue, I read this book as a writer at times, in admiration, and enjoying just how well she knew these two people. Their banter and chemistry comes through in the best ways.

If you’ve been waiting to pick this one up, I’d highly recommend it!