Seven Days in June by Tia Williams – Book Review

Skimming through my Kindle library in yes, June, I saw Seven Days in June by Tia Williams sitting there unread and really, if not now, then when? I’m so pleased I let this random title / month link make the call as Seven Days in June is a fantastic read. I devoured it over a few sunny afternoons in the garden – and here’s why.

Opening sentence: In the year of our lord 2019, thirty-two-year-old Eva Mercy nearly choked to death on a piece of gum.

It’s a brilliantly sexy love story

Seven Days in June does what so many other romance novels try to and don’t get quite right. It’s the perfect blend of emotion and erotica. There are some stunningly sexy scenes between our lead characters, Eva and Shane, and the more we learn about them, the more the emotional investment is effortlessly ramped up.

It was the chatty, funny tone that drew me straight into Seven Days in June. Honestly, I laughed out loud so many times, but also felt my heart aching for Eva and Shane at different moments, they felt so real and rounded.

Eva + Shane Forever

Eva (full name Genevieve) is a single-mum to 12-year-old daughter, Audre, she lives in New York and is the successful author of erotic supernatural series, Cursed (the love story of a witch, Gia and vampire, Sebastian).

She also suffers from chronic, often debilitating migraines and has writer’s block while working on the 14th book in her series.

Shane Hall is also an author. He is a publishing marvel who had wild success with his first 4 books, but he shuns the spotlight and whole literature scene.

Eva and Shane were teenage lovers (for only 7 days, yes, in June) but their high-drama experience (with some trigger warnings – quite graphic references to drug use and self-harm) meant that they didn’t see each other for a long time…

They’d stayed out of each other’s way for fifteen years. Eva had to find out why he was here now.

When Shane reappears in Eva’s life, she has a lot of questions, emotions and, it turns out, unresolved sexual tension.

Eva’s family story

As well as the love story, there is interesting social commentary about being Black in America that runs through this book too. Eva’s heavily influenced by her roots: her mother, grandmother and generations beyond them. They were strong Black women who were often mis-labelled and not listened to. There are parallels in Eva’s life now and how she looks to her history to guide her now.

Their reputations were as wild and dramatic as their names – Clotilde and Delphine. Their lives had been affected by murder and madness and mysterious rage.

I had all the feels for Seven Days in June – no wonder it was a Reese’s Book Club pick. The short, sharp intense, intense and highly-charged relationship between Eva and Shane is so engrossing, in both time-frames, as it captures complex nuances and isn’t afraid to delve into the depths of emotion – both good and bad.

Excitingly, this book has been optioned for TV and I could absolutely see this being a huge Netflix must-watch. Obviously you need to read it before it hits the screen!

Rating: 5 out of 5.