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chicksroguesandscandals's review against another edition
5.0
I have read my fair share of emotional books, but this really is up there with the best. Seven Days Of Us is a roller coaster ride of emotions; funny, happy, sad, it fills your heart with so much warmth and makes you really evaluate your own relationship with your family. This is the first I have read by Francesca Hornak and it will definitely will not be the last, in fact I am looking forward to reading more from this talented author because this book is a pure joy to read.
For the first time in years, the Birch family are gathering to spend the Christmas holidays together, but not exactly in the way that they would have wanted. Eldest daughter; Olivia has just retuned from helping to treat a Haag epidemic and she must go into quarantine for a week, just in case she has caught the decease. So the whole family must be locked away in their family home for the week over Christmas, which would be fine if the whole family weren’t keeping secrets from one and other, secrets that could turn their worlds up-side down.
I love that this is written in the perspective of each family member, so you don’t just see the story unfold through one set of eyes but from all sides and that to me really makes this story as captivating and engaging as it is. Each character is beautifully created, and the relationship each have with the other members of the family is realistic and it’s wonderful seeing their individual stories progress throughout, which takes the reader on a wonderfully intense journey, which at it’s heart is family and the trials that the Birch’s go through as one and separately.
I absolutely loved it!! It is a heart-breaking, emotionally wrenching, warm, funny and beautifully written story of family and love. I shed far more tears then I expected, especially with Olivia’s story which for me was the one that really packed a punch and the ending is heart-breaking, and the epilogue is perfect with a hint of sadness. I cannot recommend this book enough, Seven Days Of Us is one of those that anyone can read and instantly fall in love with and I can guarantee that you will need a box of tissues at the ready.
Fabulous!
For the first time in years, the Birch family are gathering to spend the Christmas holidays together, but not exactly in the way that they would have wanted. Eldest daughter; Olivia has just retuned from helping to treat a Haag epidemic and she must go into quarantine for a week, just in case she has caught the decease. So the whole family must be locked away in their family home for the week over Christmas, which would be fine if the whole family weren’t keeping secrets from one and other, secrets that could turn their worlds up-side down.
I love that this is written in the perspective of each family member, so you don’t just see the story unfold through one set of eyes but from all sides and that to me really makes this story as captivating and engaging as it is. Each character is beautifully created, and the relationship each have with the other members of the family is realistic and it’s wonderful seeing their individual stories progress throughout, which takes the reader on a wonderfully intense journey, which at it’s heart is family and the trials that the Birch’s go through as one and separately.
I absolutely loved it!! It is a heart-breaking, emotionally wrenching, warm, funny and beautifully written story of family and love. I shed far more tears then I expected, especially with Olivia’s story which for me was the one that really packed a punch and the ending is heart-breaking, and the epilogue is perfect with a hint of sadness. I cannot recommend this book enough, Seven Days Of Us is one of those that anyone can read and instantly fall in love with and I can guarantee that you will need a box of tissues at the ready.
Fabulous!
hannnahk's review against another edition
I draw the line for F-Bombs in Christmas Books
winemakerssister's review against another edition
3.0
I think one of the reasons I read so many romances is because I want a happy ending. I'm just sure how to handle bittersweet. I want to read something sweet or funny or a HEA.
I found Seven Days of Us in my local library's audiobook collection and decided to give it a try. It's the story of a family in quarantine because their oldest daughter has come home for Christmas after working with a highly infectious disease in Liberia.
There were things I enjoyed about it - I liked the various family members and their different characters. I bonded a bit with Jesse and wanted him to get to know his birth father.
I wasn't a fan of the bittersweet ending. I know not everyone can live Happily Ever After, but I found the author's twist quite heart-wrenching. And I really didn't understand how the workers were allowed to fly on a commercial flight but were then put in quarantine once they got home.
Themes: English country manor, quarantine, world health workers, infectious diseases, adoption
I found Seven Days of Us in my local library's audiobook collection and decided to give it a try. It's the story of a family in quarantine because their oldest daughter has come home for Christmas after working with a highly infectious disease in Liberia.
There were things I enjoyed about it - I liked the various family members and their different characters. I bonded a bit with Jesse and wanted him to get to know his birth father.
I wasn't a fan of the bittersweet ending. I know not everyone can live Happily Ever After, but I found the author's twist quite heart-wrenching. And I really didn't understand how the workers were allowed to fly on a commercial flight but were then put in quarantine once they got home.
Themes: English country manor, quarantine, world health workers, infectious diseases, adoption
cooperca's review against another edition
3.0
This was another "liked it, didn't love it".
The premise was intriguing, a dysfunctional family quarantined for 7 days during the holiday. There was a side story that for me dragged the story down, but overall the novel presented an interesting look at how we don't always truly know those that we love the most.
The "chapters" are broken down by each character's point of view. As a reader, the layout provided more depth to the story and provided insight to what each character was thinking. It was a quick read but the ending was rather predictable.
The main irritant for me that made this a like instead of love was the selfishness of every single member of this family. Nobody was interesting enough to overcome the fact they were all unlikable. Olivia is sanctimonious, Phoebe is shallow, Emma plays the martyr, Andrew has an inflated opinion of himself, and Jesse is just blah.
Would I recommend this as a read, sure. It's a perfect airplane read.
The premise was intriguing, a dysfunctional family quarantined for 7 days during the holiday. There was a side story that for me dragged the story down, but overall the novel presented an interesting look at how we don't always truly know those that we love the most.
The "chapters" are broken down by each character's point of view. As a reader, the layout provided more depth to the story and provided insight to what each character was thinking. It was a quick read but the ending was rather predictable.
The main irritant for me that made this a like instead of love was the selfishness of every single member of this family. Nobody was interesting enough to overcome the fact they were all unlikable. Olivia is sanctimonious, Phoebe is shallow, Emma plays the martyr, Andrew has an inflated opinion of himself, and Jesse is just blah.
Would I recommend this as a read, sure. It's a perfect airplane read.
bsmith27's review against another edition
2.0
A soap opera. A clever idea that a family is put into quarantine at Christmastime but everything that happens is overkill. An illegitamite son shows up after having slept with his half sisters fiance. Mom is diagnosed with cancer and one of the daughters ends up pregnant by the father dies.
tidoublegarrr's review against another edition
4.0
This one could easily be made into a Lifetime movie 😂 but it was a fun, quick read. The author is skilled at portraying complicated (outlandish) family dynamics and how relationships can change when people open up. Note taken.
kimberussell's review against another edition
4.0
You guys! This is my first-ever ARC! I received this from the Berkeley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. I was picked because I liked the Vacationers. Which...that book annoyed me, but I'll always accept a free brand-new, good-smelling book anyday.
This is a "privileged family with secrets who are stuck in close quarters" story. Doctor Olivia Birch is returning home to England from a stint treating the highly-infectious Haag virus in Liberia. She needs to be quarantined for 7 days. Since her quarantine falls over the Christmas holiday, her family -- father Andrew, mother Emma, sister Phoebe -- have decided to go into quarantine with her. They spend the week in the family's stuffy country home. All of the Birches are is annoying in the way that your immediate family annoys you. And they all have a secret.
Except Cocoa, their 20-year-old cat, who is lovely and lives authentically. Cocoa lives, by the way, in case you're afraid of that.
It was charming, and Hornak works magic in getting you to feel for even the least redeemable Birch by the end of the quarantine period. There were a few plot devices that were over the top and barely believable, but I forgive. I can completely see this becoming a Hallmark Christmas movie.
My secret is that I now really enjoy books of the "privileged family w/secrets" genre.
This is a "privileged family with secrets who are stuck in close quarters" story. Doctor Olivia Birch is returning home to England from a stint treating the highly-infectious Haag virus in Liberia. She needs to be quarantined for 7 days. Since her quarantine falls over the Christmas holiday, her family -- father Andrew, mother Emma, sister Phoebe -- have decided to go into quarantine with her. They spend the week in the family's stuffy country home. All of the Birches are is annoying in the way that your immediate family annoys you. And they all have a secret.
Except Cocoa, their 20-year-old cat, who is lovely and lives authentically. Cocoa lives, by the way, in case you're afraid of that.
It was charming, and Hornak works magic in getting you to feel for even the least redeemable Birch by the end of the quarantine period. There were a few plot devices that were over the top and barely believable, but I forgive. I can completely see this becoming a Hallmark Christmas movie.
My secret is that I now really enjoy books of the "privileged family w/secrets" genre.
kathydubs10's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting take on a novel about a family. I must say that I loved the breakdown, day by day of the Birch family preparing for quarantine. I think Hornak did a great job of setting up family dynamics and providing the reader with a history for why this Christmas quarantine would be influential for this family, in one way or another. Of course, the reader soon learns how this holiday was instrumental for the family in multiple ways. I didn't expect most of the twists and turns in this book, and I think that's what kept me reading. I didn't see as much character development as I hoped to, especially in a book that's almost 400 pages long...but it is a feel good kind of book that reminds you about the importance of family, spending time together, and sticking together in times of hardship.
bekrry's review against another edition
4.0
yeah i cried, so what
i liked this more than i thought i would! it’s a bit predictable, until all of a sudden it’s not, but really cute and interesting! made me wish i had a sister, would def recommend
i liked this more than i thought i would! it’s a bit predictable, until all of a sudden it’s not, but really cute and interesting! made me wish i had a sister, would def recommend