Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

493 reviews

kays_reading_journal's review against another edition

5.0

On the fence of giving this five stars so that may change. I LOVED this so much. It was such a rollercoaster in the best way possible. Perfect comedic timing. Such strong characters. And oh my god I loved the flashbacks/ multiple timeline that was going on. And the epilogue ✨

The only thing that was a bit confusing at times was the pov. It’s third person omniscient but like- switching between characters in the middle of a chapter. (I’m used to reading books where each chapter is dedicated to a characters thoughts). It was a fun style choice tho and I liked it once I got used to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

Minor: Ableism, Gun violence, and Car accident

kiarra_s's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Self harm, and Abandonment

Moderate: Chronic illness and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident

ainaruizdegauna's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

When I started this book fir my book club, I didn't expect to get so attached to the characters and to cry so hard at some points of the book. But here we are. Brilliant book. You should read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Misogyny, and Car accident

ellalucys's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Sexual content

Minor: Gun violence

hannahyorkey's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Self harm, and Vomit

debonthebackstreet's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Car accident

pantslint's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I want to love this novel so badly. I liked it, but I can't get over how Shane and Eva's relationship read more as trauma-bonded than romantic. I admire the adults they've become, but I'm not super sold on the genuineness of their love for each other.

I mean, they met as teens and then went on a crazy bender because fuck everyone else, right?

I do love Audre and Cece. I love Shane, and I love Eva. They're all great as individual characters, and their interactions are so fun to read.

One particular qualm I have with Seven Days in June is its teeny-tiny hypocrisy. The characters, as authors, lament about how reductive it is that black characters have to suffer and overcome extreme hardship to exist in mainstream publishing. Yes, black joy exists in this book. However, while Shane and Eva are examples of black resilience, Williams still gives them extremely traumatic experiences and tragic backstories. Does it add depth to their characters? Sure. Was it necessary? I'm not sure.

Also... a child dies in this novel.

For what? For Shane's character development? For a glimpse into black hood hardship? Romance novels can absolutely address heavy topics, but I don't think that it worked out in this novel because it was trying to do too much at once.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, and Car accident

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I am not normally a contemporary romance person, but I was looking for something light and this book has been recommended over and over by everyone I know! Tia Williams creates such a fun story, it’s a little corny and a little silly but it makes up for that in heart.

I was reading a book club edition of the book, which included a small interview from Williams that explained how much she loves putting pop culture references in her writing. Personally, for me, it takes me a bit out of it. While I thought it was done well in the 2004 chapters, the dialogue between Eva and Audre sometimes made me cringe only because I’ve totally missed both generations at the time this was written. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed this book and felt so strongly for the characters. 

I’d recommend this book to any fans of contemporary romance. It was a lot darker than I expected, so I think there might be a little bit of something for dark romance fans (but nothing too extreme). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

ciaobellareads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I absolutely loved this book. Once I got into it I could not put it down. The characters are complicated, but loveable. There are some dark topics, but the book still has a lighthearted feel. I'd 100% recommend it and would def read it again. I wasn't in love with the ending, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness and Self harm

sweetcass20's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Grief