Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

208 reviews

strixy16's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, and Death of parent

zelle10orio's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Toxicas

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Car accident, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

bf9288's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this story. If you enjoy second-chance romances, breaking generational cycles of trauma, and healing this is a great book. I  recommend checking the trigger warnings. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Child abuse and Rape

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Self harm, and Abandonment

Moderate: Chronic illness and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident

faeofpotions's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book made me rethink real deep inexplainable passionate love. Shane and Eva truly were meant for one another and found each other across decades and timelines. Highly recommend 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Violence, and Abandonment

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.

---

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). 

---

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

palonx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

plueschi77's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism and Self harm

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

stellahadz's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

I really liked the premise of this book, but I went in expecting a much lighter romance than what it actually was. The characters' backstories are VERY dark (check trigger warnings), and the tonal shifts between the romance and the flashbacks to their traumatic teenage years were extremely jarring. In some parts of the book, I felt like I was getting whiplash every time I started a new chapter. It felt like there was so much going on all the time - from Eva's disability to her family issues to Shane's mental health to his desire to mentor kids from underserved communities to the upsetting connection that the two of them shared, it felt like we didn't get to know the characters nearly well enough, and as a result I didn't totally buy their love story. I wish the tone and pacing had been more consistent, that the characters had been a little more fleshed-out, and that

Eva's book about her family in Louisiana

was a bigger part of the story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, and Medical content

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail