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A review by doodlebeanz
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I would give this book infinite stars if I could on here. This was top five books of 2024 so far, calling it now. This book will live rent free in my head for a long, long time. I wish I read it in the summer since it is such a summer read, but the magical realism made it perfect for autumn and spooky season... and quite honestly, I would read this book during any season. It does not have a seasonal category, it is a book that can and should be read whenever!
This book has eluded me since earlier this year. I read the description a while ago and immediately went to Libby and put it on hold, and it said 'several months wait', so naturally, I forgot about it. Finally, it got delivered in about June... I was reading a few other books that I was really enjoying, pressed the 'deliver after...' button. Long story short, it arrived 3-4 times before Libby said 'you pushed it too many times, you are officially at the bottom of the wait list again'. Now, finally, the second week of October rolls around... and I get the Libby alert that it is ready for me again and I did NOT HESITATE to click the burrow button. I was not letting it get away again. And thank god I didn't because Jesus CHRIST on a cracker, I loved this book.
Let's start with Lemon... one of my favorite FMC's in a romance novel of all time. I normally hate the FMC in romance books (Poppy from PWMOV, I am looking right at you.) They are usually so incompetent and annoying and whiney... but Lemon was not any of those things. She was self-assured, smart, witty and funny and she did not need any man to make her whole which was a trait I loved most about her. She was a breath of fresh air for me, and even when she did haver her little hiccup moments, I still adored her. She owned her mistakes and she listened to her intuition and other's advice as well, and followed her heart. She was SO well written and I adore her forever.
Iwan... oh Iwan. What an adorable little golden retriever boyfriend. He was so sweet and adorable and silly and just a perfect MMC. Such boyfriend material, I wanted to squish his cheeks so many times. I found him more annoying than Lemon and that's a reach because neither of them were annoying. He was such a real character - it felt like I knew him, like he could be any person on the train with me just living their life and doing their best in NYC. His issues and concerns were so based in reality, having to sell his soul in a way to live his dream and to make a name for himself, all while wanting to make his grandfather and others around him proud which was so catastrophically sad to read. He is top tier book boyfriend material.
My one and only gripe... I did not understand the magic. Now after finishing the book, I kind of understand it more but when Lemon meets Iwan in the future (present? lmao who knows), he remembers her but that didn't make any sense to me initially. How could he remember her if she was in the past but yet in the present... Oh my god, just typing that makes my head hurt. BUT, I soon realized that it does actually make sense, it's just really confusing! He remembers her in the past, she thinks of him in the present. If I say it like that, it's much more simplistic. She doesn't have any memory of him (besides for the cab ride they shared, which I am also slightly confused about but that's okay, I will just accept that I am dumb lmao) because he's in her present... he remembers her because she was in his past. It's a lot like the time-turner scenes in HP Prisoner of Azkaban. I still don't quite understand how the time-turner worked, and how there were 2 versions of them all (thankfully, Poston did not take us down that windy of a magical road, thank god) but if you think about it logically, it does end up making sense. If you really focus on it and don't stray too far from that one point... or else I could be here for a long while trying to put it all together.
I just recently learned what 'anticipatory grief' is and this book made me feel that ten times over. Poston writes grief so well. This book is filled with so much grief and sadness but it's buttoned up into a sweet romance book about two people falling in love in a magical apartment... but I think that's one of the main reasons why it stuck with me so much. It wasn't one dimensional like other romance novels are. It is based in grief and perseverance and moving on, with a side order of romance and silliness and adorable moments. Lemon wasn't properly grieving the loss of her aunt and she needed to meet Iwan (past-Iwan) to finally say goodbye to the apartment and to finally start her grieving process. The apartment brought her Iwan to help her through that process and in letting go of her aunt and her aunt's apartment, she also managed to find herself and her true happiness in life.
I also love that Poston didn't write Lemon and Iwan's relationship in the way that they completed one another, because that is such an inaccurate image/description of love and relationships. Relationships are all about someone helping you to feel complete, not completing you fully, which is where a lot of relationships fail because people have this expectation that once they fall in love, that person will take away their issues and problems when in reality, YOU are the only person who can do that for yourself. My mom once said that every person has a puzzle, and you are in charge of doing your own puzzle... someone in your life, like a partner or even a friend, can HELP YOU with your puzzle and you can help them with their own, but in the end, you are responsible for your own puzzle/life. You cannot take pieces of someone else's puzzle and jam them into yours, it's like trying to force a square into a circle, it just won't work. No one else can complete your puzzle but you and I think that Poston wrote this beautifully with Iwan and Lemon. They both helped one another find themselves again, figure out heir own happiness and what they each want as individuals. Iwan didn't fix Lemon and Lemon didn't fix Iwan - they just encouraged and supported one another, knowing that they would figure it out on their own.
I realize after this book that I am HERE for magical realism. I love it. I love fantasy too, but sometimes fantasy is just so hard to get into, but a book that is based in the real world but has elements of magic in it... I eat that right up with a fucking spoon. I am running, not walking, to Barnes and Noble to get Dead Romantics and A Novel Love Story because these are books I need to own... and this is coming from a girl who does not like romance books. Ashley Poston, you are phenomenal and god bless The Seven Year Slip 🍋🤍💫
This book has eluded me since earlier this year. I read the description a while ago and immediately went to Libby and put it on hold, and it said 'several months wait', so naturally, I forgot about it. Finally, it got delivered in about June... I was reading a few other books that I was really enjoying, pressed the 'deliver after...' button. Long story short, it arrived 3-4 times before Libby said 'you pushed it too many times, you are officially at the bottom of the wait list again'. Now, finally, the second week of October rolls around... and I get the Libby alert that it is ready for me again and I did NOT HESITATE to click the burrow button. I was not letting it get away again. And thank god I didn't because Jesus CHRIST on a cracker, I loved this book.
Let's start with Lemon... one of my favorite FMC's in a romance novel of all time. I normally hate the FMC in romance books (Poppy from PWMOV, I am looking right at you.) They are usually so incompetent and annoying and whiney... but Lemon was not any of those things. She was self-assured, smart, witty and funny and she did not need any man to make her whole which was a trait I loved most about her. She was a breath of fresh air for me, and even when she did haver her little hiccup moments, I still adored her. She owned her mistakes and she listened to her intuition and other's advice as well, and followed her heart. She was SO well written and I adore her forever.
Iwan... oh Iwan. What an adorable little golden retriever boyfriend. He was so sweet and adorable and silly and just a perfect MMC. Such boyfriend material, I wanted to squish his cheeks so many times. I found him more annoying than Lemon and that's a reach because neither of them were annoying. He was such a real character - it felt like I knew him, like he could be any person on the train with me just living their life and doing their best in NYC. His issues and concerns were so based in reality, having to sell his soul in a way to live his dream and to make a name for himself, all while wanting to make his grandfather and others around him proud which was so catastrophically sad to read. He is top tier book boyfriend material.
My one and only gripe... I did not understand the magic. Now after finishing the book, I kind of understand it more but when Lemon meets Iwan in the future (present? lmao who knows), he remembers her but that didn't make any sense to me initially. How could he remember her if she was in the past but yet in the present... Oh my god, just typing that makes my head hurt. BUT, I soon realized that it does actually make sense, it's just really confusing! He remembers her in the past, she thinks of him in the present. If I say it like that, it's much more simplistic. She doesn't have any memory of him (besides for the cab ride they shared, which I am also slightly confused about but that's okay, I will just accept that I am dumb lmao) because he's in her present... he remembers her because she was in his past. It's a lot like the time-turner scenes in HP Prisoner of Azkaban. I still don't quite understand how the time-turner worked, and how there were 2 versions of them all (thankfully, Poston did not take us down that windy of a magical road, thank god) but if you think about it logically, it does end up making sense. If you really focus on it and don't stray too far from that one point... or else I could be here for a long while trying to put it all together.
I just recently learned what 'anticipatory grief' is and this book made me feel that ten times over. Poston writes grief so well. This book is filled with so much grief and sadness but it's buttoned up into a sweet romance book about two people falling in love in a magical apartment... but I think that's one of the main reasons why it stuck with me so much. It wasn't one dimensional like other romance novels are. It is based in grief and perseverance and moving on, with a side order of romance and silliness and adorable moments. Lemon wasn't properly grieving the loss of her aunt and she needed to meet Iwan (past-Iwan) to finally say goodbye to the apartment and to finally start her grieving process. The apartment brought her Iwan to help her through that process and in letting go of her aunt and her aunt's apartment, she also managed to find herself and her true happiness in life.
I also love that Poston didn't write Lemon and Iwan's relationship in the way that they completed one another, because that is such an inaccurate image/description of love and relationships. Relationships are all about someone helping you to feel complete, not completing you fully, which is where a lot of relationships fail because people have this expectation that once they fall in love, that person will take away their issues and problems when in reality, YOU are the only person who can do that for yourself. My mom once said that every person has a puzzle, and you are in charge of doing your own puzzle... someone in your life, like a partner or even a friend, can HELP YOU with your puzzle and you can help them with their own, but in the end, you are responsible for your own puzzle/life. You cannot take pieces of someone else's puzzle and jam them into yours, it's like trying to force a square into a circle, it just won't work. No one else can complete your puzzle but you and I think that Poston wrote this beautifully with Iwan and Lemon. They both helped one another find themselves again, figure out heir own happiness and what they each want as individuals. Iwan didn't fix Lemon and Lemon didn't fix Iwan - they just encouraged and supported one another, knowing that they would figure it out on their own.
I realize after this book that I am HERE for magical realism. I love it. I love fantasy too, but sometimes fantasy is just so hard to get into, but a book that is based in the real world but has elements of magic in it... I eat that right up with a fucking spoon. I am running, not walking, to Barnes and Noble to get Dead Romantics and A Novel Love Story because these are books I need to own... and this is coming from a girl who does not like romance books. Ashley Poston, you are phenomenal and god bless The Seven Year Slip 🍋🤍💫
Graphic: Suicide and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content