Seven Days in June, Tia Williams

There is way more to this book than you might expect. Yes, it is rom-comish, yes, it is happy ever after. Yes, it has the boy and girl meet, fall in love, split, and get back together curve - but the undercurrent makes this book so much more.

Disclaimer: When I started the book, I was a little concerned I wasn't going to "get it." There is no denying Tia Williams and I come from different backgrounds, and I would be remiss if I didn't say that there were parts of the book I didn't understand, references to people, artists, and events, that are out of my wheelhouse. (This is nothing new, I don't understand a lot about many things, part of the joy of reading is what you learn.) BUT, what started as unknown for me became pure respect and fun as the pages turned.

Seven Days in June is a light-hearted book with sprinkles of middle-of-the-road issues and some intense and disturbing ones. There is a well-spun mixture of all sorts of subjects in this book: children of neglectful parents who come together to help each other, invisible disabilities that need to be recognized and not shamed, self-harm, drugs, loss of life, great parenting, open communication, understanding. Seriously, this book runs the gamut.

Eva and Shane have history. They knew each other when, and after 15 years apart, their lives collided again. Both have become well-known authors, Shane in a more traditional sense and Eva as a fantasy erotica novelist. When the two find themselves face-to-face at an event, their next seven days are a whirlwind of hot sex, deep conversations, uncovered truths, and unexpected realities.

The book is great, but my favorite part is how it is written. Tia Williams doesn't shy away from her truth and the truth of those she writes about. Tia Williams is a black author writing about black people. I loved the way she wrote with the correct vernacular, slang, and terminology. Yep, I'm a 55-year-old white woman, and some of it went way over my head - and it was beautiful. I don't want to read the same ole same ole written only by white, heterosexual cisgenders (not that this book had anything to do with sexuality or gender, but you get the point). I truly enjoyed the new perspective I got from reading/seeing things from a different point of view.

I also appreciate how Tia Williams spun the breakup part of the typical romance, HEA. In Seven Days in June, there isn't a huge deal-breaking, "I never want to see you again" moment where the girl (guy) storms out and bawls for days to his/her bestie and then 'poof' all better by some magical discovery of, 'oh, I didn't realize that was the case,' event. In Seven Days, the breakup is more subtle, realistic, and organic. Sometimes things don't work out, and we need time and space to figure ourselves out; that is precisely what Tia Williams allowed her characters to do, and I loved it so much.

Read Seven Days in June. You will get a whole new perspective on invisible disabilities (more needs to be written about this), you will need to wipe your brow during the steamy passages, you will fall in love with Eva's daughter, you will root for Eva and Shane to get their s*** together for each other, you will appreciate the realness in the sweet story. And, you will understand and appreciate the difficulties involving family.