Seven Days in June

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Synopsis

Seven days to fall in love, 15 years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again…

Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award?winning novelist, who, to everyone’s surprise, shows up in New York.

When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that 15 years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can’t deny their chemistry – or the fact that they’ve been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years.

Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect – but Eva’s wary of the man who broke her heart, and wants him out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before Shane disappears though, she needs a few questions answered…

With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy?as?hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love. 

Synopsis source: The StoryGraph

Review

Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Romance, BIPOC
HB&W Rating: 3.75 stars, 2.5 flames
View on StoryGraph, Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams is a book I really enjoyed, even if it didn’t go quite as deep as I was expecting. And honestly, that expectation might say just as much about me as it does about the book, because it taps into the same mindset that often traps Black authors in mainstream publishing: the idea that their work needs to be heavier, more painful, or more “important” to be worthy.

One of the things I loved most was the disability representation. As someone who also struggles with chronic migraines, I felt Eva’s pain deeply. The portrayal of invisible chronic pain was incredibly real: the masking to make others comfortable, the guilt of canceling plans, and the exhausting task of explaining why you can’t do something when nothing about you looks “wrong.” It felt seen without being preachy.

I also really loved that the FMC is a Black romantasy author. Beyond the genre recognition, there’s a lot of quiet commentary here on visibility, success, and who’s allowed to thrive without constantly proving their struggle.

This is not a cookie-cutter romance, which I appreciated. It’s gritty and realistic without sanding down the rough edges just to deliver a syrupy HEA. The chemistry between Eva and Shane is strong, and the book allows their shared history and unresolved pain to exist alongside the romance instead of magically disappearing.

It was also funnier than I expected. “I put the hug in thug” had me literally laughing out loud.

Audrey was an absolute standout for me. She’s full of wit and sass, but in her short chapter we’re also allowed to see her vulnerability. I loved her relationship with Eva and her back-and-forth with Shane.

I did wish we’d spent more time with Eva and Shane as teenagers. We’re told how messy and damaged they were, and I wanted a little more space to really sit in that and understand just how much it shaped them.

I also really appreciated the generational mother-daughter themes woven throughout the story. Eva’s great-grandmother abandoned her grandmother, and that initial rupture echoes through every generation that follows–each mother and daughter relationship carrying its own version of distance, resentment, or unmet need. That legacy ultimately culminates in Eva’s relationship with her own mother, Lisette, whose jealousy of Eva adds another painful layer to that dynamic. Against all of that history, Eva’s conscious effort to stop the cycle with Audrey felt especially meaningful. I did wish we’d spent a bit more time here, because this thread was so rich and emotionally resonant, but what we’re given still adds important depth to the story.

At its core, this book felt centered on acceptance, healing, and forgiveness—accepting who you are and living openly, healing from past trauma, and forgiving both yourself and others. Those themes are handled gently rather than deeply excavated, and while I felt some of that growth wrapped up a bit too quickly at the end, the conclusion still left space for hope.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book. The audiobook was fantastic, the story pulled me in, and while I wanted a little more depth, it felt intentionally soft rather than shallow.

Until next time,

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