Seven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again…
Eva Mercy is a single mother 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 unexpectedly in New York.
When Shane and Eva meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but also the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen 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 . . .
The Review:
I’m a little annoyed I didn’t hear about this sooner.
A romance story about a black couple who were in love and now hate each other? Sign me up.
I found out about this book on the day it was published. I saw the ebook was 99p and snatched it up before proceeding to devour it two days.
Tia Williams wrote a story of the burden of pain. Both physical and mental pain and how that manifests into many aspects of our lives. That same pain can take flight forcing us to adapt our minds into unhealthy habits. Both Shane and Eva suffered from their fair share of pain. Their solace? It was in each other. Through their reconnection, we see the true pain in forgiveness and learning to let go of the past. And how choosing to be happy may be a lot harder than it looks. But once you do…it’s glorious.
“No matter how perilous the journey, it’s never over for true soul mates.”
I loved how this story was brought into the 21st century with so many current cultural references. I loved how these black characters were simply having fun. They could be themselves without the added acknowledgment of racism. That’s not to say that it wasn’t discussed. It was. However, this story was one that solely focused on Black love.
Eva’s story was one of strength and vulnerability. She’s a chronically ill author of an incredible best-selling vampire series. We’re introduced to her as she struggles to write the fifteenth book for her fans. She’s a heroine suffering with a condition and it’s portrayed so well! I think what I loved most about Eva was her relationship with her daughter, Audrey. Their conversations and close bond made me laugh and smile whenever I was reading about them. Especially, once you hear about Eva’s own childhood. The relationship she has with her daughter suddenly becomes even more heartwarming.
I also loved her relationship with her friends. It was clear that they only ever had Eva’s best interests at heart.
“It never ends, does it? Loving you never ends.”
And Shane Hall. Shane Hall. Hi? Hello? How many times do I need to say his name? Never has a male character had such an impact on me. I loved his quiet confidence. I completely understood why Eva was so enraptured by him. I was and he isn’t even real! His dedication to his students and his constant battle with sobriety often made me wonder about his past. Perhaps more so than Eva. However, Tia Wiliams soon revealed why and I was left blown away.
The fact these two beautiful people had to go through what they did growing up is heartbreaking. You feel for their teenage characters. Their brokenness becomes understood. They were both running from the pain from their childhoods. Throw in that one particular night and it’s no wonder that these two authors spent so long writing to each other in their stories.
“Because I barely survived Shane Hall. I barely survived myself…”
Whilst, they both began to heal from their respective trauma separately. I loved how you can tell the toxic behaviours they both exhibited in the past didn’t hold any weight as they got older. They weren’t reliant on each other but they did seek solace in one another. I began to understand that their love and understanding was an added embellishment to who they were.
They both had to learn to forgive themselves and move on from the past. Breaking generational curses can’t be easy but Shane and Eva really pushed through to do so. I found it intriguing how one person had to go searching for their past whilst the other was finally laying solid foundations for their future. An emphasis as to why these two people made sense together. They were two separate halves but by coming together you had all the pieces.
“And maybe that was what real, adult love was. Being fearless enough to hold each other close no matter how catastrophic the world became. Loving each other with enough ferocity to quell the fears of the past. Just fucking being there.”
I loved the play on time. The fact that this was the central theme only emphasised how love is timeless. A week, month, years…Eva and Shane weren’t going to fall out of love with each other. It was the opposite.
I’m already looking forward to rereading this book. I can tell it’s one I’ll be re-reading for years to come.
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