cover image Seven Days in June

Seven Days in June

Tia Williams. Grand Central, $27 (336p) ISBN 978-1-5387-1910-7

Williams (The Accidental Diva) explores how trauma affects relationships in this emotional romance. When Eva Mercy and Shane Hall met as teens, their instant attraction was so explosive that the relationship burned itself out before it had a chance to get off of the ground. Now Eva is a bestselling erotica author and Shane is a literary darling—and the pair are thrown back together in New York City. But will they be able to make their relationship work as adults or will their dark pasts get in the way? Growing up, Eva was neglected and frequently preyed upon by her mother’s boyfriends, resulting in serious abandonment issues; meanwhile, Shane struggles with guilt over surviving the car crash that killed his foster mother. To be together, they’ll have to find a way to mend past hurt. Williams has a knack for realistically portraying how childhood trauma lingers into adulthood. In her exploration of how people cope, she also delivers hope: psyches can be mended and relationships can help to resolve pain. Williams doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of human experience, and her characters are fully formed and believable as a result. This is a winning romance. [em]Agent: Cherise Fisher, Wendy Sherman Assoc. (June) [/em]