Seven Days in June
Since we have moved to three states in the past three years, one of the most challenging things is finding a new friend group. Fortunately, I have been able to keep up with friends long distance. While my friends are fantastic human beings, sometimes you need people nearby you can text on a whim to go to dinner on a Tuesday night. Personally, I have had success making friends by joining book clubs at local bookstores. Living in Northwest Arkansas has been no exception, and I am so happy I have been able to find my people at Pearl’s Books.
Another great outcome of book club is the different genres that I have been able to read over the past year. While my book preferences do range from historical fiction to fantasy, it is fun to get out of the box and dabble in lesser known genres such as comedic horror. I was particularly excited about our February book club pick because it fell in one of my favorite genres. Seven Days in June was a crowd pleaser not only amongst my book club, but also with GoodReads and Reese’s Book Club. I had no issue speeding through this romance novel in forty-eight hours.
While this novel fell into the category of romance, our book club quickly realized it was so much more than a tale between two lovers. The story follows the main character, Eva Mercy, as she is simultaneously battling a chronic illness, being a single mother to a pre-teen, and writer’s block with the latest installment of her erotica series. As if this Brooklynite didn’t have enough on her plate, she walks her old high school lover, Shane, at a prestigious Black Literary Event. The two simply can’t ignore each other, and not just because they are thrown on the same panel. This pair has been not so secretly writing about each other in their novels for almost fifteen years.
Throughout the story, Shane and Eva reconnect over the next seven days while simultaneously revisiting the week-long whirlwind of a relationship they experienced in high school. Ultimately, the pair must decide if they can move forward together, or if old habits are too strong to overcome.
Overall, this novel had so much depth to it besides a love story. Both Shane and Eva are well developed characters, and you can truly see how each of them matured individually over the years. I appreciate how the author, Tia Williams, puts in details explicitly showing a healthy grown-up relationship. I also liked how Williams portrayed Shane and Eva’s high school vices, and how overcoming them is not a streamlined process.
Besides the protagonists, there is also great character development with the deuteragonists. Eva’s daughter, Audre, is a spunky pre-teen with quirky hobbies. The bond between mother and daughter makes for a much different, yet delightful secondary love story. There are also layers that complicate this relationship, especially since Eva grew up with an absent mother. I love how the author also chose to explore that relationship and the need for Eva to have closure with her past in order to connect with her present self.
Eva is also surrounded by an elite group of black women. In particular, her editor CeCe is much more than a business partner. She is a do-it-all type of woman who is there for Eva even on her roughest days. Eva suffers from debilitating migraines since she was a child, and being surrounded by people who empathize with her pain is an excellent portrayal of living with an invisible illness.
When thinking of a recipe that encapsulates all the nuances this book addresses, my mind goes to a specific scene towards the end of the novel. Eva’s daughter, Audre, spends almost every summer with her dad and crunchy step-mom in California. Before she leaves, the pair have a tradition of getting dressed up and going to a fancy mother-daughter brunch.
While I do not know a lot about fine dining in New York City, I do know a thing or two about brunch. One of my family’s all time brunch favorites is coffee punch. Don’t let the name fool you, though, because it’s only lightly flavored with coffee. This sweet, frothy punch has been a crowd pleaser at brunch events for years, and I consistently have friends asking for the recipe. It goes great with mini quiches, muffins, or a bagel bar. I hope y’all try the book and the recipe because I found both absolutely wonderful.
Coffee Punch
1 ½ cups instant coffee grounds
5 cups of hot water
1 gallon of milk
1 gallon of vanilla ice cream
1 gallon of chocolate ice cream
Mix together the instant coffee and hot water. After the coffee is prepared, let it cool in the refrigerator in two different containers. Prepare the punch right before party guests arrive by mixing together one container of coffee with half of the milk, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate ice cream. It is important to note that a standard punch bowl will serve half of this recipe, so that is why it is recommended to cool the coffee in two containers. You can also easily half or fourth this recipe depending on the size of your party. This recipe is generally for a larger party of 40-50 people. Enjoy!