Have you ever read a book that left you wishing it hadn't included an epilogue? That's exactly how I felt after finishing "Seven Summers" by Paige Toon. Don't get me wrong—I'm a fan of Paige Toon and her writing style. She has a knack for drawing readers in and making us fully invested in her stories and characters. I was captivated by the plot of "Seven Summers" right up until the epilogue, which felt like a concession to those rooting for Liv and Finn.

I appreciate love stories with strong, realistic storylines. I'm not opposed to endings that don't necessarily result in the main characters ending up together. In fact, if it's well-written and there's a valid reason why they shouldn't be together, I'm all for it.

Liv and Finn share a tragic past that brings Finn back to St. Agnes each summer to be with Liv. They become each other's support system, but Finn's life is based in Los Angeles, where he's pursuing his dreams and trying to escape his own tragic history in St. Agnes. They agree not to contact each other during the rest of the year, with the plan to rekindle their relationship each summer if they're both single.

This arrangement works until they both fall in love with other people. Now, Finn and Liv are faced with difficult choices and ultimatums. Will Finn leave LA and his girlfriend to be with Liv in St. Agnes? Or will Liv leave everything behind—her life in St. Agnes, her brother, friends, and boyfriend—to be with Finn in LA?

I don't have any issues with the main characters, Finn and Liv. They're both broken souls finding solace in each other and facing the consequences of their arrangement maturely. They're relatable and realistic, and their determination to pursue their passions despite emotional struggles is inspiring.

Tom, Liv's boyfriend, is also a compelling character with personal struggles and losses. However, his storyline felt like a contrivance to push Liv and Finn together.

Honestly, "Seven Summers" could have been a solid five-star read for me if it had ended in the last chapter without the epilogue. Liv finds someone who chooses her despite difficulties, someone who is present emotionally and physically, someone she can depend on.

While I understand Finn's trauma and his struggle to commit, it felt like he was testing Liv's loyalty and willingness to uproot her life for him. When he sees Liv choosing Tom, suddenly he's ready to commit to St. Agnes for her sake. But Finn needs to resolve his own issues before he can be a stable, reliable partner for Liv.

In summary, I have mixed feelings about "Seven Summers." I wanted to love it as much as I loved Paige Toon's "Only Love Can Hurt Like This," but a major flaw in the story's resolution left me disappointed. However, this won't stop me from reading more of Paige Toon's work, as her writing feels like home to me.

"Seven Summers" will be available on May 21st. Thank you to Paige Toon, Netgalley, and Penguin Group Putnam for providing early access to "Seven Summers" in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this book was such an emotional rollercoaster! There was so much love, grief, wisdom, and feeling packed into this love story and it certainly kept my attention from beginning to end. I specifically enjoyed the addition of a character with Down Syndrome as I feel they are vastly underrepresented in literature. I had mixed feelings about the end as it felt a little fast paced and rushed, but I was happy with the final ending. Overall, an engaging and thought provoking read!

I really loved this book! The story line hooked me right away and kept me constantly picking up my kindle! I loved that it went back and forth between past and present, however the FMC annoyed me a little bit as she seemed immature at times. I can't wait to read more Paige Toon books in the future

This one is for the fans of EVERY SUMMER AFTER.

After loving ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS, I screamed when I got the Netgalley approval for SEVEN SUMMERS.

Overall I really enjoyed the alternating timelines and how they connected at the end. My favorite character was Michael and I loved that the author included a character with disabilities, as I feel they’re left out in many books.

Paige Toon had a way of writing that makes you lose track of time while never wanting the story to end. I didn’t realize her backlist was so lengthy and I will definitely be reading more of her works in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Ugh I’m for sure the odd one out here, but I just could not get into this book. I only read about 13% of this one, but ended up “abandoning ship.” The last book I read by Paige Toon was In Five Years, which I didn’t love and hated the ending (it actually made me mad). And this book feels like the same story to me? Same setting, same pub, similar friend group, same art studio, friends go surfing on the weekend. Is everyone in Cornwall the same exact person? Is Paige Toon really that unoriginal that she has to reuse the same ideas over and over again? It’s not worth it to me. I struggled through that last book hoping for a happy ending and was sorely disappointed, so this book is a waving red flag for more disappointment and a waste of my time. Sorry to be so blunt. I’m thinking she might not be my kind of author.

This is a story about Liv's life and decisions along the way. There is a lot of grief and loss and emotions. The book goes back and forth past leading to present to future.

What I liked: Liv's relationships with Finn and Tom. Two very different men with similar core strengths. Liv's relationship with her brother Michael and her friends. The last third of the book gained my interest and went much more quickly. I wish the whole book was like that for me.

What I found I didn't like: Lengthy summers before made me want to skip chapters. I found myself putting the book down for the first half and forcing myself to read it. I'm not sure I understood why Finn and Liv couldn't find a common ground to be together in the beginning. It was pretty predictable how the story would end.

I really wanted to love this book, but I found it just OK.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Seven Summers, this is my honest review.

A love story set over seven summers, the first summer being the one when Liv meets Finn, but also the one when a terrible tragedy occurs. It sets the stage for every summer after and bonds the 2 of them together. It is told from Liv's POV and jumps from This Summer to the previous summers as Liv experiences heartbreak with Finn over and over again.

Paige Toon does a great job with the characters in this novel. I liked Liv, her brother Michael, and her group of friends. The most tragic part of the book for me was the Epilogue, heartbreaking and emotional in a good way.

I’m emotionally gutted! What a rollercoaster of feelings! This was my first Paige Toon book and it definitely won’t be the last. I’m looking forward to reading many, many more of her works.

Thank you NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for sending this book for review consideration

I love a second chance romance and was so excited for this book. This story hooked me right away, but then it fell a little bit flat for me. I found it to be a little slow in the middle, and picked up again around 75%. This book is filled with heartache, grief and loss, and was not a light read by any means. I think I was expecting a more of a lighthearted summer romance. I feel conflicted about it, because I think the character development was underwhelming yet I still was really rooting for and felt for these characters.

As always an emotional and heart wrenching read from Paige Toon. I hate love triangles but PT handled this really well. Definitely worth a read. 3 🌟

My first venture into the world of Paige Toon was more than I could have hoped for. Seven Summers is the story of Liv and the summers she spent falling in love with Finn. Summers spent navigating grief, instant adulthood, sudden responsibilities, and making dreams come true. The timing isn’t quite right for Liv and Finn year after year, but their love for each other - their desire for happiness for the other - is bigger than everything else.

I loved the character growth shown as the years progressed. The characters went from young and naive to wary yet wise. I loved rooting for Liv and Finn at times then rooting for something else at others. This book reminded me so much of the storytelling in my own book, Never Too Far Away, which made me feel connected to the story on a deeper level.

Loved loved loved and highly recommend this delightful summer read! Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

This is my first Paige Toon book. Wow!, I was not prepared, and these characters will live with me for awhile. It gives a rollercoaster of feels until the very end. I absolutely loved it. This is not a romcom, It's is a book about loss, grief, family, and ties that bind. It will break your heart, but it does have a happy ending. I fell in love with the Cornwall setting. I wish I had followed the author before I read the book. She does research videos showcasing the locations, which really bring the scenes to life. This will definitely not be my last Paige Toon book.

This was an enjoyable, compulsively readable romance! I enjoyed the alternating timelines and looked forward to each switch back and forth. The characters were fun to follow throughout the book. The beach setting for the majority of this book also added to the reading experience for me. Overall, this was a lighthearted book that was great to read!

I’d be interested in reading more of Paige Toon’s work and I’d definitely recommend this book to romance readers!

🐚 Book Review 🐚

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: May, 21, 2024

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This was my first book by Paige Toon and what a great first book! I wanted to hold it to me and sigh. I’m not sure what it is about the summer but it has magic and love possibilities. Toon did amazing capturing that. The story was slow here and there but great overall!

Perfect for fans of:
🐚 Singular POV (Liv)
🏖️ Dual timeline
🐚 Beach town
🏖️ Love pact
🐚 Heartstrings will be pulled
🏖️ Fade to black spice

⚠️Triggers ⚠️
🛑Suicide (only mentioned)
⚠️Death of parents
🛑Grief/depression

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Whewww, what a wild ride! So ok this book starts out with Liv finding these mysterious artworks in the sand that she is drawn to and then subsequently meeting the artist, Tom, who just happens to be renting out part of her house. Then we jump backwards 6 years to her first meeting with Finn, a man from her past who moved away but is back for the summer. The rest of the book follows suit with the dual timelines until they merge to the present/future. The first half of the book was a little slow moving for me. I found myself a little bored at times with some of the long winded descriptions of places and things that generally weren’t that relevant. I feel like there were lots of friends thrown in but they weren’t necessarily fleshed out so I found myself not really caring about them. I do wish there could have been a little more meat to them. Anyway moving on her flashback back between Liv and Finn falling in love over the span of a couple of summers in the past and Liv and Tom falling in love during the current summer. *SLIGHT SPOILERS* I’m a sucker for underdogs so I totally loved where we went with Tom and then I didn’t. Lol. Honestly it’s my own fault because I should’ve seen it coming. Now way were we set up with 6yrs worth of summers with Finn just for waltzing off into the sunset with Tom. But to tell you the truth I was 100% fine if we had. 😭 I loved Amy’s speech to Liv at the wedding, I was literally sitting in bed co-signing her like “yesssssss, you tell her girl and she better listen”. I wish we had gotten a better reason for the way they treated their relationship during the regular months. I get that a lot of these stories need angst and whatnot but I wish we started getting some believable reasons. I feel like she had dumb reasons for not wanting to talk to him ALL YEAR aside from summer when they can hook up and lay in each other arms for 2 weeks. Like if you still feel that much of a connection spanning years why limit yourself to only talking for such a small time. It’s not like it worked. You claim it would be too hard and you’d be waiting for him but then it’s what you did for 6yrs anyway so what was the reason to not talk year round? Sigh. Aside from my man Tom (I do not forgive you Ms. Toon) I did enjoy the story. The epilogue was cute and it was an overall enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend you read for yourself. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me this ARC.

This book was a little bit of a wild ride, switching from the current summer to the summers of past. The events in the beginning certainly took me by surprise but I found the ending to be predictable and not satisfying. There were just parts that also felt very dramatic for no reason. Also fair warning, I would not describe this as a love story.

This was my first book by Paige Toon but certainly won’t be my last! This is the love story of Liv and Finn, told over the current summer and flashing back to the previous six summers. This emotional story features joy, profound sadness, loss, grief, and love in all its forms. Liv’s growth and maturation throughout the book felt so relatable, as did the depth and conflict of her feelings for Finn and Tom. My only critique is in the epilogue, which felt rushed when compared to the rest of the book, however it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this wonderful ARC.

I read this book in one sitting. I’ll be honest I think you’re supposed to be invested in Finn and livs romance but it took me awhile to get there. However I loved her love story with Tom and that story really made me love this book. The ending didn’t come as a surprise but it was still crushing but I’m glad she got her hea.

The perfect romance book to read this summer.

This book goes between the past 6 summers and the current summer. Liv meets Finn 6 summers prior and they start a little summer fling. Tragedy hits just as they take the chance to be to something more. Finn has his sights set on LA and leaves every summer to be with his band. However, they agree that every summer he will visit and if they are single they will pick up where they left off. There are a lot of highs and lows to this arrangement that were so real.

Everything is great until Tom walks in. A mysterious man visits during the 7th summer. Through the highs and lows of Liv and Finn, Liv takes a chance on Tom. I liked this part of the story because there was a big mystery behind Tom. Why was he there and what was he hiding? When we found out why he was there I was a little shocked and knew where this was heading.

I loved that we got an epilogue but felt that some stuff could have been taken out to get more from the changes that happened at the end. I don't want to say much but it just felt rushed and I would have loved more from how everything came about. I found myself skipping over some of the art stuff. That was just me but the art info isn't interesting. I did love what she did, there were just some parts that got long.

4.5

This was my first book by @paigetoonauthor and I was not expecting to be so overcome by emotion throughout this entire book. At about 50% in, I texted my friend and said “this book is going to wreck me”. It was an accurate prediction. This was a story of loss, grief, love, and self discovery. Liv is such a strong FMC and she has really been through it. So has both Finn and Tom. I loved how this was told over seven summers but the epilogue touched on the seven summers after the story wraps. It was so beautiful and moving that I predict this to be one of my top reads for the year.