Thanks so much Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley.

Liv and Finn met six summers ago. Their relationship is passionate, but there is also tragedy. He lives in LA so they make a promise that he will return every summer.

On the 7th summer, Liv's path crosses with Tom. They find themselves falling for each other but she then learns the reason why he has left home. Also, where is Finn?

This was a sweet and tragic story. There are a lot of emotions. Paige Toon has always done a good job with character development and crafting a story that will tug on your heart strings. I did not expect the ending, but it made sense and was a final way to wrap up a story.

This is a summer read that will absolutely pull at your heartstrings. Olivia is in her early 20s when she meets Finn. He's filling in for the lead singer at the bar where Olivia works and she immediately falls for the bad boy look. They connect instantly, but she's in England and he's from Los Angeles. This makes it tough for any kind of romance, but the pair is young and even though they only have a month or so together, they make the most of it. One night, tragedy strikes and this kind of binds the two of them together. She's a wreck, he's her support system. But he still needs to return to LA. They agree they can't have a romance, but he vows to return every summer. If they are both single, they can be together.

This sounds fine, but in reality, it wasn't. Who wants to only be with someone a few weeks a year? The fact that the pair is so drawn to each other that they are essentially ruined for others is the only part of this story that is hard to grasp.

The book alternates between going through when Finn and Olivia meet seven years ago and every summer up to the present... and the present timeline. In the present day, Olivia meets Tom, who is finally someone she can fall in love with. It's tough because Finn is always there, but Tom is brooding, but sweet. (And also has a lot of secrets, but Olivia doesn't seem to care, sigh).

I didn't love Olivia, to be honest. She seems to want to pine over Finn while then moaning that she isn't going to ever get over him. Her relationship with Tom was different, but not in a bad way. Paige Toon books always pull at your heart strings and this is no exception. I enjoyed the ride going through this one and the end was perfect.

A book that I absolutely could not put down or look away from. This consumed me for the last few days.
I was immediately hooked, within the first few pages. This storyline goes between past and present, a beautiful story about love and loss, on more levels than one. Tugged at my heart strings, big time. I will without a doubt purchase a hard copy of this for my library when this is released.


Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

This was a great story of a young woman sculptress who returns home hoping to tell her parents of her big plans for the future; but sometimes things don’t go as planned. It was a beautiful, but emotional story of love found, love lost, trauma, heartache and hope. This was my first Paige Toon book, but will certainly not be my last.

Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by Paige Toon?

Gosh dang it, I hate when a book makes me cry. I suppose I should be grateful it’s happy tears and I didn’t stub my toe or anything.

I’m a ball of emotions and I think I might just have to call my mama.

I chose this book because I’m shallow.

I loved the cover and the title so I thought id give it a whirl.

Seven Summers, isn’t a book you zip through. Take your time, absorb all the details.

The narration is done with perfection. These characters are “imperfectly, perfect” and will have you rooting along side of them and pulling at your heart strings.

Check out this teaser :

Six summers to fall in love. One summer to change everything.

Liv and Finn meet six summers ago working in a bar on the rugged Cornish coastline, their futures full of promise. When a night of passion ends in devastating tragedy they are bound together inextricably. But Finn’s life is in LA with his band, and Liv’s is in Cornwall with her family – so they make a promise. Finn will return every year, and if they are single they will spend the summer together.

This summerLiv crosses paths with Tom – a mysterious new arrival in her hometown. As the wildflowers and heather come into bloom, they find themselves falling for one another. For the first time Liv can imagine a world where her heart isn’t broken every autumn. Now Liv must make an impossible choice. And when she discovers the shocking reason that Tom has left home, she’ll need to trust her heart even more . . .

Oh do I miss the beach! Seven Summers has me wanting to move back to the beach and never leave! Toon wrote Liv's home in a way that made it so easy to go visualize the beach town I grew up near, and the bar we used to go to in the summers. It was like being wrapped up in a cozy and familiar blanket.

Usually books that flash back and forward throughout are not for me, but the author did it in a way that made the story stronger. I went from being Team Finn to Team Tom throughout the whole book. I rooted for Liv to find peace for herself throughout the entire story.

Seven Summers is such a beautiful story. Told in alternating flashbacks of six summers ago, now, last summer, now - you get the point - Liv meets Finn and they fall in love but don't seem to be able to be more than just an every-summer romance as their wants, needs, and commitments pull them in different directions. Will it always be like that for this couple? Set in Cornwall, I found myself looking up the different locations mentioned and now I can't wait to plan a trip there! I was drawn into the story right away as Paige Toon writes such likeable characters. Most importantly, the story gave me the happy ending that I love so much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review
Seven Summers by Paige Toon

Tropes
Grief
Second chance romance
Disability rep
Family
Loss
Self discovery journey

Thoughts
📚Like the format- multiple timelines give the reader context of past leading to present, supports character growth and change
📚Really enjoyed epilogue and how we get to see seven summers into the future
📚 An easy read that will pull at your heartstrings
🤨Interesting how each of Livs intimate connections (even Brendan the barista) are artisits (like takes to like?)

Characters
Liv- sculptress, caretaker, afraid to live life for herself, her wants and needs always take a backseat
Tom- medical condition, artist and helicopter pilot
Finn- troubled past, doesnt want to be in Aggie, musician
Michael- love the down syndrome rep, including his support worker, him learning to advocate for what he wants

Thank you to @netgalley and @penguin @putnam for my digital ARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

Paige Toon knows how to pull on all the heartstring’s of her readers, that’s for sure. She creates beautiful and stories and characters, too. Seven Summers did not disappoint. The premise was interesting and the writing was excellent. All the stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC.

How I feel about Liv and Finn would fill many pages and be as emotional as the songs that come from his heart. I followed their journey from the six summers Finn returned to Cornwall to be with Liv, through each time he left. Their love was all-consuming, tender, but also heartbreaking at the same time. Liv met Joe during one of those summers and she became torn between the two men. One, who leaves her every summer and a new man who will do anything for her, but what was he hiding?

This passionate and heart wrenching story was so compelling that I had to read late into the night because I needed to know who won Liv’s heart, or did she choose to follow her own path and pursue her career as a sculptor? To me, Cornwall is a beautiful place to live, especially in the summer when “wildflowers and heather come into bloom.” Who wouldn't fall in love in such a magical place? I felt Liv’s pain each time she said goodbye to Finn, and her joy as she watched Joe draw in the sand at the beach. Summer romances come and go like the waves on the beach. I wanted this book to last forever so I could experience the laughter, music and friendship all over again.

Oh how I loved this story. I loved the distance lovers of Finn and Liv. I loved their connection - no time is lost - love.

Their story was not conventional but it was theirs and I loved being engulfed in it. I loved the writing at the end as well.

Thank you #NetGalley and #putnam!

What an amazing book. The emotions that each characters feel, and make you feel. I cried during parts of the book - you can feel the sadness and hurt that Liv feels. Liv is able to not only have one love but to loves in her life. Both Tom and Finn have made her a stronger person through the loss that she had in the past. Weaving the past summers spent with Finn and the present summer spent with Tom was great. Though Liv has memories of Finn and her past, you can see how far she’s come from her early twenties. This book was great and Paige did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life. I cannot wait to read more of her books in the future.

Seven Summers by Paige Toon was the perfect summer read... in the winter! Right off the bat readers are taken to the English seaside to meet Liv and her first summer with Finn. The book starts off with a significant event that I wasn't expecting so soon. However, it was the catalyst to Liv's story and Finn's role in her life for the next seven summers. Told between each summer leading up to the present, These chapters were so important to building the character developments and understanding their choices. I was emotionally invested in Liv's journey through grief, with there passion for sculpting, with her relationship with her brother Michael, and of course with Finn. Without giving too much away, present. day Liv finally gets the things she deserves, but that come with a devastating outcome. This story was full of ups and downs, emotions, and lessons. I loved Paige's emotional writing and her way of weaving such a coherent story told over the course of seven years. It never felt sloppy or disjointed and the ending was the perfect conclusion and full circle moment. I can't wait for people to read this!

This book spans seven summers before present. Liv and Finn meet again and plan for him to come back every summer. It took me until about 20% to get into the story - and then I was in! I had so many conflicting feelings around Finn and Tom, but I will say the epilogue was probably one of the best I’ve read! Unsure how I’m feeling about it all which is what I think the author was going for!

Let me preface by saying that I’ve read one other Paige Toon book and I LOVED it, so of course I was over the moon to be approved to read Seven Summers. But man, it was so slow for the first 50% of the book. And I believe that because it was so slow I had a hard time becoming invested with Liv and Finn. Such a bummer this one wasn’t for me

i would like to start this review by saying WHAT DID I JUST READ??? seven summers was my first book by paige toon but now i’m intrigued, im definitely gonna read more of her books next year ! i read the book in two sittings because the beginning was kinda boring but it started getting interest by chapter ten, around the time the first summer chapters were ending.

seven summers follows liv and finn’s story, who experienced a lot of life tragedies. finn doesn’t live in cornwall but he promises liv that he will come back every summer, the romance will exist if both of them are single during summer but everything changes after summer number six and no one knew liv would meet someone else during summer number seven, the mysterious tom who changed everything.

liv’s playlist . such a cute thing in the book. if you know me you know i love music and this little detail that we see through out the whole book was so special. her having one playlist for everything and finn being like “im gonna make you one .” to eventually him writing songs about her <3

summer six. liv and finn’s last argument was tense and it got ugly but both of them needed to hear what the other had to say, it was really sad to see but at some point they were gonna explode. while reading i knew that liv needed finn in her life because being completely honest? not having finn would have changed her grief and i don’t know if she would have handle it the way she did. it was good that she had him by her side, as a friend or a partner. grief is one of the things no one should experience but unfortunately it’s part of our lives and both characters started their journey really young. they know that we never know what can happen tomorrow.

summer seven. it was confusing to me. i didn’t know if she was gonna be with tom by the end of the summer to the rest of her life or if she was gonna see finn and drop everything. at some point i was so confused and i started thinking about liv ending up alone, this happened when worlds collided aka finn saw liv with tom, i had no idea of who she would choose or if she was gonna choose someone at all.

i’m glad that she stayed with tom. if she chose finn that summer she would start with the “what if” journey with tom. liv already knew she wanted to stay in st. agnes but for the first time finn offered to move to st. agnes and as i said, i think she would always question herself about a future with tom.

i went through so many emotions reading this book, especially the epilogues. paige toon can you pay me a therapy session? i think i really need it ! but jokes aside, the epilogues were intense, we went from seeing liv and tom happy to sad and we know what happens in the end. i wasn’t expecting the last epilogue but i’m glad liv’s life turned out this way, i don’t think this book could have a better ending and for this i’m gonna rate this book a 5 stars read !

and as always, a huge thank you to netgalley and putnam books team for the arc !!

wow wow WOW. this book wrecked me until the very end. thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this author. this is my second book by her and she doesn't disappointment. she always leaves me with a sad but heart felt read. With this one i got some happiness by the epilogue thank goodness. I loved the past/present tenses alternate chapters. I was rooting for both love intrests tom and finn. In the end love won!

updated full review can also be seen @drbooksreads via instagram



📖ARC Review📖
@paigetoonauthor is an author that is an automatic buy for me. I was thrilled when @netgalley and @penguinbooks sent me a copy of her new upcoming book that release 5/21/2024. Thank You! I read her last book only love can hurt like this, and it was phenomenal.
❤️ This book gives you a two for one in the love story department. Liv is a sculptor and has studied her whole life to be one. Her world is turned upside down the summer after graduation. Yup bring on the grief! That summer she also meets FINN (love interest #1) an old high school mate turned potential rockstar. The chemistry between these two is that once in a lifetime feeling. Fast forward some years and in walks Tom (love interest #2). Tom character is kind of creepy in the beginning but as you keep reading you truly understand the person he wants to be. when you think of a person better complementing you and making you better think Tom. When you think messy, passion/chemistry picture Finn. As you keep reading you see that Liv needed both of them. The love they offered her was different in their own ways. She was able to receive it at the right times in her life. I was a little skeptical at first wondering how the story line of the two love interests would flow but it was perfect. The multiple timelines had me cheering for each guy.
👭 Lets talk secondary characters.... Her parents were loving and supportive. Her friends and I had a love hate relationship. They showed up in her time of need, but I hoped someone would step up to be the voice of reason in her life when left spiraling. I feel like everyone needs that one person that isn't sacred to tell it to you straight. Her brother Michael was my favorite. He has down syndrome, but he doesn't let anything stop him. The development of his character was also fun to read from the beginning to the end.
🛑 Trigger warnings: suicide, car accident, fertility, heart attack, depression.... the author always does a great job of writing love, mixed with grief and life traumas. So when I read the blurb for this one I expected nothing less.
#romance #downsyndrome #grief #heartbroken #art #depression #suicide #paigetoon #ilovebooks #books
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I can see people really loving this and I am happy I got the chance to read it. I was really struggling the first 50% but once the timelines came together I finally started enjoying it. This is not a light read, there is a lot of grief and loss so be ready to be teary eyed or ugly cry. This was my first Paige Toon but I know a lot of people love her writing and this book helped me understand why. I’d be interested in reading her other releases. Good author rec for people who are fans of Coho.

I was completely invested in the story from the beginning. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming in the best way. I love that the book feels very honest with the way that the relationships develop and the complexities of the characters.

I loved both Finn and Tom from the start so I was conflicted about how Liv would choose between the two, but I felt like it had the perfect ending.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!