I'm disappointed. After reading the synopsis of Seven Days of You I was expecting a contemporary I'd at least like. I'm generally pretty picky with my contemporary books but this one sounded unique which is why I requested an ARC of it.

My first and biggest problem I had with this book is the setting. Seven Days of You takes place in Tokyo. I was expecting lots of vivid descriptions because how many YA books take place in Japan? I should have kept my expectation A LOT lower because it didn't feel like we were in Japan at all. It could have taken place in New York or London and it wouldn't have made a difference. There was no world building AT ALL and I can't tell you enough how disappointed I feel. This epic setting was chosen for some reason and the author did absolutely nothing with it. A few scenes had some Japanese elements but they felt force, almost like they were just thrown in and landed wherever. If you didn't know anything or not much about Japan you'd be reading certain words and have no idea what they mean. Even some Japanese words were added sporadically without any context and it didn't even serve a purpose except to remind us that we were actually in Japan. You really wouldn't have remember otherwise.

My other issue was with Sophia herself. I found her extremely immature and boring. One moment she was hanging out with her friends having fun like any other teenager and the next moment she was suddenly five. I couldn't keep up with it at all. Even her romance scenes were awkward. I get the concept of it being her first love of sorts but can a teenager really be that immature? (I know they can obviously). In once scene Sophia's friends are basically complaining that she's never kissed anyone and then when she does kiss someone her first thought is "oh my gosh he's probably not a virgin". Umm. What? Can we calm down here please? It also drove me crazy that her nickname was Sofa. Who calls a person a piece of furniture?! It wasn't even once or twice either! She was constantly called Sofa during the entire book.

That was just one character I had a problem with! Mika was probably that worst best friend ever. She was mean and all she ever did was put others down to make everyone feel bad. David was a jerk and I have no idea how he has friends. Plus he was one part of a strange love triangle. Jamie was part two of the love triangle and was probably the most typical YA love interest ever. He had family drama yet was nothing but nice all the time. He could have been any other YA male love interest.

The only redeeming part of this book was that I honestly really enjoyed the first half. There was actually things going on and some decent drama happening. For some reason when I picked it back up again at about 60% it felt like the whole tone changed. I don't know if that was just me but I had a really hard time reading after that point.

This just felt like a very generic YA book hidden behind what sounds like an awesome premise. If you like to read boring contemporary plots (seriously I started skimming at the end) then you might like Seven Days of You. If you're looking for something special and unique then this isn't the book for you.

Sophia is no stranger to uprooting her life and moving to another country. Her family has done it at least twice in her short lifetime. An American in Japan, she's also spent summers in France with her father and his new family.

This move, however, will be different. This time, New Jersey will be their home base for good. She's got a week to say her goodbyes to the life she's known, the people in her life, and the country that she's only ever known as home.

She didn't anticipate a week of sharing the same continent with Jamie Foster-Collins, however. If she has any choice, leaving Japan without seeing Jamie's shadow will be a welcomed blessing. But Jamie seemed determined to fix whatever went wrong two years ago. Once upon a time, he was a part of their small crew along with David, the flirty Australian ambassador's son, and Mika, her best friend. They were friends who lost touch after his move to North Carolina. Conflating the issue was a painful episode that rendered their friendship close to obsolete. So hearing about his return a week before she leaves did not sit well with Sophia. And if she's being honest, the hurt that cuts deep goes way beyond some angry words accidentally sent by a text message, and deeper still than the words she threw on his face.

Sophia's emotions over everything was all over the place. Notably, her feelings towards the two boys who occupied her mind for most of her post-pubescent life. Worry not, you love triangle allergy sufferers. She'll only waffle for a second or two. After that, you're golden. I do feel for the girl, though. The adjustment that looms ahead for her as she will try to acclimate to another life will be tough. And the truth bombs that come her way in a span of 7 days can't be her idea of a good time. So yeah, she was in a tailspin. I suppose I don't blame her for having her moment of insanity. She'll grow up a lot. She'll realize the truth about her hero-worship for the father that decided he needed a new family. She'll try to repair the crevasse that was slowly widening between her and her sister. And most importantly, she'll face the reality that Jamie meant more to her than just a boy in her past she'd rather soon forget.

This was a cute, fast read. Nothing earth-shattering or life-changing. It was just a story about a girl leaving her life to start over again in her home country. There will be reminiscing; there will be crying. There will be drama and plenty of karaoke. There are parent-less kids who rule the night and kids who drink way too much. In a span of 7 days, Sophia sheds all the half-truths about her family, accept some real truths about Jamie, and look forward to a life in another continent even if she knows how difficult it will be.

Jamie and Sophia have just endured a 3-year break from each other when he lived in North Carolina while she was in Tokoyo. Jamie comes back to Tokoyo and Sophia is scheduled to move back with her mother and sister to New Jersey one week after he gets back. They had a falling out just before he left and she didn't take it well at all. She doesn't want to see him for fear of how he will look and act around her now. Jamie took it in stride and tried to get Sophia to see him again and be friends at least. Sophia was kind of clueless in her group of friends and missed some obvious signs that things weren't always what they seemed. Her best friends seemed to treat her like a child and she let them get away with it. When Sophia realizes that Danny doesn't see her the way she wants him to, she finds herself leaning on Jamie and can't quite understand why she gets this funny feeling when they are together. She fights her true feelings for him until he gets her to confess what she is feeling. She was quite bratty at times and, although book smart, did appear street dumb at times. For 17-years-old she was tossed around a lot by her mother's constant moving for work, her father's failure to spend appropriate time and emotional connections with her and her sister. The whiplash she felt was understandable. What was not understandable was how she would lash out at Jamie when things did not go the way she wanted them to. I did like how she started to stand up for herself with her friends and sister and didn't just sit back and let life happen. It was interesting how she was able to wrap her head around her leaving and tried to find solace in different ways. Jamie did do a good job of standing up for himself and was able to call her out on her selfishness at points. He had a lot going on himself and didn't use it as an excuse to push her away. Overall a good book and was glad to receive an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

A sweet romance set in Tokyo. I liked the setting, but thought the characters could have been developed more.

Review will be posted on 3/9/17

Sophia's mother is a professor at Rutgers University, but in recent years, she has been working in Tokyo and in turn, Sophia has spent the last years living abroad, making new friends, and getting used to the local customs. She has only one more week left in Tokyo before they head back to New Jersey and this whirlwind of a week is made even more complex when Jamie Foster-Collins returns. She has a complicated history with Jamie who has been gone for three years and now that he's back this turns Sophia's world upside down, not to mention the fact that it makes her last week in Tokyo filled to the brim with drama. Things escalate quickly in one week amongst her friends and top that with the romantic tension between Jamie and Sophia and you've got yourself a memorable last week in Tokyo. Cecilia Vinesse's Seven Days of You is a cute contemporary romance set amongst the interesting backdrop of Tokyo and studying abroad.

Sophia is a complex character in Seven Days of You. She's a bit nerdy and sort of collapses with Jamie's arrival. This irritated me a bit, but I couldn't hold it against her. I liked learning more of her back story, such as why her dad currently lives in France, what happened with Jamie three years ago, and the other interesting details of her past that are slowly revealed.

I also liked the character of Jamie in Seven Days of You, but I didn't find him as swoon worthy as I was hoping nor did I really feel the sparks between the two of them -- just some serious and awkward romantic tension. So, I was a bit disappointed with that aspect of the story.

The best selling point of Seven Days of You is the exotic setting of Tokyo. It's not everyday that there's a YA book with such a compelling setting; in fact, I think this is the first novel I've read set there, but I wanted so much more from Vinesse. She did an ok job describing the karaoke rooms, various restaurants, the clubs and of course the food, but I felt like it could have been developed even more. But do know that the setting of Tokyo was definitely my favorite part of the novel and because of this, I wanted even more.

I also really enjoyed the fact that Sophia only has seven days left in Tokyo and the author includes a countdown with each chapter. This definitely added to the sense of urgency and the fact that there's limited time, which separates this novel from some other YA contemporaries. So, while this isn't the next Anna and the French Kiss as many people compare it to, it's still an enjoyable and seriously cute read.

Sophia and Jamie are your typical friends who might be something more. I liked their dynamic of going form not wanting to be near each other to realizing that things did not end the way they should have when Jamie left Tokyo before.

Sophia is portrayed as your normal teenage girl who puts off packing until the last minuet opting to spend time saying goodbye to her friends, dealing with her depressed sister and thinking about maybe staying with her estranged father. I was not overly fond of Sophia’s sister and her negativity, and I was a little weary of the way things went down with Sophia’s friends, especially where her other friends are concerned.

This book definitely spoke to the reader about how relationships turn from one moment to the next.

I really thought the setting was cool. I have never been to Tokyo, but I could see the places that Sophia was going in my mind as they were described. It was a great way to bring the reader into the story.

Adorable story and wonderful setting. Definitely a love letter to Tokyo and the kinds of relationships where you're always wondering what if...

I hope there's a sequel!

Seven Days of You is a story about a teenager who is leaving behind friends and a city she loves to go back to the United States. This book centers around Sophia and her relationships with her sister, her best friends and the boy who broke her heart 4 years earlier. Everything in the book takes place 7 days before she is supposed to fly back to New Jersey.

I am going to come right out and say it, I couldn’t stand Sophia. While she was 17, she acted more like a child and it really grated on my nerves after the first couple of chapters. I mean, take it when she found out that Jamie was coming back…..her jealousy of his and Mika’s friendship almost consumed her. She was so focused on him becoming Mika’s best friend that it ruined those chapters of the book. To be honest, I skimmed those chapters because she annoyed me so much. The rest of the book really wasn’t any better with her. She refused to listen to reason (ie Allison) when it came to her moving to Paris.

Jamie was another one who annoyed me. He took Sophia’s crap when he came home and didn’t say a word in his defense (even to David who let it “slip” that Jamie was adopted). He just let it roll off of him. At one point, I wanted to say “Dude, what happened 4 years ago is in the past. Man up and stop letting them push you around.” The only reaction that I saw him have, in the entire book, was when Sophia kissed David on her last night in Tokyo.

David, I couldn’t stand. He just oozed player from the first page and, to be honest, I wasn’t surprised when something major was revealed later in the book. And I hated his nicknames. Sofa? Really? When I heard that, I imagined a girl who just let people sit all over her. He was condescending and to be blunt, a jerk.

Mika was actually my favorite person in the book. She came across as true (as weird as that sounds) and she fought for Sophia’s friendship when that stuff with David went down. I wouldn’t say that I loved her but I enjoyed it when she appeared in the book.

My other favorite person was Allison, Sophia’s sister. She had her own issues, her girlfriend dumped her and she was hurting, but she looked out for Sophia the best way that she could. I mean, she even took her to that tower and out to lunch to try to find out what was wrong with Sophia. She cared and she didn’t want Sophia to get hurt by their father…who makes promises and then breaks them.

I did think the story was cute and loved that it was set in Tokyo. I think the author did a great job of capturing Tokyo through teenage eyes.

The end of the story was pretty standard with a hint of a HEA.

How many stars will I give Seven Days of You: 3

Why: While I liked the story and the location, the characters ruined the story for me. Sophia and David acted like toddlers, Jamie wouldn’t stick up for himself and Allison was an emotional mess and was absent for 90% of the story. The only person who I connected with was Mika and even she was a jerk at points in the book.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Language. Also sexual situations and underage drinking

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Seven Days of You is a cute contemporary about moving away. I loved the Japanese setting and all the culture in the book. I did find the main character to be annoying, but I still really enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

This book has a really intriguing concept! Basically, it tells the story of a girl who has seven days left before she leaves Tokyo. When an old friend moves to Japan just as she is about to leave, their relationship develops at the most inconvenient time. I found this idea to be so sweet, as Jamie and Sophia try to spend as much time as possible together before Sophia has to go. Her departure is so much harder because she is moving to a different continent, so there is more to lose. There is so much drama and fluff in Seven Days of You, which created a nice balance and made this book so enjoyable.

I absolutely adored the Japanese setting in Seven Days of You! Japan has always been somewhere I want to visit, and I feel like Cecilia Vinesse did a nice job transporting the reader there. The descriptions of the attractions and the food seemed so real and made me want to go to Tokyo even more. I haven’t read too many books set in Japan, and I would definitely like to see more of them.

One of my only issues with this book was the main character. Sophia is not the ideal main character, as she is selfish and doesn’t treat her friends with very much respect. She is also annoyingly clueless and struggles with choosing between the boy who is actually nice to her and the boy who lied to her. She does have some redeeming qualities, but her immaturity and rudeness sort of overpowers them.

Seven Days of You is a cute contemporary about a girl with seven days left before she moves away. I loved the setting and the concept, but the main character didn’t do it for me. However, the book is remains enjoyable, and I would still recommend it.

An unrealistic and unrelatable YA novel that explores romance and first love. Did not finish.

<I>...I could feel the strings connecting me to my life snapping one by one. I was floating in the air , untethered, and I needed something to grab onto.<\I>

Set against the backdrop of Tokyo, Seven Days of You follows Sophia as her last week in the place she has called home comes to an end before moving back to the States with her mom and sister. Along with her friends, they set out for a week long celebration of making lasting memories, but soon things are complicated with revelations, betrayals, and the return of Jamie, a boy who had walked out of Sophia's life leaving more questions than answers.

Seven Days of You was a quick, sometimes hilarious (I see you Mika!), cute read. While I didn't connect with Sophia like I should have and some of her reactions to things going on around her were a little off putting, it wasn't a deal breaker and I genuinely wanted to see where her story would go.

Her relationships with friends and family are - to me - the driving force of the story and watching each individual one have their own issues and watching it resolve whether in a good or bad way gave the story a realistic element that I appreciated. I don't know if there's a sequel planned, but I was okay with how each relationship was left by the end.

While I didn't have any swoony feels about Sophia and Jamie I enjoyed watching them navigate around their passed issues and coming out on the other side better for it and by the end I was truly rooting for them.

Overall an enjoyable read about keeping those in your life that matter most and discovering the true meaning of home, all with Tokyo at your fingertips



*Thank you to Netgalley for offering this book to review.*

This was a fun YA romance that (happily) reminded me of Anna and the French Kiss. As someone who has never visited Tokyo, the setting of Seven Days of You was immersive. I could feel the bustle, smell the food, and experience the buzz in the air of the busy city. Sophia was acted in an age appropriate manner that made her angsty relationship with James endearing. I would have loved this story as a teen. As an adult, it made me wish I traveled more.

I liked this story. I found it to be a really quick read and while it wasn't the perfect story, it did have a lot of things going for it. I thought that the range of emotions that Sophia goes through in this story really rang true. The book was a little different than I had expected from the description and while there was a romance featured in the story this book was about so much more than that.

Sophia is moving to the United States with her mom and sister in just one week. She has spent the past few years of her life living in Tokyo and that is where all of her friends and her life is. Moving is never easy but moving so far away where the possibility of seeing your friends is incredibly tough. Jamie is moving back to Tokyo after spending a couple of years at a boarding school in the United States. Jamie and Sophia didn't part on good terms when they last saw each other. Sophia really wishes that he had waited until she left to come back.

Sophia soon feels a connection to Jamie like she hadn't felt before. He seems to be there when she needs him and he somehow finds the right words for the situation. It was fun to watch this pair open up to each other and make a connection. It is really too bad that the time that they have together is so limited due to Sophia's upcoming move.

This book takes place in Tokyo and I was really looking forward to experiencing a bit of this area. Unfortunately, I didn't really get a feel for Tokyo from this story. Sophia attends an English speaking school and her friends are largely like her. There were some food items mentioned but other than that this story felt like it could have taken place anywhere.

In addition to moving and sorting out her feelings toward Jamie, Sophia is also saying goodbye to her friends in this story. I felt like some of the drama between Sophia and her friends was unnecessary. Another thing that Sophia has to figure out is her relationship with her father. This was really one of the strong points of the book. I felt really bad for Sophia and thought that the emotions portrayed were realistic.

I would recommend this book to others. I think that the author was able to create an interesting story around a very realistic teen. I am impressed by Cecilia Vinesse's debut novel and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Little Brown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley and TheNovl.com.

This book totally surprised me in a mostly good way. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. First of all, I need to fly to Tokyo as soon as possible and eat all the food. ALL THE FOOD. Different foods were mentioned so frequently in this book and I was repeatedly looking up what they were and everything looked delicious. That being said, we don’t really get that big of a glimpse of Tokyo beyond the food and the weather. I would have liked a little more in that department to really set the right tone and atmosphere. Every once in a while Sophia would say, “I’ll really miss this [insert architecture feature/landmark]” and then that was about it. It almost felt like the author had never actually been to Tokyo though I’m sure that’s not the case. Another thing that didn’t really help in this area is that basically all of our characters are white (except for Mika and her family I think). Even random people on the street I kept picturing as being white–we might as well have been in the United States (but maybe that’s more my imagination’s fault than the author’s).

The characters were messy and had depth but even so, they were less than realistic. I mean, maybe that’s how ex-pat teens in Tokyo live? That’s the only explanation I can think of. We see a fair amount of Sophia’s mom, but most of their exchanges are through text and we mostly just get descriptions of Mika, David, and Jamie’s parents. The lack of parental supervision really bothered me. They’re all staying out until four in the morning, traipsing all around Tokyo, and doing a lot of underage drinking and while we’re told that some parents care, nothing is done about it. Seriously. Nobody gets grounded once?

I thought this book was interesting from the perspective that we’re coming into the lives of these characters at a time when everything is changing. There’s a lot of backstory and emotions that we’re just kind of thrown into when the story starts. Somehow it works though. I felt like I got a handle on who the characters were pretty quickly. A secondary character that especially intrigued me was Sophia’s sister, Alison. I thought their relationship was very interesting. As someone who has a not-super-close relationship and completely different personalities from her sister, I felt that I could relate to their dynamic in some ways. I liked that we could see Alison’s protective side coming out and in the end it was definitely apparent that they both care for each other.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. While the romance did happen quickly, I could buy it because of the history between the characters. I felt that Sophia was a very real and likable character and I loved that she’s super into Physics (hooray for a portrayal of a smart girl being normal!). On the other hand, there was too much swearing and underage drinking throughout the book for my taste and I wish that the adults hadn’t been villainized.

Overall Rating: 4
Language: Heavy
Violence: None
Smoking/Drinking: Heavy. A lot of underage drinking.
Sexual Content: Moderate, nothing explicit.

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Seven Days of You is exactly what this story is about. You follow along Sophia's last 7 days in Tokyo before she has to move back to the states. Sophia of course doesn't want to leave her friends and her life in Tokyo, but this time around she doesn't have a choice.

What I loved the most about this book, was the detailed description of the places they visited in Tokyo. I felt like I was walking right alongside them as the story progressed. The author describes everything with such vivid details. Now what lacked for me, was the story itself. As vivid as the places were, I felt like the characters and the story, lack that same attention to detail. With that being said, it wasn't a game breaker for me. I still wanted to know what would happen when the 7 days were up.

Then came the ending and I was bummed, I held on to some hope that maybe, just maybe, the author would WOW us with plot twist at the end. But the story held its principal of 7 days. I actually felt sad at the end for Sophia.

If you want something cute and fast to read, then grab a copy of Seven Days of You when it comes out in March. I would even say it would have been a great beach read, if this was summertime.

"You're terrifying the way a book is right before if ends. You know? When you have to put it down because it's too much to take at once. You are the most terrifying person I know."

<i> Seven Days of You</i> tells the story of Sophia who has been living in Tokyo for the past four years with her mom and sister. But the four year sabbatical her mom is on is up and they are leaving in a week to head back to the states. Sophie doesn't want to leave her life here, her friends (one of which she's had a big crush on for a few years. But during the final countdown an old friend returns to Tokyo and changes Sophie's view of the world and what she thought she knew about herself and her life.

I was really drawn by the premise of this book. In the beginning I found Sophie, our MC, to be naive, whiny, and sort of annoying. Which is why I had a hard time picking it back up to read after those first couple chapters. After getting through that slow stretch, I started to really enjoy the story and the characters. Sophie finally rethinks the way her life has been for the last few years. She begins to fight for herself and the things she wants. She sheds the "Sofa" persona her friends have made for to be. One of the things I really really loved was the ups and downs between Sophie and her sister Alison and watching them grow closer and open up as the story goes on.

I loved Jamie, he was so adorable and complex. I wish we could have gotten to explore issues that were arising during the story about his adoption and birth mom. I thought the build-up of the relationship and feelings between him and Sophie was well-paced considering the timeline of the story. Mika was also a good complex character, at times not always likable but I think that's what I liked about her. David, of course, made me mad but I found his role to make sense with pushing the plot along (though if someone put him in front of me with a bat, I can't say I wouldn't hit him).

I enjoyed the writing it made for a cute and fast-paced read.

The ending was bittersweet, and while I hoped Sophie would find a way to stay and be with Jamie I was also content with the way it ended. Just because this is a work of fiction doesn't mean that their lives stop when they fall in love and they need a happily ever after. They still need to live out the events that life throws at them not always be fixed and tied up with a pretty heart-shaped bow.

I found this book to be very cute and found it pulling at my heartstrings by the end. Kind of a slow start and didn't connect to the story or the characters right away but once it hit it's rhythm and I got into it I couldn't put it down.
**Huge thanks from the Little, Brown Books and NetGalley who provided this book in exchange for an honest review**

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sophia dreads leaving Tokyo, and she has only one week to come to terms with leaving her home - the only place that's ever felt like home, her friends, and her school behind. Just when things can't seem to be any worse for Sophia, Jamie comes back to Tokyo. Having left on bad terms for boarding school in the states years ago, Sophia wants nothing more than to wish Jamie's return away. The connection she feels immediately, however, is strong.

There is a lot going on in this book, and I feel like more backstory about their eighth grade year would have been helpful. Within the seven days, only a few of them actually involve Jaime, so to me the title was slightly misleading. Really, Sophia's seven days are about her sadness over leaving Tokyo.

Having never traveled outside the US, this book was a whirlwind, one week trip around Tokyo. That said, I am assuming the descriptions are realistic; they certainly are lifelike, and I could very easily imagine where Sophia was describing. I am surprised at how freely the teenagers come and go, but maybe that is part of the international school lifestyle.

Though there is some language, drinking, and non-explicit descriptions of sex, this book will be a hit where first love (with an international flair) is popular. For fans of Stephanie Perkins, Jennifer E. Smith, and many other YA romance writers!

Not really for me. I was hoping this would be a light contemporary - the cover seemed fun and the synopsis led me to believe there'd be more humor. It's a lot more angsty than I was anticipating with more language and mature content. Like a LOT more angst. I'm sure some people will love it, especially if you are fans of Stephenie Perkins and other more gritty contemporary YA. For me, it just wasn't what I was wanting it to be.

Seven Days of You is the story of a girl getting ready to leave the place she's always considered home. The book spans the last 7 days she's in Tokyo as she packs up her room and says goodbye to the friends (and enemies) and the city she's loved for so long.

I was very excited for the chance to review this novel. It sounded right up my alley--an angsty, romantic story set in an exciting, vibrant city. I love nostalgia, and was certain this book would be full of it.

And it was full of all these things! The first 30% or so of this story bored me, though. It took me a while to care much about Sophia's story, particularly when it came to Jamie, the boy she's loved to hate for a while. The description of her neighborhood and city are full of things unique to Tokyo, but they didn't do much to really show the city. It just felt like a collection of italicized words without much description.

The story snuck up on me, though. I loved Sophia's interactions with her family, especially her sister. I also loved how her friendship with Mika is depicted. They do some crappy things to each other, but it felt like a real relationship. I complain a lot about when girls are terrible friends to other girls in YA novels, but I wasn't filled with rage about that here. In Seven Days of You, the female characters talk about things other than romantic interests.

There is romance here, and it's slow burning and sweet despite the ticking clock. This is also a book about a love affair with a city. It's also about a girl coming to terms with disappointments--the ways your friends and family can disappoint you, learning how to cope when things don't turn out how you pictured it in your head, that you yourself may not be the person you thought you were.

It isn't a perfect book, but it's a very admirable debut. Once I got to the meat of the story, it sucked me in and I stayed up all night to finish it.