Seven Summers is a summer romance novel written by the talented Paige Toon. It follows Liv and Finn as they navigate their relationship over the summer periods, starting from teenagers and progressing all throughout their adult life. Is love enough to maintain a relationship? Below is my Goodreads Seven Summers book review.
I’m a huge fan of summer romance books and I picked this up one day (mostly because it looked pretty). A lot of summer romance stories are very similar and not that memorable. The feeling it ignites stays with you, but the story not so much. However Seven Summers by Paige Toon is different.
Firstly, it has a lot of depth to the plot. There are no moments that drag on. We have dual timelines which almost makes it feel like two separate stories, which in a way it is. There’s the past and the present. Although it’s the same character, the story is different because she is at a different point in her life. The same can be said for Finn. And that’s an important message this book provides. That we need different things at different stages of our lives. That’s one of the reasons that people can end up unhappy in their relationship. Because what they needed has changed.
This book has all the charm of a typical summer romance but with so much more depth. There is also the theme of grief; something that I’m sure most of us are all too familiar with. Losing a loved one can feel unbearable and it can break a part of you. You’re not the same person anymore. But what it also highlights, is what you need from your partner. It’s easy to be happy when everything is going well, but can it last when things are tough? That’s not to say that the love has changed, but the expectations have.
There’s another part of this book which was fascinating to me. It highlights the possibility of loving multiple people. I’m a romantic so I love the idea of soulmates (which this book also caters to). But I also love the idea of that one true love. That’s the person you’re supposed to end up with. A lot of books cater to that ideal and make it clear which characters we are rooting for. Seven Summers? Well, this one makes you fall in love with two guys.
It’s a fantastic thing to include in a summer read because it’s done in a light-hearted way (because of the different timelines) but it also shows that you can move forward from your first love. That there are times when you need to let go of the past and build a life that works for you. Don’t get me wrong, I was confused for a while reading this as I expected to find fault with one of the guys but it didn’t happen. Instead, it was life that happened. The same thing that happens to us in the real world. Sometimes things don’t work out and sometimes they do.
In most novels, when divulging into similar topics, it’s done in a way that it is quite miserable. In a way when you are waiting for the book to end just so you can feel a little lighter. But this story handles it in a perfect way. One where you are left light hearted. One where you can also revealuate your own life but without too much heaviness. After all, it is ultimately about love and happiness.
Sometimes books provide us with a perfect escape. Other times, they help us connect more with our own lives. They help us remember what truly matters but also to have hope. That’s why I love that this is a summer book that spans over years (and I don’t mean just a couple). There’s also a phenomenal epilogue which also shows that there is always hope in things working out. That it’s never really the end of the story. That none of us can predict exactly how are future will go (even if there are clear patterns). But one of the most important thoughts I was left with is that your gut feeling is usually right. It might just take a long time to see it.
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