Cover Image: Seven Summers

Seven Summers

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I love Paige Toon, and this setting of this book was dreamy, but I'm sad to say it isn't a new favourite. I felt that Liv and Finn meeting, right up to him leaving for the first time, was very rushed - so I didn't care that much when he first left.
Later, however, Tom's introduction fell flat for me. We got to see Liv and Finn reunite every summer, star crossed lovers who just couldn't make it work, and by this point I was rooting for them. Enter Tom - I just didn't care for him like I did any of other characters, and I predicted what was going to happen early on.
There were some really lovely moments throughout the book - Liv's relationship with her brother Michael, and seeing some of the interactions within the friendship group being some them.
I also felt the ending, and particularly the epilogue, was quite rushed - whilst the eventual ending was the outcome I'd have liked, it all felt a little too convenient.

Was this review helpful?

I have been a fan of Paige Toon since I first read Chasing Daisy years ago. I just checked the release date for Chasing Daisy and found that it was published 15 years ago this year which makes me feel ancient! Seven Summers is Paige’s latest release and all the same thing I loved about Chasing Daisy - the characters, the emotions and the setting - are all still my favourite things in her writing, and Seven Summers is not short on any of them.

Seven Summers is the love story of Liv and Finn. Liv is the narrator throughout so I became quite attached to her. The timeline flicks between the past and present where Finn still features in Liv’s life, just in a completely different way.

The past scenes explore the relationship between Finn and Liv developing from friendship to romance and spanning the length of time they’ve known each other they also follows the ups and downs and highs and lows of life. Liv experiences quite a lot of trauma early on in the book and that was really just an emotionally wrecking experience. A lot of the story focuses on her picking life back up from there, figuring out how she can pursue her dreams in this altered reality she’s found herself in, and figuring out how long distance can work between her and Finn.

In the present summer, Liv has figured out how to follow her passion - sculpting with clay - and is making it work from her hometown where she can be close with her school friends and her brother. A stranger comes in to her life and signals the start of another summer romance.

When you reach the epilogue everything is tied up nicely and all the characters are happy with the way their stories have unfolded. Until you remember it’s a Paige Toon book you’re reading and she’s not quite finished wrecking you yet. Cue another epilogue….

Was this review helpful?

This was the first Paige Toon book I've read and I wasn't disappointed. I'll be reading many more!

I loved the characters, the storylines and had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen with Liv and Finn and Tom! Would she wait for Finn each year? Would she fall for Tom? Or would something else happen that was more unexpected - you'll have to read to find out.
I laughed and cried my way through this book, but a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Was this review helpful?

Paige Toon has triumphed again with her latest offering. Toon has the remarkable ability to combine love and heartbreak and takes the reader on such a wide range of emotions through her writing.

Full of unpredictable moments and characters that will stick around in your head Seven Summers was a fabulous read that filled my heart with warmth but also left me in tears by the end.

I loved the different relationships formed in the story and Toon will make you fall in love with the characters from the first few pages.

Seven Summers hooked me from the start and when you throw in the beautiful Cornish setting this is a must read for romance fans out there.

Loved it! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 from me.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to the publisher for my early copy of this book. Tracking the history of Liv and Finn across 7 summers, it’s a great read. The setting in Cornwall is gorgeous and the characters are likeable. With love, humour and heartbreak it’s a book that hooked me from the beginning!

Was this review helpful?

This book was an emotional rollercoaster. I really enjoyed watching Liv and Finn grow up as the book progressed. I found myself rooting for everyone even though I couldn’t see a way for everyone to be happy. But honestly the heartbreak was real.

Was this review helpful?

This book is so slow, especially in the first half, I was losing interest long before it began to pickup, It is so grief laden, with heartache upon heartache that it was a real struggle to finish.
The writing style I found a bit irritating, short sentences, short chapters, and jumping back and forth in the storyline. This hampered the flow of the narrative for me, unfortunately. This is my first book by this author, I don’t think her style is really what I’m looking for in an author, but I’m sure this book will be enjoyed by many.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

What a fabulous read this turned out to be! Liv, Finn and Tom are all gorgeous characters, all with vulnerabilities as well as talents and it is fascinating to see how their stories develop. Moving backwards and forwards in time, you slowly build up a picture of their backgrounds, especially with Liv and Finn and understand how their friendships have come about, Cornwall is a stunning backdrop and you really feel as though you are walking in their footsteps and gazing out to sea. In fact, the landscape is an important part of their story.

Family and friends are all key to the characters actions. Liv is drawn through tragedy back to her childhood home, feeling a huge responsibility for her brother. Finn is running away from his childhood in many ways, but his love for his grandparents and brothers draws him back. Tom is looking for a new start. This is the ideal book to get involved in as Summer approaches. It will draw you in with humour but also some heartbreaking moments and you won't quite know how life is going to work out for them. What you will see is the resilience of some very human characters!

In short: five stars!

Was this review helpful?

This was a delightlful love story, mainly based in Cornwall. There were really appealing characters and a lifelike storyline. The conclusion rounded everything off very well.

Was this review helpful?

Seven Summer by Paige Toon a netgalley review.
Liv and Finn meeting working in a bar on the Cornish coastline, one night Liv’s life changes forever, which connects them forever, but their love story also doesn’t go to plan. Finns life moves to LA and Liv stays in Cornwall. A great book from the queen of summer reads and I don’t say that lightly but Paige Toon always hits it out the park and this book gets better and better as you read on. I could have easily stayed up all night to finish it but equally I didn’t want to get to the end. This book everything romance, great characters, tragedy, heartbreak, it’s raw in the emotions it tackles, it will make you laugh, gasp and cry, you know how you want it to end but will it! I loved every page , for me the clincher was the end and the way Paige Toon tied up all the what if’s and the what happened next. I’ve never read a book that ties up all those what if’s and I loved this, I felt closer to the characters and also annoyed at Liv in particular (won’t give it away as to why) but that was a passing feeling because again the story continues right up to the last page . Liv is a great character, she so much stronger than she believes, she’s loyal to a fault especially to her brother, she ambitious, she’s vulnerable, she’s honest and she loves with all of her being, she kind and she get scared but she succeeds and because of all these things she loveable and feels real. Liv is the stand out character but Finn and Tom also play a huge part in the story and the path in life that Liv takes. It goes without saying that the setting, the Cornish coast is beautiful and like with everything in this book, Paige Toon is great at making the story and the setting jump of the pages, it played out like film in my mind, I became totally immersed in the beautiful story and currently sit with a book hangover! This is an ideal read for anytime of year, but with summer around the corner (fingers crossed we get some sunshine) of you are looking for that holiday read, I can’t recommend this enough. I will be recommending to friends and family. An epic love story that you won’t forget a sure sign of an amazing book that you will want to binge read but will never want to end and I will prob go out and buy a copy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Was this review helpful?

Paige Toon has done it again. Another emotional rollercoaster.

I absolutely loved this book. It broke your heart and then picked up the pieces over and over again. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, further twists ensued. Definitely a tear-jerker for me and I stayed up until the early hours of the next morning just to finish it. As a massive fan on Paige Toon and someone who regularly re-reads her work, I think this is one of her best and one that I will remember.

I would definitely recommend everyone to go and pick up a copy if you love romance books and to have your heart broken and rebuilt several times.

The only question is what colour sprayed edge will you be buying?

Was this review helpful?

A lovely story set in Cornwall. Romantic and sweet I enjoyed this one immensely. Always a great read from this author who never seems to disappoint. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The book jumps from past to present summers and I'm not going to lie it did take me a while to get used to the backwards and forwards, the perserverence is worth it however and after a few chapters I found my groove and the rest of the book flows with ease.

Liv returns home to Cornwall after finishing Uni planning to save money and move to London, she takes a job in the bar where she first sees Finn again, an acquaintance from school who now lives in America. They grow close and make a pact that they will meet every summer and if both are still single .......

It's a lovely story of love, loss and happiness that will have you reaching for the tissues.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Absolutely brilliant! Loved the story, the characters and the setting. I inhaled it far too fast - literally could not put it down!

Was this review helpful?

I have literally just finished reading this and my mind is blown!! I think it's going to give me "book hangover" for quite a while!! Such a wonderful story spread out over many summers - with what started as a summer/holiday romance and then built and built.

When Tom was introduced and the way the story was unfolding I wasn't sure which way I wanted it to go as I didn't want Finn or Tom to get hurt but it was all resolved perfectly for me!!

I loved this book and certainly raced through the last few chapters grabbing a few minutes reading time whenever I could just to say what was going to happen to them all.

Brilliant holiday read and if you're in Cornwall - all the more better!

Was this review helpful?

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Random Things Tours.

Seven Summers was such a heartfelt, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking read that took me on an emotional rollercoater journey from start to finish.
This was so tenderly written and draws you in from page one. Liv felt like an old friend, and I felt I was right there with her on her journey throughout this story.
Liv and Tom meet six summers ago when Liv returns home from studying abroad, and she is instantly drawn to him from the second she lays eyes on him and hears him sing in his band. The pair get closer over the course of the summer break, and just before the end of the summer, tragedy strikes and leaves Livs life blown apart.
I sobbed at this part of the story and had to pull myself together to continue. Tom returns to the US to pursue his dream of being a musician/song writer and they make a pact that each summer he returns to visit his family they will get together but only if they're both single. As such, the book goes back and forth between the present and the previous six summers, and I was rooting for them from the moment they met. They just fit together so beautifully. Liv couldn't go with him to the US because of being needed at home and wouldn't stand in the way of Fins dreams. When Liv meets Tom and she finds love and happiness that's both steady and pure again, I was so happy for her and felt such mixed feeling when Finn returned. I'm being cautious what I say as I don't want to spoil this book for anyone. The love between Liv and Fin and Liv and Tom is beautiful, raw, and tender, and this book broke my heart and pieced it back together again. This would make an amazing film, and in all honesty, I think it will be made into one. It's just so beautiful and unique. Definitely have tissues at the ready!

Was this review helpful?

I have always been a huge Paige Toon fan, since I read her first novel (Lucy in the Sky). I have since read all of her books several times and loved them all. I was eagerly awaiting the release of Seven Summers and was so excited when I was offered an Advance Reader Copy via Netgalley.

Seven Summers follows the story of the main character Liv, and her two romantic interests- Finn and Tom. It was set in a gorgeous Cornish seaside town over a period of six years.

This story was a gripping tearjerker from the offset (keep the tissues handy!), documenting Liv's life from when she first left uni, until the present day, going back and forth along the timeline, between the different chapters. Finn is her long time, long-distance love interest, but then Tom joins the story and everything that Liv thought she wanted is thrown into question. The love story kept me guessing with the 'will-they, won't they' theme the whole way through. The plot twist near the end of the book left me utterly distraught and I felt like I'd been sucker punched in the stomach- it was completely unexpected! The plot is full of drama, friendship, family, love, humour, sadness, happiness and optimism. I fell in love with all of the characters (as I always do with Paige Toon novels), and found myself binge reading it from the first chapter until the very end. It really is a beautiful, heartfelt story and so perfectly written, despite the complexities of Liv's life and responsibilities. My only regret is that now that I've finished this latest Paige Toon book, I now need to wait another year until Paige's next book- 'What if I never get over you' is released! I'd highly recommend this story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Paige Toon, Random House, Cornerstone and Penguin for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I read Seven Summers in one day. I couldn’t put it down. I was drawn in to all the characters especially the heartbreakingly beautiful love story of Liv and Finn. I’m a fan of Paige Toon and this is a must read.

Was this review helpful?

📢 New Review!
✒️ @paigetoonauthor
📚 Seven Summers

💭 Well, it's been a hot minute since I did a review, eh?
Firstly, thank you to Paige and Penguin for sending me a NetGalley copy of her 2024 novel.

I don't actually know the last time I sobbed.... and I mean proper ugly cry sobbed at reading a book.
Maybe its due to my own emotional state and current grief process of how much I could relate the the story, but the last third of this novel took me three times as long to read as the rest of the book as I needed to keep stopping and composing myself to continue!
Im not normally a fan of books that flip timelines, however Paige writes with such elegance that the story between Liv's current summer and those of the past seven, flowed with ease making the plot easy to follow.
We start off meeting Liv and her first encounter with Finn, not knowing that her world was about to suddenly change.
Unfortunately for Liv, Finn's life is in LA whilst hers is in Cornwall. However, he keeps returning each summer to be her pillar of strength.... until their lives are too busy and complicated for either to commit to the other. Enter the gorgeous Tom into Liv's present summer, and she can start to see a different future for herself.
I loved seeing Liv fall in love with Tom and him give everything Finn couldn't.
Seven Summer was full of emotion, warmth, hope, and love - a love triangle between three very likeable characters set in idyllic locations.
There is no doubt Paige Toon can't write a stunner of a novel, and despite the tears, I thoroughly enjoyed the book - although it should come with a free box of tissues!

#Bookblogger #BookReview #bookstagram #sevensummers #paigetoon #lovestory #lovetriangle #emotional #book #novel #story

Was this review helpful?

This will definitely be a summer hit, the setting is gorgeous and the characters really well written. Liv has endured so much heartbreak in her life so it’s great that she finally gets her happy ending. I would have liked Tom’s character to have been developed a bit more but overall a heartwarming read.

Was this review helpful?