After having read and loved Joya Goffney’s other books, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl, I was so excited to have been sent an advanced reader’s copy of Joya Goffney’s new book, My Week with Him. This book follows Nikki and her dream to get out of her small town and away from her family drama to share her music with the world, no matter who she has to leave behind, even when the people closest to her will do anything to get her to stay.
This book is classed as a Contemporary Young Adult Romance and is set to be released in July 2023.

Just like Goffney’s other novels, My Week with Him tackles some pretty serious issues, including poverty, generational abuse, and toxic parental relationships, while following Nikki’s journey to follow her dreams. Goffney highlights the sense of pride, and how it stops us from accepting help from the people who care about us because of the mindset that we shouldn’t need it in the first place, but Goffney reminds us through Nikki’s story that needing help, no matter the form, doesn’t make us weak, it just makes us human. Sometimes we just need to let the people who care about us do just that, and stop resisting the love that we deserve, and Nikki learns that with us.

Reading this book was a wonderful experience and I recommend that everybody does the same.
Joya Goffney is a truly excellent author, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: My Week With Him
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Joya Goffney
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: YA Romance
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 11th July 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 13th June 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.25/5

Oh, wow.

I’ve read Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and I liked Goffney’s writing and the way she handled hard hitting themes in her YA novel but I must say, My Week With Him is another level.

I loved it.

In fact, I devoured this in approximately 2.5 hours. It was super easy to read despite some of the intense theme topics. I found this book to be much more touching and authentic compared to the other book of hers that I’ve read.

The romance was great. Best friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and whilst this one started rocky, I became quickly obsessed. The only thing I will say is that the love interest didn’t have a character arc of his own and coupled with being the Most Perfect Boyfriend Ever, he did sometimes come across to me as a Professional Fixer for the main characters life.

Despite this, there are some elements done incredibly well. In this book, the author explores dysfunctional families in two forms: a family that is entirely unhealthy in their interactions belonging to the main character, Nikki, and a family that has had to work hard to gain their functionality belonging to the love interest, Malachai. Sub themes are also bought to light here such as toxic parenting and adoption. I think that the author did the most wonderful job of tenderly navigating the complex and turbulent relationships in this novel and it is easily my favourite aspect of this book.

I also loved Nikki’s inner conflict towards her mother. Her anger at her mothers mistreatment of her, her heartbreak each time she’s let down, and the continued hope that maybe, maybe things will be different. The emotional congruency of the main character really grounded the story for me and gave it an authentic feel.

I would have loved a more concrete resolution to the story but as stories go, I won’t be forgetting this one for a long time.

—Kayleigh🤍
@ Welsh Book Fairy🧚‍♀️✨

Joya Goffney is a must read author for my students and with this new release, I can't see that changing anytime soon. Despite the shorter length of this just novel, this does not take away from the more complex nature of our lead characters. A really fun read.

I recently read My Week With Him, a novel which follows Nikki who is desperate to get away from her hometown and family so she can start a career in the music industry. Nikki's best friend (and massive crush) convinces her to stay for one extra week before leaving to go to LA and in that week he tries to convince her to stay.

This was a quick read but that didn't take anything away from the intricacies of these characters. Nikki has a less than great relationship with her mum which manifests a complicated relationship with her sister. Add in a rich best friend who she's in love with and lots of self doubt about what she deserves and you've about got the tip of the iceberg for this book.

Nikki is strong willed and determined but she struggles to fit in, convincing herself that she is a burden and a problem, all because of the treatment she receives from her mother. I enjoyed getting this raw insight into Nikki as a character and getting to unpick and understand the other characters in the book as she learns more about them. I didn't really start delving into her relationships until after I'd already finished the book so it's left me with some lingering thoughts and feelings for sure.

I would have liked to have seen more of Nikki's other friends in the book and also more of her friendship with Malachai in the beginning but I get that the author wanted the focus elsewhere for the bulk of the narrative.

It's definitely one I'd read again! You can read this and not look too hard, enjoy it as a cute YA book or you can see the detail and unpick the characters, either way I'd say it's worth the time!

My Week With Him is out next month and is all about accepting who you are and opening yourself up to allow others in so they can love you. While chasing your dreams of course 💛.

I loved Joya Goffneys two previous novels so when i saw she was releasing a new one i was beyond excited! And super happy to revive an ARC. Oh my god, Joya did NOT disappoint !! I adored this book and the characters, everything about it was perfect!!! I loved every second and never wanted it to end, Joya’s writing is just so beautiful, an auto buy author for me, forever!!!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for an arc for a 'A Week With Him' by Joya Goffney

The premise of the book sounded really interesting as it was about two best friends Nikki and Mal in High School and the male character Mal convinces Nikki to spend a week with him taking a road trip around Texas to show her every thing she would be missing if she leaves.
I did enjoy the book however I feel there could of been more character development to carry the story along. I felt the relationship between the two main characters wasn't given enough time to develop.

I believe more could have been done with the story and I truly enjoyed the setting of the book and the adventure of the road trip.

Look forward to other works from the author

Joya Goffney has been a recent find for me after reading her previous books I realised she has a rare talent. Her stories are multi-layered, heartwarming and soul changing. My Week with Week was no different, Nikki and Mal are the story but there's so much more. The social issues explored (trying not to spoil anything) made this feel even more real. I cannot recommend this enough.

'Excuse me while I ugly cry' by Joya Goffney was a five star read for me so I am sad to report that 'My Week With Him' largely just left me cold. I finished it a month ago and it has made no real lasting impression on me - I so wanted to love it so am very disappointed. Nikki is a talented singer and musician with the promise of a big audition lined up. She is ready to leave behind her friends, the end of senior year and her abusive home life to hit the big time. The snag to this plan is her best friend Mal, who confesses feelings for her and then challenges her to have a week with him - a week to change Nikki's mind about running to California and abandoning everything she has ever known.

The story yoyos between Mal and Nikki's bubble of a friendship turned relationship to Nikki being treated horrifically by her emotionally abusive mother. The back and forth of her mother seemingly being nice one minute and threatening to make Nikki homeless the next is dizzying (and clearly something which has been going on for years). Whilst I really feel for Nikki and her sister Vae, I could not fully get emotionally invested in these characters and I never felt overwhelming love for the Nikki and Mal pairing (they have so much history, their relationship seems to go from 0-100 without much insight for the reader).

Overall, I will definitely read whatever Goffney writes next but this did not work for me. 3 stars.

I really wanted to like this as I've enjoyed Joya Goffney's other two books but sadly this one just wasn't for me.

This book follows Nikki, who is planning on going to California for an audition and leaving Texas and everything else behind but her friend Mal asks her to give him a week to convince her to come back. Everything happens so quickly at the start, with Nikki being betrayed by her sister, kicked out of her house, and making up and getting together with Mal. Then it continued to move so quickly with everywhere Mal and Nikki were going and everything going on with her mom and Vae - there just didn't seem to be much explanation for anything and there were too many plots to keep track of.

Nikki and Mal are also said to be best friends, but at the start of the book they aren't speaking, then suddenly everything is fine and they're a couple. Again, everything happened too quick with no explanation. I also didn't feel the connection between Nikki and Mal that should have been there from their years of friendship - it felt like I was just told they were close but I couldn't feel it.

Finally, the whole story starts because Nikki is going to California for an audition, but this doesn't even happen in the book and the ending, once again, happens so quickly that nothing feels like it is really addressed fully.

Just, read this book, definitely worth the time. Sometimes I find books drag, but this was definitely not the case in regards to this book, so definitely recommending this to all my friends (and anyone else looking for book recommendations) I don't stop talking about books basically ever and this book is certainly not going to be the book that stops this problem.

A glorious romance that warmed my heart. I loved the characters. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I think this one has to be a DNF for right now, but since I adore Joya Goffney's previous work, I definitely see myself coming back to it soon. Will update my thoughts when the time comes :)

When I first read Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl I knew Joya was going to be an auto buy author for me and then when I read Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, I was sold. Her style of writing is so lovely and her books are so heartwarming and inspiring, I highly recommend them to anyone.

However when I finished My Week With Him I was disappointed at the lack of explanation and just general plot holes that weren’t there in her previous books. The relationship between Nikki and her mum was strained and her mum acted pretty harsh at times and there didn’t feel like there was a resolution to this. Also the whole book was centred around an audition Nikki was going to attend and this was why she was leaving town, but in the end we didn’t even get to see the audition and then the book just ended. I think the romance and the relationship between Nikki and Mal were perfect, but the story was just missing so many plot lines that it just made it feel unfinished to me. It was also extremely fast paced but so much so it felt like a complete whirlwind.

Overall, this book is not my favourite from Joya Goffney, but I still love her previous two books and will continue to recommend them to any YA lover.

I do not typically DNF ARCs mainly because I am extremely grateful to receive them.

However this book just didn’t do it for me.

It felt as thought 55% into the book it had lost direction. The main character had not even begun to develop or progress in any way, shape, or form.

As a result, it felt extremely bland.

I am a fan of Joya’s other works but this one did not do it for me.

Joya Goffney does it again.

Last year I picked up Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and finished it the same day, bleary eyed, dehydrated and completely obsessed. Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl was right up there, and almost too relatable with the condition I also have and the strict religious parents. To say I almost combusted when I got this advanced copy is an understatement.

My Week With Him follows Nikki, a young Black girl who, after being thrown out by her mother, decides to flee to California to pursue her music career. After finding this out her best friend, Malachai, tries to convince her to stay and spend the rest of spring break with him. When her sister runs away, Nikki is forced to go back and work with her mother to find her. A whirlwind of mother – daughter problems, romance and learning to love and be loved ensues.

Joya Goffney somehow always manages to mix just the right amount of drama, difficult family relationships and young love and I just eat it up every time. Nikki’s relationship with her mother is turbulent and heartbreaking but ultimately healing. I love the way it was handled, with a clear message on what’s normal and healthy, and with the mom having reasons but not excuses.

A big part of Mal’s and Nikki’s friendship happens before this story and that sort of already established relationship is always tricky to pull off, but I thought it was done well. Without spoiling, there were bumps in the road with the way some reveals were done but I can’t complain as everything got addressed and wrapped up nicely.

Nikki’s background is completely different from Quinn’s and Monique’s, the protagonists of the other 2 novels, and I really enjoyed being able to compare them and appreciate the way Nikki was written. Goffney has such a grasp on the teenage psyche that’s so fun to read while having really clear character development and lessons that I’m envious of the target audience for being able to these books young.

Thank you to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'My Week with Him' by Joya Goffney.

Joya Goffney is back and better than ever. 'My Week with Him' is Joya's third novel now and yet again, she doesn't fail to write a perfect book. From well-built characters who feel relatable to the writing that captures your heart and attention, this novel is outstanding and remains to be a reason why Joya Goffney is such a rising star.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this.
This is my first read by Joya Goffney and I enjoyed it.
It contains romance, family troubles and humor as Nikki navigates her way through her desire to be a singer.
Not for children but perfect for older teens/YA.

⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for the arc✨

This book brings up some triggering topics so please look these up before reading.

The description of the book sounds super intriguing and I was so excited to read my first Joya Goffney book however I am slightly disappointed.

I found a lot of the book was talking and not a lot of descriptions, i felt no attachments to any of the characters and disliked most of them except for Nikki.

There is little explanation surrounding the reasonings behind peoples actions so you are left bewildered as to why things are happening.

I also found a lot of the book unrealistic for examples malachis parents seemed highly too good to be true.

One thing that also annoyed me is seeing what time things happened as at one point the MC’s were eating bolognese at 7 AM and i’m unsure if this is accurate in anyones life??😂

I did enjoy the writing style so I will still give the authors other books a read!

Joya Goffney has been on my radar for a while. ‘Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry’ was one of my first book purchases as a School Librarian, and although I’ve yet to read it myself, it’s proven to be popular with older students. So when I logged into NetGalley and saw that I could request Goffney’s latest offering, I was thrilled. ‘My Week With Him’ is exactly the kind of novel I want to get into the hands of my avid student readers because it is fresh and relatable.

The protagonist and narrator of the story, Nikki, is a social media savvy singer with dreams of stardom as a way of leaving her messy hometown behind. That is until her long term friendship with charming Mal becomes something else entirely. Their chemistry is palpable and lovesick teens the world over will see themselves in the pair.

Love story aside, Goffney taps into another universal teenage problem; parents. Nikki and her mum are far from best friends and the way their relationship develops throughout the novel feels entirely true to life. There’s also a loveable yet troublesome younger sister in the mix. Family is also an important theme for Malachi, whose own history will show readers that you never know what someone has been through just by looking at them.

Goffney’s style has a great balance of description and dialogue that really draws you into the scene. The latter is realistic, which I find essential for a good YA novel as if the characters don’t sound like teenagers, the teenage readers aren’t going to feel seen in the way we want them to through literature.

‘My Week With Him’ is published by Hot Key Books 11 Jul 2023.

Librarian Lowdown:

fairly regular use of mild expletives
scenes of a sexual nature – pretty tame, nothing gratuitous and no stark detail
suitable for year 9s and over but also mature year 7s and 8s

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC copy of this book via NetGalley.

Joya Goffney brings us another coming-of-age romance, embedding real world issues and making the right decisions for you.

Nikki is an aspiring singer/songwriter from a small town in Texas. During spring break she is invited by a producer to go audition for a band in California. She'll drive down and be back as soon as she can. Her plan is soon thwarted by her emotionally abusive mother after she heads back home after forgetting something. Kicked out of the house, Nikki makes up with her childhood best friend Mal, who she frequently stays with when her mum kicks her out. They've had feelings for each other for years, and thus begins Nikki's week with Mal.

The book is split into days then timestamps, as Nikki learns more about her feelings, the emotional abuse she has suffered at the hands of her mothers as well as her own desires for her future. I really enjoyed the dynamics between characters and how Nikki sticks to her decisions about her future - even if it's not always easy.

Goffney's books always include difficult topics, and the exploration of emotional abuse in this book is no different. I could feel myself getting angry, sad and frustrated along with Nikki, each time she interacted with her mother.

Mal is a wonderful book boyfriend, another thing Goffney succeeds at. Though there are some questionable moments where you're not sure if he really supports Nikki's dreams or not. Her younger sister Vae is equally frustrating at times. They need her in ways she doesn't (think) she needs them.

I would have liked to have seen more of Nikki's girl friends who we meet at the start if the book, but then don't reappear until much later, and only fleetingly. This is definitely different to Goffney's other novels, but still perfectly enjoyable and a great summer read for fans of YA romance.