Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this e-arc of Seven Summers
Paige Toon is my equivalent of the cat who sees a tiny box and thinks: if it fits, I sits. If Paige Toon writes it, I reads it.
Seven Summers is bound to cause you heartbreak,
It starts off in our current summer, when our main character Liv is experiencing heartache. But, jokes on you, we have yet to meet the boy who inflicts said damage. So Paige will let you fall in love with a boy who’s going to break your heart. And she does it beautifully. We see Liv grow and mourn the loss of multiple people, Finn right alongside of her. We grow to love Finn more than anything in the world, but then he’s gone and a whole year goes by. Six years we mourn Finn as he leaves and comes back again every summer, until one summer, he doesn’t. Or does he? Let that be the summer where Liv is ready to heal and grow. Insert: love of her life. It’s pain, it’s joy, and we fall in love with both men as they try and love Liv in their own ways. Jessa Hastings always says in Magnolia Parks: how many loves can you experience in a lifetime? Paige Toon makes that: how many heartbreaks can one experience in a lifetime?
Buckle up and get some tissues, because Paige Toon’s writing gets better with age and this is one hell of a book. Her absolute best one yet. I am utterly undone by the damage inflicted.

It's been a while since I've read this author although I always buy her new releases to add to my TBR but I couldn't pass up an early copy. And I loved it.

As ever I was drawn into the story and the characters so quickly because the writing is so fluid and easy to read. Liv, Finn and Tom stole my heart and then went and broke it. The epilogue had me in tears. But then they put me back together again and I don't think I've ever read a more satisfying (while being heart-breaking) epilogue. How it rounded out the story was perfect. Giving just enough detail to give the updates we needed without stepping outside the premise of the book (seven summers).

If you want an engrossing story with wonderful characters then you won't go wrong with this. I need to catch up on my TBR now that I've remembered just how much I love Paige's books.

4.5/5 stars
I finished this book 2 days ago and I’m still thinking about it, which I find for me is the sign of. great book!

I have been a massive fan of Paige’s books for years, she never fails in being able to write a great love story that will bring you to tears. Whilst also painting the image of wherever the book is set that makes you want to pack your bags and see it for yourself, and this book is no exception.

I loved and hated Liv’s relationship with Finn and how their grief was explored. The relationship was Tom was a breath of fresh air taken away too soon. However, I was glad that liv finally got her happily ever after in the end.

My absolute favourite parts of this book were Liv and Michael’s sibling relationship. I did find that it got a little slow during the middle but I often find this with Paige’s books and it never takes away from the beginning and ends being absolutely fabulous. Can’t wait to buy it in paperback!

A sweet tale of summer love that kept me interested to the end. Good characters and interesting settings and occupations, twists to keep you guessing, what’s not to love.

An account of a group of school friends in Cornwall from when their early 20’s for seven summers! Some great Cornish classic links to the artists in St Ives, to the beautiful beaches and culture.
Olivia is just back from a trip in Florence Italy to study her love of sculpture. She joins her friends at the local seasonal beach bar the Seaglass, where their friends in a local indie rock band play covers of some classic songs. Her parents have made her a studio in the garden but she wants to spread her artistic wings and go to London to follow her dreams.
Full of the lessons of what you set out for comes in different guises. Loved all the art and beach parties, her very special brother, and all her friends in St Agnes. Tale of love and loss, with lots of side issues!!
My only negative is I felt the book lost its way at times, characters coming in and then not mentioned till the end with the ubiquitous clear up of odd ends. I loved parts of the story, especially with Liv’s brother Michael but didn’t feel connected or sympathetic or emotionally involved to any of the characters. A little like “One Day” except it’s seven summers.
It’s a slow burner this one, I’m not invested.
Thank you NetGalley for the early read.

Such a beautiful story of family, friendship, love & loss. I found myself gripped & couldn't wait to see how Liv's story ended.

Highly recommend

Another amazing read from Paige Toon, you can just fall into the pages and become part of her story.
Very emotional in places and yes it did make me cry.
When lives are put on hold each year it was always going to be hard on Finn and Liv, and then along came Tom. Can you ever truly get over your first true love.
Thank you to Random House UK, Paige Toon and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

'Seven Summers' is a glorious read from Toon. This is written in the present Summer and flashback chapters to seven Summers ago before catching up with the present day. This is such an immersive way of writing as I was really invested in both timescales and eager to know what was going to happen in each thread. This also has the added bonus of being set in St Agnes, Cornwall which is such a glorious place to escape to.
The plot is outstanding and I thought this had everything from happiness, loss, grief, joy, love and everything in between .I felt everything the characters were feeling, Toon really has a magical way of portraying emotions. Toon's characters are equally wonderful and really make this book special. Olivia and her friends are extremely likable and they felt like my friends by the end of the book. Then we have Tom and Finn, again equally likeable, I am sure that, like me, you will have a favourite but they are equally strong characters. As the book progresses you realise it is hurtling towards an inevitable ending. Inevitable but also the only way Toon could have ended this perfect read.
Everything about this book was perfection. What a fantastic Summer read this is.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for an advance copy.

I did enjoy this book although it felt like a slow start til about 50% in. The scenery was so well written you could see it and it was fun to see songs mentioned that I knew. The epilogues also felt a bit rushed, there was one incident in particular that I felt was brushed over that would have been interesting to have read about in way more detail.

Seven Summers, the latest novel from Paige Toon, is a stunning portrait of great loves and great losses. Be warned, this one is as utterly devastating as it is beautiful.

In Seven Summers we chart Liv and Finn’s relationship from the summer they met, when Liv’s life was devastatingly altered by a sudden tragedy, to the present. The problem, however, is that they only see each other in the summer when Finn visits from
LA and are together only if they’re each single. This summer though, Liv has met a handsome stranger named Tom, and they too begin to fall in love. But when these worlds collide Liv is faced with an impossible choice. And when she discovers the shocking reason that Tom has left home, she'll need to trust her heart even more . . .

The alternate timelines running throughout worked brilliantly. I loved that we went from the now, and then back to each preceding summer, starting with 6 years ago first. Toon writes with such skill and precision that we are transported effortlessly through time, with glorious little titbits in the past that hint to what’s to come in the now. The formatting made it feel impossible to put down.

This is a novel that offers us two great love stories, but we never feel as though we’re caught in a triangle. I adored all of the main characters and especially loved the way we got to witness Liv’s growth and healing over the years; she has to deal with so much loss and huge grief but manages to keep going somehow. Through her own resilience and with the help of those around her she really comes to find herself both personally and professionally.

Both Finn and Tom were wonderful in their own ways and were right for Liv at the different stages of her life. I loved how Liv explained how she can have loved both in very different ways but that it doesn’t lessen the love she has for who she chose to be with. I must also note Liv’s incredible brother Micheal and the wonderful Downs syndrome representation his character brought.

Goodness me though, the extended epilogue absolutely broke me. Now considering I’d already bawled my eyes out several times throughout the novel, I feel like I was crying for most of the epilogue. I’m almost conflicted in how I feel about it as well. I was happy that Liv had made her choice in the ‘now’ summer and that she was finally happy and in a wonderful relationship, but then the epilogue came with its quick trot through the following years and then twist came and it floored me. Whilst we are still given a final happy ending it was most definitely bittersweet.

Paige Toon really is a masterful writer. To be able to make the reader feel so much really is a magical skill. I will read anything she writes.

I've read a number of books by the author and really enjoyed them but I really struggled to get into this one and in fact, if it hadn't been for the epilogue it would have got 2 stars. The characters themselves were great, especially the main ones but I'm not a fan of books where it jumps back and forth in time - sometimes it can work but I just didn't think it did this time and thus found myself more skim reading than being engrossed.

I’m a huge crime thriller reader, so it’s a rare breed of author whose books can make me deviate from the dark side! Paige Toone is one such author. Seven Summers is a truly beautiful love story, heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measure’. It’s a story that will pull at even the most hardened heartstrings mine included! This book should really come with a box of tissues. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Cornish coastline, Paige Toon’s descriptive writing will have you yearning to book a holiday to Cornwall.

Seven Summers tells the story of Liv, who meets Finn, a musician who lives in LA. Liv lives in Cornwall despite their obstacles Finn and Liv agree to meet each summer and if they are both single, they will pick up where they left off. Things become complicated on the sixth summer when Liv meets Tom. The book moves between the present and the past six summers. Multiple timelines can become disjointed or even confuse the reader, but not in Paige Toons’ more than capable hands. She moves flawlessly between timelines.

Liv’s relationship with Finn is a complex one, for much of the year it feels like her life was hold waiting for him to return. Her relationship with Tom felt stable. I loved all the character’s especially Liv’s brother Michael, who stole a piece of my heart. Whilst reading Seven Summers, I experienced a myriad ride of emotions alongside Liv. I really was in two minds who Liv should choose. The thought of either Tom or Flynn being left heartbroken left me in floods of tears. Seven Summers is more than a love story as it explores love, loss, grief, and self-discovery. It’s a profoundly moving book that fans of Paige Toon will devour. Just a few words of advice ‘keep those tissues handy, you’re going to need them’. Highly recommended.

Absolutely loved this book. An amazing love story which I didn't want to end. So much heartbreak but love conquers all. I love Paige Toon's books and this one certainly does not disappoint.

This was my first book by Paige Toon, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But I can say she fully deserves her excellent reputation for contemporary and romance novels. I’m going to go out and buy more of her books now!!

Liv and Finn reconnected 7 years ago after being at school together before Finn moved to America to live with his Dad after the traumatic death of his mother. Liv wants to move away from St Agnes to London to start her sculpting career, but disaster strikes and things change forever.

In the present day Liv runs holiday lets, alongside managing the bar and part time work sculpting. She meets Tom, who offers her everything that Finn couldn’t commit to. Now Liv needs to make a choice between her passionate history with Finn or new love with Tom.

The story switches between the present day and each summer from 7 years ago. I loved this element, it was like unpicking the layers of how Liv and Finn had come to be where they are in the present from where they started. It kept up the momentum of the story and I had to read “just a little bit more”.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

A new. Paige Toon book always makes me excited to find where I'll be going and who I'll be meeting.
Liv is a bartender in Cornwall who yearns to be a sculptor. Then when the band at the bar needs a front man, she meets Finn and immediately there is a connection. But she needs to be in St Agnes whilst his life is based in LA.
The story then charts Liv's life to the present. Of course there are turns along the way (it wouldn't be Paige Toon without them.)
One of the best.

I have read most of Paige Toon's books and like the description of this one but was concerned it might be a bit lightweight but I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Liv returns home after Uni and a further course and unexpectedly meets up with and falls head over heels for an old schoolmate. The next chapters cover the rocky path of the next few years and goes between current times and the summers leading up to this point. There are various factors which affect their relationship, some which were very frustrating and I felt Liv was a bit stubborn and perhaps unintentionally selfish at times.

The characters were believable and, unusually for the books I have read recently, all likeable. The back stories of her friends and her brother Michael and his support network were good. The medical part was interesting but I am not sure why there wasn't more intervention.

If I had to say anything slightly negative it's that the last few chapters were a bit short and felt a bit rushed and predictable.

Another great book from Paige Toon, a more gentle and wholesome offering than some of the others. I look forward to the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers Penguin Random House for the DRC.

I love a Paige Toon book and this was no exeption

An easy romantic book that I just escaped into.

Well written not all hearts and flowers and does have grief and loss too.

Loved it

I cried buckets, rooted for the characters, fell in love with the setting and the story.
One of the most romantic book I read in ages that remained with me causing a serious book hangover
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Paige Toon does it again, ooh my goodness, all the emotions in this book. An absolute emotional roller coaster of a read. Touches on themes of love, grief and heart break.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.