I guess I should have known from the tagline on the cover that this book wasn’t going to be for me. I think this was a case of me being drawn in by the bright, warm colour scheme of the cover and neglecting to remember that I struggle with insta-love style situations.

Bollywood superfan Noori is struggling with the death of her cousin and best friend Munazzah. Then she meet Aamir on a park bench. Aamir is running from a past and family that misunderstands him and his life is a mess when he meets Noori. Can they find love and hope in each other?

Munazzah’s death sounds horrific and Noori’s grief is so strong throughout the narrative. At various points, she seems to be trying to emulate Munazzah and several characters pick up on this despite Noori denying it. It was really sad to see how she was trying to subconsciously resurrect Munazzah and I can only imagine the turmoil Noori was going through.

Aamir’s situation is also tragic. He has been convinced that he has brought shame on himself and his family but he’s in fact, just a victim of a toxic, angry, also probably grieving parent. I felt sorry for him but I did struggle to connect with Aamir as a character, so I’d have loved to get to know him on a deeper level.

Both Noori and Aamir have trouble settling into their cultural identities. Naturally, as both characters are desi, there is a lot of commentary on their cultures and the rules that this comes with. Although they each have different attitudes towards it -Noori leans into her culture while Aamir leans away from it-, it’s undeniable that it’s a huge part of both of their characters.

There is a scene where Noori sees Aamir naked but it’s not in a sexual or vaguely romantic setting. It’s actually quite a sad, emotional scene and yet Aamir was hung up on how he looked to her. I understand that the author was trying to convey his interest in Noori as a teenage boy but I’m not sure that this would have been his main concern under the circumstances.

Seven Days deals with some really tough issues such as grief, family and finding happiness within dark times. However, I couldn’t believe in the romance and despite having sympathy for both protagonists individually, I just didn’t like them together. The plot was also virtually non-existent until the final few chapters, so I did lose interest quite quickly.

I like how inclusive the book is but it fails to grip me. The occasional use of swear words makes me feel a bit uncomfortable about recommending it to teenagers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Seven Days' by Rebeka Shaid.

'Seven Days' by Rebeka Shaid was a book about love, friendship and family combined into one. The concept was beautiful and the way it all flowed over seven days was a masterpiece in showing how chaotic life can be when revealing new history you never knew about. However, I have to give it a 3 as I didn't really like the writing style as much as I expected.