I loved seven days in June, and I loved this. But you don’t have to have read seven days to enjoy this. I love Audre and Bash, so cute!

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

One of my favorite YA reads of the last few years. In this novel we follow Audre and Bash as they meet and form a precious bond that starts as an almost reluctant one when Audre asks him to help her fulfill a list in order to be able to publish the book she deems necessary in order to get into her dream college.
That would be the main plotline, but we also explore some deeper topics within the characters, which include the weight of high expectations, pressure, mental health issues, not fitting in, and not-so-perfect familial relationships. This novel was full of charismatic characters, humor, and lots and lots of heart and introspection. I was also surprised to see that we don't follow the two main characters exclusively, as we are able to get a sneak peek into another plotline regarding some side characters.

Having read from Tia Williams shortly before this (in preparation for this release, specifically) caused a mini disconnect because of the way things go between the mother-daughter relationship (which could be explained because of the shift in perspective between Seven Days in June and Audre & Bash Are Just Friends and the time that has passed between both novels), but it still felt like it lacked cohesion even within the book with the conversations Audre and Eva.

Overall a very recommended read, especially for these summer months!

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dear Tia Williams,

I’ve been meaning to read a Tia Williams book for some time now and was happy to get the chance to read Audre & Bash are Just Friends. It’s a YA contemporary set in Brooklyn over a summer. Audre is the daughter of Eva Mercy. (I didn’t know this until the author’s acknowledgements at the end of the book, but Eva and Shane (her partner) are the protagonists in Seven Days in June – the book which first put Tia Williams on my radar.) Four years have passed since the events of Seven Days in June. Shane and Eva are engaged and have a daughter “baby Alice” (to whom Audre refers as “the goblin”) and Audre is now 16 years old and busy planning her future.

Part of Audre’s plan is to get into Stanford and study psychology. She’s been providing “therapy” to her peers for money for some time. Audre plans to write a book about life advice for teens as part of her application to Stanford, believing that she needs something more than her excellent grades to stand out enough to be accepted.

Audre is feeling very displaced, particularly since the birth of baby Alice. Eva is caught up in Shane and the baby and Audre feels she is the a satellite and not really a part of the family. It doesn’t help that the apartment where they live needs to be renovated to create a space for both girls and the project has been delayed. So what was Audre’s bedroom is now a construction zone (and she will eventually get back only half of it) and Audre is sleeping on the couch in the living room. A 16-year-old girl needs her privacy!!

Audre has just graduated for the year and was Class President, giving the end of year speech. And her mother didn’t go.

Usually Audre spends summers in California with her dad but that plan is ruined when her dad announces that he and his new partner, Athena, are expecting a child and his partner’s mother is staying with them as Athena has terrible morning sickness. So there’s no room for Audre in “Dadifornia” this summer. She’s stuck in Brooklyn and the internship with a mental health clinic she was going to have is now also toast given it’s over there and she’s stuck in Brooklyn. Her whole plan is a bust and she’s feeling very resentful of all the adults in her life and their infant/unborn children.

Audre’s best friend, Reshma, plans to be in Argentina with her wealthy musician parents and that leaves Audre at loose ends. Reshma, much more adventurous and social than Audre, writes her a list of things to achieve over the summer to get some real life experience under her belt. It’s all well and good to offer therapy to people but it needs to be based on some kind of life experience right?? Audre enlists the aid of Bash Henry, a boy who goes to a neighbouring school, having transferred there from California under mysterious circumstances a few months before. Bash is a bit of a enigma. Everyone loves him; he throws the best parties, girls and guys alike swoon over him but he’s intensely private. He’s cool and friendly and after one conversation with him, more than one girl is convinced they’re soulmates. There are so many rumours about Bash – what is true and what is not. But, Bash does seem know know how to have fun – so she asks him to be her “funsultant” for the summer.

And so Bash and Audre become friends. Each finds the other very magnetic and attractive but for their own reasons neither thinks there could be anything between them. Until that changes.

Bash’s own history is revealed over the course of the book. He’s been very let down by the adults in his life and, until he moved to New York, he lived a strictly regimented life with zero colouring outside the lines allowed. His entire life changed in just seven minutes. Since then, he’s taken to timing what else can happen in that timeframe.

Seven minutes, he thought, grabbing his towel and wiping the sand off his skin. That’s all the time it took for Dad to get rid of me.
That’s where his mind went when he was still. Ever since Milton said that he was no longer his son, he’d been obsessed with timing things, with figuring out what could be done in seven minutes. He timed everything. He’d discovered that he could whip up an edible pan of chicken stir-fry in seven minutes. He could bike half of the Park Slope loop in seven minutes. He could tolerate four highball shots in seven minutes.
And, because there were a zillion clocks in Just Because, and he watched them obsessively—he knew that it had taken seven minutes to say yes to Audre.

When he came to the big apple, he decided things were going to be different. He was going to say “yes” to everything. He’s technically living with his mother but she’s rarely home. They barely know each other; she gave up custody of him when he was a baby and he was raised by his strict and demanding father. There’s a lot of resentment in Bash toward his mother over it. His mother is white and has generational wealth. She spends her time acting as a tone deaf white saviour for at-risk teens of colour, all the while having largely ignored her own son for his entire life. Bash sees the irony. She does not.

Audre inspires feelings in Bash he’s never felt before and for the first time, he considers hanging around in New York rather than leaving the first chance he gets. He will turn 18 in August and the plan at the start of summer was to move to another state near a beach (Bash loves to surf) and be an apprentice tattoo artist. But then there’s Audre…

Audre has a fraught relationship with her mother. Eva is incredibly strict about curfews and social activities (especially with boys) for reasons which Audre doesn’t understand. It’s another of the ways that Audre lacks life experience and over the summer, Audre and her mother come into conflict multiple times as Audre tries to spread her wings and Eva tries to hold her back, hold her away from risk.

I found Audre very relateable and sympathetic and I liked her very much but Bash stole my heart. As I’ve gotten older kindness has become a major source of attraction for me (in all the ways one can be attracted). I want to spend time with kind people. And Bash, above all, is kind.

…I don’t believe in being mean.” He shrugged and thought about this for a moment, fingering his thin, silver necklace. “Meanness is too easy. People think being mean makes them seem edgy or unique. Kindness is more radical.”

Bash is compassionate and generous and he pays attention. Audre has experienced a couple of panic attacks and hasn’t been able to talk to anyone about them, including her mother. After Bash witnesses Audre having a panic attack, he waits patiently, without judgement or pity but with genuine empathy and concern, and provides useful, practical help. When he hears that Audre’s mother didn’t hear her speech at the end of the school year, this is his response:

“…I really want to hear your speech. You need someone to be proud of you. I’ll be proud.”

Audre & Bash are Just Friends is also very funny. One of the challenges Reshma sets for Audre is buying a dildo and the scene was hilarious in the best way. Here is some of it:

“Do we have a dildo-buying strategy?” asked Audre. “You tell me,” said Bash. “I’ve never done this before.” “So, how are you helping, exactly?”
“I’m here as your enthusiastic cosigner.”
“This challenge is dumb. What am I supposed to learn from buying a dildo?”
“Okay, you gotta stop saying the word dildo.”
“Why?”
Why? thought Bash. Is she really asking me that? How do I even answer?

…

“If we’re gonna do this,” she said, “you have to relax. ‘Dildo’ is just a word. Be mature.”
“I think you’re overestimating my maturity.”
“Bash, come on.”
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding.” He turned his Raiders cap to the back and neutralized his expression. “I’m ready. Let’s go. What’s the move?”
“I guess we just wing it. Go with God?”

My arc had a couple of errors in (it’s an arc so, fair) but I was curious whether the mythical item was a Smurf lunchbox or a Smurf phone. Perhaps someone who gets a finished copy can tell me?

Reshma has her own sort-of story arc and I liked the messy complicated friendship she had with Audre. It reminded me in many ways of my school BFF and myself.

The end of the book unraveled a little for me. The resolution felt rushed and a bit convenient. And I thought Bash’s backstory needed more attention than the story gave it. But overall, the book was very good; eminently readable, with a delightful teen romance. And you know what? Even though Bash and Audre are 18 and 16 respectively when the book ends, I think they could actually go the distance.

“I’ve noticed something,” said Bash, carefully. “You like pointing out the competitions you’ve won.”
Audre flinched, immediately embarrassed. “I . . . I guess I want to seem impressive.”
“But you’re impressive without winning. You’re impressive just standing there, trying to figure out why you’re in Target buying a sex toy with a guy you didn’t know two weeks ago.” Audre smiled bashfully, casting her eyes downward. “Thank you.”

Grade: B

Regards,
Kaetrin

I really loved this Audre and bash,s banter was everything.
This is my new favourite author.
She writes gold .
Really sweet , funny reads .

I wasn't a fan of this book at all. I didn't understand the characters or their motivations. I didn't care enough about them to feel it was worthwhile continuing to try and understand them. I didn't really understand what the purpose of this book was either, I didn't understand what the plot was meant to be about. It just wasn't a book that ended up interesting me ultimately. I am sad that I didn't end up enjoying this as much as I thought that I would. This is just how it works out sometimes though.
•
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

What to expect:
- Audre, the teenage FMC in Seven Days in June, getting her starring role!
- a YA romance (flustered awkwardness included).
- the classic good girl feeling pressure to be perfect, who needs to loosen up.
- the mysterious surfer boy at school that she hires to be her *fun consultant* for the summer.
- friends to lovers
- a big focus on Audre's relationship with her mum and complicated family dynamics.
- a balance between humorous and heartfelt moments, as Williams tackles topics like race, gender, sexuality, and mental health.

If you're looking for a YA romance with emotional depth and relatable messiness, definitely check it out!

i really enjoyed audre & bash are just friends — it was chaotic, teenage fun but still tackled serious issues and of course had the perfect amount of summer romance and teen angst.

Audre, class president, model student and the girl everyone goes to for advice is writing a s3lf help book to promote her chances of getting to Stanford.
Bash is the cool kid, everyone's crush, the fun guy.
Audre decides that she needs so e life experiences to make her book authentic so hires Bash to be her funbassador and help her experience life away from her normal.
Bash agrees because he has nothing else to do that summer. Soon they are secretly both liking each other waaayyy to much but trying to hide how they feel.
Mix in dysfunctional families on both sides and the story hums along nicely.
Just right for summer chillout time.

writing a second gen book can be quite tough because you either have to

a) alienate your new audience by not re-introducing the main character & all the backstories

or b) potentially bore your loyal audience by writing something so different


this book perfectly weaves the old with the new, allowing audre and her story to shine in their own right

Audre was such a great character in Seven Days in June that when I learned that she was getting a book of her own I was so excited to read it and this book did not disappoint. Audre remains such a fun and interesting character and getting to see the world through her eyes was such a great time. The way that her and Bash navigated their relationship from strangers to friends to a relationship was so sweet and tender. This book packed the emotional punch that Williams' books always have and the ending was so sweet.

A warm hearted, joyous read that I was captivated by and completely fell in love with. Highly recommended.

i really liked this!

i have previously read ‘a love song for ricky wilde’ by this author, and while I didn’t enjoy the plot of that book, I did really enjoy the writing style. Tia Williams writing just hits so hard for me.

The pacing overall was good, but the last 80 pages or so didn’t really work that well in my opinion. I feel like Williams was trying to fit too much into the last part of this book, and the main conflict got solved in a pretty weird and rushed way. I would have really loved to have gotten some more development in Audre’s relationship with her mom, it seems like a lot of their problems remained unsolved.

Even though this is a romance, i feel like most of the book isn’t really about that. It’s about being a teen, generational trauma and touches upon issues surrounding race and mental illness. Tia Williams always packs an emotional punch into her books, which I really enjoy. This did make me want to pick up seven days in june, because the little tidbits we got of Eva and Shane in this book were very cute. They’re very flawed characters which makes them feel so real.

I’m going to give this 3.75 stars, rounding up. Because I feel the ending was lacking and rushed. I do love Tia Williams writing, seven days in june i’m coming for you next ;)

Thankyou to Quercus Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Audre & Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams @tiawilliamswrites is the BEST romance I’ve read this year.
Thanks so much to Tia, @quercusbooks and @netgalley for the arc.

U.K publication date was the 20th May, but honestly I took my time to read and re-read this. I was kicking my feet, shutting out the world and even shedding a tear over this.

I don’t normally read or love YA romance, but Audre & Bash are an easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and this really needs to be read by everyone at all ages 💕
If you read Seven Days in June a while ago, or you haven’t read it at all, it doesn’t matter at all and you can read and adore this on its own.

The writing was delicious, I ate every word up. I’ve never highlighted so many sentences in my kindle! This book is so funny, nostalgic, honest and open alongside covering important topics like family relationships, the pressure to succeed, friendships and coming of age.

This is far from a shallow romance and tackles topics like generational trauma, intersectionality and anticipatory grief. Through all all adversity, we read beautiful prose that shows us the many faces of love.

Mini blurb:
Audre - junior class president. Unofficial student president. Desperately in need of a good time.
Bash - mysterious new senior. Everybody’s crush. King of having a good time.
Audre’s dad cancelled her annual summer visit, now she’s stuck in a claustrophobic apartment with her mom, stepdad and 1 year old sister. Under these conditions, she’ll never finish her self help book - I.e the key to winning over Stanford’s admissions board. Cut to Bash Henry! Audre hires him to be her “fun consultant” his job? To help her complete her list of five wild dates designed to give her juicy book material. Can they stay professional despite their obvious connection?

I liked this book but I wasn’t completely blown away by it. It leaned more into the YA genre than I expected, but that aside, it’s really well written. One thing I absolutely loved was how diverse & inclusive the story is; there’s so much representation throughout. There are some really sweet moments & I especially enjoyed the interactions between Audre and Bash (I actually wish there had been more of them!)

★★½

screaming and or crying over this book it was everything I wanted and everything I needed I just loved it

I can understand the message that this book was trying to give. But I personally could not connect to the characters and struggled to root for Bash and Audre. I also did struggle with the narrative as it felt quite confusing and jumpy, which could be down to personal writing style preference. Although the book didn’t hit the mark for me I can see how it may appeal to others.

Such a wholesome story about first love, friendships, family and expectations.
I really enjoyed Seven Days in June so I was very excited to see Audre as the main character.
On the outside it looks like she has it all figured out, but on the inside she’s struggling. She feels out of control in every aspect of her life: her relationship with her mom, her college applications, her friendships, and being more honest with the people in her life.
In walks Bash who has struggles of his own and is floundering.
Somehow they meet and strike a deal that forces them together.
Not only did they instantly click, but they were vulnerable, possibly for the first time in their lives, with each other. The mental health discussions were done incredibly well.
I think the pace of this book was perfect. Their relationship was both deep and lighthearted, they truly brought out the best of each other.
I also loved seeing Eva and Shane again!! Seeing them through Audre’s eyes was a very different experience.

Even though I don’t really read YA contemporary romances anymore I really enjoyed this one!

This book was so incredibly cute! I really enjoyed Seven Days and June so knew I had to read Audre’s story! However, I don’t feel like you need to have read Seven Days in June in order to enjoy this book.
The mental health representation was done incredibly well. I found it was very well written for a YA book and the relationship between Audre and Bash had me reliving my teenage years

General thoughts
A cute YA romcom that will give you all the feels and thrills of teenage romance

Book overview:
Audre is the prefect inexperienced daughter of bestselling author Eva. She has decided to write a novel this summer to support her college application. Unfortunately one of her plans, fell through when her dad confirms that he can’t host her in California this summer break.
This leave her devastated , she doesn’t have a plan b! What is she going to do this summer break?
Her mom is no longer any fun, now that she is preoccupied with her little sister Alice.

Her best friend Reshma suggest that Audre live her best life by get some life experiences this summer. She constructs a list of dares for Audre to achieve this summer, all Audre needs, is a fun consultant, who can keep her accountable whilst reshma goes overseas for the summer.
This is where Bash ( a previous track star) comes into the equation. He is new to Brooklyn and has the reputation of the mysterious fun it guy. What people don’t know is that Bash is deeper than he seems. He is dealing with his own family hurt and neglect. Being in Brooklyn is a way to start fresh and forget his past. When Audre approaches him to be her fun consultant. He is more than happy to help.

What starts off as just friends, develops into a relationship that they both needed but didn’t expect.

Read the book to find out the many obstacle and challenges they had to overcome together.

4.5/5 stars

Loved this one!! Audre’s struggle with her mental health was written very well and I loveeeeeed Bash. Real yearning is back! Bash reminded me of Wes in Better than the Movies and I mean that as the biggest compliment. Didn’t really care for Reschma’s story though, and I feel like she was not as fleshed out of a character as I’d like. Great follow up to Seven Days in June!

“To find a best friend who was also infuriatingly pretty. A girl who was his first thought in the morning and his last before drifting off to sleep. A girl who ignited his brain and his heart.” 😍

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/7a16a7fd-58a1-4d97-ab50-72548ff39355?redirect=true