The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

After reading Geekerella, one of Ashley Poston's young adult romances, I thought it might be time to delve into one of her adult novels. I don't usually read descriptions or dust covers, but my sister found The Seven Year Slip and I was intrigued as she read the back cover to me - I knew it needed to be my next book. It was voted one of their Best Book of 2023 by the New York Public Library and is an Amazon Editors' Pick for best romance. It deals with death, suicide, and grief.

Clementine is not having a good year. In fact, she would tell you that she is coming off of the worst day of her life. The day that her beloved aunt died. That also happened to be the day that she inherited her aunt's apartment in New York City, but up until now, Clementine has preferred to continue living in her own apartment and pay rent because she can't stand to see the apartment without her aunt in it. But when her rent is raised, Clementine has no other choice. And to make her life more complicated, Clementine wakes up one day to find a handsome chef with a southern drawl standing over here. Her aunt had sublet the apartment to him for the summer... seven years ago. Clementine's aunt did always say that the apartment was magical, like a pinch in time. Soon, Clementine is hoping to see Iwan when she gets home from work at the end of the day, but how do you explain to someone that the you that they know actually exists seven years in the future? Is the Iwan that is in her time the same, does he even remember her, would he still be interested? She finds out when her publishing company attempts to woo an up and coming young chef who is none other than present day Iwan.

As I said earlier in the post, I picked up this book when the back cover intrigued me, I wanted to know exactly how Ashley Poston pulled off having a couple fall in love with one in present day and one in the past. So, I would like to get this out of the way now - that it was not as exciting as I thought it would be and I was slightly disappointed . In addition, I thought that the dialogue at the beginning of this novel felt forced and not realistic. But as I read on, it really started to grow on me. The dialogue got better. I did like the characters and I thought that Clementine's development through the book was great, both in the way that she deals with her grief about her aunt's death and her disappointment in the present day. She learns to look at things from a different perspective, which I often need to be reminded to do. The plot, although disappointing to me at first, went in a direction I did not expect and I ended up really enjoying. The setting was wonderful, the apartment and how Clementine feels inside it at various points in her life was very well set up. And it had a decent pace for the most part, and the romance between the characters moves fast but it does not feel rushed.

I'm giving The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston 4 stars out of 5 with a spice rating of 1.75. It was not my favorite novel, it wasn't even my favorite romance novel this year, but it was fun and mostly lighthearted with elements that I really enjoyed. And I enjoyed comparing her young adult book to her adult novel. I would not be opposed to reading more of her work but I may not put it at the top of my list.

For more from the author, check out her website at https://www.ashposton.com/

Pairs well with bacon wrapped dates (summer fettuccini and lemon pie would've been too easy) and naming the stray animals you regularly see.

My favorite quote: she was "afraid to keep anything too long in fear it might spoil."

Geekerella by Ashley Poston