The Seven Year Slip

As an author of magic-realism romances, they're always my top choice to read as well. My absolute favourite that I read this year was The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston. The characters (a book publicist and a chef, who live seven years apart!) are adorable and relatable, the New York co-op apartment setting is to die for, and the plot has real emotional depth and a swoony love story. This is the kind of book I'd love to see made into a movie. Highly recommend for all you magic-realism romance lovers!

I loved everything about this book: the dreamy New York co-op apartment setting, the relatable main female character Clementine (a book publicist!), the lovable main male character Iwan (a chef!), and the fact that they lived seven years apart. I found it had the perfect balance of witty banter, romantic yearning, depth of feeling, and a sense of place. It also deals with tougher issues, such as grief in Clementine’s loss of her beloved aunt and a sense of self in Clementine’s search for her future path and the aunt’s own background. 

And, like every true romance novel should have,… show more.

I wanted to read this book for some time and am so glad I did! Clementine finds herself in the very unique position of inheriting her grandma's magical apartment. A slip in time happens in this place, where people from seven years ago sometimes magically show up, and you, the person living in the place, get to interact with them. This is how she meets and falls for Iwan.

I loved the descriptions of Iwan's cooking and Clementine's reckoning with her grief over the loss of her grandma. Details are slowly revealed about each character, and when Iwan and Clementine… show more.

I loved this book because it had everything that I search for in a book, including a mix of magic and the mundane that is difficult to find.

I spent most of the book dying to know what had happened to her aunt who had left her the time-slip apartment. The book made me laugh and cry and yell at the characters when I wanted them to act differently. It did a perfect job of leaving breadcrumbs for all the important pieces of the story.

I loved finding an author who likes mixing magic and the regular world, like I… show more.

I love time slip books, and this one is incredible.

It reminded me of the Sandra Bullock/Keanu Reeves movie The Lake House, which I also love. It’s the ultimate romantic conflict, falling for someone who isn’t at the same time as you. It’s heartbreaking and hopeful, and it made me feel all the emotions, and I didn’t want it to end.

I don’t always like fantasy in my romance reads, but magic realism like this is a favorite.