Plenty of Pace students are familiar with the experience of living in a New York City apartment – but have any lived in one that occasionally takes its inhabitant seven years into the past? That’s what happens to Clementine West, a hardworking book publicist who recently inherited an apartment from her late aunt, in Ashley Poston’s novel The Seven Year Slip. After coming home late one night, Clementine discovers that she has traveled back in time to seven summers ago when her aunt, busy traveling in Europe, rented her apartment to Iwan, a rising chef trying to make a name for himself in the city. At first, she is hesitant to connect to him. The sudden loss of her aunt and dedication to her career has left her mistrusting and uninterested in love. Furthermore, the apartment is unpredictable, and she can never tell when she will be in the past or present upon coming home. Still, Clementine finds herself falling for Iwan, and must figure out how to deal with the consequences.

The Seven Year Slip succeeds if the reader is in search of a cheesy rom-com. Each character is lovable and realistic. Poston balances focusing on Clementine’s romantic and platonic relationships admirably well. Her friendships with her co-workers are believable and their banter is consistently entertaining to read. Her relationship with Iwan is also adorable, but almost flawless. The pace of their romance is almost insta-love-esque, and although this caused me to feel a disconnect with their chemistry and their story, that is certainly not the case for all readers – just a trope to keep in mind when considering whether to pick up the novel. Their situations are minor and low-stakes, and the novel constantly conveys a hopeful tone when it comes to them. Although this can make the relationship feel unrealistic and almost too perfect at times, that is not an inherently bad thing, and common in many books of the same genre. In that regard, it lives up to the standards that I would expect from a book of its genre and nature.

The novel does branch out of its rom-com nature, however, into more serious topics. Poston articulates Clementine’s grief from losing her aunt in creative metaphors that readers can connect with. In the reader’s note included in the back of the novel, Poston explains that these descriptions were inspired by the grief she felt after her grandfather’s passing, making them both intimate and genuine. It also successfully delves into Clementine and Iwan’s fears of aspiration in their careers and their struggles to define what they really want out of their lives. Once again, Poston uses artful, flowery language to describe these universal feelings. Clementine especially has clear, well-paced character development throughout the novel, as she not only learns what she really wants in life, but realizes, with the support of those around her, that it is okay to pursue it – a depiction that motivates the reader to examine their own life in a similar way.

Overall, The Seven Year Slip’s lovable cast and witty humor make it an enjoyable story to escape in while its ruminations on grief, personal happiness, growth anchor it in reality and give readers opportunities to relate. If you are looking for a rom-com novel with low stakes, predictable tropes, and real-world connections, it may be the next book for you!