I absolutely loved The Seven Year Slip.
The story follows Clementine, an overworked book publicist grieving the loss of her beloved aunt. She moves into her late aunt’s rent-controlled Upper East Side apartment.
While she’s getting settled, a handsome guy named Iwan suddenly shows up—uninvited, or rather, he was invited by her aunt… seven years ago.
Her aunt had once mentioned something about the apartment shifting between different times, something Clementine brushed off at the time, but it’s now her reality.
Iwan is living in the past—seven years ago to be exact—crashing on her aunt’s couch for the summer with big dreams of becoming a chef in the city, while Clementine is living in the present, trying to avoid falling for this charming man from another time.
Despite their different timelines, the apartment keeps bringing them together, and they end up being exactly what each other needs at the moment.
The Seven Year Slip Plot
An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.
Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.
Six months ago, Clementine West had the worst day of her life. So, she came up with a plan to keep her heart safe: stay busy, work hard, and take no risks. And it’s been working.
That is until one day she finds a strange man standing in her kitchen. A man with kind eyes, a crooked smile, and a recipe for the perfect lemon meringue pie. The kind of man that, before everything, she could have fallen for . . .
He’s perfect, but for one thing, he lives in the past—seven years ago, to be exact.
This should be impossible, but Clementine used to love impossible things. And maybe, just maybe, she will again. After all, love is never a matter of time – but a matter of timing.
The Seven Year Slip Review
I really liked the premise of this book. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect going in, but it was a delightful experience.
The build-up was slow, but it kept me intrigued—I couldn’t wait to see how they would make it work. Watching Clementine and Iwan get to know each other was sweet.
Clementine constantly fights her feelings, especially since her aunt’s rule #2 was clear: never fall in love in this apartment.
After all, how could it work? She’s in the present, he’s in the past. The man she meets in the present is different from the younger version of Iwan she encounters in the apartment.
Still, the apartment keeps bringing them together, and each time they meet, they discover something new about each other. It’s that tension—knowing they’re in different times but unable to stay apart—that makes the story so compelling. I loved watching it unfold.
Across these merging timelines, they eventually meet in the present day, where their relationship has shifted. This part of the story hit hard—the emotional weight was undeniable. Clementine wrestles with her feelings for the Iwan she knew seven years ago, only to realize that the present-day Iwan has grown and evolved.
His youthful ambitions have been tempered by the realities of life, and Clementine struggles to reconcile these two versions of him.
What I found beautiful was the way the story handled the idea of personal growth—how both Iwan and Clementine had changed, yet they were still able to hold on to pieces of who they once were.
The romance was compelling not just because of the chemistry, but because it felt like two real people, with all their flaws and vulnerabilities, falling in love across time.
Lastly, the portrayal of grief was another standout element for me. The way Clementine grapples with her aunt’s death felt incredibly authentic. Her pain, her avoidance of dealing with it, and how deeply the loss affected her.
It was raw and relatable, especially given that Ashley Poston was working through her own grief while writing this version of the novel.
If you’ve ever dealt with loss, I think this book would feel comforting. It doesn’t suggest that time heals everything, but it does show how the weight of grief can feel lighter when shared with others—sometimes over a lovingly cooked meal.
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