4.5 stars

In THREE DAYS IN JUNE the reader is introduced to Gail Baines, a divorced woman whose daughter Debbie is getting married the following day. After being told by her boss she doesn’t have people skills, Gail abandons her job in the middle of the day. When she gets home, her ex-husband Max is on her doorstep with a cat, needing a place to stay since their daughter’s groom is allergic to cats. 

When their daughter Debbie tells her parents a secret, it puts the wedding in jeopardy and brings up unresolved feelings in Gail. 

I wholeheartedly enjoyed the character of Gail. She’s awkward, wanting to do the right thing even when she doesn’t know what that is, and is self-reliant. Her ex Max brings warmth and the right amount of bumbling behavior. While the reader doesn’t get to know Debbie as well as Gail and Max, you can see the various traits of her parents in her. 

Like many of Tyler’s novels, there are keen observations, particularly from narrators who have had time to take in the world. There isn’t much plot here, so if you’re one who needs plot, you’ll want to stay away from this one. This is more of a character study that takes place the day before the wedding, the wedding day, and the day after the wedding. There was one character that I had hoped would stay on until the third day, but didn’t. However, I really liked how the novel wrapped up.

THREE DAYS IN JUNE publishes February 11, 2025.