What do you think?
Rate this book
The Music Between You And I
Not yet published
Expected 4 Aug 26A nerdy Black woman in her thirties and a reclusive British rockstar twice her age were never supposed to make sense. Until they do.
Poppy Thomas is the kind of nerdy Black millennial who can write about cartoons and pop culture nonsense without blinking. None of it gets her taken seriously. She is frustrated and still dreaming of writing something that actually matters.
At a crowded coffee shop, Poppy offers an anxious older man the empty chair at her table. He seems ordinary at first. Quiet. A little out of place. But beneath the nerves, there is an unexpected charm. A warmth that catches her off guard. And when he speaks, his low voice, touched with a British accent, lingers longer than it should.
There is something about him she cannot quite place.
Not at first.
Days later, the realization hits.
Summoner.
The vanished rockstar she grew up on, obsessed over, even wrote fanfiction about.
He was everywhere once. Sixty million records sold. Then he disappeared.
An interview with him could change everything.
He shuts her down flat.
But Poppy can't let it go. She keeps showing up. Again and again. What starts as curiosity turns into fixation. And somewhere along the way, the story she wanted starts to matter less than the man in front of her.
Poppy, living with depression, finds an unexpected steadiness in him. Summoner, worn down by fame and anxiety, begins to step back into the world he left behind.
Falling for each other is the easy part.
Loving each other means facing family, friends, and a world with opinions, and deciding if they are willing to endure it for a love that refuses to stay small.
Poppy Thomas is the kind of nerdy Black millennial who can write about cartoons and pop culture nonsense without blinking. None of it gets her taken seriously. She is frustrated and still dreaming of writing something that actually matters.
At a crowded coffee shop, Poppy offers an anxious older man the empty chair at her table. He seems ordinary at first. Quiet. A little out of place. But beneath the nerves, there is an unexpected charm. A warmth that catches her off guard. And when he speaks, his low voice, touched with a British accent, lingers longer than it should.
There is something about him she cannot quite place.
Not at first.
Days later, the realization hits.
Summoner.
The vanished rockstar she grew up on, obsessed over, even wrote fanfiction about.
He was everywhere once. Sixty million records sold. Then he disappeared.
An interview with him could change everything.
He shuts her down flat.
But Poppy can't let it go. She keeps showing up. Again and again. What starts as curiosity turns into fixation. And somewhere along the way, the story she wanted starts to matter less than the man in front of her.
Poppy, living with depression, finds an unexpected steadiness in him. Summoner, worn down by fame and anxiety, begins to step back into the world he left behind.
Falling for each other is the easy part.
Loving each other means facing family, friends, and a world with opinions, and deciding if they are willing to endure it for a love that refuses to stay small.
Expected publication August 4, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
I spent half this book alternating between laughing at Poppy's decisions and begging her to make one sensible choice. She is messy, impulsive, relatable, and somehow impossible not to root for. The chemistry between Poppy and Summoner isn't built on instant romance but really on high curiosity, awkward conversations, shared musics, emotional baggage, and two people who are carrying more loneliness than they know what to do with. Their interactions feel strangely intimate even when almost nothing happens. Those little conversation had me waiting for one of them to finally say what they were really thinking.
I loved the fact that how honestly the book handles mental health. Poppy makes terrible decisions, second guesses herself constantly, gets embarrassed and keeps going anyway. At some point, I wanted to scream at her but I also understood why she was doing what she was doing.
If you want me to talk about Summoner, I do have one thing to say about that, the author somehow turned a retired rock legend into the most socially awkward, secretive, tea drinking man imaginable and I loved that. Instead of acting like an untouchable celebrity, he feels like someone desperately trying to disappear from the world. Every time he appeared, I wanted another chapter from his perspective because there was clearly so much hiding beneath the surface.
Music isn't just mentioned, but still it becomes part of the emotional language of the story. Whether they're talking about records, songs, or old performances, it all carries this nostalgic warmth that makes the romance feel something instead of following the usual celebrity love story formula. If you enjoy character driven romances where emotional tension matters more than constant plot twists, the payoff is worth it.
This book completely won me over. I laughed and even rolled my eyes, I wanted to confiscate Poppy's phone several times, and somehow I ended up completely invested in these two wonderfully awkward people. It's sweet, emotional, funny, and addictive. Once the relationship starts developing, it's incredibly hard to put down.
I loved the fact that how honestly the book handles mental health. Poppy makes terrible decisions, second guesses herself constantly, gets embarrassed and keeps going anyway. At some point, I wanted to scream at her but I also understood why she was doing what she was doing.
If you want me to talk about Summoner, I do have one thing to say about that, the author somehow turned a retired rock legend into the most socially awkward, secretive, tea drinking man imaginable and I loved that. Instead of acting like an untouchable celebrity, he feels like someone desperately trying to disappear from the world. Every time he appeared, I wanted another chapter from his perspective because there was clearly so much hiding beneath the surface.
Music isn't just mentioned, but still it becomes part of the emotional language of the story. Whether they're talking about records, songs, or old performances, it all carries this nostalgic warmth that makes the romance feel something instead of following the usual celebrity love story formula. If you enjoy character driven romances where emotional tension matters more than constant plot twists, the payoff is worth it.
This book completely won me over. I laughed and even rolled my eyes, I wanted to confiscate Poppy's phone several times, and somehow I ended up completely invested in these two wonderfully awkward people. It's sweet, emotional, funny, and addictive. Once the relationship starts developing, it's incredibly hard to put down.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This was a fantastic storyline featuring a Black female writer and an older white male music artist who come together in a beautifully complex relationship. As they address mental health and navigate taboo topics, they find each other, fall in love, and make that love work despite all odds. Beyond the compelling romance, the author powerfully highlights the neglect Black women face in healthcare, something that should be national news. Why are we okay with this still happening? Healthcare should be equal for all. What truly stood out was how the author brought every piece of the story to life with depth and care. For a debut novel, this was truly impressive. I absolutely loved it, and it made me care deeply about both the characters’ journey and the broader conversations it sparks.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Really appreciated how each of these character's mental health problems were shown. :) Really well done and it was so sweet on how they took turns taking care of each other and how this was definitely their love language. This was one of those books that just put it all out there and didn't shy away from the hard stuff.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews