Take Me With You by Andrea Gibson

Lynnie 

poetry 

Like many others, I was recently introduced to Andrea Gibson through the documentary, Come See Me In the Good Light, filmed during a year of Gibson's treatment for the ovarian cancer that would eventually take her life.

I was so moved by the spoken-word poetry Gibson performed throughout the film that I wanted to read more of their work and immediately got my hands on this book and got on the waitlist for others at the library.

Take Me With You is a fascinating collection of thoughts. In some ways it felt like gateway poetry. There are short snippets of poems, some taken from Gibson's longer poems from what I understand, others are original short poems or couplets or phrases. Yet, these bite-size morsels pack a punch. Sometimes I would turn a page and just be gutted by the words there. Other times, I would find myself smiling or laughing. The thoughts may be brief, but the sentiments are huge.

This is a book that could be read in a day, but I found myself stretching it out, only reading a few pages at a time to make it last longer and to really chew on some of the ideas Gibson shares. I'm really looking forward to reading some of their longer works. This collection however, is one I think I'll return to over and over.  

Strangers by Belle Burden

Amy   

memoir

Strangers is Belle Burden’s memoir, mostly covering her marriage and divorce, but also including the histories of her family members as well as her husband’s. Burden came from a very wealthy family including several famous people. She lived a privileged life, married the man of her dreams, and created a seemingly perfect family with him. And then, one day in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she discovered a betrayal and her husband announced he was leaving her and their children.

While this book was never boring or long-winded, it can be very simply summarized in one paragraph. I won’t do that so that others can experience the ride of Burden’s experiences. Burden speaks authentically and from her heart. She admits her own mistakes while also sharing the horrors of her situation with the reader. Personally, while I’m not divorced, I’m the child of divorce and have many divorced friends. I had no trouble understanding Burden’s thoughts and actions. In fact, I was riveted to find out what she would learn along the way and how the memoir would finish.

While this book is being described as good for book clubs, I’m not so sure that it would generate overly lengthy or debatable discussions. But, at the same time, I feel it’s a worthwhile read for any woman and that it will undoubtedly speak very directly to those who find the subject matter relevant. And it will make everyone think. I applaud Burden for sharing her story and placing herself in the spotlight of public scrutiny.

The author narrated the audiobook. While she’s no amazing vocal talent, her delivery of her story was heartfelt and genuine. I always like when authors narrate their own books and am giving her an A- only because her tone could be flat for long periods of time. But I really enjoyed hearing her voice in addition to “her voice”.

In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto

Lynnie 

contemporary romance 

I was first introduced to Chelsea Curto's writing when a friend shared Curto's D.C. Stars series with me. It's a fun hockey romance series filled with dreamy, green-flag men, kick-ass, empowered women and very steamy romance.

Curto's In Stormy Weather brings that same energy to Florida where a small group of 30-something friends support one another as hurricane season is about to begin in the Sunshine State. Lucky for them, two of their friends are meteorological rock stars: Quincy, who runs a hugely successful weather blog with more than a million followers and Sebastian, a famous weatherman for ABC's national evening news. Quincy and Sebastian have been competing against one another since high school, for grades, awards and jobs; they circle each other's orbits but can't seem to stop picking at one another.

Of course, the laws thermodynamics and romance novels dictate that Quincy and Sebastian are going to be thrown together, experience some insane and terrifying storms, and will, eventually, have wild sex and live happily ever after, right? Of course right. 

I loved the characters of Quincy and Sebastian. I enjoyed seeing unapologetically smart characters who pushed each other to be their best and who were excited by each other's intelligence. The misogyny that Quincy experiences is realistic — every woman who has professional success in a male-dominated field has experienced it to some degree — and I think that Sebastian's shock in hearing about it is also realistic, sadly. I don't however, think his full-throated, constant defense of her is realistic, though I wish it were. That's the joy of fiction though, isn't it? Curto can create the man every woman wishes they were standing next to in the breach; the man who would stop an interview and demand someone give us the respect we have earned. Still, Sebastian serves as a great role model and if a woman reads this book and thinks that this is what they should expect from a man, maybe more men will be forced to step forward in the future, so I am all for it! Either way, it was a fresh, new take on the romance genre for me, having not read a lot of STEM or storm-chasing romance and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I also loved the friend group who, it appears, will take center stage in future books based on the Acknowledgments. Curto sets up the future of these Oak Valley, Florida friends nicely and I'm eager to learn what will happen next, not only with Quincy and Sebastian, but also with Mia, Cooper, Harlow and Nate.

In Stormy Weather will be published on July 14, 2026. Thank you to Atria Books, NetGalley and Chelsea Curto for the advanced reader copy.

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Amy    

romance

Persephone has not seen or heard from her first love, Sam, in 12 years when Sam’s brother calls her to let her know that their mother has died. Percy and Sam had fallen in love as teenagers when her family spent summers at the lake in a small town four hours from their home in Toronto. She has thought about the way things ended between them, with regret, ever since.

Every Summer After was an authentic-feeling story. Their young love was adorable. The story alternated between the present and various points in the progression of time from their past. While the ending was no mystery, the mysteries that kept me reading were about why they split up twelve years ago and how Percy, apparently, mishandled the situation. I enjoyed getting to know both characters and experiencing their love story. It was a good summer read written by Carley Fortune.

As with most romances, I don’t have much to say except that it was cute. I’ll certainly read the sequel! After all, I’ve grown to care about the secondary characters too! In fact, I read this book because the sequel was recommended to me and I always want to read series books in order. I look forward to it.

The audiobook was narrated by AJ Bridel and she did a terrific job! Great voice acting and a good vocal repertoire as well. Sadly, she mispronounced “poutine” and I even looked up the proper Canadian pronunciation online to verify it’s pronounced the same way we pronounce it here in the South. And she’s Canadian. SMH. Could there be regional pronunciation differences? I’ll give her an A-.