BLURB:

For months I stood by, an understudy waiting in the wings, preparing for my time to shine.
I never imagined he would watch in the audience that night.
Canon Holt.
Famous film director. Fascinating. Talented. Fine
Before I could catch my breath, everything changed. I went from backstage Broadway to center stage Hollywood.
From being unknown, to my name, Neevah Saint, on everyone’s lips.
Canon casts me in a star-studded Harlem Renaissance biopic, catapulting me into another stratosphere.
But stars shine brightest in the dead of night.
Forbidden attraction, scandal and circumstances beyond my control jeopardize my dream.
Could this one shot—the role of a lifetime, the love of a lifetime—cost me everything?

MY THOUGHTS:

This. This is exactly why I love romance writers—they just get the art of yearning. That perfect moment when the main character realizes, oh damn… I might actually like this guy, and suddenly, every little thing he does feels different. More intense. More real. And you, the reader, are just sitting there smirking like, yeahhh, you feel that too, huh?

Kennedy Ryan just knows how to wreck you in the best way. She captures that deep, electric pull between two people—the kind where a glance feels like a touch, where every interaction stacks on top of the last, building into something you know is going to consume them. And us.

Neevah and Canon lock eyes, and Ryan gives us this line that absolutely took me out:

“Every project, every conversation. This conversation. And when you are the subject of his lens, you feel like he’s hungry for you. & I can’t help but wonder how that hunger would feel in a kiss.”

Like???!!?! 🔥🔥🔥 That kind of tension is why I breathe, okay?

Now, let me tell you. If our girl Neevah didn’t make it until the end of this book—if she would have passed away—I would have been sliding down the wall crying. No hesitation. I was creeping toward the last chapters, holding my breath, whispering into the pages like: “Don’t you do it, Kennedy. Don’t you dare do it.” Because the way Canon took care of her? The tenderness, the love? I was already in my feelings. I was not prepared for devastation. And when I finally closed the book, I exhaled like, Oh, thank God.

That being said… let’s talk pacing.

It’s no secret Kennedy Ryan loves a thicc book. This one? Ultra slow burn. Like, it took a good 200 pages before I felt fully hooked, and then it dipped, and then it picked back up again. I noticed the same thing with The Rebel King series, and honestly, at times, I found myself a little bored. But once we hit that last stretch? That ending? Chef’s kiss. Canon and Neevah’s love was brimming by the final chapters, and I could feel it pouring off the page.

I’m thinking of giving the audiobook a go because I’ve heard it’s amazing, but overall? A solid four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Just a heads-up: if you’re not a fan of a very slow build, you might need some patience with this one. But if you love deep, consuming love stories, Reel is it.

Have you read this one? Let me know what you think! 🎥💖