Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Reel

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Reel by Kennedy Ryan

32 reviews

ourxstorybegins's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Yo why did I not know this book was going to be sad??? I cried a non-zero number of times while listening to this audiobook and I was not prepared for that. The love story between Neevah and Canon is just...beautiful? It was such a good balance of serious and lighthearted scenes. We had a solid romantic storyline, but the plot regarding filming the movie as well as Neevah’s relationship with her mom and sister were also so stinkin good? This was longer than what I’m used to in a romance novel, but there also wasn’t a moment in the book where I felt like something should’ve been cut out. The hype makes SO much sense for this one.

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btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is everything. The only thing you're allowed to criticize is how they spelled Zac Efron's name. Otherwise, no one is allowed to touch this perfection omg.

This presents the perfect template of a man, a relationship, and of life. I literally don't know what to say. Five stars isn't enough. I feel like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory with all those gift baskets still coming up short. This deserves all the stars. I need everyone to pick up this book and read it and learn from it and pick themselves up and live for this moment, this now, because that's all we know of for sure. My heart is beating so fast cause I'm just tearing up thinking about the beautiful love and care and joy in this book. I don't know how I'm ever going to read romance the same again.

Rep: Black MMC, Black FMC with lupus

TW: vomit, medical content, alcohol, death of a parent, discussions of sexism, racism; mentions infidelity, pregnancy, bullying, cancer

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heather667's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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michelle_my_belle's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This audiobook was phenomenal! On top of a beautifully written story, the voice performances were so well done. Kennedy Ryan never fails to develop fully fleshed our characters who you can root for. Her attention to detail and research really part of in creating a story that Carrie’s the reader through a multitude of human experiences and emotions. Neevah and Canon navigated so much in this book and came through stronger. Three book covers themes of estranged family, Black experience in the entertainment industry, chronic illness, racism, betrayal, self esteem/body image, and of course, love. This is a story I will definitely revisit in the future.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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onlyonebookshelf's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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searchingforhappilyeverafter's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Reel by Kennedy Ryan is a love letter to Black art history. The book's unique narrative brought to life the impact of generational racism and the struggle of Black artists through its beautiful and richly layered story. The romance and Black history are outstandingly well-written and highlight the struggle marginalized people have gone through in the past and still go through today in order to get the recognition they deserve.

I haven’t read many books written like this one, where we have a dual timeline with Neevah and Canon’s romance and the story of the biopic they are producing. I was completely captivated by this unique way of storytelling and Ryan’s poignant and emotional writing style.

There was one aspect that I wasn’t completely thrilled with. And that is the resolution with Neevah’s sister. It felt really unsatisfying to me. I can’t say more without going in to spoilers, but I really disliked the sister mainly for how she reacted when they reunited for the first time.

Having said all of that, I still think this book deserves all the stars and would read it over and over again. That is how powerful Ryan’s writing is. Neevah and Canon’s journey is just so hearttouching. And the things Canon would do and say practically had me melting into a puddle.

It’s difficult for me to read with my eyes or ears only. Most of the time I need both the audio and print or ebook going at the same time. So the quality of the audiobook and performance of the narrators is extremely important to me. Eboni Flowers, Jakobi Diem, and Nicole Small did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life. I especially enjoyed the musical elements that the production team brought to this story.

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yourbookishbff's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Reel is a love letter to Black creatives overlooked by fame and history. In Reel, we are navigating the modern-day love story of performer Neevah Saint and her director Canon Holt, and our story-within-a-story biopic on the fictional performer Dessi Blue. Through these nested narratives, we see how Black artists across generations have been constrained by racism in its many forms: socioeconomic oppression, legal persecution, day-to-day violence and disproportionately poor health outcomes. While our biopic star Dessi is launching a career in the early years of the Civil Rights movement, our modern-day protagonist, Neevah, is launching a career as she battles lupus, a disease that disproportionately impacts women and, specifically, women of color. We learn through Neevah that more than 90% of people living with lupus are women, and that it is 2-3x more prevalent among women of color.

And this is where it is both brilliant and stressful (particularly for those who’ve experienced medical trauma, as a patient or as a caregiver - Neevah and Canon’s experiences give us perspective on both). Neevah’s experience of chronic illness shows us the highs and lows - the days she feels well and capable and strong, and the days her immune system escalates attacks on her organs, threatening her ability to work and forcing her to reevaluate her priorities in all spheres of her life. Canon cycles through fear and anger, denial and hyperfixation, rest and action, balancing his love for Neevah with his fear for her health. Readers can rest easy that this is a low-conflict love story, in that the real conflict is the battle both protagonists must wage to keep Neevah well and define their love for each other.

I listened to this on audio, and the dual narration includes musical numbers and dialogue from Dessi Blue - I HIGHLY recommend audio if you can get it!

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danaslitlist's review

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emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It's the maturity and understanding between the characters for me!

My first Kennedy Ryan book and it will certainly not be my last! This was such a rollercoaster of emotions and I enjoyed every moment. The way that Ryan writes chronic illness was perfection and really relatable to me and it was wonderful to see great representation in a romance novel where the illness was not disgusting or used to infantilize the individual dealing with it.

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takarakei's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Hollywood romance
Chronic Illness Rep

Was just a bit too long (but it's not a slow burn?) for my taste. I did really enjoy the audiobook presentation - since the story follows a movie being made about a jazz singer, there is some singing amidst the story.

4/5 🌶️

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