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heather667's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Vomit, Ableism, Chronic illness, Grief, Medical content, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Death, and War
Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion
michelle_my_belle's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Bullying, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racism, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Biphobia
Minor: Abortion
iisa's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Chronic illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism, Pregnancy, Grief, Death of parent, and Infidelity
Minor: Abortion
marisacarpico's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
A lot to like here, but some elements in the execution that betray how much this would have benefited from a sharper edit and kept me from loving this as much as I wanted to.
A lot of telling and not showing to the point that certain emotional stakes or beats are reiterated over and over to the point of frustration. You could cut a hundred pages probably just by trimming paragraphs that tell us what we already know either as set up or summary after a conversation or event.
This is especially prominent for me in the choices Ryan makes about what to relay in detail and what gets summarized in a paragraph or two of description. Ryan writes very good smut, but there were a number of times where she would favor that over what felt like to me the big moments to really convince us of Neevah and Canon’s connection. There’s a scene where they spend some time together on a secret vacation where she mentions that they have a conversation about dreams, life, history, etc. that is just relayed in passing and it made me want to actually read that conversation rather than be told about it. I suppose there’s a lot to buy into their relationship through their heat and their shared views on their work, but there are so many missed opportunities like that feel like a chance to build the romance in a more complete way.
That said, there are instances where Ryan does that really well. The section where they talk about Halle Berry’s Dorothy Dandridge movie thrilled me–not just because I watched that movie a million times as a kid–but because it represents this perfect example of their shared interests, history and goals as artists. Ryan mentions in her end note that a major goal of the book is to highlight the history of black performers who paved the way and were then erased by history and, unfortunately, not every instance is as seamless as that scene. The texture the idea of Dessi Blue adds to the story is really wonderful, but I do think she sacrifices the strength of the personal story she’s telling for that goal in the ending especially.
Leaving so much incomplete for Neevah and Canon to favor their role in Dessi’s legacy left this feeling a bit unsatisfying. It would be comforting after all they’ve been through to see them complete the film and get an idea of critical reception or box office. Yes, they’re carrying on her legacy by making the film in the first place and I love that she gets the final day in the book, but we don’t actually know if that’s true based on where the movie stands at the end and it just feels too abrupt an end point when everything else has felt so deliberate.
Despite those critiques, I do think there is so much to like here. I really appreciate that Ryan never falls into the lazy conflicts of so many romances. No contrived miscommunications or misunderstandings here. Neevah and Canon are damaged, but they are adults and she treats them that way. I do think Neevah’s conflict with her sis ther is too childish for too long simply because she makes a big plot move to resolve it in the final chapters, but it diminishes Neevah in the long run. I will also admit Canon perhaps reads a bit too perfect in his reaction to suddenly being in love with someone who is chronically ill. I suppose we are assuming he’s dealt with the trauma of his mother’s death by then, but perhaps a mention of that work or some scene where he reaches out to someone for emotional support would make him a more complete person.
The thing I like most about this, and unreservedly so, is the way these characters do, in their building blocks, feel so specific and real. So many romances feel the same and this not only delivers two BIPOC leads, but does so in a way that understands their experiences with a depth so many romances with a non-white characters don’t seem to. So many romances veer into tokenism and this never does even when a character gets very little screen time. Like I actually want to hear more about Linh and I’d love to see Ryan pursue the romance she’s possibly setting up for her with Evan.
Overall, I do think I’m really digging into this one because there is so much potential here and I really wish some more fine tuning allowed this to really soar. Ryan is already so good and it feels like she’s only going to get better and better from here.
A lot of telling and not showing to the point that certain emotional stakes or beats are reiterated over and over to the point of frustration. You could cut a hundred pages probably just by trimming paragraphs that tell us what we already know either as set up or summary after a conversation or event.
This is especially prominent for me in the choices Ryan makes about what to relay in detail and what gets summarized in a paragraph or two of description. Ryan writes very good smut, but there were a number of times where she would favor that over what felt like to me the big moments to really convince us of Neevah and Canon’s connection. There’s a scene where they spend some time together on a secret vacation where she mentions that they have a conversation about dreams, life, history, etc. that is just relayed in passing and it made me want to actually read that conversation rather than be told about it. I suppose there’s a lot to buy into their relationship through their heat and their shared views on their work, but there are so many missed opportunities like that feel like a chance to build the romance in a more complete way.
That said, there are instances where Ryan does that really well. The section where they talk about Halle Berry’s Dorothy Dandridge movie thrilled me–not just because I watched that movie a million times as a kid–but because it represents this perfect example of their shared interests, history and goals as artists. Ryan mentions in her end note that a major goal of the book is to highlight the history of black performers who paved the way and were then erased by history and, unfortunately, not every instance is as seamless as that scene. The texture the idea of Dessi Blue adds to the story is really wonderful, but I do think she sacrifices the strength of the personal story she’s telling for that goal in the ending especially.
Despite those critiques, I do think there is so much to like here. I really appreciate that Ryan never falls into the lazy conflicts of so many romances. No contrived miscommunications or misunderstandings here. Neevah and Canon are damaged, but they are adults and she treats them that way. I do think Neevah’s conflict with her sis ther is too childish for too long simply because she makes a big plot move to resolve it in the final chapters, but it diminishes Neevah in the long run. I will also admit Canon perhaps reads a bit too perfect in his reaction to suddenly being in love with someone who is chronically ill. I suppose we are assuming he’s dealt with the trauma of his mother’s death by then, but perhaps a mention of that work or some scene where he reaches out to someone for emotional support would make him a more complete person.
The thing I like most about this, and unreservedly so, is the way these characters do, in their building blocks, feel so specific and real. So many romances feel the same and this not only delivers two BIPOC leads, but does so in a way that understands their experiences with a depth so many romances with a non-white characters don’t seem to. So many romances veer into tokenism and this never does even when a character gets very little screen time. Like I actually want to hear more about Linh and I’d love to see Ryan pursue the romance she’s possibly setting up for her with Evan.
Overall, I do think I’m really digging into this one because there is so much potential here and I really wish some more fine tuning allowed this to really soar. Ryan is already so good and it feels like she’s only going to get better and better from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Chronic illness
Minor: Abortion and Ableism
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