Reel

By: Kennedy Ryan

Narrated by: Eboni Flower, Jakobi Diem, Nicole Small

Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A Broadway actress has a chance at stardom when cast by a major Hollywood director, but the role of her dreams may cost her the love of a lifetime in this epic novel from "one of the finest romance writers of our age." (Entertainment Weekly)

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 when Canon casts me in a star-studded Harlem Renaissance biopic.

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?

• Entertainment Weekly's Best Romances of the Year
• Washington Post's Best Romances of the Year
• Barnes & Noble's Best Indie Books of the Year
• Audiofile Magazine's Best Audiobooks of the Year
• Thriftstore Books' Best Books of the Year
• BookBub's Highest Rated Books of the Year

©2021 Kennedy Ryan (P)2024 Forever

Critic reviews

"Kennedy Ryan is one of the finest romance writers of our age, and she offers readers another marquee title with Reel."—Entertainment Weekly

"Reel is alive and pulsing like a beating heart. This romance is a triumph of art and emotion."—Talia Hibbert, New York Times bestselling author

"Emotional, layered, sexy, and deeply satisfying, with stunning prose and a sweeping storyline, Reel is everything that has Kennedy Ryan fans devouring her books. I'm greedy for the next installment in this series."—Lexi Ryan, New York Times bestselling author

A show stopper of a book

I L♥VED Reel!

Reel has two strong women stories in it - one who is from now and one is from the past. The strength of these two women, Neevah & Dessi, is the heartbeat running throughout the pages. Both women have a story that deserves to be told. Neevah is a stand-in actress who happens to be discovered during one of her fill-in performances and chosen to portray a strong Black woman, Desi, whose story isn’t widely known.

“Do you have any idea how many Dessi Blues there are? Black artists who shaped our culture, made our music, but whose contributions have gone unacknowledge? Their stories just slipped through the cracks. People who, by all rights, should be household names, but nobody knows their names? All they have to show for what they did is a plaque in their hometown or a line on Wikipedia, if that.”

I love that Neevah & Dessi lives, sort of, mirror each other. Even though they are living in different time periods they have a lot of similarities - a forbidden romance, performers, family turmoil, traveling, etc . . .

I did a mixture of reading this book and listening to it. I've been on a listening kick this year and I wanted to make sure I listened to part of this book. I enjoyed both reading and listening to REEL. Reel is 16 hours and 21 minute audiobook.


REEL
● grumpy / sunshine
● forbidden romance
● film director / actress
● chronic illness
● dual audio narration
● standalone

Wow! Just wow!

I read the whole thing in one day. This was my first time reading anything from this author but… wow!

PHENOMENAL! REEL INDEED!

Amazing plot/s- interwoven and demonstrates how the past and present collide and relate. Evidence of research into Hollywood- Black Hollywood, Black history, pays homage, highlights black love and romance, gives info on illness that affects black women, mortality ... so much!

The Narration Trio was Brilliant!

Amazingly brilliant work. The writing was simply beautiful. You won't be disappointed in this work of art and tribute to Black greatness.

Bravo!

I absolutely loved this book! It is a story about love, and so much more (history, struggle, family, music +++). The narrators were amazing. The music and singing were a real surprise! This is one of the most well written books of this genre that I have read in a long time! Bravo!

Sooo good!

Wonderful writing and narration. I’m so happy that I came across this book! READ IT

Reel

In Reel,Kennedy Ryan has written an unforgettable book. Neevah Saint is an understudy in a play on Broadway. She is seen by Canon Holt , a director who is looking to cast a fresh face in his new biography about the Harlem Renaissance. He wants a fresh face, someone no one knows, and he chooses Neevah. All of a sudden, Neevah’s whole world changes once she is cast in the leading role. What no one counted on was the instant forbidden attraction between the two. The movie is very ambitious, it spotlights a time when black talent was not ever recognized or celebrated. The story is rich in history and is not without major obstacles Canon is trying to not show favoritism towards Neevah because of his feelings for her. Neevah has to deal with a life altering event. This book immerses you in Harlem during a time of great talent, and allows us to learn about a time that was largely ignored. It is a love story within a love story! It is Kennedy Ryan at her absolute best!

AMAZING!!!!

This book was absolutely amazing! It was beautifully written and had a wonderful storyline. The development of the characters was very intense and done extremely well. The narrators really made the book come to life. Kennedy Ryan has truly knocked it out of the park with this one!!! I can’t wait for the next addition.

Loved it!

This book is the history lesson in black arts excellence that's young folks need to read. It's also a beautiful love story about understanding the core of someone and loving them through pain.

Phenomenal 👏👏❤

This book was absolutely amazing!! the narrators did an excellent job and of course my all time favorite Jakobi Diem and Nicole Small did amazing 👏❤. Eboni Flowers is fairly new to me but baby she is becoming one of my favorites as well ❤. Great writing over all great job 😊