Hollywood film director Canon Holt sees star power in Neevah Saint, a 30-year-old Broadway understudy waiting for her big break. He casts her in his biopic of Dessi Blue–a forgotten Black jazz legend with an ill-fated romance of her own. As their creative energies sync up an attraction between Canon and Neevah feels inevitable. But their commitment is tested by family struggles, chronic illness, and the pressures that come with being in the spotlight.
Reel is a passionate, sweeping, doorstopper of a romance novel. The way Kennedy weaved the romance of Neevah and Canon with the story of Dessi Blue told through scripts felt effortless.
Narrators Eboni Flowers and Jakobi Diem are two of my favorites and work well to bring Neevah and Canon to life. They are joined by Nicole Small who provides narration for the “play-within-a-play” sections involving Dessi Blue and April Christina who does the singing. It’s a wonderful audiobook but be warned it is 16 hours!
