This was such a beautifully written romance novel though I did start getting anxious over halfway through because things were going too well and I didn’t want to see what 3rd act obstacles Ryan threw at them.
This one is a bit on the heavier side for romance as chronic illness plays a large role but I quite enjoyed it. Canon, the leading man, is a famous director who broke onto the scene with a documentary about his late mother’s journey with MS. Since then, he has had success with a mix of documentaries and feature films with only one major scandal – when he got into evolved with his leading lady early in his career and she got him fired from the film in the fallout of the break up.
Neevah has always wanted to be performer, and after years of putting in the work, she is understudy to the lead on a Broadway musical. Canon sees the play while the leading lady is on vacation and catches Neevah’s opening night, realizing that he has finally found the lead for his next movie, Dessi Blue, a biopic about an unknown Black performer from the late Harlem Renaissance and later era.
The attraction is instant and deep but both are professionals – Canon doesn’t want a repeat of his last scandal and he doesn’t want anyone to question his casting of an unknown for such a major role, and let a relationship with the director discredit Neevah’s talent. Of course, as much as they try to resist, it is only so long before they give in.
In the background of all this is Neevah’s discoid lupus – this version of the diagnosis mostly shows itself with hair loss and a skin condition but it’s still something that Neevah is always trying to manage.
Ryan balances the story lines really well, throwing in parts of the script to share Dessi’s story (a conglomerate of women like Billie Holiday and Dorothy Dandridge). This novel is both a celebration of Black artists across decades, and an exploration of life and love with chronic illness. I found it quite well done and moving, and would definitely recommend it. There are a few points where it does feel a little long or slow, and at around 450 pages (not sure if I should count the bonus epilogue), it is on longer side of the page count range for romances.
This novel originally came out in 2021 and Ryan hasn’t released a follow up (there is a novella) though there is a plan mentioned in the afterword, and it seems like the next two potential couples are very much set up here. From what I could find, looks like this was self published and then the series was put on hold when she got a deal for the Skyland series but we can expect more of this world after that (and this novel was rereleased last year with a publisher).
