Review: Grip by Kennedy Ryan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Standalone - Grip #1
Release - March 2, 2017
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Trope - brother's best friend
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 3.5 out of 5
Length - 384 pages
Review of the prequel, Flow

Resisting an irresistible force wears you down and turns you out. I know. I've been doing it for years.

I may not have a musical gift of my own, but I've got a nose for talent and an eye for the extraordinary. And Marlon James - Grip to his fans - is nothing short of extraordinary.

Years ago, we strung together a few magical nights, but I keep those memories in a locked drawer and I've thrown away the key. All that's left is friendship and work.

He's on the verge of unimaginable fame, all his dreams poised to come true. I manage his career, but I can't seem to manage my heart.

It's wild, reckless, disobedient. And it remembers all the things I want to forget.

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MY REVIEW

I haven't read all of Kennedy Ryan's books, but I have read many, and I've got to say that both FLOW and GRIP were her BEST works to date!!

I LOVED GRIP!! Lordy, Lordy, I loved that man!!

Grip was everything you could possibly want in a hero: kind, considerate, patient, understanding, sympathetic, intelligent, talented, passionate, protective, possessive, loyal and loving. Not to mention handsome and sexy as hell. He was also Black. Born and raised in Compton, his musical gift took him out of the hood and gave his life purpose.

Bristol was his best friend's twin sister. Eight years ago a connection sparked between them and within a week they were in love. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding and a devastating homecoming, they were over before they could even begin. For 8 years Grip has been chasing Bristol and sharing his feelings while for 8 years Bristol has been continuously shutting him down. Bristol's fear of love ended up causing A LOT of angst and drama and she was constantly breaking both of their hearts. One heartrending decision has her questioning whether it is better to continue living in fear or to finally put her trust in Grip.

Although I'm mixed race and acknowledge my fantastic mixed heritage, I identify as a Black woman and I feel that the author broached the many instances of racism within this story with compassion and understanding. She didn't make light of it or treat it as a "their" problem. She called it out as an "our" problem and I loved her so much for that. Many times I forgot that this was even a story about an interracial couple and I think that's just one more reason why this story was so successful. Yeah, it covered quite a few hot-button issues and I'm sure it will spark a debate amongst its readers. It might even open the eyes of what Bristol and Grip called "the privileged", but at its core it was a story about love, romantic and otherwise, regardless of the color of one's skin.

My one and only complaint was that I wanted more. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Grip AT ALL , despite their happy-for-now ending.