Review: Grip by Kennedy Ryan
Grip by Kennedy Ryan Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on March 2nd 2017
Pages: 382
Format: eBook
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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.
*Flow, the GRIP prequel, should be read before this. Flow is currently free on Amazon, here is a direct link.
GRIP is my first novel by author Kennedy Ryan and if this is a good indication of her work, she has a new fan.
Marlon bka Grip and Bristol met years ago and spent a whirlwind week together when they were younger. It all fell apart just as quickly as it began, and the love that promised was never fully realized. (Read the prequel Flow). Fast forward years later and their relationship is as complicated as ever. GRIP is a blossoming musician and Bristol is his cutthroat manager. They’re still in love, Grip still pursues her, but Bristol hasn’t budged.
Grip and Bristol are complete opposites. She grew up in a pampered yet dysfunctional home filled with nannies and parents who seemed to overlook her. There hasn’t been a time when she had to worry about money. Grip grew up living hand to mouth, raised in a lower economic community but is a poetic and well-read man who is not only cultured and supremely talented but as handsome as I don’t know what. This is an interracial relationship and Ryan doesn’t shy away from that. She explores what it means to be an interracial couple and doesn’t run away from missteps, hard truths, and the glaring differences Grip and Bristol face not only because of the color of their skin but the difference in class.
There were times I literally wanted to shake Bristol until her teeth rattled. She is desperately in love with Grip but terrified to admit that she loves him so much, she’s honestly terrified to love anyone that much.
He hasn’t met a love like mine. My love is Pandora’s Box. Grip snapped my hinges and pried me open. He let this love out. My love has a wild streak. Good luck trying to tame it.
This caused a lot of frustration because she was literally thisclose to letting Grip slip through her fingers.
GRIP is a story of young love, blossoming friendship, forgiveness, hard truth, and more importantly once in a lifetime love. GRIP is poetic and complex. It wasn’t your standard contemporary romance, and that’s what continually drew me in. Ryan explored familial ties, betrayal, and tested the limits to what these characters would do for love. Amidst all of the moving parts of this novel, it still managed to be grounded in reality which I appreciated.
I can go on and on about this book but you literally have to read it to believe me.
While GRIP was initially a standalone novel, (and still can be read as such), STILL will be available later this month and is the next chapter in these characters lives.
Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.
You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.
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