The Close Up by Kennedy Ryan | The Lightness I Didn’t Know I Needed

This is an overdue review. I read this one long before I read Score and have probably read it twice since then lol.

Nazareth was a high school teammate of Takira’s brother Cliff. The night before the championship game, he came over with the team for dinner. Everybody knows Cliff’s sister is off limits. Once everyone else left, things got heated between her and Naz, but they never got to see each other again after that.

Twelve years later, Naz is a successful basketball player, and Cliff had an incident the night of that championship game that changed the course of his life. He blamed Naz for how he ended up. Takira is a professional hair and makeup artist, working on set when she runs into Naz. He never stopped thinking about her and even tried reaching out several times, but her family prevented them from speaking. He wants to pick up where they left off. She’s afraid her brother will relapse.

She tried to avoid him initially but a fated weeks long couple’s cruise in the Mediterranean with her client, the wife of one of Naz’s teammates, and their friends puts them right in each other’s arms. These two literally went at it all week long, sun up to sun down some days. Could not keep their hands off one another. She wants to go back to the way things were once they’re back home. He wants her to just tell her family they’re going to be together whether they like it or not.

The connection between adult Nazareth and Takira was so damn refreshing. While the sexual chemistry was so over the top, they had no personality or emotional hang ups. Each one of them kept it real about how and what they felt. There wasn’t any back and forth other than her not wanting to hurt her brother. I feel it has a lot to do with the fact that Takira was always a free spirit, even in Reel. She is a whole vibe and Naz’s calm demeanor matched her cocky fresh. Naz was not to be played with though. He put it down every damn time. He was a true lover and hopeless romantic. I love how this one ended.

I enjoyed both Reel and Score but I LOVED The Close Up. While I feel that all three deal with sensitive subjects, there was a lightness in The Close Up that I had to fight to feel when I read the other two. This was such a cute and fun read.

TW: addiction, family trauma

Rating: A lightness, a vibe and Naz putting it down every single time.