Queen Move

It as a good book. Some parts it dragged but all in all a good read!

This story is so beautifully written. Thank you

One thing that amazes me about this story is how Ezra is not afraid to express what he wants, even if it may break another person’s heart. “I don’t want normal, I want Kimba.” There has been so many different scenarios that I’ve witnessed in real life where people miss their chances and opportunities because of sugarcoating, pettiness, or misunderstandings. I truly believe in speaking your mind and expressing your thoughts, feelings, and desires completely. In essence, being straightforward. Because if we don’t, we could miss out on an opportunity that effects our entire life. We could miss out on true love and never be completely happy; only try to find contentment in what we’ve had to settle with. Keyword: settle. No one is truly happy with something or someone we didn’t originally want (generally speaking). This book reassured me that being uncomfortably or overly honest is okay as long as I am being true to myself. I also love how Ezra loves Kimba. The way he describes their souls being created together and not being afraid of being emotional and vulnerable with the woman he loves. He is confident in his masculinity yet gentle and compassionate for his woman. I wonder how Ezra’s character development and thought process would have turned out if a male wrote this book. The thought couldn’t help but cross my mind: a woman wrote this book and created Ezra. Of course he is the perfect man of our dreams. But I wonder if he would have the same heart, emotion, and intellect if a man wrote it. Food for thought. It saddened me that their love couldn’t be 100% perfect—and it’s all their parents’ fault. What people don’t realize is that certain negative actions will not only effect just them, but it effects everyone else around them as well. What happened between their parents was selfish. Not only did they not consider the children, but they tarnished their adult lives in the long run. They ended up being with the wrong people. The types of people they have nothing in common with, neither beliefs or even opinions. Which in turn, created baggage, issues, and insecurities which could have been avoided had their parents not acted so selfishly. Now they have other people permanently in their lives that should have never been there in the first place. Love conquers all, of course. But love shouldn’t be difficult all the time. I feel for Kimba deeply. She has to share the man 3 different ways when he should’ve always been just hers. And I know they seem happy together. But deep down, if this was a real person, every time she looks at his family she will always feel some sort of insecurity, resentment, or maybe even jealousy. Maybe not a lot. But it will definitely be there in her gut. This is why I choose to be with someone with a clean slate. No baggage. No children. No deep history with a past relationship. I want to be his first, his last, and his only. The first and last woman he proposes to and marries. The first and last woman to conceive and give birth to his children. I don’t like sharing and I definitely don’t want to feel like I have to compete with someone else, or feel like a third wheel at their children’s birthday parties or dance recitals. To find someone with a clean slate is rare in this day and age, and in some cases I may still be young and immature, but at this stage in my life I just can’t find myself being in that type of situation. This book has reconfirmed my way of thinking. I thank Kennedy Ryan for the valuable life lessons learned and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. 5 stars! Will read again. Can’t wait for the bonus chapters! Also: I tried to write this review with no spoilers but if I gave anything away, please accept my dearest apologies!

Childhood best friends.... meet again!! After years apart Kimba and Ezra reconnect. Their feelings haven’t changed but life is so different for the both of them. How they get to happily ever after is another beautiful story by Kennedy Ryan. Kimba is a strong woman. She’s got a powerful job in a man’s world and does it well. Ezra is this amazing man with a beautiful soul. And his heart has always been Kimba’s. Their journey takes time, it isn’t rushed, they deal with real issues and at the end... my heart was whole. Kennedy Ryans’s writing is amazing and powerful and real!

Kimba Allen is a grown ass woman. She is ambitious. She’s successful. She has a sexual appetite. She’s confident and owns all parts of herself. (On a personal note, I love reading romances that tell the stories of women outside the twenty-something bubble many romances embody. Love and life exists outside that decade, no? I like seeing it here). . Ezra is a solid man. Not just his stature and build, but his emotional accountability, his ability to communicate, he has an amazing job he’s passionate about... he’s mixed race and the novel deals with very real issues that come up when you are a part of more than one racial and/or cultural world. . I’m a sucker for a love across the years...decades...a length of time that debuted an intimacy that can’t be garnered in a insta-love story. And that’s what this is ... the reader can feel the tension and desire that only years a part can make. A love that is reignited at different times during a life even just in thought. . That is a love I can get behind. Tied together by time and unrequited but inevitable passions. Another one that @kennedyryan1 hits out of the park.

This book is so good. We go back to the past and see how close Ezra and Kimba were. We see them finally find each other. Even when pulled in different directions they still feel connected. Their chemistry jumps off the pages. The angst has me wanting to break things. I needed to know... Kimba and Ezra are explosive together. I am always amazed at the things I learn reading Kennedy Ryan’s books. She is so talented. The research she has to do to write such compelling stories has to be a lot of work. I never saw the twist coming. I swear my jaw dropped to the floor. Drawing flies because I couldn’t pick it up. Kimba truly wanted what was best for the family. I felt her fear of losing, but she truly was a QUEEN.

Kennedy Ryan blows me away with her writing every time. Every. Single. Time. With every book she writes, she solidifies just how talented she is. You can feel the heart and the passion in every single book, every chapter, every word. Queen Move was one of the best friends to lovers romances I’ve ever read. Kimba is a secondary character from ‘The Kingmaker’ and when I met her in that book, I knew I wanted her story. She is unapologetically herself and a strong and independent woman. I wasn’t sure what man would be able to take her on, but Ezra Stern has what it takes. Ezra and Kimba were best friends from the time they were infants until their teenage years when Ezra’s family moved out of the country. Ezra and Kimba always had a special bond, and unbreakable friendship. They’ve been out of each others lives for so many years and things are complicated, but it’s obvious even after all this time, these two belong together. 
 There are parts towards the end of this story that are angsty and a bit…messy. This could have been handled in a bad way, but Kennedy handled it perfectly. I was worried this twist of the story would make me love the book a little less, but it only made me love these characters and their story even more. They were resilient and strong and proved that their love was for real, even during hard times. This book was special. This story was important. These characters moved me. I can’t get enough of Kennedy Ryan’s works and I hope she never ever stops writing. If you’re looking for an epic book that has steam, an incredible prose, and will give you all the feels, pick up Queen Move!

The reason I love KR’s books is because they aren’t just great romances, but well-developed, emotionally provocative stories that address complex modern issues in a heartfelt way. I’ve reread her books so many times, and I’m sure this will be no exception. Love this!

As I was reading this book, a phrase came frequently to my mind: Power to the woman! This is a book about a powerful woman and the second chance she got at love. What I love most about Kennedy Ryan’s stories is that you get more than a love story. You get a life lesson, an inspiration to be more, to do more. You read about people with strong drives to do good, to help the less fortunate and you’re motivated to have compassion and empathy. This author also opens your eyes to social injustices and opens your heart to a desire for more equality and better justice. “Big moves make big waves. Do big things. Make big waves.” Kimba Allen was forged in the steel of her father’s legacy. Actually, the legacy of the Allen family, since she comes from a line of activists. Her father and those before him have worked to improve the situation of many by ensuring that those who get into power positions have the motivation to help those less fortunate. At one moment, she felt overwhelmed by the expectations of her family and her legacy, and she broke tradition and studied someplace else, in Arizona, where she met Lennix, her best friend and partner. Kimba and Lennix made history by campaigning and getting the first independent President in history elected. Now Kimba is starting a new phase in her life working independently from her bestie who is now the first indigenous First Lady. “Daddy used to say don’t talk about it. Be about it. The fastest way to shut up someone who thinks you can’t do something is to do something. Two years since he passed away, and his words continue to guide me every day.” Ezra Stern was Kimba’s best friend since they were babies. Their parents were neighbors and best friends also, and they practically lived in each other’s houses. When they were thirteen, they were in the beginning of a different type of relation, a promise of a future. But they were inexplicably torn apart, Ezra’s family left, and Kimba was left bereft with no explanation for what happened. Twenty years later, on her father’s funeral, Ezra appears again, to give his respects, bringing his son and the mother of his son with him. It’s at this point that I felt such a huge yearning for what could have been. You could feel the connection between them, like an incomplete melody that desperately needed to find completion. However, Kimba recognized that Ezra had a family and she let him go. Years later, they were to meet, when Ezra has his school for disadvantaged children and Kimba is working in election campaigns. Their attraction is so strong that they can’t help but want to be together, to forge a future together, but there are many obstacles and secrets dividing them. It’s very difficult and Kimba has many concerns. Their story is strife with interruptions and separations, and indecision. I admired Ezra so much because he was determined to resolve his issues so he could get his woman. He was honorable, kind and considerate, but also direct and driven. He waited with so much patience and love and fortitude for the woman he loves to come to him. He was like this silent force, emanating a magnetic field of love to bring Kimba to him. “Every campaign, every election, each candidate—I’ve believed in. I believed that putting that person in power advanced one of my convictions.” Kimba was a life force, driven to help, driven to make her candidates succeed so they could perform on her ideals. You’d think she was a complicated woman, but she’s not; she’s driven by heart and passion and it reflects on her love for Ezra. “You save all your tears for the things that set you on fire inside. Anyone who’s ever thought you were cold never got to hear your passion for people, never got to see you fight for them when it’s inconvenient or even a lost cause.” I loved both characters for their integrity, honor, and social compromise. Each one, in their own style, helped overcome social problems. They had the same drive, he teaching, she getting responsible politicians elected. Apart from the love, they saw each other, they were the perfect other to support and help in their quest. There were also secondary plot lines, like Kimba’s relation with her family, a reunion with Mona, a childhood friend who had strong opinions on Kimba’s and Ezra’s relation, Kimba’s brother’s political ambitions. All plot lines were seamlessly woven together into this flawless story that motivates, enthralls and make your heart sing with the happiness of a wonderful story and a beautiful romance. I loved every sentence and every word. It was an honor to be given the opportunity to review an arc.

Queen Move is a childhood friends to tween crush to adult lovers story. The background story for these two and their family friendship was wonderful! There is also a lot of wonderful diversity in background in this book, and I love how Kennedy Ryan is able to highlight people of backgrounds that we don't see often in romance. The storytelling is excellent, as usual from this author, and the personal trial of each main character during this story, separate from each other, while they also try to find a way to each other, is what made the story great in my opinion. I loved Ezra and Kimba both individually. I admit there was a moment or two early on where I was worried about where this story might be going, but I should have known better than to have any doubts! I stayed up way too late finishing this book because I couldn't put it down and had to see how everything was resolved. Overall, this is a moving, well-written story and I always appreciate the worlds that Kennedy Ryan takes me to.