When I saw the cover for Kennedy Ryan’s newest novel Before I Let Go (Forever), I thought two things: first, I wondered if she was expanding into women’s fiction, and second, that it had been a long time since I’d been to a party (more on that later).

But above all, knowing Kennedy Ryan’s track record for making you cry with her books, I had a box of tissues at the ready, just in case reading this caught me on a rare emotionally hormonal day. And while she’s still writing romance, Before I Let Go is as much of an emotional journey as any women’s fiction novel.

Ms. Ryan’s novel introduces us to Yasmen and Josiah Wade, a couple that has been divorced for two years, but each is still very much in the other’s lives. Josiah lives two only two streets over from their dream home where Yasmen resides with their two kids: thirteen-year-old Deja and 10-year-old Kassim.

Josiah and Yasmen are both still active partners in the business they co-founded. But they separately deal with the grief and loss that tore them apart.

Yasmen is dealing with it by going to therapy, getting new friends she met at yoga, and now that some time has passed, getting back to the community activities she used to do. Josiah has compartmentalized his grief and is working to move on and away from Yasmen. But something just won’t let him.

DON’T READ THIS BOOK WHILE HUNGRY

The Wades’ business is a restaurant called Grits, and when they opened it, Josiah’s Aunt Byrd wore the chef’s hat. The descriptions of food and the recipes she left behind will make your mouth water when you read them. Not to mention, Yasmen’s mother Carole’s cooking, Grits’ new chef Vashti’s ribs and oven-fried chicken, or even the Blaxican food truck’s collard green quesadillas — which cause Yasmen’s friend Hendrix to threaten bodily harm if anyone makes her miss them.

All the various dishes described in the novel make you want to pull up a chair to whatever table they’re at and fill your plate. Ms. Ryan even includes some recipes for the most notable ones. I’m going to try my hand at the limoncello pound cake (which is really my excuse to drink some limoncello).

DISCUSSES GRIEF AND NORMALIZES THERAPY

Ryan’s portrayal of how this Black family deals with grief is one that should be acknowledged and applauded for normalizing therapy. While American society as a whole has various conflicting opinions about mental health and the treatment of mental health conditions, the Black community especially struggles with sitting down in the therapist’s chair.

After all, Black people have had a history of medical exploitation, manipulation, and mistrust to deal with. Therapy is not something we readily accept as healing.

The Wade family obviously needs therapy, but each member is on their own journey to accept psychological help. Showing those journeys from dealing with grief and loss, to seeking help, to accepting it, is not only quintessential women’s fiction — it’s what we need to see.

CELEBRATION OF SOUTHERN BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE

Though there are some cultural and societal struggles, there are also some good times, too. If you’re of a certain age, and you had as much fun in undergrad as I did, chances are you’ve been to a party where they were playing Frankie Beverly and Maze’s hit “Before I Let Go.” It’s one of those songs where everyone gets out on the dance floor, regardless of dancing ability or whether they have a partner, and just has fun.

While that was not a scene here, that thread of fun and lightheartedness is woven throughout the novel — from the jokes about Carole’s cleaning and cooking chitterlings to Hendrix’s … well, to Hendrix being Hendrix.

The thread is universal throughout all cultures — a familiar celebration, an exciting appreciation of how you grew up and the values imbued in you — and is represented here in Southern Black American culture. For me, it was like being wrapped in a warm blanket you’ve had since childhood — it coats you with nostalgia and hugs you with laughter.

These feelings are welcome respites that get you through the heart-wrenching moments as these characters relive their losses in order to move past them, and what buoy you as Josiah and Yasmen struggle with their post-divorce-but-very-much-in-love angst.

TROPE-Y GOODNESS WRITTEN IN EMOTIVE, POETIC DESCRIPTION

Ms. Ryan also brings out all the fun romance tropes (well, not all of them) when telling Josiah and Yasmen’s story. Romance readers who crave the forced proximity, love triangle (or is it a square? You’ve got to read to find out), and second chance tropes will have an abundance of scenes to indulge in them.

But if you’ve ever read a Kennedy Ryan novel, expect prose that almost reads like poetry, as her main characters fall in love, out of love, and reminisce about love. This combination of fun tropes and emotive prose is what keeps readers immersed in the protagonists’ love story and rooting for their happily ever after.

Before I Let Go is heart wrenching before it becomes heart warming and both were gripping. The characters are wonderful and likable, no make that lovable. Yasmen and Josiah are so wounded. They've been through some seriously depressing events. They've dealt with them different ways, incompatible ways. They have a thriving business and two great kids. Their lives are still woven together. Of course, there are hurt feelings especially over their divorce. But are there still good feelings too? Can they overcome? Do they want to?

I just loved the characters, the story, the conclusion. This book was one of my favorites this year.

Thanks to NetGalley, Forever Publishing and the author for the ARC.

They said they’d love each other till the wheels fell off…

This was one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given to a book, and here’s why. It’s been several days since I finished reading this book, and these characters are still actively in my brain. Before I Let Go is just a beautiful story of love and loss and grief and finding yourself again. I don’t have a lot more to say about this second-chance romance because the intricately detailed characters and the heart-rending plot speak for themselves. I was so emotionally invested in the pain that Yasmen and Josiah have been through,and I loved that Ryan gives them to us so real and so flawed and so raw. Watching them make their way back to each other was exactly what my heart needed right now. I also really appreciated the normalization of therapy that was displayed throughout the book. When someone asks me if they might cry while reading some book or other, I usually say that it will depend on their connection to the characters. With this book though, if your cheeks are still dry at the end, you may want to check your pulse because you must be dead. I cried through the entire last quarter of this story. Like, not the little welling up of the eyes, but the big honkin’ blubbery tears streaming down my face.

I will mention that there are some pretty significant content warnings that go with this book, so please check those out before you dive into this devastatingly beautiful story of hope and second chances.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Forever Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Divorced Couple
Co-Parenting
Business Owners
Soulmates finding their way.
This book was amazing and beautifully written. This book put me a choke hold and I full on cried reading it, so make sure you have tissues ready too. When a book starts out with a dedication like this “To the strong girls, To the hustlers, To the superwomen, Tend to your hearts with ruthless care and rest.” It is a must read. Kennedy Ryan wrote a book that will save people/couples dealing with grief and depression. Chef’s kiss Ms. Ryan thank you for this amazing and beautifully written book, I have read this book twice already and will more than likely read it again.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would.

Kennedy Ryan knows how to take the reader on a rich emotional journey that has the weight of reality. Ryan's writing is elegant, emotional and tangible. Her characters are complex and dimensional. Her novels feel like a glimpse into real live, and I always feel like I learn something new and interesting about humanity and the world around me. Before I Let Go is a stunningly deep emotional journey of a mother, an ex-wife, a person dealing with depression but working to better understand herself, care for herself and her children and understand her relationship with her ex-husband, who is the love of her life. This journey is full of ups and downs, romantic and sensual, heart warming and aching. Kennedy Ryan tells this story with care, openness and understanding. Ryan explores real emotions and situations that the reader can sympathize with and learn from. I will always love and recommend Kennedy Ryan if you are open to a story that will make you laugh, make you cry, weigh heavy on your mind but always leave you hopeful.

This story of a woman at a point in her life who is learning to deal with past decisions are move forward with grace is told with care and insight in a way that only Kennedy Ryan can. This is truly the journey of the heroine with heavy romantic elements, but if you go into this novel knowing it is mainly about her growth, then you will be able to focus and see the beauty of her growth. I adore the way Ryan is able to build Yasmen's story. The novel opens up with a beautiful understanding of Yasmen and Josiah and their early love, and then the reader has to work through understanding where they are now in their story. It is one full of heart break and misunderstanding and grief (content notes for lose of loved ones, and still birth). This is a story of how grief is dealt with different between Yasmen and Josiah, and how this tears them apart. This is a story of learning to fight for your own mental health first before you can fight for others. This is a story about learning to work together is moments of separation. This is a story of learning to understand the ways that therapy is a healthy way to explore your inner worries and thoughts. This is a story of learning to first forgive yourself before you can forgive others. This is a story of hope, family and love.

Kennedy Ryan will take you on this journey and hold your hand through it, the emotional ups and downs are worth the understanding that is gained and they are rewarding in the end. Ryan will show you the highs and lows of romance. She will enrich your life with the beauty of true love, the decision to love and trust, and the bittersweetness of being a parent. This novel also has the beautiful layer of sensuality and the exploration of physical love which Yasmen and Josiah feel fully gratified in with each other. Through their physical relationship layers of misunderstandings can be peeled away and they both can be raw and fully naked with each other.

I so very highly recommend this novel to those who are ready to go on this emotional journey. With an open mind and heart there is so much stunning beauty and growth that can be learned within these pages, just make sure to take care of yourself as you broach this venture.

Ugh this book! I am OBSESSED with literally everything about it. I love my romances angsty, with a really hard-earned HEA, and this one hurt so good, it was just perfection. By chapter three my heart was already aching.

Kennedy Ryan's writing is absolutely beautiful, her characters are real and relatable, and this cover is just stunning! This book is such a beautifully raw portrayal of grief and healing and love and second chances and I am so so happy that I now have Kennedy's entire backlist to work through because I'm just in love with her right now.

This is 1000% one of my favorite books of 2022 and nothing I can say will truly do it justice. If you love emotional, spicy romances please please do not miss this work of art!

Before I Let Go is out now! Run, don't walk!
.
.
Thank you SO much to Forever and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Unbelievable love story. I applaud the author.

This is a story of loss, finding yourself, love, and reconciliation. I loved this book so much. I was captivated from beginning to end. I loved the representation of the black community in Skyland. The friendships were perfect. And the situations were real! I enjoyed that it was a work in progress development between Yasmen and Josiah. Being so in love with each other and then suffering devastating loss after devastating loss, broke what they believed they were strong enough to handle. The rebuilding of their foundation was so beautifully done. It was messy and heartbreaking and the ending was just perfect!

I would for sure recommend this book to any and everyone who will listen.

I loved this book. It was such an emotional journey that pulled on your heartstrings at every turn. It follows the Wade family, recently divorced Yasmen and Josiah, and their two children. The story is told from both Yasmen and Josiah's perspective's and bounces back in time a bit. We see their love when it's new and unstoppable and again when it's been all but destroyed by loss and trauma (major TW for death, still birth, and pregnancy loss). They coparent and own a restaurant in Atlanta together and are navigating the trauma of their divorce, the loss of Josiah's beloved aunt and surrogate mother, and their third child who was still born. The representation of mental health struggles, specifically major depression in this book is incredible. Yasmen's journey through depression, and her retrospective regrets about how she handled it; how she could have been better if she'd had the tools and resources she now does, were so painfully relatable. And ON TOP OF ALL THAT, there is a steamy second chance romance. I am so mad at myself for not having read Kennedy Ryan before and so excited that I now get to go and read through the backlog.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ms. Ryan Kennedy had me in a romance chokehold with this one!

Love NEVER fails. Josiah and Yasmen Wade's love is all the proof necessary. I'm one to always talk about toxic love in books and how captivating it can be to the reader, BUT there's no love like this deep, rich, authentic, and our love that these two share. It's electric! An I want more of their story,

I liked that even though I thought I knew how it would end, I really didn't know. This story kept me on the of my seat and flipping from one page to the next for more.

“I’m apparently not very good at losing things, and I’m really bad at losing you.”

Once again, Kennedy Ryan has completely blown me away with the masterpiece she’s woven. Before I Let Go is a devastatingly beautiful story that left me reeling. It’s a second chance but it’s also so much more. We are taking on a true journey of healing, not just for the Josiah and Yasmen as a couple but individually, as parents and as a family. The mental health representation was so brilliantly done.
Yasmen and Josiah’s story had me in my feelings first page in. We get the good, the bad and the ugly. It gets intense, raw and real. There are times when I question how will they find their way back to each other? The hurt and pain was palpable and I felt it like it was my own. At the same time, the love these two had for each other never relented. They had the kind of love that truly prevailed. Through the trials and tribulations, you never once questioned the love these two had for each other because it too powerful to ignore.
I loved pure genuineness of sisterhood and brotherhood Josiah and Yasmen shared with their friends.
I love how intentional Kennedy Ryan is, her stories are written to make you feel. Challenge. Inspire. Provoke. It’s impossible to get through a book of hers without completely getting in my feelings. During my read, it may have been times I cried but there were moments of laughter and rejoicing as well.
Kennedy is deliberate in writing a story that will absolutely define what romance is, Before I Let Go is no exception. With every book of hers I experience, I’m reminded of her incomparability because the way her stories touch me are always next level.

An emotional gut punch in all the best ways! 20% in and I was already sobbing by the end of the book I was a snotty mess with a headache. I loved it!! Kennedy Ryan has yet to disappoint me.

Well I went into this book blind and I have to say it was the most moving and poignant account of depression I've read. I absolutely adored this book and it unexpectedly took my spot for top read this year. I wish I'd had this book a couple years ago, but even today it felt so good find a second chance love story that felt completely real. I am so glad I had a chance to read this fantastic book! I CANNOT wait to see what happens next.

This is Josiah and Yasmen's story, it was a very emotional ride, it's a second-chance romance post-divorce story. I loved Yasmen and Josiah, both characters are very well-developed and you can't do anything but fall in love with them. Their chemistry and their love is undeniable, but this is not the only thing you will find in this story, you will get hooked from the first chapter, and your emotion will be all mixed up, it's a heartwrenching beautiful story, that deals with mental health and realistic situations that will have your soul. One of my favorite top reads of the year.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan was freaking amazing. And quite frankly, that might be putting it lightly. This book is so exhilarating, it gripped me from the first page. The wordplay, the imagery, the banter, all mesmerizing. Kennedy’s storytelling abilities are extraordinary. The execution of it all so poetic and poignant, but not overly so, just right. Yasmeen and Josiah’s story is one of low’s, loss and triumph. Their journey to their second chance at love after divorce was emotional and exquisite. I’m trying my best to write a review that’ll do this book justice, but I’m having trouble articulating just how phenomenal it is. Outstanding, comes to mind. Likewise, award worthy. Yes, it’s that good!

My rating: 5 shining stars.

Before I let go by Kennedy Ryan

4 ⭐️

Before I Let go takes you on a journey of hurt and healing. Yasmen and Josiah have divorced after a string of devistating events. In this book you get to see them grow and heal in the most relatable way possible. This is a second chance love story that you do not want to miss. ❣️🥹


Topics within the book

- [ ] Second chance romance
- [ ] Mental Heath Awareness
- [ ] Still Birth
- [ ] Divorce


I would recommend this book for the simple fact that you can feel the realness . The characters have this raw truth to them that you can’t help but fall in love with them.

Emotional and beautiful.
I did oddly find myself wanting to put the blame on someone for the end of their marriage. And finding out that this was all because of grief finally got me out of that mindset. I liked that this couple had history.

Seeing Josiah work through his fears/grief in therapy was good, especially after his initial reluctance.


After a series of tragic losses and the grief that came from those losses, Yasmen asks her husband Josiah for a divorce.

Yasmen's life is now moving at a better pace. She's co-parenting with Josiah and running a business together. These ensure involvement in each other's life. Even though they are divorced they still love each other and always will. But Yasmen is beginning to wonder if things are truly over between them.

A business opportunity offers them the chance to expand their business and travel out of town together. What they don't expect is having to share the hotel suite. Before they return home things take a hot turn.

But their old wounds are still there and they'll have to figure out whether can give this love a second chance.

Thank you so much to the author, Forever and NetGalley for this ARC to review.

Wow. This book was incredibly moving and covered hard topics of grief and depression. This follows Yasmine and Josiah who were married but had loss in their lives which drove them to be divorced. This was the best book of a second chance at love and found family. Top 5 favorite reads this year! 5⭐️

This was good! I found this book to be quite the emotional journey and I really liked the fact that this second chance romance featured a couple a little bit older that has lived and been through some things. It was obvious how much Yasmen and Josiah still cared for each other despite their divorce. I am so glad that I decided to pick up this book!

Yasmen and Josiah were one of those couples that were just meant to be together. That is until their world fell apart and they didn’t know how to help each other cope. They are now focused on being good parents to their two children and running the restaurant they worked so hard to build. They are trying to move on with their lives but they seem to still be drawn to each other.

I really liked Yasmen and Josiah. I thought that they both grew a lot over the course of the story and loved how they always supported one another. They both want to put their kids first and are concerned about what reconciliation might do to them if things don’t work out. They had fantastic chemistry together and there were a few times that the things they said to each other made my heart skip a beat.

I would recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. I am a little amazed by how many important issues were incorporated into the story and thought that the way mental health was handled was especially well-done. I definitely would like to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing).

This story was absolutely beautiful! A real and emotional telling of what happens after that happily ever after we crave in these books. Kennedy surprises me every time I open up one of her masterpieces. They just get better and better and I have no idea how she does it. Gripping, intense, wonderful second chance romance. You won’t want to put this down.

Kennedy Ryan is an exceptionally gifted writer and storyteller, and Before I Let Go is a perfect example of her amazing talent. The Wards are an average American family living a middle class life in an average American neighborhood. They fell in love young and broke, built a life together, had two kids and a business and when life got hard, as it always does, they got a divorce. He’s not a billionaire. She’s not running away from a secret life. These are regular ass people doing regular ass things; and yet their story is so beautifully told that it makes you laugh and cry and root for them as you fall so head over heels in love with both of them that your heart aches when they can’t seem to put the pieces of their life and love back together.

The character development is fantastic. The pace and arc of the story is very well done. I listened to the audiobook and the voice acting by Jakobi Diem and Wesleigh Siobhan is excellent. Still, the star of the show here… is the writing. This book is for anyone who enjoys a well written novel because Kennedy Ryan has produced a beautifully crafted story that pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you enthralled until the very last word.

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley, but once I found out the audiobook was being performed by Wesleigh and Jakobi I opted to hold off on reading it until release day and spent my own money to get the audiobook. It was so worth it!