This was one of my favorite books of the year. Although I don't usually choose second chance romances. Kennedy Ryan's Before I Let Go was amazingly done.

After losing a close family member and a baby boy, Yasmen falls into a severe depression. Hoping to keep their family together, keep busy, and hold things down for his wife, Josiah never stops to process the losses. This eventually leads to a divorce after many fights and Josiah refusing to do therapy. A couple years later, Yasmen is finally getting back on her feet. She is being active in the restaurant her and Josiah own and is hosting community events. One of their two children, as they find, is extremely intelligent and his school is thinking about having him skip a grade. However, to make sure he is emotionally ready for the jump, the teacher encourages a therapist. Josiah agrees to go see a therapist too in order to make his son more comfortable and starts to heal himself. Through this, the couple discovers they still love each other, they just weren't good for one another during that tough time. The question becomes if they can forgive each other for all the damage that's been done.

“Depression is a liar.”

This book right here!! Before I Let Go, is in my top 5 books for this year. Kennedy Ryan has always been a brilliant writer but Before I Let Go, is truly her best work to date. This story was brilliant and captivating. This story beautifully depicted the complexities of marriage, love, loss, and mental health.

“People talk about the stages of grief, but there is a stage of depression—at least for me—where you go from feeling pain so acutely you can’t bear it, to feeling nothing at all. A blessed numbness after debilitating sadness. It’s like laying a thin film of steel over your emotions.”

Josiah and Yasmin were once college sweethearts but are now divorced. After a tragic loss, their once loving and stable marriage has devolved into hurt, anger, and sadness. Two years later both are trying to navigate their new normal. Yasmin has grown and is healing with the help of therapy and Josiah is also trying to grow and move on as well. Despite being divorced, they are still co-parenting and managing their family restaurant.

“Our traumas, the things that injure us in this life, even over time, are not always behind us.”

These two had amazing palpable chemistry. They loved strong and they loved hard but grief and depression led to Yasmin asking for a divorce. Seeing and reading about their heartbreak on these pages, I felt like I was going through it myself. You couldn’t help but want them together, but you knew that if they ever made their way back to one another it would not be an easy journey. Their story felt authentic and honest.

Their love was grand and beautiful and Kennedy did a fantastic job telling their story and making you understand and feel the love they once had. The pacing, the prose, and the detail of this story were beautiful. After reading it, I wanted to start it all over again. I cried, I cussed, and it made me want to work on my mental health. This story is truly special and Kennedy deserves her flowers for this novel.

I loved the characters, their friends, and their families and I can't wait to see more from the other characters from the Skyland series.

Imagine being on Kennedy’s level…..IMAGINE?! I knew I was going to love this because I’m such a KR fan but this was absolutely immaculate. I’m not kidding the prologue brought tears to my eyes and I was already invested in this story.
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I’m a big fan of marriage redemption/second chance romance in general so right off the bat I was into the plot. Yasmen & Josiah have a love story for the ages and I love how Kennedy holds nothing back. This book shows the good, the bad and the dark sides of falling in and out of love. It beautifully showcased people dealing with loss and the mental health rep in here was also wonderful and powerful. This story felt so real and raw and it’s easily the best written book I’ve read all year. (And I’ve read 250).
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EVERYONE READ THIS BOOK PLEASE
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*thank you netgalley for the ARC copy

Yasmen and Josiah wanted and hoped they had a love that would get them through everything, but love alone wasn't going to get it ! Divorced now, and trying to rebuild their lives. But as they are drawn back to each other over and over again, they start to wonder if it's too late for a second chance at a life together. WHEN GOING THRU TOUGH SITUATIONS WITH LOVE U WONDER IF ITS ENOUGH .HIS BOOK WAS A REAL ONE FOR ME!!! THIS HIT HOME!! THIS WAS REAL LIFE!!! THE WRITER DID AN AMAZING ON THIS BEAUTY!!! READ IT NOWWWWWW!!!

Yasmen and Josiah Wade were a happily married couple with two children and a successful restaurant in Atlanta. When two tragic events occurred, Yasmen fell into a deep depression and her grief destroyed the marriage. Two years after their divorce, they are co-parenting their children and have managed to stay in business together. Once Josiah begins a new romance, it becomes very clear to Yasmen that she still has deep feelings for her ex-husband. Josiah never stopped loving Yasmen but had no choice but to move on. As the couple starts spending more time together, they have to come to terms with their rekindled feelings and the fear that considering a second chance might bring new heartbreak.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan, takes the reader on a journey of two people who may or may not be meant to be together. This is an exploration of love, regret, remorse and the risk of trying again. The couple and the people in their lives are smart, appealing characters. The book takes a serious look at mental illness and shows how therapy can truly help. This was a very emotional read about healing that was very satisfying. I highly recommend it.

I was supposed to sleep early yesterday but I decided to stay up all night and read this one because it was that good!❣️ So many feels in this one!💞😭😂 Usually, I'm an angst avoider and I prefer lighter reads, but this was just amazing and I haven't felt like this about a book in a long time! ⁣
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Josiah and Yasmen were the couple that everyone envied - the one you think will stay together forever. But a series of events changes everything and it's been about two years since they divorced. They're successfully co-parenting, running a business together and moving on with their dating lives(or are they ready?). They haven't really left each other's lives but the way they interact has changed. But, the connection and attraction between them never died down completely you know? It was visible in every scene.⁣
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This is not just a second chance romance. It was a story about loss, healing, the different ways people grieve, family and many other things that I can't name. It was such a touching story about so many individuals who felt so real to me. I loved everything about Josiah, Yasmen and their kids - Kassim and Deja, along with their family and friends! Also the honest discussion about therapy and how different individuals react to it was done so well. Therapy is one thing that has helped Yasmen a lot, but Josiah is resistant to it at first. He has a different way of processing his grief and I loved watching him slowly open himself up to the healing process. I think many, even those who are in therapy, would still think that having to seek counseling makes you weak and it's a notion that's not easy to get rid of. ⁣
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And I don't think I'd need to even say much about the relationship between Yasmen and Josiah. You'll feel it from the very first chapter and it's honestly something that all of us wish we had. There was such a great mix of romance, steam, family bonding and healing in this one! Pretty much perfect tbh. Kenney Ryan's writing has always been amazing and if you haven't read her books yet, you can always start with this one!❣️✨

This book was so so good. In the beginning I had a hard time starting it, in part because of my reading slump and in part because the first couple chapters hadn't hooked me in. But I'm so so glad I forced myself to continue because I ended up really really loving it. I laughed, I cried, and felt a hundred different emotions I didn't think I was capable of feeling.

I loved all the characters, they felt so real to me, I could feel their pain and their hurt and understood and even sometimes related to the way they responded in various situations and how it connected to their past. I really felt for every member of the Wade family, specially Yasmen, as I have also dealt with depression and therapy. I was also really glad to see a different perspective through Josiah with his opposing beliefs on therapy and how it all turned out eventually. I really loved the kids too, Kassim has a special place in my heart!!

I also loved the friend group, and getting snippets of their life in this book. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series and learning about Soledad and Hendrix more and seeing them find their happy ever after!

Things to look forward to in this book!
- second chance romance (divorced couple)
- there's only one bed/ forced proximity
- discussions on mental health and therapy

I highly recommend this book to everyone, but please make sure to check the trigger warnings because this book discusses grief, depression and other triggers heavily, and I know that if I wasn't in a good place with my depression right now, I wouldn't have been able to read this. So yeah, check TWs and make sure you're in a healthy place to read this one!

Thank you so much netgalley and the publisher for my e-arc of BEFORE I LET GO by Kennedy Ryan. This one publishes TODAY, November 15, and you NEED this book! Definitely one of my top romance reads this year!

Oh my goodness did I love this book. Which actually surprised me a little, because I am neither married, divorced, or a person of colour. Despite this, my heart still hurt for Yasmen and Josiah and their heartbreaking love story. This book is a MUST read, tho make sure to check out the trigger warnings before reading!

If I could describe this book in three words, I would say: raw, real, heartbreaking.

This is a second chance love story with the two MC’s being divorced, but still very much involved due to owning a successful business together, and raising their kids together.

I felt all the emotions while reading this one. I laughed, cried, felt angry. This book shows the messy side of marriage, divorce, relationships, being partners, dating again. It’s hard to believe this is the author’s debut book- it’s THAT GOOD. I highly recommend this book! It will definitely stick with me for a long time, and I will recommend it to everyone!

I am constantly blown away by Kennedy Ryan. This book was so beautifully written. I was heartbroken and put back together throughout this book - Yasmen and Josiah were such well fleshed out characters and I was so invested in their story from page one. Second chance romances are always full of angst and pining and this one was no different. I am so glad I got to read this story, definitely a new favorite.

Thank you Netgalley & Forever for the ARC!

Any book that you choose to read should make you feel. Whether it makes you happy, breaks your heart, frightens you, or just builds up your anticipation for what could transpire on the next page, if a book doesn’t make you feel, it’s not doing its job. Kennedy Ryan delivered the story that I wanted to read. There was never a time while I was reading Before I Let Go that I didn’t feel something. This book punched me in the gut, broke me down, and still filled me with an abundance of hope.

After being married for...ahem...many years, I am always drawn to novels about married couples (or, in this case, exes). Yasmen and Josiah were the couple who were meant for each other. Theirs was a relationship that would make it. After years of building a life, family, and business together, their life was on track, until tragedy derailed it. What should have brought them closer together and given them a safe place to fall just wasn’t enough.

Was I on Team Yasmen or Team Josiah? The answer is yes! I rooted for this couple right from the get-go. Through the good times and the bad, I believed in them. I rooted for them. I wanted them to see their way back to one another. While they adapted to a new living and parenting routine, and they did it with the utmost maturity, their attraction and love was always right there filling up the pages.

If you’re looking for a second-chance romance that is mature, emotional, and superbly written, this is the next book that you should pick up. Before I Let Go does contain difficult subject matter, but Kennedy Ryan treats it with all the care and sensitivity that it deserves. As I mentioned at the top, books are meant to make you feel, and this one certainly makes its reader feel every emotion possible.

*5 Stars

This is not a great book to read when you are feeling pretty crappy and recovering from surgery. But having said that, it’s a amazing book.

At its heart, this is tremendous journey about love and loss. About hope and picking yourself up after life pushes you down as far as you think you can go. About how that journey looks different for everyone. Loved that therapy played such an important role everyone’s healing.

This also digs very deeply into some impossible grief. And I encourage everyone to seek content warnings. Reach out to me if you can’t find them. This was a two tissue box read for me.

I loved the focus on family: real family, found family - family that just shows up. And that having history folks, but also letting new people in to your lives is a blessing.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the great and abiding love Yasmen and Josiah have for each other. May we all be so blessed to have someone who both loves you so much and can’t keep his hands off you. *wink*


This was a very raw and though-provoking journey and you don’t have to have experience similar loss to sympathize with their situation. Couples and families deal with all kinds of traumas and this makes the journey relatable.

Great story. Worth the tears.

This is a second chance for divorced couple Yasmen and Josiah. Navigating coparenting, a shared business, and still their lingering feelings. This is actually one of my favorite tropes and Kennedy aced it!

I finished this book over a week ago, and it took me this long to be able to come to grips with how this book affected me.

This book broke me. It is just that simple and that complex.

Yasmen and Josiah had what most people want.... Kids, a partnership in life and business, a beautiful home and friendships. But one too many devastating emotional hits and their marriage crumbles.

They are still in each other orbits, though when this book begins they are divorced, but still partners in their business, and co-parenting their two kids. Little by little in this book you are shown what pulled them apart and little by little you see the love that still pulls them together.

I absolutely loved this book...even as the tears were streaming down my face and even as I was reliving my own pain ( 3 miscarriages, child of divorced parents, losing my mom when I was 19) I was wishing that this book would keep going. Kennedy Ryan has an amazing ability to write such an emotional story, but also keep it real. I could feel the love between Yasmen and Josiah pour off the page.

And it doesn't hurt that this story takes place in Atlanta! I love my city!! ❤️❤️

This book has it all, and is definitely worthy of 5⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is beautifully written. Yasmen is a deeply compelling character and I appreciate the way the reader slowly learns about her backstory and trauma. Kennedy Ryan is such a deeply talented author -- I hope this book finds its audience and more people discover her work.

*4.25 stars*

Kennedy Ryan is an auto-buy for me so even though this book has my least favorite romance trope, I still jumped on it eagerly.

I was not disappointed. This book was written so beautifully and I felt every bit of angst. I could tell that the mental health bits were written from a place that understood it. I absolutely LOVED the therapy representation. I am so on team "get Black Men to therapy" and this had that.

Yamen and Josiah just made sense you know? Of course the chemistry was scorching, it's Kenndedy Ryan! LOL. but asides that, I just enjoyed their relationship arc. No-one was perfect and although Josiah annoyed me sometimes, I still fully understood where he was coming from.

The supporting cast to was stellar, and I can't wait to read the next books in the series.

4.25 stars because the book had wayy less plot than her usual books but this was still so good to read.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and the Forever Books for the ARC.

I was captivated by this story from the very beginning. Yasmen's depression really shines a light on how she tries to push through her mental health because she's conditioned to hold it all together for the kids, and to be the glue that holds the family together. It's an honest portrayal of how women fail to put themselves first during hard times. Yasmen and Josiah are the picture of a marriage in crisis, but not broken, and yet they couldn't seem to stay together.

This book is meticulously crafted with characters who are real and raw, right down to the kids. My heart broke for them all, even though my hope soared at times. Taking the stigma out of therapy was another thing this author did well. Too many authors use the trauma as the defining trait for their character. Kennedy Ryan uses the trauma to inform Yasmen's decisions, but it doesn't define her, doesn't drive her, but instead it brings out her inner strength, her fears, her hopes for what her future can and should look like. Yasmen digs deep to be the person she wants to be for herself, for her family, for her friends, for her business. Josiah's journey is equally beautiful to read as a man who loves his family deeply, but feels powerless at times.

I couldn't put it down. Clearly we're headed for a series, and I can't wait to dive back into Skyland.

**Thank you to Kennedy Ryan, Forever Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of Before I Let Go in exchange for an honest review!** Please read the CW's for this book before you begin reading this book. This book deals with several sensitive topics and I would not want anyone to enter this book unaware. I am glad that I took the advice of several other reviewers and made sure that I read the CW's before I read this book. I definitely needed to be prepared for some of the subject matter. Our main character, Yasmen, deals with some deeply traumatizing situations in this book. She is such a powerhouse and it was so good to see the ways that she was learning to cope after such great losses. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that there had been a significant amount of time since her divorce from her husband. I think that it really added to how real this book felt. It made so much sense that she needed time to recover and learn how to be herself again. This book was seriously the most realistic that a book has ever felt for me. I could deeply see the struggles that the characters were facing and their reactions and feelings felt so understandable. Kennedy Ryan is a deeply talented author and I cried several times reading this book. This was my first book from Kennedy Ryan and I will be reading more of her novels.

Wow. Just wow. Kennedy Ryan pulls no punches in this emotional and moving novel. Some of the topics addressed may be triggering for readers, so please check content warnings.

Before I Let Go is a powerful journey of healing and forgiveness, as well as a heartfelt second chance romance. I was pulled into the story right away and I experienced so many different feelings while reading this one. I really appreciated the discussions about the importance of mental health, the fear/stigma of seeking therapy, processing loss, complicated grief, etc. The healing in the book isn't isolated to simply the romantic relationship or even Yasmen and Josiah as individuals. It also includes the relationship between parent and child and the pain and heartbreak that accompanies this kind of loss and change.

It’s a hard fought second chance romance between Yasmen and Josiah. Both of them needed to grow and forgive - themselves and each other. Second chance romances don't always work for me, but the reason for Josiah and Yasmen's separation made sense and I felt like everything that happened during that separation needed to happen for them to find their way back to each other. Special shout out to Soledad and Hendrix for their unwavering support and for being amazing friends to Yasmen. I'm hoping we get their stories too!

Note: The second chance romance is a pivotal part of the storyline (and there are some very sexy open door scenes), but I'm hesitant to categorize Before I Let Go as purely a romance since the romance is a result/by product of the healing and forgiveness that occurs. I think the strong emphasis on mental health and forgiveness put this slightly more into women's fiction for me.

CW: depression, suicidal ideation (no attempts), complicated grief, stillbirth, discussions of: pregnancy (high risk), vasectomy, tubal ligation, FMC has a strained relationship with her daughter, anxiety & panic attacks, death of loved ones (past), divorce, OW/OM notes - MMC has a sexual relationship with an OW while they are divorced and FMC goes on several dates with an OM (kissing only)

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I loved this book from the very beginning! I was rooting for Si and Yas from the jump! It made me cry, laugh and cry some more. I loved seeing how the characters used therapy to help them. We need to normalize therapy!!
Thank you, Kennedy Ryan for sharing this story with us and thanks to your husband for asking about it!
And thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing/ Forever for sharing this fantastic digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts

I keep putting off writing a review of this book because I feel my words can do it no justice.
Kennedy Ryan is one of those authors that can hit you on all the levels. She gives us diversity while incorporating real topics that are so relevant to our world and she does it in a way that's raw, yet beautiful while also giving us the spice.

Yasmen and Josiah are a divorced couple that still have their lives intertwined by their children and their business. They have a deep love for one another and still have a connection, but what transpired in their past broke them and their trust in one another. What went wrong and how can they move past it?

Before I Let Go was a book that resonated with me and made me feel for the characters. This was a story of a second chance, but it was SO much more than that. This was a story of family, loss, attraction, depression and recognizing when you need help. Knowing when to say when yet also regretting your decisions. This book was the story of two people and how their decisions affected not only them as a couple, but everyone around them.

Kennedy Ryan took us on a journey with this couple and how their lives were altered by a tragic event and gave us a community of amazing characters that supported not only Yasmen and Josiah, but their children. She took a tough subject of divorce and made you see it from various sides and included mental health and therapy to give us a real understanding of growth for this family. It was tastefully done and made you think about all the relationships in this story and how they evolved over the course of the book.

Before I Let Go will pull at your heartstrings in so many ways. It gives you the pain and loss of suffering and the tension of still being in love. I laughed. I cried. I fanned myself. And I gave my heart over to Ms Ryan and the journey she took me on with utter trust. Just wow! And in the fact she could create a whole crew of characters that are all special in their own rights and we have a series that I know is going to be one to watch out for. This is what total immersion into a world is all about and I'm here for it. Dive in and enjoy the world of Skyland!