Wow wow wow! This was such a beautiful book omg! Kennedy Ryan's writing is such a privilege to read. Her ability to write these beautiful stories and characters that immerse you & feel like you're part of the story is amazing! I love second-chance romance, so I went into this knowing I was going to love it & Mrs. Ryan delivered & then some!! Yasmen and Josiah loved each other so deeply and had the kind of relationship that you'd think was unbreakable.. until it was. They suffered back-to-back losses between the trauma and grief it became too much leading to their divorce. Two years later they're juggling co-parenting as well as being business partners.
I loved Yasmen and Josiah so much. I loved the chemistry, angst, and development between them. They truly share a love that can't be found elsewhere. The kind of love that can't be reciprocated with someone else. The work they put in individually to really work through their grief and that leading them back to each and rekindling the love that never really burned out. They are the definition of soulmates. This story was so well written I did not want to put it down. I'll be thinking about this book for a while. So so good!!🧡
Thank you so much to Netgalley, Forever/Grand Central Publishing, & Kennedy Ryan for this ARC!

This book, y’all! I can officially confirm it is just as good as everyone says it is. It’s raw and real and goes to show how incredibly talented Kennedy Ryan is.

I actually started this book way back in September and after only one chapter I knew it was going to be an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve talked about this before but second chance romance isn’t my favorite trope and I wasn’t in the right headspace at the time so I put it aside for a few weeks. I finally came back and woah, baby! This was good.

I loved the mental health rep and how therapy positive this book was. I firmly believe everyone should have an unbiased person in their life to talk to and it’s always refreshing to see fictional characters working on themselves.

While there’s one detail I didn’t personally love, it was handled really well because this is a romance novel about ADULTS! I love grown up characters!!!

I love this book so much! This book is hands down one of my top fave reads of the year. Look up triggers before reading. What an emotional rollercoaster ride.

This is about Josiah and Yasmen’s love story. A divorced couple navigating new lives while co-parenting their kids. Told in past and present timelines we see glimpses of their time together.

Kennedy’s storytelling is so raw and heartbreakingly beautiful. It’s honest, emotional and sheds light on heavy topics such as mental health and depression that can be so hard to write, read and talk about. My heart hurt for these characters. The pain and heartbreak that they went through was so devastating. Josiah and Yasmen’s relationship was not so easy. The struggles they faced became a daily reminder of what they lost. Despite this their undeniable chemistry was still there. Kennedy writes sexual tension and angst so well. The longing that they had for each other I could feel through the pages. Josiah and Yasmen’s story felt so real. One moment I would be squealing then the next my heart would be hurting or I would start crying. Before I Let Go is one of those stories that need to be experienced. It’s a story about loss, love, self-discovery and forgiveness. It’s a story that’s going to stay with me forever. This beautiful masterpiece deserves all the stars and praise. Highly recommend!

I loved this story from beginning to the end. I love that Kennedy Ryan tackles tough issues that people deal with in their lives and she doesn’t sugarcoat it. Depression, mental health, stillbirth, mourning, and therapy are all touched on in this story (some not on page) so I would take heed to those triggers. Each topic is handled with grace and you find yourself relating to the characters.
This was such an amazing second chance romance story.
The spice level was just right, the sass of the young daughter was on point, and the struggles of trying to co-parent just draws you in.
I’m sure it would be great to see on the big screen!

Thank you netgalley for my advanced copy!

This book absolutely pulled me out of my reading slump. I haven't been able to finish a book for a couple months, just didn't have the headspace to get into reading. But once I picked this up, I couldn't put it down! The way Kennedy Ryan tells this story makes me want to keep flipping the page to see what would happen next. As before with any of Kennedy Ryan's books, I know I have to prepare myself for the guaranteed emotional roller coaster, the pain that I always experience with her characters, the tears, sometimes the frustration, before I can finally get to that glorious HEA. And this book is no exception!

Yasmen and Josiah have been divorced for a couple years, but they're still involved in each other's life through co-parenting their two kids and running their successful restaurant together. I'm not a huge fan of second chance romance, especially when the couple are divorced. It just gives me the sense of finality and no more hope for the romance. However, the reason for Yasmen and Josiah's divorce makes sense to me. And if I were Yasmen, I would probably have to do the same. That's just to say how well Kennedy crafted her characters so readers can understand their actions and sympathize with them.

The mental health aspect plays a huge role in this book, and reading the Acknowledgement section at the end of the book gives me a better perspective of how personal, real, and relatable Yasmen's story was to the author. It makes me understand more about the journey people go through to get back on their feet, their sacrifices, and their coping mechanisms. It highlights the roles of therapy, the support system from friends and family, and most importantly, the individual's strength to battle with the illness.

I only have a little quibble that has to do with Josiah in the first half of the book. But once Yasmen and Josiah couldn't resist their sexual tension anymore, things got heated up fast! And then I couldn't help but cheering for them every step of their way back to each other. If you haven't read Kennedy Ryan yet, what are you waiting for? I've read every books written by her, and she's become one of my auto-buy authors. Needless to say, I would highly recommend this book (please consult with other reviews for CWs).

A deep soul searching read. There are a lot of themes intertwined with each other, but the most prevalent are sorrow, love, therapy, and taking risks.
Yasmin, after a horrible tragedy was drowning in a sea of darkness. She was barely functioning and let go of something precious, her husband. Now, two years later, she’s having second thoughts, but is that fair? What if it’s too late.
Confession: after reading almost half the book I had to read,the ending because I wanted I was invested and I couldn’t wait how it would turn out.
It’s a worthwhile read. Sometimes we make decisions that feel right at the time, but then regret. This novel is soulful and deals with many sensitive topics in a mindful way.
I received two hard copies from Forever and the second cover with the gold leafing is exquisite.

I was hooked throughout every delectable page! Kennedy Ryan is yanking on our heartstrings something fierce with the first book in her Skyland series, a gut wrenching rendition of life at it’s worst and the reawakening after the darkness. There’s laughter and tears, love through the pain and so many feel good moments as we follow their journey back from the sadness they became. You are not going to want to miss this book … and be prepared to not be able to put it down. I really hope we see more of this fam and get to see her BFF’s get a story soon!

Yasmen and Josiah are both amazing characters. Life tore them apart, but they still have great love for each other and the life that they shared and they make great effort to put their children first always as they meander through the ins and outs of moving on without each other. I loved their love and respect for each other and though they each have different sides to their story, you can’t really find fault with either one.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves love and holds out hope that even in the darkest days, love will find a way.

When it comes to second chance romance, I am always a bit apprehensive because some of the really deep issues the broke up the couple in the first place never ends up getting addressed. That is NOT the case in Before I Let Go. Ryan goes in on all of the issues that Yasmen and Josiah faced, and doesn’t care about your feelings along the way.

I honestly can’t put into words how important this story is for the Black community specifically. Here we have an incredible Black romance. The love and passion between Yasmen and Josiah is off the freaking charts. But once they are faced with multiple tragic deaths in the family, what is left is crippling grief and depression coupled with a lack of communication and refusal to participate in family therapy.

Ryan does phenomenal job of not shying away from how grief affects people differently from both Yasmen and Josiah to their kids (Deja and Kassim). There were so many scenes that were difficult to read when it came to the resentment and betrayal that Deja felt from Yasmen specifically, and while I wanted scream at Deja, I completely understood her anger.

In true Ryan fashion, the sexy times in this book were giving me hot flashes. Yasmen and Josiah were putting in that work. That’s all I’m gonna say.

Overall, if you’re looking for a second chance romance that is going to have you going through all of the emotions plus has some really great steamy scenes, this is the one for you!

Thank you Forever Books for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

From the beginning I just KNEW this story was going to be great. Kennedy has such a unique way of writing that will have you feeling every emotion for these characters,
and their journey. To say this book was incredible doesn't even seem like enough, it was incredible and then it was more. The realness in the story had you feeling the love, the angst, the tension, and the chemistry between Josiah and Yasmen. It was heartbreaking and beautiful. I was feeling emotional and at the same time giddy! Kennedy did a great job of throwing banter and spice in there, too! By time I reached The End I was feeling so full, I loved this story! This was an EASY 5 stars for me.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & to Kennedy Ryan for the E-ARC!

BEFORE I LET GO ARC REVIEW

Ever read a book and before it’s even finished, you just KNOW? You know it’s a top read of the year. You know this is comfort book material. You know it’s just going to break you!

I grabbed Before I Let Go from @netgalley because it was a ready for download and I didn’t have to sign up for it. This was my first book by @kennedyryan and I know how much people love her writing, but damn, I did not expect that.

This book is about a divorced couple coparenting their pre-teens and running a successful restaurant together. Their relationship didn’t survive more than one tragedy but years later, there’s no doubt they are soulmates.

Something about this story!!!! It was just so real. SO REAL. It made me laugh and learn and broke my heart before it put it back together. I’m so glad I read this. It was a buddy read with @booktalkwithbritt and she left me in the dust but so totally understand, plus I was dealing with family stuff.

Ugh, seriously read this book. The steam was, ugh, so hot and emotional too. I can’t wait to read it again.

Thanks for sharing your words. @kennedyryan. And the recipes at the end! Ugh, OBSESSED!

Thanks @netgalley and @kennedyryan for this ARC!

There are not enough words to tell you how much I love Kennedy Ryan and her books, but I'll do my best to talk about this one.

Before I Let Go tells the story of Yasmen & Josiah, the good, the bad, and the heartbreaking. This second-chance romance has everything I could ever want. Complex relationships? Yes. Funny supporting characters? Yes. More than your fade-to-black scenes? Absolutely.

My favorite thing about Kennedy Ryan is that on top of writing Black & Brown people in her stories, she's writing about their successes, their failures, their struggles, their comebacks. Yasmen & Josiah are relatable - their story isn't exaggerated or far-fetched. I think a lot of people will resonate with their stories, romance or not. And can we just take a second to talk about Black families in therapy?! WE LOVE TO SEE IT!!

I genuinely cannot wait for the rest of this series to come out. Thanks a million to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing/ Forever for gifting me a digital copy of this book. Anxiously waiting for 11/15 so I can get my hands on a physical copy!

This felt raw and real and beautiful in all its glorious messiness.

Romantic love is the star of the show, with a heavy side of steam, but… the relationships between all of the characters, family and friends, and their real life struggles were all executed so perfectly imperfectly, that I honestly feel like it does this book a disservice to ignore the side stories. I could not stop reading because I needed to know that all of my friends were going to be okay. There is so much of life’s bittersweet beauty to unpack, and Kennedy Ryan writes it all so well that you feel like you are there in it with them… It probably helped that this was also set right outside of Atlanta.

I can’t believe this is my first of Ryan’s books! However, when I learned in her author’s note that this was actually her very first story, I’m glad this is where I started. I’m looking forward to reading her next book, and working my way through the audios of her backlist.

I don’t know where to start to describe this book and what it meant to me and how it made me feel. Sorry, but this review might seem a bit personal and all about me rather than all about the book.

First things first, and this could turn into a spoiler, there is something in the story of Yasmen and Josiah that resonates because we went through that too. It isn’t a spoiler to say, that this is a second chance romance, or that the couple are divorced. The reasons behind the cause of the rift that brought about the ending of a beautiful relationship need to be read not thrown out in a book review.

I used the word ‘we’ because the hand that we were dealt in our relationship, that’s me and the husband, it was both of us. We were united. We talked. We went through the hardest time and in going through it together, we became this impenetrable team. Life can throw whatever at us now but we know we have the strength to get through it.

My heart struggled with some parts of this book because of the way Yasmen and Josiah dealt with the events in their lives. I wanted to shake them and get them to talk. I blamed Yasmen; for me she was the guilty party. In my eyes, she was the instigator of the collapse of the marriage, until Kennedy Ryan showed me what was going on in Yasmen’s head. I didn’t appreciate what she was going through until it clicked that we were very lucky. My husband and I were always on the same wavelength.

It’s a book that makes you think about mental health and how hard you would fight. Kennedy Ryan pushed me out of my comfort zone. I love how she explored the emotions and the juxtaposition of two people who are perfect together but are rubbish at communicating their feelings.

By the end of this book I understood why Yasmen did what she did and why Josiah did what he did too. Kennedy Ryan has excellent skills.

Short Synopsis: After many things in life falling apart, Yasmen and Josiah are striving to co-parent and maintain a booming restaurant after their divorce.

My thoughts: This was raw, deep, and so emotional. So many real life things happened to tear this relationship apart.

This is my first Kennedy Ryan and after reading this I can’t wait to pick up her backlist titles. It was written so well that I felt like I was there living life with Yasmen and Josiah. And the fact that additional stories will be written has me all sorts of excited.

My favorite part of this was the acceptance of therapy in helping come to terms with some very difficult situations. Therapy has been taboo for so long it’s so nice to see it more normalized.

TW: Loss of a child, still born, grief, depression, divorce

Read if you love:
* Second chance romance
* Raw and emotional reads
* Mental health and therapy
* Owning a business
* Co-parenting
* Best friends

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. Publication date is November 15, 2022 so watch for it!

<b>It's easy to get lost, just hold on tight enough</b>

Every time I pick up a book by this author I know I'll learn more about who I am as a person that before I picked the book up!

Josiah and Yasmen had the type of love that everyone always dreams of. Unexpected tragedies broke a foundation they thought they would have forever. It's now time to learn to live for what they have now, two amazing children, a restaurant they built together, and a friendship that's worth saving. Yasmen struggled so much with accepting her own failures, something I felt so very deeply personal. Josiah felt lost in trying to navigate his new reality.

<i>"I'm most grateful for time, which doesn't always heal all wounds, but teaches us how to be happy again even with our scars"</i>

Sometimes I don't think people ever truly learn to love their scars, but I think that's what makes everyone unique. Josiah and Yasmen's love story is like that, without the hard struggles the beautiful memories wouldn't shine so brightly.

I will say I'm not a fan of the 'second chance marriage' trope, but there has not been a book I've picked up from KR that hasn't become a new favorite!

oh. my. god. this was everything and more. note: please observe cw's listed at the beginning of the book. we jump into the story a couple years after the tragic events that led to the end of Yasmen and Josiah's marriage. they run a successful restaurant together and co-parent their children, but is a second chance at love in the cards for them?

this is a story about yasmen and josiah's love, but it is also a story about grief, about loss, and about how that process looks different for everyone. kennedy ryan allows her characters to make mistakes and to feel their feelings, and that's what makes them feel so grounded. i thought these sensitive topics were handled with love and care, and i even felt like i was able to learn a lot by witnessing their experience. you could feel the love yasmen and josiah had for each other even in the darkest moments and that is what made it so gratifying to follow their second chance at a love story. every character was so well-layered and specific; i felt like i could picture them so clearly. i found myself reading as slowly as possible to soak up this beautiful story.

*thank you Forever Publishing for the ARC!

Talk about a second chance romance! I am an emotional mess right now! Kennedy Ryan does it one more time with “Before I Let go”

Yasmín and Josiah have been separated for a couple of years now, they’re co-parenting the best they can and running a business together in the midst of IT all!

A couple who has gone through it all and couldn’t hold each other together.. a couple that failed their love and each other.. a love story like no other you have read.

Kennedy Ryan’s paints the picture of what genuine love, Loss, Grief, Relationship/married couple struggles & second chances and it’s PERFECTION!

I highly recommend this novel, get the tissues ready because it’s a rollercoaster of emotions..
Thank you Netgalley & Grand Central Publishing for an Ecopy of this lovely novel.

I snagged this when it was available for read now a while back. I was confident enough that I would love it that I added a physical copy to my November BOTM box!

I just finished the arc on my Kindle! I have so many emotions 😭😭😭 Yasmen and Josiah have my whole heart right now. What a beautiful love story!

🌼 Easy 5 Stars
🌼 Second Chance Romance
🌼 Divorced Couple Co-Parenting
🌼 There’s Only One Bed
🌼 Top Notch Mental Health & Therapy rep
🌼 Open Door Romance (it’s a bit of a slow burn but she’s spicy when we get there!)

I loved the book, 10/10 would recommend. It is a very heavy story though as a heads up. CW: child/pregnancy loss, death, grief, depression.

*Book Review*
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
Rating: 5/5

This book made me laugh and mostly cry from the beginning to the end. It delves into marriage, divorce, love, loss, rediscovery, forgiveness and acceptance with quite a few hot moments thrown into the mix. Each character is written with such realness that you feel as though you've met someone like them before.

Would I recommend? Yes! This is not a book to be passed over.

Thank you so much to Kennedy Ryan, Forever and NetGalley for an advance copy of this!

Wowzer! This is my first Kennedy Ryan book and I think I picked a good one to start with. I have heard so much about her writing and I own her Hoops & Grip series which I really want to read now. Kennedy's writing so smooth and the most realistic I have ever read.

Quick recap: Yasmen & Josiah are a divorce couple who went through two hard losses back to back. For the last 2 years they had been amicable for the sake of their two children Deja and Kassim. The two just cannot get past their undenying love for one another. Can they move on from their past and rebuild their future?

As I mentioned above, Ryan's writing shines a light on real things couples go through. I am a huge fan of rom coms and swoon worthy moments from the MMC but in this you do not get that. You get heart, complicated family dynamics, loss and healing. In the span of 400 pages, you are taken on this journey that is so beautiful.

"Grief is a grind. It is the work of breathing and waking and rising and moving through a world that feels emptier. A gaping hole has been torn into your existence, and everyone around you just walks right past it like it's not even there."

I love that Ryan talked about topics that are not typically found in romance books. You have characters who are in therapy, mental health, death, stillbirths and depiction of being depressed. The positive light of the power of therapy is important for all - young and old. It is healthy to have these conversations with individuals who can help you.

I have never experienced the type of loss that Yasmen & Josiah did with the loss of their son Henry, but the way Ryan wrote about it and the pain afterwards was similar to my feelings when I had my miscarriages. Specifically when talking about Josiah. This line especially got to me, spoken by Yasmen, "You never talk about him. You've never cried for him." My husband and I had many emotional conversations after our miscarriages as I was so frustrated at him for not grieving the same way that I did. Just like Yasmen, I wonder why are you not crying like I am? Why are you not heartbroken like I am? Brillant.

"You're not a robot. You're human."

Another relationship I enjoyed watching develop over the course of the book was Yasmen's relationship with her eldest daughter Deja. She is at an age where her mom is not cool and everything that she does is deemed wrong. We later learn why Deja is so angry at her mom but before then seeing how Yasmen tries to dance a delicate dance with her daughter on making things right between them. Small changes lead to big results.

Rumor had it that Kennedy Ryan can write some pretty good spicy scenes and I can tell you that is 100% the truth. Even with all the serious conversations throughout the book, there was no shortage of intimacy. I can't speak enough about the realistic images you have while reading this book. It was just so beautiful.

Thank you Kennedy for this wonderful book for the universe to enjoy & love.

PS: I am definitely going to try the corn pudding & sweet potato pie pancakes!