A beautiful and emotional story about the way grief changes a person, adjusting and working with that change, and working to build the life you want after unimaginable tragedy. I cried so much! The pain felt raw, but there was also plenty of laughter and love to go around. Overall, it's a really beautiful second-chance romance for two people who never really fell out of love. It's an all-timer, for sure.

"We're stronger than we've ever been before. Tender wrapped in tungsten. The most vulnerable parts of me sheltered by rock devotion."

"How a man you've kissed a million times still has the power to make you weak in the knees, I don't know...I know I'll never take it for granted. We've been through too much, and what burns between us shines brighter and hotter for having been tried."

Yasmen and Josiah, once madly in love, are now divorced but still raising their two children together and running a restaurant together. Over the course of this book, they navigate their journey back to each other to overcome all of the things that broke them apart. Ryan handles so many tough and emotional topics: divorce, the loss of a child, depression, the stigma about mental health and therapy, and so much more. The moments between them and throughout the story are so real and raw that it's easy to forget you're reading about fictional people. Ryan even managed to squeeze in one of my favorite tropes- only one bed. I loved seeing this powerful representation of love, especially Black love, and can we all just take a second to appreciate this gorgeous cover? The picture doesn't do it justice! Thank you @readforeverpub for giving me a chance to read an early copy of this book, and for the gifted finished copy. It's out next Tuesday, November 15!

A deeply emotional novel that keeps you engaged every moment. Cathartic in many ways too, especially for those of us who have had traumatic relationships. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

I am a huge Kennedy Ryan fan so I jumped at the chance to read this book!! This story was a little different than I’m used to reading from this author. It starts toward the end of what seemed to be a beautiful love story. Two lives that are interspersed with their children and business. They once had an amazing love but due to a traumatic turn of events they lost their way. This is a story of trying to find their way back to each other. Yasmen and Josiah show us that their love is worth fighting for. Kennedy Ryan did not disappoint with this one,

Emotional and authentic second-chance romance!

Before I Let Go is such a stirring read. I want to start by saying, please check the content guidance before reading the book. (I’ll put it below my review.)

This book made me cry a few times with its raw and honest description of how depression and grief feel and how much it affects not just the person dealing with it but the people around them. Yasen and Josiah are divorced, but their lives are woven together as parents and business partners. They navigate their lives dealing with the fallout of their divorce and trying to move on -- but finding it difficult to do so, for their attraction to each other never really went away.

What’s lovely about this book is that it stresses that happily ever after isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Love isn’t the end all be all for a successful marriage. Time, consideration, effort, communication, and honesty are just as important. I like the flow of this book – how both Yasen and Josiah matured individually and together. The moments with their kids are great and probably what gutted me the most in this book, for kids always feel the aftermath of a marriage falling apart. Add grief into the mix; it takes a toll. The author has beautifully written the struggles of being a parent and trying hard to make your children happy.

Another beautiful thing about this book that I appreciate – is the importance of therapy. If only everyone in this world has access to healthcare! I appreciate how this book handled their problems toward the end; it clearly shows the characters’ progress after seeking help and trying to put what they learned into action.

This book has a lot of delightful secondary characters too, and I especially adore Yasen’s friends. I’m looking forward to reading more books from this series. I highly recommend it!

Thank you, NetGalley and Forever, for the eARC.

content guidance (taken from the blurb): depression, complicated grief, stillbirth, passive suicidal ideation.

Four stars. This book was emotional, messy, hot and extremely hard to put down. It could have been shorter but that didn't stop my enjoyment. I plan to go back and revisit other books of hers now.
I do hope Hen and Sol get their own books. I really want to read more about them and I guess I am not quite ready to leave this universe even if I am done with Josiah and Yasmeen.

Where do I start? This book was gold!

A story about grief, second chances, and finding one's way back to love: reading this book took me on a journey and had me asking myself a lot of questions — mentally and emotionally.

Kennedy Ryan took her time to write a story that not only centered on romance but around hard topics we shy away from.

When a couple has gone through what Yas and Si went through, it's a tough road to find your way back. It takes patience and hard work, which these two taught me.

Having kids and then losing one hits hard. Yas was a wreck after her loss, and we could see the depth of her emotions and how she allowed herself to be in touch with them and grow. Si, even though he really wanted to move on, just couldn't stop loving his life partner. With time he finds out he, too, has some healing and growing to do before making any decisions.

This book will not be the last I'll be reading! The emotions I felt were real, and my love for Atlanta went up :) ;)

TW: Loss of a child, grief, depression,

Thanks to Forever for sending me a gifted copy.

Loved this “grown adult” romance. The chemistry was amazing, and the emotions were raw and real. The romance played out in such a natural and real way, delicately navigating the communication and healing needed to mend their relationship post trauma. I will be a returning reader if Kennedy Ryan’s for sure!

💛Just WOW! I have no words. I’m a puddle of emotions. Hopefully the heartfelt message I want to convey and my feelings about this book come across clear. I knew how special this story was going to be when I couldn’t see what I was reading. Tears were streaming so fast, my heart was breaking, and the pages were blurry. I had to close the book for a minute, take some deep breaths, absorb it, and wipe the tears. Yet, I couldn’t stop reading. This book touched me so deeply. It’s one that will stick with me for a very long time. I do want to be upfront and mention a trigger warning regarding loss and grief. It’s there and it’s heavy.

💛Josiah and Yasmen Wade divorced a couple of years ago. They are coworkers who run their restaurant together and have a very amicable co-parenting relationship. Through Josiah and Yasmen’s POV, we see what fractured in their marriage to cause the divorce and…OH. MY. HEART! 😭😭This couple! I rooted for them, cried for them, wanted them to be drawn back together, and to find each other again. I was hoping for their healing even when they were dating other people. There’s just no erasing a love like that. This was a beautiful, heartbreaking, and an ultimately epic love story. Even apart these two hearts kept reaching out, longing for the match that truly makes them beat. Five shooting stars straight to the galaxy!! 5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

To start off, I want to say thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC!

This is was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I was not disappointed. Kennedy Ryan is so good at writing love stories but with important topics. She writes from the heart and it shows in her writing. This book is about a divorce couple trying to find their way back to each other. As the story goes on the two characters will grow, heal, and discover their true potential as individuals. Yasmen and Josiah story was so real and i’m glad I had the chance to be one of the first to read it. 5/5 Again thank you Netgalley!

I know going into any Kennedy Ryan I will be crushed and put back together again. This was no different. Kennedy Ryan has such a way with words and her writing style is lyrical. When I heard this was second chance, marriage reconciliation, I ran to net-galley. Like a full on sprint to this website to request this story. Reading Kennedy Ryan is always a breath of fresh air because her characters feel like real people experiencing real life. I never say to much about a book by her because I don't want to spoil anything, and I think every reader deserves the full experience with her stories, but this story was a story of grief and healing. Forgiveness and understanding. This was a love story of learning to love yourself and every flaw. Healing from all the ugly things that you’ve done and that were done to you. This story was gut wrenching and painful at times, but just as beautiful. As someone who suffered a miscarriage earlier this year, this described that grief so well and in such a beautiful, devastating way that I had to stop and pause to take it all in. This book made me look so deep into myself and the things I haven’t addressed in order to do the healing I need and it’s a beautiful thing when fictional characters can make you feel so many things. Josiah and Yasmen were such a beautiful couple, and if anyone deserves a second chance, it was them.

Content warnings: loss of a loved one, death of a loved one, pregnancy complications

Thank you #Netgalley and #forevergrandpublishing for an early read of #BeforeILetGo

Before I Let Go needs a disclaimer, please give yourself time to really read this book and process all of the emotions going on, it will be worth it.

Ms Ryan has an unquestionable talent for taking a real look at hard issues. I thought she had hit just about as hard as she could, but with Before I Let Go, she digs deep and proves that there are still more layers to explore.

Yasmen and Josiah are a divorced couple making it work - or are they? You have to read to follow their journey, but I will tell you that I loved both these characters. The “real” of them, their struggles, their triumphs, and their absolute devotion to family radiated off the page.

With a hard look at grief, depression, and how the right mental health care relationship can influence our lives, Before I Let Go crosses boundaries and touches the heart. There were several times when I wanted to crawl into the book and give a character a hug.

While this is a work of fiction, it goes a long way to shining light on issues people tend to sweep under the rug. The brutal honesty was at times hard, I had to stop several times to just “be” with this story, but in the end it was so worth it.

A must read romance that will take you through all of the emotions before bringing you to the happiest of ever afters! This book does discuss some heavy topics, so please check the author's note prior to reading.

Josiah and Yasmen's story was full of real life trauma and takes you through the trials and tribulations in and out of a marriage and within a family. Their love story is one for the ages and was so painful, but also so magical at the same time. I absolutely loved the journey that each person took to find their way to their best selves and the normalization of not always being okay and asking for help in the form of therapy. Kennedy Ryan writes with such authenticity and wit that once I started, I could not put this book down. I will absolutely be reading everything she writes moving forward and highly suggest this book for fans of second chance romance!

Rating: 5
Laughing: 3
Crying: 2

I don’t even know where to start with this review. I think the most important thing for you all to know is that it comes out on Nov 15th, I give it all the stars, and I think you should preorder it or buy it right now. We need to give Kennedy Ryan all the flowers for this one.

I’m not big on sad romances, and I just kept hearing that this book was sad. And while it was sad, it was so much more. Please check the content warnings before you preorder/purchase it because it does deal with heavy topics.

Let me tell you what I loved about it.
1) Unfortunately, a lot of black stories are focused on black trauma and often being other’d. This book is about successful, beautiful black people who go through hardships but overcome them.
2) The emotions. They were so real, so raw, and just so accurate. I couldn’t relate to everything the characters went through, but I could to some parts, and I honestly feel like it's what I’ve felt written on paper.
3) The character development with EVERY character. It’s what you want to see. It’s well throughout, it's realistic, and it’s so dang beautiful.
4) The way therapy played a role in this book - perfection and so important.
5) The second chance romance. Honestly, I hoped they’d find each other in the end, but I wasn’t really quite sure how they would.
6) As I read it, I kept thinking how lucky Josiah and Yasmen were to experience a love like theirs. Even though, at times, it was heartbreaking, I don’t think everyone gets to experience this kind of deep love.

Throughout the whole book, I just kind of kept waiting for something to happen in this book that would make me like it a little less. The story would pivot in a way where I’d be let down, and that’s not because of Ryan’s writing (this is my first book by her), but because I rarely find a book that I truly believe is perfect, and this book just is. It has heart, it has love, it has angst, it has a lot of emotions, and I just absolutely loved it.

A few amazing books have graced my eyes in 2022 but Kennedy Ryan has moved to one of the top. Before I Let Go was written for women who have experienced so much and had to cope and learn to come out of the other side.

To be honest this was a book written for men, a guide for them to understand the woman and most importantly understand themselves. To not be afraid to admit when you are not okay.

Yas and Sí, story is one of familiarity for so many. One to be savored like a nice aged Scotch. One we all strive to have with all the bumps and bruises.

Mrs. Ryan thank you for touching my soul. Allowing me to release the tears of sadness, empathy, and love. Making me miss my friend and wanted to schedule a girls stay cation just to maybe reread this book again.

Also, people embrace and work through your shit. Depression is nothing to be ashamed of. It's a process to identify, understand, and live through.

“You don’t love me anymore?”
” I can’t find it. I can’t find us. It’s buried under all this pain.”
“It’s not buried. I don’t have to look for it. I don’t want a divorce. I love you, Yas, and you love me.”

As far as second-chance romances go, the divorced/reconciliation theme is one of our favourites. There’s something so achingly painful, and sad in these stories, yet at the same time, we’re filled with eternal optimism for the couple concerned. We live and breathe their pain, their love, and their sorrow, all whilst eagerly awaiting that moment when they (hopefully) reconcile.

In Before I Let Go, Kennedy Ryan has encompassed everything we love in this trope. Yasmen and Josiah Wade’s journey is as agonising as it is beautiful. As hopeful as it is hopeless, and it’s told with such honesty and emotion, you can’t help but take this story of story of love, hope, and healing to your heart.

‘There is only one letter of difference between love and loss, and somewhere along the way, for me they became synonymous.”

Josiah and Yasmen had the world at their feet, love in their hearts, and future ambitions when they were attending college together. Both were on the same page, their life could only prosper and become the dream they so desperately wanted it to be until it wasn’t.

‘I wondered if this—-finding someone you can laugh with when everything hurts—-was the stuff happily ever afters were made of.’

It’s three years since a series of gut-wrenching losses left Josiah and Yasmen’s marriage in tatters. They’re divorced and at the stage when they are starting to think about moving on, yet there is unresolved hurt they have never dealt with, and a simmering love that still burns within their hearts.

‘How do you breathe when the person you thought you’d cherish forever looks at you the way Yasmen looks at me right now because you’ve hurt them so much?’

Caught in the middle are their children thirteen-year-old Deja who seems resentful of her mother, clashing at every opportunity, and ten-year-old Kassim, who is very much like his dad in tramping down his thoughts and feelings.

With their children’s interests at the forefront of their future decisions, as well as being co-owners of their very successful restaurant Grits, in their affluent suburb of Downtown Skyland, Josiah and Yasmen’s lives are still very much intertwined, yet simmering beneath is a mountain of unsaid words, unshed feelings and a heartful of hurt.

“No one in my whole life has ever hurt me like you did.”

In Before I Let Go, Kennedy Ryan beautifully explores the complexity of loving a person, whilst feeling so much hurt and loss, and she doesn’t hold back in probing the situations that prove so difficult to approach and discuss. Eliciting heartfelt emotion during moments that had profound effects on both Josiah and Yasmen, and in return, us as readers. A truly thought-provoking second-chance love story.

‘She’s changing, aging, but to me, only getting better. Like God looked at her, and said, you think she looks good now? I’m just getting started.’

POWERFUL, UNPUTDOWNABLE! TOP READ 2022
Mrs. Ryan and her unique talent never cease to amaze me, she always gives us real, emotional, moving, interesting stories and this is no exception, it is sooo good, outstanding , captivating and inspiring, PERFECT!

Before I Let Go tells us the story of Yasmen and Josiah, a divorced couple with children who have a business together, they had a happy life and a successful business and they were deeply in love with each other, but some painful situations happen, and despite all the love, the pain weighs too much and everything collapses, now they are trying to navigate this new stage as best they can, and they both start walking on eggshells, afraid of suffering, however the feelings and love they feel for each other is still latent and it is difficult for both of them, the author does a masterful job describing the emotions of the characters, she makes you feel everything they feel, and my heart bleeds for both of them and all the suffering they have had to face.

Unique, intense, life-changing, this book is the perfect combination of feelings, steam and angsty, but it is not just a romance, it is a story that deals with sensitive and real issues that make you reflect and value the little joys that we have day in and day out and motivate us to feel and express what we feel, and always worry about our well-being, It is a story of second chances that reaches deep into the soul and owns your heart. highly recommended!

TW: depression, complicated grief, still birth, passive suicidal ideation

I feel pretty confident in saying that this is the best book I've read this year. There's so much to be said about Yasmine and Josiah's story. The writing was superb and so real. The characters were relatable, and the author wrote them with such a refreshing angle. A terrible tragedy tore Yasmine and Josiah's marriage apart, and even though the love was there, it couldn't weather the storm. We are introduced to them two years post-divorce with them still secretly pining for each other but too hurt to take that step back to each other. I love that therapy has such a big presence in this story, especially because many black men are still resistant to the notion of needing therapy because it makes me appear weak. I love the strong presence of family, especially the ones that aren't blood. Yasmine's group of girlfriends kind of reminds me of Farrah Rochon's The Boyfriend Project series only 5 or so years in the future. I could go on and on about this book, so I would recommend to anyone who loves a second chance love story.

Thanks to Forever Pub for the gifted arc and finished copy.

"Before I Let Go" by Kennedy Ryan is easily one of the Top 5 books I've read all year. It is heavy at times, but overall incredibly powerful. 5⭐

Yasmen and Josiah have been divorced for 2 years, but are still co-parenting their children and running their restaurant together. They are recovering from shared trauma that affected them both deeply, but that they expressed in different ways. As they start to rebuild their separate lives, they must come to terms with their new relationship to each other.

I love books about big feelings and this is one of them. There are a lot of tough subjects covered, so please check the content warnings. If you feel prone to depression, this book could be overwhelming to you. On the other hand, several early reviewers have shared that this book helped them reconnect with therapy, which is so amazing.

I love books that navigate the hard parts of relationships - the messy middle, the staying in love part. This book has a lot to say about mothering, nurturing yourself, found family, raising teenagers, fatherhood, and (in Kennedy's words) Black joy. I also loved the strong connection Yasmen had to Hendrix & Soledad - even though she hadn't known them years and years, it was still an instant "click" between them.

⚠️ death of a family member, infant loss, divorce, severe depression, thoughts of suicide

Shareability: Kennedy's writing style is unique and fresh. She has the heavy-hitting emotional writing of Jodi Picoult and the modern, witty vibes of Abby Jimenez.

Spice: oh yes 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️+

Pairs well with: champagne!

‘There is only one letter of difference between love and loss, and somewhere along the way, for me they became synonymous.”

This will easily be one of my favorite romance reads of 2022! I truly don’t have adequate words to describe how much I wholeheartedly loved this book. I want to say so much but I also want you to experience the heart and soul of it for yourself.

Kennedy’s writing is captivating, and absolutely beautiful. She knocked it out of the park with Before I Let Go. Outside of an anthology, this was my first read by her and it has me wanting to do a deep dive into her backlist.

I loved everything about this book. The emotional story that grabs ahold of you so hard, to the point you felt like you weren’t just reading it, you were a part of it.

The compelling characters she created were realistic and so freakin lovable. I adored Yasmin and Josiah and was fully invested in their journey from beginning to end. They had a chemistry that just never quit. I loved how they co-parented, the relationships they each shared with the children, and the respect they had for each other.

The friendships and family bonds. Yasmin’s friends were so amazing, and I am hoping we will be seeing more of them 😉😉 I also adored Merry and Ken.

This is NOT a fluffy romance. But this IS a poignant love story. It’s real and raw and you will most definitely cry. But you will also laugh, and feel love and healing. So much healing. Oh and some seriously incredible steam! 🥵

What I loved;
Angsty second chance romance
Mental heath & therapy focus
Dual POV
ALL the feels

𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘊𝘞: 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 (𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦), 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧, 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴)

Before I Let Go is a beautiful written story of love, loss, and second chances. A must read that I cannot recommend it enough.

Pub Date 11/15/22 Pre-order your paperback copy now because that finished copy is seriouly stunning and you’re going to want it on your shelf! 😍

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Kennedy Ryan for the ARC in exchange my honest review.