💔 I must be honest here. There is nothing I can say in this review that will do this book justice. This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

💔 This book is an exploration of grief, mental health, marriage, divorce, love, family, friends, and more. So many topics are painful to read about, yet the book is written so incredibly well that you become engrossed in the lives of the Wade family to the point that you start to experience all their emotions right along with them.

💔 The focus on mental health and particularly how everyone grieves a loss differently (and no way is wrong!) was phenomenal. The therapy sessions the characters went to felt so real and informative.

💔 One of the main things I appreciated in this story was that even though Josiah and Yasmen were divorced, they were still communicating with each other, albeit often as bickering and fighting. But they were learning to communicate with each other better as they learned more about themselves through therapy. The introspection was one of the most compelling parts of this story for me.

💔 I really do feel like I am rambling here. I’m just going to stop and say that this book was extraordinary. It is raw, vulnerable, painful… and yet incredibly heartfelt and uplifting. You must read this book.

Thank you @netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book was so amazing! This overall story exceed my expectations. I loved how this was a second chance romance that really explored the many topics revolving around marriage. The character development was top tier I can't wait to read more books by Kennedy Ryan.

Book: Before I Let Go 
Rating: 5/5
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Genre: Romance
Pages: 376
Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Divorced Couple, Co-Partnering, Forced Proximity, Foodie
Warnings: Depression, Grief, Still Born
Readability: 4/5 italic font is used
First Line: "Do people remember the exact moment they fall in love?"

Things to expect:
Laughing/Crying
Only one Bed
Marriage Reconciliation 
BIPOC Rep
Trauma 

After a devasting blow, Yasemen and Joiash called it quits on a love they thought would last forever. They figured out that love alone can't save everything, including their marriage. Co-parenting their kids and still owning their restaurant together, Yasemen wasn't prepared for how her life would fall apart. Even though it seems like Joiash has moved on, they are still drawn back to each other. One stolen kiss leads to another, and you are thrown into the whirlwind of Kennedy Ryan. Is it too late for them, or will they be even better with a second chance?

The book started out with italics, so I knew it would start with a bang... The emotional rollercoaster this took me on will haunt my dreams for years to come. I knew Kennedy Ryan was one of the best romance writers out there, but I was still unprepared for it. This book has many well-written representations and pulls at your heartstrings. One second, you will be laughing, and the next, you will be in full-on tears, and you won't be able to control it. I do feel like the trigger warning of this one is so important, and it is very heavy-handed but done so beautifully. I will read anything Kennedy Ryan comes up with, and I can't wait to see what she has in store next. 

Thanks to Forever & Kennedy Ryan for the advance reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Exceptional writing, the author captured the essence of what this couple was experiencing so beautifully. The characters were well thought out and I was rooting for them to reconcile the entire book. Such a good read and completely kept my attention.

We all know the safety message of put on your own oxygen mask before helping others and that’s what this book reminds me of. Yazmin is a powerful hero and watching her make decisions to save herself will stay with you long after you finish reading. This should be on every reading list.

Kennedy Ryan has a way of writing main characters and their conflict like no other. From the first chapter I was pulled into the relationship of Yasmen and Josiah, how they currently coexist as parents, co-owners and a divorced couple. Each chapter gets you closer to knowing the turmoil that brought them where they are today and where exactly they go from here. Harsh words are said, actions that can't be reversed. Real talk about mental health and loss of life. Also not giving up on wanting love and how to repair yourself so you can be able to surrender to love.

Thank you to Forever for the gifted copy!

I’ve read this book three times, purchased it in audiobook form and still would indulge again! This book was amazing. Kennedy put her foot in the importance of therapy, addressing trauma and realizing a second chance romance may be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Deja can get these hands lol! That girl worked my last nerves with her smart tail but it’s imperative to recognize kids are affected by our decisions.

I love the way Yasmin and Josiah rekindled their love. Sorry Vashti but you gots to go!

Before I Let Go is a second-chance real, raw love story told from both sides of what happens when loss and grief tears a marriage apart. This book was beautifully written (I was so impressed that Kennedy Ryan said in the author's note that this was the first book she ever wrote!). I absolutely loved the kids, Deja and Kassim, and how she wrote their stories, but Yasmin and Josiah were a little too perfect for each other and too obsessed with each other that it was almost unrealistic that they spent two years apart and you knew they'd get back together. I like romances that allow you to escape the real world, and this took me longer to get through because it was so incredibly real and heavy and was harder to read. This book is great and I would recommend but major trigger warnings for death and grief and it's important to go into it knowing it's a bit of a downer and definitely not a fairytale romance or a rom com.

I usually love second chance romance so I was excited to read Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan but for me, there was too much emphasis on the “then” than the “now” and too much angst. Yasmen and Josiah were married and seemed to have the perfect life; good marriage, business, children and then a series of tragedies tumbled their relationship down. Divorced and getting on with their lives they are pulled back together.

I had a really hard time liking either of the main characters and I waited for them to move past their physical appreciation of one another and turn into more but that never really happened. That’s not to say there weren’t aspects of this book that I enjoyed. Ms. Ryan’s exploration of mental health and getting the help one needs when dealing with loss, love, and depression was done well. I loved the support network and friendship aspect of this book and the lessons learned. However, I did not feel the supposed connection these two had and felt that was because of the lack of character development and the fact that I could not connect to either character. I just kept waiting for more in this book and when it didn’t come, I was disappointed.

As always author Kennedy Ryan showed her mastery of the written word in both emotional and intimate scenes, but for me the romance aspect and excess angst of this book just did not work for me.

It takes an extraordinary author like Kennedy Ryan to write such complex emotions so beautifully. As a reader, I felt every single one of them: grief, love, devotion, anger, loneliness, joy, and comfort, to name a few. Each character felt real. The story was so compelling. It’s the kind of book that I couldn’t stop thinking about, even long after I put it down.

I really wanted to love this one but unfortunately this was not the case.

A second chance romance with a hormonal teen throw in.

Everyone was trying to deal with their trauma, good news is some of them got therapy, bad news was that I felt like this book was never going to end.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. This was my first book by the author. This book will have you on an emotional rollercoaster. I loved Yasmine! This book did a wonderful job of handling grief mental health in the black community.

One of the most beautiful stories about giving love a second chance that one could read. Kennedy Ryan is an absolute genius when it comes to writing novels that are so raw and real and make you feel all the things.

** spoiler alert ** I went into this book not knowing what exactly if I would like this book…Baby this story was beautifully written! I also hated all the main characters except the son and the dog 😩. What I’m trying to say is the author wrote two unlikeable characters with a story that kept me wrapped! I appreciated the authors time with both Yasmen and Josiah’s journey to healing, I felt like their love story came secondary to the love. Overall what a journey from start to finish. I know some people aren’t going to like me when I say I had more of an issue with Vashti than Mark. Mark was expected but Vashti girl?! Why are you at another woman’s house playing house with her kids and ex husband?? No one thought to do that from his home? And this is where I was mad 7 chapters in because Yasmen has no right to be upset Josiah is dating, Josiah you are a damn fool for brining a lover to your exe’s house and making memory with your kids, and Vashti you are not dumb you participated in that foolishness! Like I’m disappointed these characters were not likeable but baby was the story good that I bypassed that. Which gets back to Kennedy’s writing being so good to pull that emotion out of me. Will I reread this, probably not right away but definitely in the future. Overall good story more wine’s fiction than romance and please read TW before starting this book!

Omg! A must read! Kennedy Tyan is worth alll the hype! This book kept me entertained from start to finish! Yasmine and Josiah went though it! From marriage that seemed unbreakable to Josiah cheating and ending up with his side chick. Let's just say you will not be bored! A must read. A page turner 5 out of 5 stars!

Yasmine and Josiah seemed to have it all. The perfect marriage, two kids and a thriving restaurant in Atlanta. When tragedy strikes their family not once, but twice their perfect world starts to fall apart. With both coping with their tragedy in different ways, they draw further and further apart. Divorced they seem to be managing well, they’re co-parenting their kids and the restaurant is doing better than it ever has. Things are so good, everyone around them wonders how they do it. When Josiah starts dating the restaurants head Chef Vashti, Yasmine finds herself becoming jealous. Yasmine realizes maybe divorcing Josiah was a mistake and maybe she’s still in love with him. Josiah is excited about trying to move on, but in the back of his mind he knows no one can ever compare to Yasmine. Josiah feels strongly, he could never go back to her after she blew up their marriage. Trying to avoid their feelings is becoming harder and harder, but can they ever get back to where they once were. Will Josiah be willing to take another chance on the woman’s he’s loved since the moment he first saw her?

I really loved this book. The characters were well written and the story flowed so well. I loved how it touched on grief, depression, love, acceptance. This book really gives you all the emotions and I am not usually a romance buff. I know it is said this is book one and I really hope there is another book in the series that may explore some of the other characters like Yasmine’s friend Soledad. My only complaints in the book are the use of too many nicknames. Every character has a shortened version of their names as a nickname (Yas, Si, Day, Seem, Sol, Hen) and it just came off as overdone and unrealistic. I also rolled my eyes over the way the author described the male genitalia, calling it “steel, brick or wood” was so cheesy and honestly not how Black people really talk. I know this author is Black and she’s written many different books, but this book centered on a Black family should have used verbiage that is used in the Black community. Those small annoyances didn’t change my love for the book and my hope that there is another book and this becomes a series. I want to thank Kennedy Ryan for sending me this ARC.

Another amazing book by Kennedy Ryan! I absolutely love this story between Yas and Josiah. I loved that we were able to live in their respective heartbreak and at the end their love and happiness. The emotions explored in this book were really raw and it made me feel everything. I felt like I was going through everything thing with this family and rooting for them along the way. This book will definitely have my heart and cannot wait for the rest of the series to come out.

For as much as I loved Reel this was low-key disappointing. Going into it I honestly expected to shed a tear or two but despite dealing with some heavy subjects (for which I didn’t see a content warning) I never really connected with the story or characters. I didn’t feel that depth of emotion I was expecting.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Oh my heart! Believe the hype for this book.

All the stars. All of them for Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan.

Every book I’ve read by Kennedy Ryan has left me emotionally drained by the end. This book is so raw, emotional, and authentic. It’s a look at love not always being enough to sustain a marriage through tragic events and what happens after. It’s about hope, healing, and second chances.

Kennedy Ryan is a master at writing heavy, emotional topics and also infusing the story with joy, hope, and steamy moments. I dare you to read one of her books and not cry. I cannot. I bawled through sections of this one as I have her other books. While my grief is not the same as what Yasmen experienced, this quote resonated for me:

"When you lose someone that close, the enormity, the finality of it, sometimes hits you full force when you least expect it. When you are least prepared. And your heartbeat stutters and your knees nearly buckle, just like when you first heard they were gone... you never banish the grief completely."

Thank you @kennedyryan for writing this book and handling the topics with such care. I cannot stop thinking of this one. I loved this book for its vulnerability, healing, and intimate moments.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for e-ARC of the book.

Yasmen and Josiah Wade are a divorced couple that seem to be great at being business partners of a popular restaurant, as well as coparents of two wonderful kids. That’s only the surface, however. As Kennedy Ryan takes us further into this story we see the losses, pain, grief in their past, and how they cope (or fail to), and accept or change in the present. The author really delivers and makes you wonder where this wild ride will take us.

“Before I Let Go” has it all - endless love, hitting rock bottom, friendship, lust, problems with the teenage daughter and much more. I cried and blushed while reading this book. And special thanks to Kennedy for the recipes at the end of the book, I enthusiastically look forward to trying out the pound cake recipe.