Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: stillbirth (past, recounted), death of parents (past), death of a loved one (past, recounted), grief, suicidal ideation (past), depression

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-second chance romance
-angst
-mutual pining
-bang it out of our systems
-this is definitely just a hookup

Kennedy Ryan knocked it out of the park again. She handled such heavy topics deftly, all while balancing an epic romance. This was one of the best written second chance romances I've ever read. Deftly handling the complexities of grief, how love doesn't heal all wounds, living in the grey areas, and just so much family.

Yasmen and Josiah in a lot of ways seem like the perfect couple, but when life smacks them down, rather then lean on each other they handle their grief very differently. Now they seem like the perfect divorced couple, with simmering sexual tension and a lot of healing that needs to happen. I adored how both Yasmen and Josiah clearly grew throughout the book, dealing with their communication issues, the impact their choices had on their family, and just how hard it can be to trust to love someone again after deep hurt.

This book is messy in the way that life is messy and just painted things with honesty in the grey areas. I really appreciated how therapy was reflected.

Gosh the sexual tension and passion between these two. You just keep turning the page trying to figure out how they are going to get their HEA, and they do after it being well earned. This is a heavy angst filled book, with a gorgeous journey. I truly hope Yasmen's friends get their HEA, I adored their girl group and just all of their vibes.

Kennedy Ryan is just a powerhouse.

Steam: 3.5

This book was great. This couple went through so much and it was a rushed story. The different paths grief can take people. It almost tore this couple apart. I was rooting for them all the way.

I’m a mom on teenagers as well and i loved seeing the family dynamics and how open this. Ok was about therapy.

What an exquisite piece of literature. Stunningly written, emotionally tense and dynamic, indulgent and tender and painful and beautiful. I loved this book!!

This book was incredible though bittersweet at times, Josiah and Yasmen are a divorced couple working through co-owning a restaurant and co-parenting their teens. They are also still very much in love with one another. Not a lot of 🌶️ scenes in this one however Kennedy Ryan sure knows how to write 🌶️🫢😏 the scenes were 🥵 and this whole book was amazing!

Phew... this is an emotional rollercoaster of a romance read that's got best of 2022 written all over it.

Trope: Second chance
Heat level: 4/5
Content guidance: on page depression, complicated grief, still birth, passive suicidal ideation
Overall rating: 5/5
Publication date: out now!

I thank Forever and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

Before I Let Go is the first book in the Skyland series by the fabulous Kennedy Ryan. In true Kennedy fashion, this book is heartbreaking, heartwarming, sexy, full of emotion and makes you think. Yasmen and Josiah are divorced. Co-parenting and running a business together. It's not easy, but they make it work. Over the course of their story, we learn what tore them apart. How they each dealt with it and how they got to where they are now. It's been a long time, but neither of them every stopped loving the other. They just thought they had to move on. That it was the right thing to do. But after a steamy kiss, the right thing to do is hold on. Try to get past all the anger, resentment and see if they can still be the couple and family they always wanted to be. After all they've been through, they are actually better people now. Different, changed, but still have that soul deep love for each other and their family. Did I want to smack a few people? Hell yes. Did I want to hug them and rock with them and wipe their tears. Also, hell yes! It's impossible to read this epic love story between Yasmen and Josiah without looking at your own life. Your own losses. Your own love. It makes you want to let go of the guilt of your past and hold onto the ones you love. You never know how much time you have so why not spend every day with the people who make your heart sing? Who light up your body and soul? Life's too short, go after what you want. Yasmen is strong, capable and knew when to ask for help. She had to let go to save herself. Josiah is something else! Sexy, serious, but loving. He had to learn about himself to understand Yasmen. To feel! Even after all they went through they are couple goals! Their love was jumping off the page and heating me up. Overall, it's one of the best books of 2022! I cried big fat tears, laughed out loud and enjoyed the entire journey.

This book was so much more than a story about love, this is a story about life.

Personally, I didn’t love this book, however I can absolutely appreciate that it is going to be a favourite amongst book lovers - Yasmen and Josiah’s story is surely to resonate with many and I think that is something extremely beautiful all in itself.

I love Kennedy Ryan and I loved this book. It was just what I wanted from her. Her writing and characterization is so good and I wanted to spend more time with all the characters.

This book is stunning. I am all for a lovey dovey romance with a happily ever after but I also really enjoy reading about couples that represent the struggles of every day life. Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone and you can see it further out of reach which is what I think happened with Yas and Si.
Everything that ended their marriage was through the lens of grief and depression. Kennedy did such a good job of detailing what it was like for Yas after the stillborn death of her baby. I could feel the hurt myself.
Si really showed some self discovery and growth throughout this book. He started with an absolute No on therapy to really embracing it. I'll be honest though. I wanted to throw my kindle a couple of times when he started dating again. In my mind, logically.. there was no reason to be upset but I was pissed. I could really identify with Yasmen's feeling on that.
It was definitely interesting watching them co-parent. There were some struggles with the kids that they had to navigate and there wasn't always agreement.
Lastly, I would like to say that it was an absolute thrill to see a story with African American Representation receive such high praises and I hope we get more of this.

This book was absolute perfection from beginning to end! This was my first Kennedy Ryan book and it definitely will not be my last! Her writing style is so addicting!

I don't think I've ever read a contemporary romance about a second-chance at love for a divorced couple. This one packs an emotional punch with some serious triggers like a stillborn birth, intense depression/grief, and obviously, divorce.

You'll feel what the characters are feeling and you'll just want to give them hugs multiple times throughout.

It also gets VERY steamy at times so you know, if that's not your thing, you've been warned.

I'm looking forward to reading more from this author and it appears this might be a series according to Goodreads?? If so, sign me up.

Second chance romances are my go to romance trope..

…throw in a more sophisticated and seasoned divorce couple on the brink of reconciliation – I am here for it. This book comes with a punch of tough emotions and TW; grief, depression, postpartum depression, divorce, suicidal ideation. My heart broke for Yas and Josiah, who divorced after losing their unborn child at 36 weeks with a stillbirth.

But don’t worry though, you’ll also be overjoyed with happy emotions as well. Once these two realize they are meant to be together……..the steam starts a steamin’ (I’m not spoiling – it’s in the synopsis LOL). It looks like this is the start of a series so I am here for Yas’ friends to be next in the series.

Overall, I loved Ryan’s writing and can’t wait to read the rest of them to come!

Highly suggest if you enjoyed:
-Seven Days in June
-You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

This book is one that will remain indelibly inked in my memory. This is the heart-rending story of Josiah and Yasmen. How they came to find themselves divorced and trying to move on, but still reeling from so much loss and bone deep grief. This is a book about grief, about how we handle it when life breaks us, how we can break each other while trying to hold on to ourselves. And most of all, this is a book about finding the help and healing and finding your way back through the darkness. This book tore my heart in two and put it back together in the most beautiful way. This is truly one of my top reads of all time.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

A beautifully written story that touched me deeply. Kennedy Ryan is a masterful artist in weaving together stories like none other. An excellent author makes you feel things, and Ms. Ryan certainly does that, but she takes it a level deeper by engaging all your senses and allowing you to viscerally feel the heartache and the joy through her words and descriptions. Her books stay with you and won't be forgotten anytime soon, but they always have an HEA. While her books are must reads for me, I admit that I have to take a deep breath before I begin. I know she will open my eyes to new experiences and conversations, I know there will be a bit of humor and smart dialogue, but I also know that many scenarios will be very relatable and there is great power in those feelings. Married romance books are not the norm and I greatly appreciate her time and talent in taking on the complexities of relationships after the original HEA.

Before I Let Go is raw and pure emotion of two people who said they were in this thing called life until the wheels fell off only to be tested with this thing called life that can bring the darkest grief. Grief is an emotion that some can handle and some can't. We choose how we deal with grief and sometimes we make a decision that we think is best in our darkest moments of grief. These decisions can affect marriages, families, and friendships. I felt every bit of Yasmen and Josiah's emotions from grief, confusion, the fight for what you want, and the uncomfortable emotion of kind co-parenting.

Before I Let Go is beautiful and breathtaking! This one needs to be at the top of everyone's book club! Actually, this one needs to be on the screen, whether big or small. Kennedy Ryan has kept this one for bundled away for a while and I always believe things happen for a reason!

I am beyond thankful to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was fortunate to be an early reader and have had the pleasure of reading Before I Let Go more than once and I thought I loved it in the first read through but reading it in it's final form? I love it even more. As I've been watching the reviews roll in, I am thrilled for Kennedy Ryan; I love that her labor of love is being so well received and lauded for the emotional punches it packs. If you're a friend of the blog, then you know we've been on the Kennedy Ryan train from the very beginning and so it's probably no surprise that we're huge fans, with reason--she's always giving us something new and yet we can always count on her tapping into our hearts, spicing up our Kindles, and making us giggle with the girlfriend scenes. So what makes this novel such a good read? Yasmen and Josiah. It's not often that I come across a romance that starts with the couple being divorced and in a working relationship...and then finding yourself rooting for them to figure out what we all can see needs to happen--that they get back together. They both hurt so good...and so deeply. It's a credit to Kennedy's writing that I *got* why everything happens the ways that it does and while I felt so many things (curiosity, anger, sadness, frustration, and joy), I never felt that anything was off or overdone or underdone. Sorry for the vagueness but I want for the revelations to be discovered through your reading and not through my review.



As usual, one of my favorite aspects of her novels, including this one, is the strong friendships that exist. Yasmen and her friends are just so good--fun, supportive, honest, encouraging--and all things we strive to have and be in our friendships. While the romance is what brings me here, the friendships are what give me pure delight in her novels.



I've seen several reviewers express very strong emotions about Deja; I had them too. Sometimes she was so challenging but I kept trying to remind myself about where she was coming from and why she would do and say what she was doing and saying. Plus she's young and as a mom of a 13 year old, I can report that they do not always think about what they're saying and how what they're saying can leave such lasting wounds. Even though I wanted to see Deja be better, she wasn't always capable and that's just real life, y'all. Again, it's such a testament to Kennedy Ryan's writing that we feeeeel so strongly about her characters and their choices.



From idea to finished product isn't an easy one and I know for Kennedy the journey from beginning to end was quite the journey and I'm just so amazed at what she created in the midst of such trying times. I'm so grateful for her creative brain and that we all get the pleasure of living in the worlds she creates and as usual, I'm so very eager to see where she takes us next.

My favourite romance of 2022 right here!

I love second chance romance, and I thought the relationship crafted between Yasmen and Josiah was absolutely beautiful. The longing, the pull towards each other, the love that was still so obvious between them.

The representation in this book was top notch, as expected from Kennedy Ryan, and I especially loved the examination of therapy and how impactful it can be for even the biggest of cynics.

Plus, this book was sexy as HELL. Can’t wait to reread it!!

Wow! What a phenomenal read! This second chance storyline will put you through a gamut of emotions. All the feels and chemistry so hot, you won’t be able to put this one down. Yasmen and Josiah’s journey isn’t without heartbreak and you can’t help but root for them. Kennedy Ryan’s writing style is so poetic and descriptive that if feels like you are experiencing the story along with the characters. A must read.

I requested an ARC of this book because a dark skin woman was on the cover and it was marketed as Black romance. Let’s just say that reading this book was disappointing. To start, I would give credit to her amazing writing style and the way she masterfully and carefully captured grief, depression and infant loss. It’s obvious she did her research before writing this book. It’s also refreshing reading about therapy and healthy co-parenting. The biggest issue for me is calling this a Black Romance when the author intentionally avoids saying the characters are Black. The only thing we got was her “Brown Kelly Rowland” skin and multiple unsolicited hair references. I still don’t know the MC’s ages. Oh let’s not forget the sprinkling of HBCU hoodies, Freaknic, and chitterlings. But, has no issue describing the non-Black characters in specific detail. Another issue is it being marketed as a “second chance romance” because it definitely isn’t. I would categorize this book as women’s fiction. Too much of the couples grief, pain and loss overshadowed any romance and if I’m keeping it a buck, there weren’t any. Just a lot of inner thoughts of Josiah and Yasmen pining over each others physical traits. Overall, “Before I Let Go” didn’t do it for me. It lacked character development, romance and I felt the author was intentional in the way she conveniently left out descriptions of Black characters. Suspect. Honestly, It just doesn’t feel like I’m the target audience for this book . I digress though.