Ms. Ryan LOVES pulling at my heartstrings!

What a beautifully written story of love, loss, forgiveness and healing. I love that these themes weren't just present for the couple for but the individuals outside of their relationship. Yasmen and Josiah each had their own issues they needed to work on involving forgiving themselves (as well as each other), coming to terms with their own grief and healing from their losses and grief.

I also really appreciated the emphasis on the importance and value of therapy that Kennedy Ryan incorporated into the story.

This was super emotional and Kennedy Ryan wrote it in such a way that you could feel every emotion the characters were experiencing.

Excited for the other (two?) books coming in this series!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book had such glowing reviews that I wanted to love it, I really did. Unfortunately, I found myself just hoping for it to end.

I loooove second chance romance novels so I went into this book with high expectations. Unfortunately, there was very little about the couples first romance so I found that very disappointing. I would have enjoyed alternating chapters between past and present. I would have had an easier time relating to the characters if I had seen them in a different phase of life.

I also thought that there was way too much sex in the novel. The smut detracted from the story and I found myself skipping through it since it happened so frequently.

I thought that the book covered some important topics such as still born births, depression, grief and even suicidal thoughts. The author did a good job of singing the praises of therapy.

Although this story wasn't for me, I can see how it would have been a good book for people in different phases of life than me.

Too much time in the characters heads and no movement of the story plot which lead to boredom. To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement.

All the stars. All of them.

Thank you SO much to Forever and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
Life comes at us fast. Responsibilities, kids, opportunities - it all rushes at us with projectile force. With all the things flying my way, I've learned to stop and check for dents and bruises. I've been the walking wounded before with disastrous results. Now I always pause just one damn minute to make sure I'm actually okay. Sometimes I gotta have a seat on a toilet, hoarding breaths, surviving between seconds.

I had really high expectations going into this book. And wow did it surpass all of them. I always go into Kennedy Ryan books knowing that my heart will be ripped out and this was no exception. This book is tragic and beautiful and everything I want in a Kennedy Ryan romance.

This book definitely has some heavy content warnings for loss of a child, miscarriage, divorce, and depression. Kennedy Ryan doesn't shy away from the tough stuff and really goes all in on showing the difficult side of marriage, parenting, and mental health.

But despite it being hard hitting, the way the author handles the discussions was expertly done. Everything was handled and addressed with such care. Despite the moments of heartbreak and difficulty, this book never loses its sense and feeling of hope.

These characters felt so real and raw and relatable (despite never having experienced anything similar to what they were going through). And you couldn't help but root for their HEA.

This is a tough read, but one that is absolutely worth every single page. These two go through so much together and getting to witness their happily ever after was fantastic.
I recognize her anger laid out like rug covering her pain.

I cannot say enough amazing things about this book. If you haven't picked it up yet, definitely add it to your list immediately ❤️

Yasmen and Josiah were supposed to be in love forever until tragedy after tragedy tore them apart. Two years after their divorce, Yasmen is finally finding her joy again and getting into a new rhythm with Josiah co-parenting their two children and coowning a business. Yet the ex-couple find themselves drawn back to each other and wondering if their split is the right call. Is the divorce a mistake or an inevitability? How can they believe their love will last the second time around?

LET GO is a raw, emotional, yet beautiful second-chance novel that delivers so much more than just the romance and tension between Yasmen and Josiah. It had me laughing, blushing, and sobbing. Going in, I was apprehensive because second-chance tropes aren't my favorite, but I am pleasantly surprised by and greatly appreciate the emotional depth Ryan put into the book.

LET GO contains many heartbreaking events where readers should check trigger warnings first. That said, Ryan tackles so many vital issues of loss, grief, and mental health that I believe everyone will benefit from this book. Especially on seeking professional help for one's mental health, LET GO does a beautiful job emphasizing the importance of men seeing therapists and showing their vulnerabilities.

Even if you're not a romance reader, I highly recommend LET GO. I was equally intrigued by how the characters process their traumas differently and grow as individuals, as well as the romance between Yasmen and Josiah. LET GO is a fantastic book written with care and empathy that everyone should read.

Wow, this book was gorgeous. Heartbreaking and beautiful, but so gorgeous. I actually had to stop midway through this one because my heart needed a break. Yasmen and Josiah had been through so much and my heart just couldn't handle it, so I had to take a mini-break. But this may be the most beautifully written book I've read all year. Kennedy Ryan makes you feel the grief, but she also makes you feel the triumph and overall the result is breathtaking.

This was my first Kennedy Ryan book and now I think I'm gonna need to go check out her backlist. This book made laugh, cry, and swoon. Ryan did an incredible job tackling grief and therapy while also putting the romance front and center.

Whew, how do I even sum up this book? This one definitely made me feel all the feelings. It was painful at times but it was also so beautiful and so real. In this book we follow Yasmin and Josiah as they navigate the aftermath of their divorce, trying to co-parent as well as trying to heal from two very traumatic events. So there’s no doubt that Yasmin and Josiah were in love and what’s crazy is that they never really fell out of love but life kinda took a hole of their relationship. They have two children and a business together, so they’re always going to be in each other's lives but they have been divorced for a few years and they’re trying to find their new normals now that some healing has happened. What they find is that just maybe they’re not as over one another as they thought.

This book was beautiful, immersive and one of my favourite reads of the year.

Yasmen and Josiah have the perfect marriage until suddenly they don't. But even in their divorce, they seem completely put together to the outside world; both succesfully owning and running a restaurant together, and co-parenting harmoniously. Throughout this book, we see just how tragedy and mental illness can take a toll on any marriage.

Kenedy Ryan has written a gorgeous story that is raw in its emotion, and doesn't pull any punches when dealing with the aftermath of loss. She writes a beautiful love story that left me reaching for tissues more times than I could count.

This book was one that I can't stop thinking about in the very best way.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book gave me all the feels. Cannot recommend enough. Incredible story.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review

This was my first book from Kennedy Ryan and it definitely won’t be my last. Josiah and Yasmen’s journey was filled with so much pain, heartache, healing, acceptance and growth. I felt their emotions as my own, and I got lost in their story. Beautifully written!!

5 stars This is the best book I have read this year!!!

I am absolutely in love with this book. Kennedy Ryan is an amazing author. This storyline is a fantastic second-chance romance that isn't two people coming back into each other's lives but finding their way back to each other after going through a whole bunch of stuff that tore them apart. Their story is beautiful, Josiah and Yasmen are made for each other. The care for mental health was expressed through this book. There were parts of this book that absolutely broke my heart. It definitely packs an emotional punch and just broke my heart. I hope that there are more stories from this world I would love to have Hendrick's story.


Content warnings. Death of a loved one (off page), depression, grief, passive suicidal ideation, stillbirth, pregnancy,

Thank you Netgalley and Forever/Grand Central for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say? This book was written so well that I felt parts of when I was going through my divorce again. A friend told me to stop reading it. But I couldn't put it down. It was so good! Kennedy wrote this book so well that I was feeling Yas' all through the book. For the first time I saw myself from a distance. Even to the relationship with her daughter. I love how Kennedy gave us both points of views and didn't shy away from the hard parts of divorce or just life. I am definitely recommending this book to my life coaching friends as we discuss different scenarios and relate it to our own lives or how we would help other women we coach. Because this book is the truth!

Thank you to NetGalley for the wonderful opportunity to receive an ARC for this amazing novel.

I swore up and down when Kennedy Ryan released what this book was going to be about, I said it would be the first one of hers I would have to pass on. I am not a fan of divorced couples in novels at all (firmly based off of my own life experiences!) but she has made me a believer. This story is beautifully raw and real. Yasmen and Josiah’s relationship is so complicated and so is their love but it’s clear to anyone that what they have is special.

The family that Yasmen and Josiah have built is really amazing to see. Deja reminded me of myself (the good and the bad parts!) so much as a teenager. I even saw a bit of my younger brother in Kassim. Healthy coparenting and what it takes to make it work isn’t something we often see, especially with Black parents so it’s nice to see the #TeamWard mindset that’s here.

One of the most important aspects throughout the novel though is grief and the depression that often follows. I won’t get too far into it to avoid spoilers, but the way Kennedy Ryan captures grief and depression is truly something to behold. As someone who has recently been on a grief journey and battling depression, I found myself feeling seen. And that made me pause and ask myself “are YOU okay?” I never thought I’d be able to articulate just how I felt in some of my darkest days, but Kennedy did it perfectly.

Skyland has easily become one of my favorite fictional settings (I promise it’s not just because I’m a bit biased when it comes to Atlanta!). Kennedy has perfectly captured the feel of what it’s like to live in Atlanta and I love the wonderful setting of Skyland.

Overall I loved this novel. Just when I think she can’t get better, Kennedy Ryan goes and amazes me. I can honestly say that I believe Kennedy Ryan has a “healing pen,” her stories may break you but you leave feeling a lot better than when you started.

This was a new author for me and it didn’t not disappoint! This had all the angst, healing, and second chances! I really loved that about it! It was so well written. The MC’s were soulmates which made it that much better! Yas and Jos had a lot to overcome to come back to their HEA and love. Life is messy, things happen but they worked through it! I really enjoy this book! My emotions were tugged reading this story! Just wonderful!

5. FREAKING. STARS.

Kennedy Ryan can do no wrong. What an incredible author! You haven't read characters until you've read a book by Kennedy Ryan. She *really* knows how to make people feel authentic, lived-in, and realistic, almost like you're standing in front of them watching their scenarios play out in the same room. My god, she's a descriptive genius. I hope she writes movie screenplays someday because Hollywood needs her golden touch! Every single character is fully fleshed out and entirely believable, from the precious, smart Kassim, to the defiant, guarded, snarky Deja, to the tough and stern but tender Josiah, to the loving, motherly, work-in-progress Yasmen.

"Before I Let Go" is a triumph. It covers a variety of topics, including loss, death, mental health, divorce, therapy, black love, raising kids while co-parenting, second chances, reconnecting, understanding, forgiveness, compassion, self-love, and acceptance. It's so powerful, so poignant, so healing! I loved this book from the very first chapter. It's also very tender and steamy, which I love.

"Before I Let Go" had me laughing, it had me sweaty with anticipation, it had me curled up in a bawl bawling, it had me yearning for a love like Yasmen and Josiah's! I CANNOT WAIT for the next book in this series. I need it yesterday. Kennedy Ryan, you're a writing superhero!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kennedy Ryan, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

Yasmen and Josiah are divorced. Still business partners in their thriving restaurant and they share two children they adore. Two years later, a lot of heartache and water under the bridge, these two feel ready to move forward. Or so they think but their hearts may have other plans.

What could have torn them apart? They obviously loved each other and had a soul mate closeness so something earth shaking had to have happened. We soon learn that Yasmen had an accident in the restaurant which caused the loss of the baby she was carrying. Lying on the floor, helpless to do anything but feel the life draining out of her. Their child did not survive and neither does their marriage.

Josiah also lost his aunt, the woman who was for all intents and purposes, his mother. Yas drowns in her grief, in her guilt and gets further and further away from her husband. Josiah (Si), also grieving, unable to reach his wife, loses himself in the restaurant, working longer and longer hours. Josiah starts dating another woman, despite still having unresolved feelings about how things ended between him and Yas. This was my one bone to pick in this love story, because yes, it is very much a love story. The person he chose to date? It seemed lazy, not too smart and out of character in my humble opinion. Also, the other chick? Yas took it in stride. In that situation, I don’t know that I would have been so easy about it.

Second chance romances are my favorite. I love how the story just flows and feels so authentic. Yas’ journey through depression feels genuine. Therapy, which is still taboo for men and looked down upon in many cultures, is dealt with honestly here. Si is resistant but comes to a point of acceptance with why it is necessary for him.

Side note - can we talk about the besties please? Sassy, loving and protective of Yas like mine are with me. Can Hendrix get her own book? I’m just putting it out there.

Does it make sense if I say that Before I Let Go is gorgeous? I’m not just talking about the cover art. Though that is gorgeous too. It is just gorgeous, sad, funny, angsty and oh so sexy. The longing, the little touches, that deep sigh when THAT man who gives you butterflies is in the room. The “let’s just do it once” swoon worthiness of it all!

Babes go 1-Click this one and snuggle in to savor it.

Kennedy! Girl! You had me at hello.

I don't know where to even start with this book. Kennedy Ryan has been an all time favourite author of mine for years but this story may take first place as my favourite title by hers. There was so much to unpack in every chapter. It is the most heartfelt, emotional, raw love story that I've read in a long long long time.

Kennedy Ryan can WRITE. This book features messy characters who love each other imperfectly, and it was a refreshing change of pace to read a hard-earned happily ever after when I had been previously reading so much fluff. Before I Let Go is a beautiful meditation on grief and the ways it is felt and experienced throughout a family unit, and how two people who love each other can find their way back after years of hurt. Come for the steam, stay for the normalization of therapy- this book was wonderful.

Love Jaz and Si’s love story. Although the book felt at times like a Hallmark movie (in the best way) it also had depth and complexity that I loved. A man in therapy?? *swoon*