Kennedy Ryan= immediately yes! I knew the book was gonna cause me some emotional damage, but I was so here for it! Amazingly written, I loved the characters!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I honestly have been psyching myself up to read this book for weeks. I’ve only heard amazing things about Kennedy Ryan but I know her books can be quite emotional and I wanted to be ready for that.
This book is unlike any other romance book I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed the journey of seeing the entire family as they lived with the grief and I think Kennedy did a great job of balancing that with the romance between the two main characters.

Check CW before reading.

This was such a beautiful story, one that will stay with me long after I finished it. In this story Yasmin and Josiah, a divorced couple are working their way through co-parenting their children and running their restaurant together. It has been two years since the divorce, but their is so much tension, desire, and unspoken words still between them. What I loved most about this book was how “real” it was. The emotions, the dialogue, the heart wrenching situations and moments these characters found themselves in were so raw and realistic. I felt like I was right there with these characters rooting for them, and crying with them. I loved how mental health, depression, and therapy were highlighted and openly discussed in this story. What a beautiful story about love and loss, and trying to come back after tragedy strikes. This was my first book by Kennedy Ryan, but it will not be my last. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

Before I let go

Thank you to Forever and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this Book. I literally stayed up all night to finish it. I could not stop. It took me through so many emotions. This is only the second book I’ve read from Kennedy Ryan and now I have to try to read her whole catalog.

Before I let go is about Yasmeen and Josiah Wade. They are a divorced couple who co-parent their two children and run a restaurant.

The book talks about what led up to their marriage failing and the stress and emotions both Si and Yasmeen went through after a great loss. Kennedy Ryan touches on mental health issues and therapy which is kinda taboo in the black community.

When one kiss turns into another, then another the profound love Si and Yasmeen have for one another is evident. Then the passion between them keeps you engaged in this book.

It’s just one emotion after another. I felt everything reading this book. Kennedy Ryan definitely has me as a fan from now on. Just wow.

Wow, this book was raw and heavy but good. It is a second chance romance, Divorced couple Yasmen and Josiah experienced a great loss and they processed the grief differently. They were incompatible in their grief. While Yasmen got stuck in the pain and battled with depression, Josiah had to stay in motion, give himself to their business to avoid the pain. And they didn't talk about any of it at the time. 2 years after their divorce they are co parenting their kids and getting along. They are still pretty much in love but would not admit that to the other person or to themselves. Josiah is heartbroken because Yasmin is the one who initiated their separation. Yasmin is doing better with the help of therapy. Then Josiah starts dating again and Yasmen is forced to face with her feelings toward him.

There are many reasons I liked this book.
1. The children were written so realistically. Their teenage daughter Deja''s attitude towards her mom, the parents responsible from the split on Deja's eyes, and the 10yo Kassim's innocence were so on point.
2. This book does a great job promoting therapy. Josiah's initial reluctance to seeing a therapist turns into a need. which surprises even himself. Also the reason he starts therapy is to support his son and to be a role model to him. Josiah gets all the brownie points for that one.
3. The changing family dynamic after divorce was also written so well.
4. The second half was the true second chance romance part of the book, This couple still had the passion and chemistry but they had to have their real heart to heart before they move on. Josiah's therapy sessions certainly helped but Yasmen's perpective and mental health were also different than what they were 2 years prior. There is so much healing in this book. Yasmen and Josiah are healing individually and then as a couple
5. The pieces about Yasmin's battle with depression felt so authentic. After reading the acknowledgements it was clear Kennedy Ryan wrote from experience.

It was a mature story not because of a few bedroom scenes in the second half of the story. It dealt with grief and depression with a daft hand, The dialog was so good. My only minor complain is the use of f-ing as an action. I would have preferred to replace those with having sex.

5 ‘Till the wheels fall off’ stars

Kennedy Ryan’s books always do it for me. I’ve been so looking forward to reading this book. I mean, Kennedy is writing a book about “grown folks” who get a second chance romance after having “marriage in trouble” trope? Yes please!

Si and Yas are goals. Their love is so big you can’t describe it with words. They’re freakin soulmates. They had everything, the perfect family, the business they built, and the love they share. But then tragedy hits hard and they weren’t strong enough to fight for what they had and they decided to get a divorce that shattered their life.

“I will love you until I die. We said till death do us apart.”
“Death is tearing us apart.” Her laugh is bitter and short. “We assumed it would have to be our deaths that ended this. Turns out it was theirs.”
“We said vows.”
“Those are words, not walls. They don’t defend. They don’t enforce. They don’t protect us from life. From pain. From how things change. And I don’t want to stay in this just because we said we would. I need to stop hurting, and being with you? It hurts now.”


First of all, that divorce scene killed me!!!! It was so freakin emotional it brought tears to my eyes and it was just so freakin realistic and devastating that I found myself screaming at them to please stop you guys are making a wrong decision.

But I can understand where each one of them was coming from. Kennedy showed their pain and their struggles and the way each of them dealt with grief in the most perfect realistic way and I loved her more for that. Their fights, their love, their feelings, it was all so real and true. The whole thing was just killing me.

Huge Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing this copy.

WOW! Kennedy Ryan knows how to write a truly emotional story. The push and pull of the Josiah and Yasmen was pulling on my heartstrings as they were dealing with some very serious issues. I had to take my take with this one -- this wasn't a book that you just run through. It was heavy at times but the author dealt with it all so well throughout the story. It touched on so many different, yet real like scenarios. This would be a great book for a book club as there is a lot to unpack! A more detailed review will be posted on IG.

This was a really good book! It had me hooked from the moment that I started reading. I literally could not move, at times, until I got to the end of the chapter or the next three chapters.

I loved the approach to the story with the two different perspectives. I felt like the relationship’s dynamic between the couple was better understood because of this. Focusing on the importance of mental health and the personal journey to happiness were key to the success of this book in my mind. I love how Kennedy Ryan chose to hold no punches when it came to the reality of the struggles that the characters faced and the resolutions to their conflict were perfect, in my opinion. It was such a riveting book, full of emotion that took me to places of deep inquisition, within myself, during my reading. I cherish the effort put into making this book great. I would easily give this book as a gift, recommend it, and even reread it. It has made it to one of my favorite books of all time.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and these are my honest opinions.

Before I Let Go is told from the perspectives of a divorced couple, Yasmen and Josiah Wade. The Wades were sadly handed back-to-back tragedies that ultimately caused their marriage to crumble. Though divorced, they co-parent their two children and continue to run a thriving restaurant in Atlanta.

This story is so beautifully written. Each character is layered and you travel through their journeys of love, grief, stress, and healing. I appreciated how responsibly mental health and therapy was deployed in this book.

Kennedy Ryan talks about her own personal struggle with depression in the acknowledgments, which helped me understand why Yasmen's experience felt so real.

Will this book make you laugh? Yes. Will it make you cry? Probably. Will you want some good Southern food? Definitely!

I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy via NetGalley.
I also plan to purchase this for my bookshelf.

Content warnings: depression, stillbirth and suicidal ideation.

What can you say about a book this sweet, enduring love story. The growth exemplified through the characters!!! From the Josiah to Kassim they all grew. I’m honestly lost for words on how good this book is.

Kennedy Ryan has a way of making you feel these characters like that’s your “auntie nem.” The passion shared been Yas and Si, you feel it from the point of when the characters are introduced. This was my first Kennedy Ryan book and it will not be my last. I felt it all.

She brought up so many issues from mental health to the challenges of being in love and staying it. I loved it from beginning to end, I couldn’t put this book down!! The sad moments were complimented by the funny moments within the story.

This book made me reflect on people I had lost and how I felt about it currently. What memories I had with them and it didn’t make me sad, it made me happy no matter the circumstances of how they were lost because I loved them while they were here. Kennedy wrote the truth about love and how it is hard to fight for what you know want. How sometimes all we need is communication to fix what was left unsaid.

This book will hold your attention from start to finish. I loved the positive Black father role model Josiah was and I appreciate that Kennedy gave me that because for a while I read books with horrible Black fathers, talk about representation!!

This book gave me the romance I desire and exes to lovers may as well be my new favorite trope because the way Ms. Kennedy breaks down the trials and tribulations with that is *chef’s kiss*.

To add, even though Byrd was gone it felt like she was very much apart of the story and I felt a connection with her as I did with most the characters. I wanted to taste her food!! Also, my favorite bonnet of Dejas was the Halloween one. I love an author who includes loving dogs into the narrative and speaks on the best superhero created, Spiderman.

P.S. Bron is the GOAT.

I would read this book over and over again because it’s a book that needs to be on every romance lovers shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and ReadForever Pub for the E-ARC. I enjoyed every sentence read.

“Maybe we took what we had before for granted, didn’t know it was fragile because we were fragile in ways that had never been tested.”

GAH this book was just so stinking good. Kennedy Ryan absolutely never fails to draw me in to the point where I cannot put her books down. They are filled with so much heart and love and such hard fought HEAs. Before I Let Go was one of my anticipated fall 2022 reads and it definitely delivered.

Yasmen and Josiah used to be partners in life, love, and business until a series of unspeakable losses set them on a course to divorce. Now two years - as well as appropriate medication and therapy - later, they’re both trying to move on while coparenting and running their successful Atlanta restaurant.

This is a really beautiful second chance romance. Yasmen and Josiah are “grown folks” as Kennedy said on her Instagram page, with teenage kids. The book treats depression and anxiety with so much care with every member of their family seeing a therapist and overcoming some baggage with therapy. Both Yasmen and Josiah have overcome a lot and grown individually which makes the reconciliation so well earned. I loved the dual POVs and the selected flashback chapters which brought a lot of depth to the story.

Content warnings: Josiah and Yasmen lost their third baby to a stillbirth after a traumatic accident, so readers for whom these themes are triggering should take good care. Yasmen recounts her suicidal ideations at one point and her therapist also recounts in detail a documentary about folks who died by suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Thanks to Forever and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Just wow! Kennedy Ryan always writes such powerful stories you feel deep within your soul.

My goodness, this story is so filled with emotion. It is so real and so raw, and you feel everything! My stomach was in knots throughout this story. I hurt, I cried, I hoped, and I rooted for two these two beautiful souls that went through so much.

This story is tough. My stomach was nauseous, and I had a lump in my throat so many times. I was a nervous, anxious mess. The family struggles, relationship struggles, trust struggles, the grief. It’s that realness that is so relatable that tears at your heart strings. Kennedy Ryan writes with such passion that you feel it all! The sting of your kids lashing out, the deep shattering torment of loss, a love so poignant you feel it in every interaction.

A heartfelt, soul shattering story of healing, second chances, hope, and love. Absolutely beautiful!

Kennedy Ryan is a master storyteller who undertsands how to weave angst, heart, and steam into one rollercoaster experience. With this book, the realness of heartbreak laid bare was hard for me to get into because it was so real, but the journey back was worth it. If the subject matter is troubling to you, I would recommend reading with a group, buddy, or a bibliotherapist: Ryan's writing sucks you in, but please take care. In sum, this is a recommended read for those interested in an emotional journey.

This book was truthfully an emotional rollercoaster. A very well written story, but very heavy. Please check content warnings before reading.

Any book that deals with life after divorce is going to have it's challenges both for the divorced couple and for each of them as they move on. This story tackles those challenges and then some.

It was hard to read about all the things that precipitated their divorce and the heavy depression that Yasmen suffers. It is always hard to read about that topic and combining it with a divorce was even harder. I loved Yas' commitment to getting better though and how positively this book portrays therapy.

I felt like Josiah's character growth was really good even though I hated him multiple times throughout the book. In the end I felt like he mostly redeemed himself.

This book had some other really good qualities in dealing with children in their school experiences. I really liked how the book ended for their daughter. I'm glad they listened to her needs and desires for her education.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I don’t even know where to begin with this.

I RAN to Netgalley when I saw the post circulating that it was available to Read Now. I was already prepared to purchase it and I’m STILL going to purchase it. Before I Let Go was pure gold.

On the outside, Yasmen & Josiah are managing being coparents, business partners and ex husband/wife with ease. But what lies between them is hurt, grief and unquestioned answers. They have to navigate all that they’ve gone through while parenting two children and running a successful business.

I appreciated this story. I cried. I felt seen.

Yasmen’s grief was so raw. It jumped through the pages and comforted me. Because so many of her feelings, I felt before. I loved the focus on mental health. Especially mental health in the Black community. It felt good to not just read some clean cut romance. It was realistic, relatable.

I wanted to stop reading because their pain felt like my pain but I didn’t stop because I wanted to make sure the Wades were good.

I usually struggle with books when kids are thrown into it. Most of the time, kids feel like a random thought in books. But Kennedy Ryan captured Deja & Kassim beautifully. They weren’t lost in the story but rather added necessary value to it. As a parent but also a parent who coparents, I enjoyed that aspect.

Before I Let Go comes out November 15th and Ima need yall to give this the love it deserves.

Kennedy Ryan won me over with Reel but this one here?! She has a fan FOR LIFE 🤗

I’m calling it - Before I Let Go is my book of the year.

I’m not sure I have the words to do any justice telling you how amazing this book is. It’s just that good. I can’t think of any other book I have felt this deep in my soul.

There are parts that absolutely tore my heart in two. There are points I bawled (I rarely cry reading). There were points I was filled with joy. Every single character is this story I was invested in and was just trying to do their best.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will leave it at this. If you are a big CoHo fan, this book is for you. Even if you’re not, this book is for you. It’s so, so good and again reinforces why I tell everyone to read Kennedy Ryan’s books. Chefs kiss!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Forever for the opportunity to read this book. The review expresses my own personal opinions.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

First in a new series but stands alone. Romance/Women’s Fiction/Divorce Fiction.

Before I Let Go was supplied by Net Galley for an honest review.

Let me start by saying that Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan will end up on my all-time favorites list. There was a one-day window to get the ARC of this book and I grabbed it because the cover is absolutely gorgeous and Kennedy Ryan has wowed me in the past. I didn’t read the blurb. I had no idea it would parallel my life so much and force me to make some much-needed changes.

“Depression,” she goes on, “is a liar. If it will tell you no one loves you, that you’re not good enough, that you’re a burden or, in the most extreme cases, better off dead, then it can certainly convince you that you’re better off without the man you love, and that, ultimately, he’s better off without you.”

Yasmin and Josiah were the perfect couple living a charmed life in the Atlanta suburbs. You were able to feel the love and sensuality they brought to the story, until one tragedy after another hit and they both handled their grief differently. Yasmin finally insisted on a divorce over Josiah’s objections.

They still had two kids, a restaurant business together, and they live 2 blocks apart. And they were still secretly very much attracted to each other and very much in love. But they had to move on, didn’t they?

Yasmin has spent the last two years in therapy. She has an amazing friend group. She is healed and whole again. But Josiah holds everything in and doesn’t believe in therapy. Until his son is having problems and he promises to go to set a good example for him.

My ex-husband is bi-polar and won’t go to therapy. We were married for 29 years, many of them happy, but I had filed for divorce twice before. We divorced right before the pandemic, but because of our kids we were in the same bubble and kind of clung to each other—now he is still coming over every Saturday night. We also went through a very similar loss, so Before I Let Go hits me in some very personal ways. It also pushed me to seek out a therapist for myself.

“And I think 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.”

Likes:
•A book about mature adults.
•The absolutely gorgeous cover.
•The 100% REAL characters.
•It made me cry so much but they were good tears.
•One of the most relatable books I have read.
•Made me finally reach out for a therapist for myself. This book was actually therapy.
•Written so beautifully yet so real and raw.
•Yas’s friend group.
•They are both great parents.
•The sex scenes were totally HOT but beautiful at the same time.
•The therapy was normalized and on the page.
•No silly plot devices or fake angst.

Dislikes:
•Only one small thing: there was a beautiful, touching scene with their daughter, Deja, and I felt like it was a missed opportunity to discuss mental illness with her.

The Down & Dirty:
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan is mature, emotional, so sexy, and so raw. It deals with family, love, kids, divorce, loss, healing, therapy, friendship and so much more. I couldn’t stop reading, yet I wanted to slow down so it wouldn’t end. It’s been a really long time since a book made me feel like this. It made me think and reevaluate a lot in my life and convinced me to seek therapy for myself. But beyond that, Before I let Go is an unputdownable story that you can’t help but love. This will not only top my best of 2022 list, but my all-time favorite list as well. As soon as the audible releases, I will be grabbing it for a re-read that way.

Rating: 5++++ Stars, 4 Heat

A second chance romance for the ages. Their family life is such a fun addition. So often I read SCR that is two people who dated and then separated. To see a full family with business and intertwined lives struggle with the reality of separation was refreshing. I highly recommend this book!

I finished this book weeks ago and I’m still processing. It’s soooooooo ridiculously amazing! You absolutely have to pick this book up. Kennedy Ryan, thank you so much for giving us phenomenal stories and characters with so much depth!

I love Kennedy Ryan, but this book was 100% not for me. Second chance romance is my least favorite trope. Especially divorced second chance! This is like asking me to revisit every awkward moment in my life. I was deeply uncomfortable reading this book. The first half is a visceral portrayal of the grief, stress, and struggle this family is experiencing. I think it's a testament to the author that I was so deeply impacted. It's very realistic, but not an enjoyable read for me which I recognize is a me thing, not a book thing.