So much love for this book! This is definitely another great read by Kennedy Ryan. It was full of angst and all the other emotions surrounding 2nd chance romance that makes it so real. Kennedy Ryan is one of the few authors who has a way of weaving a tale that speaks to me on a personal level with so much depth and honesty. I can't say enough about how satisfying this book is...a must read for anyone who loves love!

This book was incredible. If ever there was a couple that a reader hoped/ prayed would get it right, it would be Yas & Si. Though parts of their journey were so fraught with misunderstanding, the desire for them to get it together was powerful. Awesome love story.

WoW! I don’t know why I am surprised with how much I fell in love with or should I say NEEDED this book because Kennedy Ryan does it every time! Before I Let Go is a story about Yasmen and Josiah going through life as a couple that has actually worked hard and struggled some with their relationship from the beginning. Only, instead of being a poor college couple that burned so hot for each other every second of every day; they are now successful business partners, who built that dream home, and co parent their children together with some ease, but still have no clue how to communicate with each other when in the same room due to a very difficult loss.

This book takes you on their journey of what happens when you start losing more things in life at times you least expected it. When unthinkable tragedies happen that make you replay what you could’ve done different to change the outcome. How the way your life can change from your daily routine to even the group of friends you now connect with. That communication is KEY in a relationship when times are not only good, but so difficult you can’t find the will to keep going.

The supporting characters are highlighted and well written as well with plenty of humor, love, support, and lots of TRUTH for ya!. (I just had to throw that in because I’m ready for their stories next 😉)

This book is so relatable to me because we’ve all been through hard times (some harder and darker than others) and yes we get through them, but sometimes only at a surface level to make it to the next day. Some of these issues require more work and a lot of true deep soul searching. “BILG” is so beautifully written with love, humor, great insights on mental health, loss, and the realness from today’s times of raising children with outside influences of social media and other platforms. It’s how we sometimes can’t see our true selves in relationships, but how others around us can. How this beautiful couple Josiah and Yasmen, that never stopped loving each other had to learn to use their resources around them, to take life back, stop fighting what was deep down inside, and grab what they wanted out of it no matter how scary and unforeseen their future could be.

Oh, this book is so good for the soul. Thank you Kennedy Ryan for this reminder that even though we give up on ourselves sometimes and want to give in, life never gives up on us.

*Thank you to the publisher and author for this ARC through NetGalley. I hope this is one that everyone reads because it is so needed and is now my Favorite Kennedy Ryan book. ❤️

Breathtaking! My heart broke for Yas and Josiah. But OMG, when the flirting started happening and the tide began turning. The heat! Whew… the romance. I love Kennedy Ryan’s writing. She makes my heart happy. And while this was a journey, I know I will read this again. And will quote this book for quite a while.

I am trying to understand what has Yasmen and Josiah apart because it seems like Yasmen still has an attraction and wants them.

When families coparent and an outsider comes along they always have that doubt in their mind will the parents get back together especially when the two get along together so seamlessly. Especially in the case with Yasmen and Josiah the lives cross completely. There is no separation.

So a baby is what tore them apart and they never got therapy together to get through it.

You never get over grief. It strikes you when you least expect it. You never get over it.

We don’t understand that what we are going through passes down to our children.

Why is it that black men in particular feel like they can carry the burden of problems on their shoulders and their backs without talking to someone? What is it?

Aunt Byrd was a hell of a lady to cause an effect on a family like that. I literally wondered how she had Yasmen so messed up but you didn’t find out until Josiah started talking to the therapist about her.

And Kennedy Ryan sure knows how to pull at your heart strings. Josiah’s therapy chapter gets deep. Josiah blamed himself for Yasmen losing the baby.

It is okay not to be ok!!!

I hurt for Josiah because he is carrying around so much hurt.

“My therapist says sometimes the people who are always keeping things together are the least prepared when they actually fall apart.”

“Yeah, back then I didn’t understand that while I needed to be absolutely still, Josiah had to be in motion all the time, avoiding the pain I was stuck in.” -Yasmen

“It’s so simple, but so profound, this kid saying he’s in therapy and that it helps him. How many adults never admit they need help? Need someone to talk to? Never get the help I’ve begun to understand therapy can offer. A quick dart of shame pierces me. At ten years old, my son is braver with his feelings than I’ve ever been. -Josiah

“Do you want him back?” she asks, not giving me the chance to respond. “Because if you do, you have a rare opportunity here. A weekend alone with no distractions. Just the two of you. Maybe you can really talk and figure out how two people who loved—excuse me, love—each other as much as the two of you do end up not together, because I’ll be darned if I know.” Her question pings off the walls in my head. Do you want him back? -Yasmen’s mother


We really have to listen to our kids because sometimes they know best and they are smarter than we acknowledge. I loved the scene at New Year’s when the girls set Soledad’s husband straight and said that she could be the next Joana Gaines reminding him of how many kids she had and that Lupe didn’t want to be the reason she didn’t pursue her business venture.

I love Hendrix, Soledad, and Yasmen’s friendship.

I know Yas threw their marriage away but as she said she was fighting two battles, fighting herself to stay alive and fighting to keep them together and if she didn’t fight to stay alive it would have been fatal.

It’s crazy how every loss Josiah experienced he remembered it so vividly. Like how when his parents died he remembered sitting on the porch swing and being told his parents weren’t coming home. Like when Byrd died she had on her favorite earrings and one was loose and he pushed it back in. Like when Henry was born he had his lips. Like when Yasmen told him she wanted a divorce he remembered her perfume smell. It’s true what they say you carry your traumas with you.

“Live long enough,” Dr. Musa says softly, “and you’ll lose people, things. We just need to learn how to deal with it in ways that aren’t isolating or destructive. You have to decide if being afraid of losing Yasmen again is worth never having her again.” -Dr. Musa, Josiah’s therapist


“Let’s stay together. Words of deep love, acceptance, renewal. It’s a pledge to stand as one when the world would divide us. When we would hurt each other. It’s fidelity and longing refined over a lifetime. I’m sure the love we have is so powerful, it could endure for a dozen lifetimes, but it has been concentrated and then distilled into just this one. We found each other after being separated before. We could do it again and again until time ended, but in this life, I’ll never let go of him.” -Yasmen

Before I Let Go is a gripping and familiar novel that shows readers again and again that being honest and transparent can repair our most important relationships when we may think all hope is lost. This is definitely a whirlwind of a novel and readers should be careful or they'll get swift up in the heartwarming, steamy moments waiting for them with this romance read, Ryan masterfully creates an intimate family with adults and children that are relatable without feeling like composites of trauma. Instead, the characters are dynamic and their responses read naturally.

A powerful, moving second chance romance that grabs your heart and doesn’t let go until the very last page. Filled with heart, realistic angst, healing, and hope, Kennedy Ryan’s Before I Let Go is sure to be a book that readers can’t put down and remember long after they’ve reached the end. A knockout love story from a skilled writer that is easily one of my favorites of the year.

With thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Am I ever going to read a Kennedy Ryan book and not feel every emotion deeply? Maybe, but today is not that day.

In this book you'll find:
*beautiful writing
*dynamic female friendships
*realistic portrayals of children
*a couple that is the definition of soulmates

This second chance for Josiah and Yasmen was at times heartbreaking in its realness. As the reader there were moments I felt like I was in the room with them; that this painful separation was a living, breathing thing I was experiencing with them. And oh the tears I cried.

But for every moment of sadness, of pain, there was joy too. There was such tenderness between Yasmen and Josiah - how could they ever doubt they wouldn't find their way back to each other. I know I never doubted...even if I wanted to shake them both at times.

And can we talk for a moment about Hendrix and Soledad - I love reading about strong female friendships and those two were a source of light, love, and strength for Yas and it was a joy to behold. Oh, and also therapy! I really liked the role therapy played throughout this book for so many characters. It can be such an effective tool in people's lives and I think it's important to continue to see it lifted up in books.

This story was truly beautiful.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Kennedy Ryan is an amazing writer! She is able to create these worlds within her words that make the characters our friends, and neighbors. We get to see bits and pieces of our stories as Black Women and human beings. This is an incredible gift that Kennedy has. This book is a 5 star and she gets better and better at pulling us in and taking us along in her world. Thank you for sharing your gift with us. Read this book over and over just like her Reel, Grip series, and everything else. Life-long Kennedy Ryan Booklover!

Before I Let Go is equal parts healing balm, a roadmap back to self after suffering tremendous loss, and a master class on married life, mental health, and parenting. My goodness- what a book!

There is no way of knowing if a marriage is going to survive when tragedy strikes. There’s no way of immediate knowing how our journey as parents is seen through the eyes of our children. There’s most definitely no roadmap that can prepare two lovers to mourn the loss of a child. This is the starting point of Yasmen, Josiah, & Henry’s story.

The way Kennedy expresses relational pain on the page is unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I’m so happy this book will soon be in the world. After I read it I reflected on all of the people I know and have worked with who need a romance book like this. How I need a romance book like this! A narrative that reveals how unconditional love and connection allows us to grieve while floating, suspended in a memory we refuse to move on from- the kind of romance that won’t let us drown. The kind of adoration that Josiah keeps tucked away in a private place for Yasmen until she’s ready to receive it and allow him back in again.

This is a story that shows how some bonds can never be broken even when catastrophe threatens to permanently tear them apart. It shows how sometimes catastrophe is the very thing that reveals what our bonds are made of.

Please spread the word and help me bring awareness to this incredible story. If you are a clinician this is a great Bibliotherapy text addressing themes of infant loss & miscarriage, divorce, grief, and trauma healing. The most important part is that it provides a hopeful yet realistic beginning, middle, and ending. Thank you for this offering, Kennedy. Thank you to the publisher for the E-arc copy.

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Just when I almost gave up on the romance genre, Kennedy Ryan returned with a masterpiece to remind me again why this genre is my ultimate favourite. It's been so long since I read an emotional book that took my breath away. As expected from Kennedy Ryan, she was able to deliver another incredible story. Everything about this book is just perfect. The storyline? The characters? The development? The writing? All of them are just phenomenal.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure no one loves second chance between divorced couple trope as much as I do. Knowing Kennedy, I was sure I will be going through some pain, and I did. Like seriously, I need Kennedy to pay for my therapy for what she made me go through. Like damn it, I was not prepared for the angst. The amount of angst that was poured into this book was just *chef kiss*

One thing that I loved about this book is how it dealt with the issue of troubled marriage. How certain issue could become the reason why the couple ended up separating. Sometimes in life, marriage isn't always sunshine and rainbows. Yasmen and Josiah is the perfect example. Despite what these two went through, they were able to prove that every couple deserves a second chance if they have enough love for one another.

Overall, Before I Let Go is one of the rare gems that every reader needs to read at least once. This is honestly one of the best second chance romance I've ever read. I enjoyed every second of it and I don't think I will be moving on anytime soon.

Every Kennedy Ryan book I read makes me appreciate her storytelling more. Before I Let Go is a beautiful story. In this work of grief and recovery and loss and love and family and friendship, Ryan has crafted a novel that will stick with readers forever.
I love Yas and Josiah so much. I feel like I could know them in real life. The book runs the gamut of emotions, but since it’s a Kennedy Ryan novel, you know you’re safe in the outcome.
This is definitely the best book I’ve read this year. It’s definitely one that will stay on my keeper shelf. I want to read it again right now!

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Before I Let Go through NetGalley.

Wow. Kennedy Ryan left me feeling raw and stunned yet again. I can always count on her for writing real romance with plenty of emotion and she exceeded my expectations.

Yasmen and Josiah find themselves co-parenting and partners in their business after divorcing years ago. We get to see how they are navigating these new boundaries, but we also get to slowly see how it all led up to divorce. These two have been through some of the most gut-wrenching, heart aching moments together. The more that was revealed, the more I was in awe of them.

The lingering angst, feelings, tension, and heartache between the two was palpable. Getting inside both their heads and learning how they feel vs what they show was perfection. It showed the relationship they had prior to the divorce, and the utter connection they shared.

What left me feeling cracked wide open was how perfectly and realistically Kennedy wrote about the hard moments this couple went through. I have personal experience with something they went through and I am so thankful for how she wrote it. She was able to construe thoughts, feelings, and emotions I have experienced in a way I never have. If there is one author I knew I could trust with these topics, I knew it would be her.

The things Yas and Josiah have gone through can rattle any person/couple, no matter the strength of their foundation. Kennedy wrote about a couple slowly finding both themselves, and their way back to each other. This book is beyond romance, it’s real life in words. It’s a story about overcoming unimaginable pain, and choosing to live instead of succumbing. I felt so proud of these fictional characters, knowing the darkness they were cloaked in. I feel as though I could write my own personal novel on what I feel for this story and this writing. Complete and utter perfection that everyone needs to read (but bring the tissues.)

What a read!!! For this couple the end is just the beginning! Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryab was raw, emotional, and completely unexpected!

I love anything written by Kennedy Ryan, and these characters absolutely came alive for me! I adored the deep female friendships, the realness, and the tension!!! Oh the tension!

At times this book is a bit of a sucker punch. Before I Let Go broke me at times, but put me back together piece by piece with every glimmer of hope in this Will They or Won't They trope!

Releasing November 11th, Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan is a romance you'll surely feel soul deep!

THIS is the writing I know and love from Kennedy Ryan ❤️

Josiah and Yasmen were truly beautiful characters. Their love hit me in the feels like a ton of bricks. To say I felt their emotions in my heart every step of their journey is an understatement. Everything about them was palpable; their love, devotion, heartbreak, devastation, passion.

Kennedy is a true poet and she brought their story to life. She shows how tragic events can derail even the strongest of marriages and the work it takes to come back together. Josiah and Yasmen aren’t the same people they once were after two great losses test their love, but their path to one another is never completely blocked.

Their story brought the tears, but I was fully invested in their love. Although we get snippets, we didn’t start at the beginning of their journey and I loved that. We meet them as an established family who has been dealt a few agonizing blows. This was not an easy read at times, but worth every gasp and squeeze of my heart. What a great love story from beginning to end.

Kennedy Ryan will forever have a special place in my heart. She writes the pants off of romance, develops complex and dynamic main/supporting characters, and finds wonderful ways to incorporate important conversations in her stories without coming off as preachy. This book was no different. I loved every second of it and it pulled me out of a 2 month reading hiatus/slump.

Would definitely recommend. Check triggers

Thank you, thank you, THANK you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Kennedy Ryan is an auto-read author for me, and I was particularly excited for Before I Let Go: it's set in Atlanta, it's a second-chance romance, and it features a hell of a lot of dialogue about Southern/soul food, aka it's perfect for me.

This is a powerful story about marriage, motherhood, mental health, and so much more. If you're a Kennedy Ryan fan, you know she frequently features really heavy topics. This book doesn't pull its punches, but Ryan handles these topics so gracefully and thoughtfully. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and it'll make you hungry.

CW: loss of a child, grief, depression, divorce

Kennedy Ryan is one of my favorite authors. She writes heart wrenching emotional stories with such depth and beauty that takes you on an incredible journey. She manages to one up herself in every new story she tells and Before I Let Go is no exception. Unlike many romance or novels with younger characters, it's so refreshing to have older divorced couple with kids. She weaves so many complex difficult elements into the story masterfully that when you are done you can't help but take it in with a sense of pure wonder.

Incredible book. This book is consuming and so raw. I love how honest the author made romance, marriage, family be. She didn’t shy away from any of it. I am obsessed with Yas and Josiah. Since the first chapter I was rooting for me. This book is going to be a hit.

Mood: Read this when you’re on your cycle so you’re going to cry anyway.

Stars, all of them. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don’t normally reach for second chance romance but I always reach for Kennedy Ryan so I’ve been anticipating this since it was announced. It did not disappoint! I’m grateful that I was able to receive an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The way Kennedy Ryan handled the grief (and there was a lot) was incredibly poetic. My heart broke over and over for Yasmen and Josiah and while my personal life rule is to never go backwards, it was hard not to believe in their love.

Their grief catalysts could have (would have) taken anyway out and I appreciate that we got to see them heal themselves before healing each other. It’s an absolutely beautiful story of that will make you feel anger, sadness, joy, anxiety, steam 😉, and so many emotions in between.

Do yourself a favor and pull this to the front of your TBR as soon as you can get your hands on it. It’s a journey worth every bump on the way back to love.