WOW! A stunning masterpiece with all the feels!
I was so entranced with this book by the incredibly talented Kennedy Ryan! It wasn't your typical romance book, this was raw and emotional and took you on a true journey of what real life can look like. Life is messy and devastating at times, you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This is a book about being at your absolute lowest point in your lifetime and how you have to fight with everything you have to survive it and climb out of the hole to find your happiness again; even when it doesn't look the same as it once did.
I couldn't put this book down! It was so beautifully written, I felt like I was on the journey with Yasmen and Josiah. I was so proud of these resilient characters and I felt all sides of the pain from their losses; even from their children's side of things.
Thank you, Kennedy Ryan for telling this story, it touched me in unimaginable ways!

This book speaks to the soul, a phenomenal writer who takes you along on a journey of second chance love at its finest.

This was my first ever Kennedy Ryan book and it will NOT be my last. This book was so amazing! You were a witness to the beautiful relationship that took place in the story and she included topics that so many go through. This was truly a treat to read!

Maybe nothing will ever compare to Grip and Bristol. Of course by the end of this, I was tearing up. But it was a struggle to get there. Yasmen and Josiah were not my favorite couple. They just weren’t. It took way too long for them to finally get their act together. The first half was definitely a bit of a slog to get through, but this author has a way of tugging at your heart strings. I just wish I believed in their love a little bit more.

First let me say this cover is FIRE 🔥🔥🔥!!!!!! Next, the title makes Frankie Beverly & Maze song pop in my head🎼🎶

Now, lets get to this book. Before I Let Go is a story about love, grief, and family. I experienced every emotion reading this wonderful story. I can’t go into detail without giving any spoilers; I will say that this story is a testament to marriage and family. The power of love, forgiveness, and understanding;  Kennedy has done it again. My God! I love, love, love this book.

I adored this one. It was my first by this author and I loved the writing, the plot and the romance. I will definitely be recommending this one a lot. This one is beautiful as it has so much emotion and heart. A new favourite book for certain.

Im pretty biased when it comes to Kennedy Ryan since she’s my favorite author, but this may be her BEST book & I’m not exaggerating. No spoilers of course but I really believe no one writes how it is to struggle with/work through mental illnesses better than her. Everyone loves a good cheesy romance but every now & then I want to read something that feels REAL & this book did not disappoint. I tried to put this book down but I just couldn’t. 5 stars! Pre-Ordered & can’t wait for the release!

This book is absolutely fantastic. ennedy Ryan is one of my favorite books and she does not disappoint with Before I Let Go. Kennedy's ability to craft characters that you connect with on a deep emotional level is unmatched. She doesn't stray from serious topics and covers them without veering into clichés or preachy advice.

Yasmen and Josiah's journey was devastating and beautiful. I will be recommending this book to everyone that I know and I can't wait to read the next book in the Skyland series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this early review copy!

BEFORE I LET GO is another stellar novel from one of my favorite authors of all time, Kennedy Ryan. All of Kennedy's books have incredible angst, but as this one was second-chance romance, it packed an even bigger punch. Josiah and Yasmen's story was so heartbreaking and had so much depth to it, I felt like I was completely in their heads experiencing the hurt alongside them. The depictions of depression and recovery in this novel were so realistic and dealt with in a great way. I am so glad that Kennedy Ryan wrote this necessary story, and that I live in a time when I was able to read it. This is truly one of the best books of the year, and I cannot wait to see what Kennedy writes next!

I cried with this book from New Jersey to DC and back again. I had moments where I wanted to take my time and read it a chapter at a time, I also had moments where you had to pull me away cause I would have just kept flipping the pages all day. If you know anything about me, you already know I’m obsessed with Kennedy and her words and the stories she constructs. She has a way of making her characters so real, so nuanced.

I was right there with Josiah and Yasmen through all their ups and downs. When they were happy, when they were broken, when they were jealous. My heart absolutely went out to them. I just wanted them to be happy, to be healthy.

This book has a lot of very strong discussions on mental health and the benefits of seeking help when you need it. I really loved the way she weaves that through the story. The way Josiah not only comes to understand therapy, but also comes to rely on it. He learns that it can be a valuable tool and I loved that for him and for their family.

There is also a lot of discussion on loss in this book, so please, please, please, check your triggers and know what you’re going into.

Overall, this book wrecked me, but, I’d let Kennedy wreck me any day.

I can't express how touched I felt while reading this book. This was a second chance romance and coparenting at its best. I wish I could easily get inside Kennedy Ryan head and read more of her masterpiece writings
Yasmen and Josiah have this special place in my heart, because of the second journey that they both go throw and learn more about each other.I was glued to the pages, captivated and utterly charmed. I loved this story from beginning to finish. If you're looking for totally poignant and emotional, second chance romance, look no further..

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely soul stirring. I felt like I was in the trenches and wrapped in grief, uncertainty, rediscovery, and triumph right along with the characters.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect book to snuggle up with on any day.

(Trigger Warnings at end of review)

I have this book preordered but when the opportunity came to read it early I jumped on it because Kennedy Ryan is an automatic buy author for me and I couldn’t wait. And I devoured it. I couldn’t put it down. She always reaches in grabs me by the heart. This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. I’ve never highlighted in my kindle before but I was highlighting all over the place. This was so real and raw and wonderful and everything.

Ugh Kennedy! These two people love each other so much but what they went through couldn’t withstand it. I loved Yasmen. Her pain was so acute and she had to save herself by sacrificing her marriage and that is real. And that’s the bottom line with this book is how real it is. The dynamics with her kids, especially Deja felt painfully real. But I also loved who the kids were as people. And Josiah. He’s a good man. She wrote this so well that you can see everyone’s point of view and everyone’s pain and you just want them to come back from it together. No winner and no losers.

The journey through grief and overwhelming depression in this book was just beautiful and I loved every single character. Yasmen, Josiah, the kids, her best friends (can’t wait to see if they get their books).

TW: Stillbirth, miscarriage, depression

A beautifully written novel about second chances, self-care, and unconditional love..

This story brought forth so many emotions. Ryan masterfully handled the sensitive subject of depression with care. The characters were well-developed and storyline believable. Both characters had a lot of baggage to unpack and I rooted for them every step of the way. I enjoyed watching the two make their way back to one another.

I highly recommend this book. Best book hangover I’ve had in a while.

Before I Let Go was my most anticipated read for the last half of the year, so when I saw the ARC was available I couldn’t even grab it fast enough. Like everything that Kennedy writes, this was beautiful, heart-aching, poignant, emotional, romantic, and just a real journey between Yasmen and Josiah. This is easily my favorite read of 2022, not only one of my top reads from Kennedy Ryan, but a favorite romance of all time for me.

Yasmen and Josiah are divorced, they’ve been co-parenting their two children: Deja (13) and Kassim (10), running their successful soul fusion restaurant Grits together, and just taking each day as it comes. Yasmen is very active in her children’s activities, sports, and school events as well as a very active member in their community putting together local business events. Josiah and Yasmen fell in love and loved hard and beautifully, but multiple tragedies hit their family and lead to their divorce. Now they run their restaurant, he lives just 2 streets over, and their kids see both parents every day. They both have hurt one another in the past but still have so much love for one another. Like magnets, Yasmen and Josiah are always pulled back to one another and now they’re both starting to wonder if it’s really too late to let everything go for good.

“Who wants to walk in the park? I think that man would run wild with you.”

Their story is raw and real, you know absolutely that Yasmen and Josiah are inevitable and will work their way back to one another. The weight of their past cannot keep these two apart. The way their children play a part in the story, her friends, their restaurant, an overnight trip together (with only 1 bed!) to scout a new restaurant location, their family Great Dane Otis, the family time, the food, the fountain scene (I gasped!), and omg just all the love. The way this man worships her, her body, her scars…it’s just so beautiful! Their children, their restaurant, their lives together, the legacy they’re creating. I just can’t get enough. This book does deal with heavy topics and emotions and I really liked seeing how much therapy played a role in their story. This was just a knock out of a story and one I cannot wait to own a physical copy of, Kennedy Ryan is on a whole other level of romance writing.

Thank you to the publisher (Forever) for an e-ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own. Before I Let Go has a publish date of November 15, 2022.

CW: loss of a child, stillbirth, grief, depression, suicide ideation

Great book with well developed characters that I was rooting for. Appreciated the dual POV and secondary characters as well. Great, fast read!

Kennedy Ryan has done it again! This book is BEAUTIFULLY written. This author knows how to take the tough situations in life and just handle them with care. I went into this book relatively blind. I heard Kennedy say it was a "grown folk" book. I really didn't know what she meant by that until I found myself immersed in this story and sobbing my way through it. As a 40+ year old romance reader I'm always on the lookout for a book I can relate to. I haven't experienced everything these characters have but Kennedy ripped me open and took hold of my heart. This book had me feeling SEEN. You'll find Kennedy tackles some TOUGH, triggering topics but the beautiful love story that is woven together will leave you breathless.

Triggers: depression, stillbirth, divorce

A second chance romance. A divorced couple who wonders if they can get back together.

It's VERY emotional. I cried, I laughed and I swooned. Their love is so intense and powerful and real. The portrayal of the grief, depression and real life issues is so genuine. I thought that this writer's last book Reel was great but this book is even better. The ending is just amazing.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This book was a very anticipated read for me. I love Kennedy Ryan and the things I knew about this book made me super excited: second chance, coparenting… I was so ready for it, I started reading it the moment I got my hands on it.

Maybe that was my problem. I think I wasn’t in the right headspace for it, and I have read Kennedy before so I knew this book wasn’t a romcom, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so heavy, either. The lack of author’s note or content warning at the beginning made me not have expectations about the topics this story deals with, and by the time everything started unfolding, I couldn’t stop until I was in a better place. So, if you’re considering reading this book, check the content warning first and know it’s not treated in a superficial way.

My feelings aside, I recognize this was a good book. I loved Yasmen, and even though I didn’t love Josiah all the time, I do love their relationship. This book has a strong focus on therapy and I appreciate it a lot. Yasmen and Josiah wouldn’t have been able to try again without it, so I truly love their romantic development because it felt healthy. I also loved they encouraged their son to try therapy, as well.

All in all, this was good, but I wasn’t ready for it. I wonder if my opinion would be different if I had chosen to read it at other time. My 3 stars have everything to do with me, and little with the book. I do believe the first half is very slow and I struggled to get to the middle, but I understand the nature of the plot made it impossible to be fast paced.

TW: Stillbirth (graphic), depression, suicidal thoughts.

Rating: 3/5
Steam level: 2.5/5

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for my ARC. Opinions are my own!