I really enjoyed this and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have read it! What a wonderful book!

WOW! All I can say is that this is a heartfelt, must-read. Yasmen and Josiah are the couple that you will find yourself rooting for despite all their blows. Themes of divorce and second-chances will prompt discussions and will make this a great book club read. And, let me talk about that glorious cover. It is eye-catching and makes you want to open the book. Then when you do, you discover deep, rich writing. I can't wait to read more from this author.

NGL, I am so mad with myself for taking so long to get to this book. But let me tell you, once I opened it, I was not putting it down until I finished. The type of emotions that the author pulls out of you while reading will leave you breathless. The way the story unfolded held on tight and would not let go.. I have yet to read a book from this author that I haven't enjoyed. From the flow of the story, to the growth of the characters, I felt like I was watching a movie. Now their daughter, I originally had some words for ms thang, cause she was irritating the mess out of me, but eventually that got resolved. I especially loved the views on mental health, as well as the growth of several of the characters in regards to that. This was such a beautiful , heartwarming, at time heartbreaking and all around am amazing story. I loved it and can't wait for the next book in the series.

This is a book that EVERYBODY should read.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

Type: 📙& 🎧
Rating: 5 Stars

This book was beautifully written and broke me over and over again as I read it. This was my first by Kennedy Rand and it definitely won’t be my last. This book was so relatable for me, because I experienced a loss similar to Yasmen. Without the help of therapy, family, friends, and my son …I wouldn’t have made it. I absolutely loved the narrators for Josiah and Yasmen…they were both phenomenal.

I loved how the characters were in therapy, because in our community (African American/West Indies) it is usually frowned upon. I loved that it showed how Josiah wasn’t for it, but by the end he realized how bad he needed it.

Topics touched on:
✔️Divorce
✔️loss of loved ones
✔️depression & grief
✔️co-parenting
✔️Therapy
✔️ love (losing & rekindling)

-Definitely pick this one up if you have not read it yet. You won’t be disappointed.

Before I Let Go is a second chance, contemporary romance about a post-divorce couple finding their way back to each other. This was quite the slow burn, but I enjoyed the development of the characters and the love between them. Yasmen and Josiah had an authentic connection and had to find their way back to each other after the trauma of what they went through. I also enjoyed Yasmen's girl-tribe and I would love to read more about their stories in the future.

** 4.75 BLUSHES **

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 tried to pick up/finish this book a few times, but something about it just hasn’t been grabbing me in my reading moods of late. I don’t have any major qualms with what I have read and will leave it as a “me not you” issue for now.

What a complicated life !
Yasmen and Josiah are divorced, but are still running a restaurant business together, and co-parenting their children. Big and messy and awkward. The breakdown ( and build – up ) of their lives is written so realistically and honestly. They go through a great loss together, Yasmen has another major loss, and she becomes depressed ( little wonder) The relationship falters, they divorce, but then each realizes that they still love the other, regardless.
This story is very emotion-filled, and I love that the benefits of therapy are so positively depicted.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book

KENNEDY RYAN NEVER MISSES ! i loved this book with my whole entire soul. when i finished i had to have a physical copy. heartwarming, heart wrenching, all the hearts.

I absolutely love this book. No holds barred. Why? Because it’s so relatable and real about love, loss, grief, depression and complicated familial relationships. There’s no sugar coating at play here. The romance is intense, all encompassing, and worth the work.

Yasmen and Josiah have been divorced for three years now after several traumatic losses back to back. Meanwhile, they’re juggling co-parenting their two kids and co-managing the restaurant they own together.

Sometimes love just isn’t enough. Especially when you lose yourself. It can’t solve everything. But the magnetic attraction between these two can’t be denied though they both protest and declare they’ve moved on.

The sensual tension, the dual POV, the will-they-won’t-they of it all!! This made it a 5-⭐️ for me especially.

I will be recommending this book to people for the rest of my life! What a beautiful breath of fresh air. This story of love, grief, family, and the processing of trauma is so powerful, hopeful, and honest. A true testament to the powers of therapy and self-awareness for healing, this book is steamy and raw and vulnerable and just so good. I will carry the story of this second chance romance in my heart, as it was so unique and special. Highly recommend!

Hello

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title.

While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

I look forward to continuing to work with you in 2023 and beyond.

Laura

Absolutely consumed by this story. I’m a fan of Kennedy Ryan and have read all of her books but this is by far my favorite! Relatable, and heart rendering, I couldn’t put it down. A Must Read!

This was such a beautiful story, heartbreaking yet full of second chances. Yasmen and Josiah dealt with some hard life events that made them so realistic and their circumstances were written so well. Another beautiful story by Kennedy Ryan that grabbed my attention throughout.

I listened to the audiobook along with reading the ebook and the narrators were outstanding! My first listen with Wesleigh Siobhan and she was amazing! Jakobi Diem gave another outstanding performance and together they gave such an incredible listening experience.

This was raw to the Morrow of the bone was this second chance epic story about two exes are divorced and coparenting. The way Kennedy Ryan unwraps the layers and intricacies of how a both Yasmen and Josiah grew apart from not being able to keep their hands off one another to now divorced.

The amount of therapy talk, especially in the black community was chef’s kiss. I can not speak on the depression Rep in this book, but I know from many other reader and from how much research goes into each of Kennedy’s books that she did an excellent Rep. *chef’s kiss*
I love seeing Yasmen and Josiah come back together in their own time.

The characters in this book were amazing. I loved the way the story was told. I do suggest checking out trigger warnings as this book deals with some big subjects. The first but not the last by this author.

This would be a great book club book for those that are looking for a romance with a lot of other topics to have a discussion. It’s a great story but I personally wanted more flashbacks with a second chance romance. It was a bit sad and I just needed to see more of what they had, the tough stuff they went through instead of the end result.

📖 BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: Before I Let Go
AUTHOR: Kennedy Ryan
FORMAT: eBook
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
DID I CRY: Yes
RATING: 10/10

Thank you @readforeverpub @netgalley for my #gifted advanced copy of #BeforeILetGo 🫶🏼

MY THOUGHTS

A bookstagram darling that did not disappoint! I’ve seen glowing reviews for this book for so many months now & I slowly chipped away at it all winter long & found myself thinking about it whenever I wasn’t reading it — it’s a special one for sure.

The writing was fantastic. There were just enough detail to fulfill without straying from a perfect detail to dialogue ratio. The characters were so real & raw & flawed that it made the plot and love story a lot more realistic. I loved that they were older because it gave them a lot more lived experience to weave through their story. The tropes were my favvvv (second chance, workplace romance, love triangle, FWB, i mean come onnnn). The love story was so rich & powerful I couldn’t get enough of it. It was prettttty spicy but I think it added to the story nicely.

The most important part of this book for me was the mental health representation. I absolutely adored that each character in this book had such a different relationship with mental health & therapy & medication and that the author took this book to normalize therapy for everyone, especially men. The dialogue surrounding depression & loss/grief was so important and I think it was fantastically executed.

There are definitely a lot of triggering themes in this book so research beforehand or shoot me a message! I absolutely recommend this book & if it’s not on your tbr — add it immediately!

Kennedy Ryan just rocked my world with before I let go! The second chance, but *older* romance was EPIC! I don’t read much on divorced couples who get back together but this was soooo wonderful! I loved the themes of family, therapy rep, and the FOOD omg! I was drooling the whole time! Loved it.

I loved everything about #BeforeILetGo by Kennedy Ryan!❤️‍🔥 This book definitely lives up to all of the hype but it was more than that — it was REAL!! I was completely invested in the story, the characters, family dynamics, sisterhood and relatable life circumstances. I listened to the audiobook once the book was released (which is great!!) but had to purchase a physical copy because the cover is 🔥