📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @readforeverpub for an early copy of This Could Be Us by @kennedyryan1. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Release date: March 5th, 2024

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182762109-this-could-be-us?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Oc1GBdTuik&rank=1

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

This Could Be Us just screams girl power and I loved it! The novel started out devastatingly overwhelming and I could only imagine myself breaking down if I were in Soledad’s shoes, but as a reader, I saw how deep her love is for her daughters. They were her strength in keeping it together and their household afloat given Edward’s crime and infidelity. My heart ached every time she thought about how Edward cheated on her, and she kept doubting herself and being insecure, which made me empathize with her. I felt strongly revolted at how being cheated on can greatly affect someone and make them second guess trusting and loving other people again. With this, Soledad’s journey in finding and loving herself again and prioritizing herself first was very inspiring. I couldn’t help but root for her, especially with her starting out and making it as an influencer.

I also admired Judah’s character – he’s so sweet, respectful, and understanding of Soledad’s need to love herself first after what she has been through, and I loved how caring and patient he is as a father to Aaron and Adam, his twins who have autism. I hope other readers get to pick up this novel as well, as Kennedy Ryan has delicately approached the spectrum in such a way that could be easily understood.

This is a wonderful romance novel that highlights woman empowerment, and I can’t wait for others to read it as well!

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did not read the first book in this series so I went into this book with zero expectations and I was pleasantly surprised!

I really enjoyed Kennedy's writing. How she is able to write about two adults going through individually hard times but are capable of still finding love within themselves and towards each other. She writes so beautifully. I am very excited to for the next book and to read the first one in this series as well!!

This Could Be Us: ★★★★☆ (3.5)

Pub date: March 5, 2024 - preorder your copy now!

I have yet to find another author who can write with so much soul and heart that I can feel it to my core. Kennedy Ryan, I am emotional with this story. Soledad & Judah’s journey was a meaningful experience to read, full of love, self- love, and discovering who they are as their growth in this life is full of changes. Parenting by no means is easy and having someone like Judah was amazing to read. I look forward to reading more from Kennedy Ryan in the future.

I was so happy when I found out that this ARC was available on NetGalley. I loved Before I Let You Go (Skyland 1) and Kennedy Ryan's writing is so beautiful that I had to have ample time to dive in and appreciate it.
I was so excited for this book and it did not disappoint! Soledad has had my heart since I first met her in Before I Let Go. She is hardworking, strong, caring, and such an amazing mother. It will definitely give you all the feels! 5 stars!

Title: This Could Be Us
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Series: Skyland #2
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: March 5, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Forever, a division of Grand Central Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Empowering • Complex • Steamy

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. Because, of course, she does. She plans everything. She designs everything. She fixes everything. She's a domestic goddess who's never met a party she couldn't host or a charge she couldn't lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigrette for that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes poof in a cloud of betrayal and disillusion.

But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost. She's too busy keeping a roof over her daughters' heads and food on the table. And in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise.
But then an unlikely man enters the picture--the forbidden one, the one she shouldn't want but can't seem to resist. She's lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trust herself?

After all she's lost . . .and found . . .can she be brave enough to make room for what could be?

💭 T H O U G H T S

Even before having read Before I Let Go, the second installment in the Skyland series was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. After reading book one in January, I just couldn't wait to jump into This Could Be Us. I'd be remiss if I also didn't take a moment to acknowledge the absolutely stunning cover art. Just - wow!

I absolutely devoured this book! Exploring self-love and self-discovery, this second chance romance is so much more than that. It has characters who are flawed and well-crafted. Soledad is fiercely independent. Judah is caring and attentive. This combination was pure romance gold. I could feel their chemistry rising off the page. Their relationship is respectful and authentic. And oh boy - the steam is certainly steamy.

Beyond the romance, there's so much depth to this story. There's a fantastic depiction of sisterhood - both biological and found. Soledad is surrounded by strong, supportive women. It really showcases the importance of having those people you can count on through thick and thin. The author also sheds some much needed light on all of the hard work and commitment that goes into being a stay at home parent. Society in general can brush all that they do under the rug, but I know there are people who wouldn't last a day. There is also a healthy example of co-parenting between Judah and his ex-wife and how blended families can really work. These were all reminders that healthy relationships can exist.

The way in which Soledad comes to stand on her two feet again was empowering. There is definitely a touch of privilege, but it didn't overtake the narrative. Influencer storylines don't always work for me, but here it just made sense. The inclusion of some recipes at the end was fantastic because all the food vibes had be salivating with hunger.

Even the side characters are all so wonderful. The kids reactions to the situation with their father. Judah's supportive parents. The ex-wife and her new husband. Sol's sisters. The author also details her personal connection to the book, highlighting how parts of it are what she's been living for the past twenty years. She demonstrates care and thought in crafting two authentic representations of people with autism. She does a good job showing how each individual with autism is different.

This Could Be Us was a definite hit for me! It was such a refreshing romance with depth and maturity. It could easily be read as a standalone, yet for maximum enjoyment I highly recommend starting with Before I Let you first. Now just let me devour Kennedy Ryan's backlist, while I eagerly await Hendrix's story. And also secretly hoping this series may continue beyond her with the introduction of Soledad's sisters...

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Kennedy Ryan devotees
• readers who like mature MCs
• fans of romance with depth

⚠️ CW: infidelity, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexism, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, gaslighting, body shaming, racism, sexual content, medical content, injury/injury detail, death, death of parent, grief, cancer, cursing, imprisonment, embezzlement, pregnancy

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"All loves aren't created equal. Some spring from the earth and wrap around and twine through our souls like vines. Some are plants that start with tiny seeds in your heart and blossom over time, nurtured by years and commitment."

"You feel the loss of those you loved most acutely at the times when they made you feel so alive."

When I saw that Kennedy Ryan’s follow-up to Before I Let Go, a book I read and loved last year, was up as “Read Now” on Netgalley, I downloaded it immediately. I had been looking forward to the next story in the Skyland collection since I found out it was going to be a series! The three friends, Yasmen, Soledad, and Hendrix, are the ultimate group of Galentines, and one of the reasons I loved the first so much, so I couldn’t wait to get another of their stories.

This Could Be Us is Soledad’s story. Those who have read the first know that Soledad is in a marriage that most of us were rolling our eyes at, so how on earth are we going to get a knee-weakening romance story out of that?? Answer is, we don’t. We get a knee-weakening romance out of her followup to her divorce from said loser after he makes a (totally illegal) business decision that threatens their whole family. Judah is our romantic hero, and also the man who happened to expose Soledad’s ex’s illegal dealings, which complicates things a bit.

While I didn’t care as much about our main couple in this story, several things I loved so much about Before I Let Go did show up in this volume as well: a handsome man who is made even more sexy by his adept parenting and vast love for his kids, the value shown toward parenting and the models the characters provide in that vein, and — most of all — the girl squad that shows up for Soledad in her time of trouble. When the three friends get together, their conversation is unstoppable and hilarious, and I love them all so much. They care for each other so immensely and so well. We also got some extra bantery goodness from Soledad’s two sisters that was nearly as good. These friends show that the ultimate love story is the one you have with the ladies who will love you through your highests highs and lowest lows. As Leslie Knope would say, “Uteruses before duderuses…Ovaries before brovaries.”

This was my first book by Kennedy Ryan, and I really enjoyed it! It was a great emotional story about finding yourself, and taking another chance on love. I liked how this book focused on Soledad’s journey, and the author was able to beautifully weave in the slow burn romance between Soledad and Judah. This wasn’t a typical fluffy romance that I usually read, and that’s what made me love it. It was different, and it covered bigger topics such as, divorce, finding yourself, co-parenting, the realities of blending families, and so much more. This story was extremely well written, and this won’t be my last Kennedy Ryan book.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC!

Soledad's life falls to shambles quickly thanks to something beyond her control. Now she has to pick her family up from the ground, raise her three daughters, work day and night, all while fighting the attraction to a man she can not have.

This was my first Kennedy Ryan book and I'm happy I took the plunge. There were so many things to like in this book. The romance was great. I liked Soledad and Judah a lot. Soledad really struggles with the idea of moving on and what's best for her family. You can feel the pressure she puts on herself all the time. Judah was literally perfect. He goes out of his way to make her feel comfortable and care for her. I loved him as a dad and coparent as well. The autism rep in this was spectacular. Judah being a father to both of his sons on the spectrum was so beautiful to see. Nothing was swept under the rug with how he had to care for them, even as teenagers,. I also loved his relationship with his ex-wife. They were friends with no animosity between them. That's not something you see a lot of.


All in all, this was a really good romance that has amazing representation in it!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

Read This Book If…you love an excruciating slow burn and self-discovery!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

Please note: this was an ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Skyland # 2
Spice Level: 4/5🌶, 3-4 explicit scenes
Setting: Atlanta
POV: dual, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: single parents, slow burn

My Thoughts: Kennedy Ryan is an auto-read author for me and I was so excited to read the next book in this series! Overall, this one didn’t quite hit me as hard as Before I Let Go, but I still loved it. The autism rep was great and I loved seeing the various family support systems represented. It took a looooooong time (50% of the book) to get into the actual romantic relationship, but the slow burn was so worth it!

Memorable Quote: “You can risk loving completely when you completely love yourself.”

TW: cancer, grief, divorce, infidelity

Kennedy Ryan has a knack for writing original and unique love stories that really tug at your heart strings.

I loved Before I Let Go and as such, I was excited to read this one!

I got immediately hooked and devoured it in 2 days!

Soledad’s self partnering journey really resonated with me. I loved that KR wrote a divorced female MC in her 40’s who has three kids to show that it’s possible to find love again after a divorce. However, it’s important to love yourself first and to feel fulfilled without a partner - learn to be alone without feeling lonely. So ultimately, you won’t feel like you need a partner but may want one who compliments your life. I loved how strong of a bond she shared with her sisters and best friends.

Judah was so patient and such an incredible father - he was indeed the perfect book boyfriend! I loved how he found excuses to spend time with Soledad but gave her space for her journey of self-discovery and self-love.

I also appreciated the representation of autism and blended families in this story of forbidden love. KR also portrayed so well how difficult it can be to find time to date when you are a parent.

Overall, another gem by KR that I highly recommend!

This is a book about finding yourself and falling in love again after your world has been upended. Soledad is a fun character who quickly learns how to be the sole provider for herself and her daughters after a betrayal by her husband. A lot of this book focuses on her journey. However, the readers are brought into this journey and the love story that unfolds between Soledad and Judah. I loved the way that Ryan weaves their lives and stories together and doesn't hold back on the complications that come with blending families.

This Could Be Us tells the story of Soledad a mother of three girls who finds out her husband had betrayed her in more ways than one. The book focuses on Sol rebuilding her life with her girls and somewhat reluctantly falling for the man who uncovered her husband’s dirty deeds. Kennedy Ryan does a wonderful job exploring Sol’s new life along with the difficulties of a changing family dynamic after a divorce . Judah, the MMC, his family, autistic sons, life as a co-parent is fully developed and well written. This book can fit into both Women’s Lit with a romantic subplot or a slow burn romance. Once Soledad and Judah finally given in to their building desires the book becomes a very sexy romance. A very enjoyable book.

Kennedy Ryan has the art of story telling down. In the second installment of the Skyland Park series, we get Soledad's story. She is a mother of 3 daughters and her life is suddenly turned upside down and leaves her angry and scrambling to figure how to support her family. We also meet Judah who comes into life and he is a father of 2 boys that are autistic and I adored his dedication to his boys and giving them the best life. The story is complex and so much depth. The friendship that we're strong in the first book continues here. I loved Soledad's resilience and how she communicated with her children. You don't need to read the first book but I highly recommend you do.

Thank you @readforeverpub @netgalley for a copy of this book.

Kennedy Ryan’s Before I Let Go was one of the best books I read in 2022. I can still call up the big emotions between a divorced couple who are trying to co-parent and run a business together while also trying to move on. Yasmen’s friend, Soledad, was in an unhappy marriage, and it was clear the next book in the Skyland series would be about the dissolution of her marriage and finding love again. I liked This Could Be Us, though not as much as I loved Before I Let Go.

I read a lot of books, usually multiple books at the same time, so there are conversations happening in my brain between the books, which don’t usually make it into my final review. I also follow other reviewers on social media, and their thoughts and perspectives become part of the conversation I’m having with myself about the books I’m reading. About the time I was picking up This Could Be Us, I noticed that a couple of reviewers I follow did not consider this book to be a romance. So I read with that question in mind. I bring this up because I think Kennedy Ryan is doing something interesting with This Could Be Us. It’s definitely in a gray area between romance and women’s fiction, and I think a good argument could be made either way. I landed on the romance side.

The romance genre requires two things, the love story is central to the plot and the characters having the romance end with a happily ever after/happy for now. Soledad and Judah are in a loving, committed relationship at the end. I can see why a reader would feel like Soledad and Judah’s love story was not central to the book. Soledad’s focus for a lot of the book is about surviving, protecting her daughters, and healing. The focus of the book though is on getting Soledad and Judah from their messy start as a woman in a bad marriage and the man who is investigating her husband, into a healthy and stable relationship with a blended family. Kennedy Ryan is exploring what it would take to heal from a traumatic end to a marriage and move on to a healthier relationship. This is a theme I’m seeing a lot in contemporary romance with older characters – how do you create mature relationships that serve the person you’ve become through your life experience?

One of the things I find so interesting in contemporary romance right now is the way so many authors are grappling with what it means to be a functioning adult in our world as it exists today (even though most authors ignore the pandemic). There’s both a progressive move away from strict gender roles and the gender binary, and a reactionary push to enforce them more rigidly. What a romantic relationship looks like is less well defined. The economy is-throws hands up in the air and gestures wildly-not at all what my parents and grandparents dealt with. And there’s a greater acknowledgment that as humans we are figuring out who we are at many points in our lives. All of this impacts what the central love story can look like in a contemporary romance.

Soledad has always wanted to make a home for her family, and she wants to be valued for that. Ryan gets into some of the cultural and historical reasons why Soledad, an Afro-Latina, wants her primary work to be in and about the home. Among the many awful revelations at the end of her marriage, she learns that her ex-husband thought less of her for being a stay at home mom even though he benefitted professionally and personally from her labor. Once she becomes her family’s sole support, she turns her homemaking skills into a business as an influencer. She has to adjust the way she focuses on the home to adapt to her change in financial circumstances, but she also has to relearn who she is when she isn’t being made smaller by a partner who uses her. That relearning, rebuilding, and dating herself is an explicit rejection of the idea that she let another man save her. She has to save herself, with help and support, in order for the romance to work.

As a contrast to her ex husband who assumed her role as a wife was to be a dependent homemaker, Judah and his ex-wife have taken turns stay home, or working from home to support their sons, who are autistic. For both Soledad and Judah, a loving and supportive home is one way they buffer their children from the racism, colorism, and ableism in the world. We see the ways they are compatible from early in the book. Judah has smaller growth arc, but even he has to figure out how to make time for himself before he can be a good partner for Soledad.

I think Edward, the ex-husband, is the weak spot in This Could Be Us.

Hendrix gets her romance in the next book and I am very interested to see what kind of romance she will have.

CW: emotional abuse, divorce, arrest on page, incarceration of spouse, awareness of impact of racism and colorism, racism and colorism from family (challenged), ableism from family (challenged), autistic meltdown in public (handled gently), cheating by spouse, betrayal, misogyny (challenged), death of parents in past, cancer on page (survived), injury and hospitalization of child (not serious).

I read this as part of the Diverse Baseline Challenge.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Forever and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book ahead of release! This was my very first Kennedy Ryan book, and I really loved it. I'm getting back into contemporary fiction, specifically contemporary romance, and this fit the bill perfectly. I loved the characters, and felt like the story was incredibly well written. I can't wait to read more of Ms. Ryan's books, especially the ones in this series/universe!

I absolutely enjoyed this book by Kennedy Ryan. It was my first read by her, and all although this is the second book in the series, each book focuses on a different main character so it was not a problem that I had not read the first book.

Soledad is a domestic wonder woman, married to her long term husband, mother of 3 girls. Life is good or so she thought. When Soledad's husband is arrested for stealing money from his company her life begins to fall apart. Her access to their bank accounts is frozen and she has to take care of her girls on her own. She has to find a way to make ends meet and does so by becoming a social media influencer - sharing recipes, cleaning tips, etc.

Julian is a forensic accountant, largely responsible for the arrest of Soledad's husband. He is a divorced father of two autistic boys that he is coparenting with his ex-wife.

This book is told in alternating perspectives between Soledad and Julian. I loved that both Soledad and Julian were dedicated parents to their children. They both seemed like such good people and all I could do was root for them to come together. As Soledad finds herself again, Julian waits in the wings. He is very supportive and goes to bat for Soledad more than once.

Loved this book, it was long yet read so quickly. I really enjoyed both Julian and Soledad's parenting styles, their relationships with their kids and the fact that they were able to slowly develop their relationship over time. I was rooting for them through it all!

Kennedy Ryan, first and foremost, is THE powerhouse author of this generation!! There isn't a single book I've read from her that I haven't loved with my whole being. This Could Be Us is certainly no exception.

Soledad's story proves that coming of age happens all throughout our lives. It's a love letter to women falling in love with themselves. It's a becoming. Soledad is an example of just how powerful Kennedy Ryan's FMCs are. I love her so much.

JUDAH MF CROSS!!!! This man. This FREAKING man. He loved Soledad so deeply, so clearly, so wholeheartedly, so completely, so any way he could. From the start, he met Soledad where she was and wanted her to become who she wanted to be. I just don't think there is a fictional man that could possibly be as in love as he was.

Let it also be known that This Could Be Us has so many love stories. The love of a mother for her daughters, a sister for her sisters, a friend for her friends, a daughter for her mother, a woman for herself. There are so many versions of love that we weaved into this story. Every page is brimming with love.

The various representation throughout the novel was handled with such care. You can see just how dedicated Kennedy Ryan is to having accurate representation, even if representation can't be summed up by just one or two individuals.

Everyone should read this. Full stop.

Kennedy Ryan is a #newtomeauthor. I saw that #AbbyJimenez recommended this book, along with some of my other favorite authors, so I knew that I had to get my hands on this. I am so glad that I did. It is the second installment of the Skyland series after Before I Let Go. I will be adding that book to my TBR list immediately.

This book is thoughtful, sexy, playful, and suspenseful. The characters are so well developed that their personalities jump off the page, and the story is incredibly real and believable. In addition to multiculturalism, there was also autism representation; both were realistically woven into the story. The author definitely knows how to write!

I will be reading the first book of this series and am now looking forward to the next one. However, it won’t be out until 2025!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6244113332
Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/da9082eb-0d8e-484b-9d5c-142679a507c3
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3gMIv9yw6r/

Loved loved loved!!! The synopsis intentionally doesn’t say much for this book and I think that’s for the best. Just pick it up knowing Kennedy Ryan writes characters that are so fully developed and real that you’ll miss them and want to check in on them after turning the final page. I absolutely loved this romance between two adults with complicated lives and seeing how it all plays out. Thank you so much to Forever and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

I am grateful for the opportunity to read this book early and would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ms. Kennedy Ryan. This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. It is a slow burn that I ended up enjoying thoroughly. Soledad's story is about self-love and discovery, and I enjoyed learning about her culture. I love how Yasmen and Hendrix always show up for Soledad. The book's message is clear: one can love oneself and still be open to receiving love from others.