emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0

this series is so good and I was fortunate enough to get an arc of this could be us (out march 5). this follows soledad, who meet in book one, as she navigates a big transformation in her forties, after spending years married to a real piece of human garbage. it’s raw, it’s messy and it was great reminder that you have to put yourself first above everything else.

I love that Kennedy Ryan writes romances that focus on what happens after the happily ever after. When you’re dealing with what comes after the whirlwind, when life and grief and kids become a part of the package.

highly recommend reading this while listening to lemonade on repeat 🐝🍋

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🌶️

How do I even begin to describe the emotional roller coaster this book took me on?!

I screamed when Ms Ryan announced that book 2 in the Skyland series would be Soledad’s story. We got glimpses of her in Before I Let Go and I was ready. Or was I?

✨ First I have to thank Ms Ryan for the authors note at the beginning of the book. She details her research and how she decided to handle the subject of autism. The love, care and patience Judah and Tremaine have with the boys was phenomenal. How we see the struggles of hard times as well.

✨ Second, I have to commend her for the direction she took with Soledad. Too often we fight our demons so hard that we can lose ourselves.

Long story short, as we knew from BILG, Soledad’s husband is a POS. He leaves his family in a situation that will it’s everything at stake.

I absolutely loved this book. Thank you to Kennedy Ryan and @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion

Is there anything Kennedy Ryan cannot write or do? That is the real question. I was rooting so hard for Soledad and wanting her bum of a husband to kick rocks. Seeing her growth as a character was so inspiring.

This Could Be Us is a deeply personal journey of the female main characters road to self love and personal growth. While shelved as a contemporary romance, this story felt closer to women’s fiction with a romance subplot. As a follow-up to Before I Let Go, TCBU can be read as a standalone as the couple from the first book is mentioned but without history from book 1.

TCBU is a thought provoking read. Soledad, a 40+ mother is three, is in an unhappy marriage with her husband of 20 years. She’s the heart of her family and yet her spouse has belittled her into thinking that she is somehow less for her work inside the home. This husband is a POS. He’s a selfish jerk that has put his family in danger by embezzling money from his company which prompts a complete overhaul of life for Sol. That is the journey and focus of this book. How do you start over? What does independence look like? How do we learn to love ourselves and then trust others again after betrayal? While navigating this journey of independence and self love, Sol meets Judah- the man who is responsible for discovering her husband’s misdeeds at work- and cannot help being drawn in by him and the potential for great love.

The cast of characters that Ryan assembles is incredible. Soledad is a strong, intelligent, talented woman. Judah is a loving, fierce, supportive man and father. The female friendship/found family is so well done. I had many moments of laughter and a lot of reflection while reading. This story is fraught with emotion but low angst in comparison to BILG. I did feel as a romance it was missing elements that I was looking for but overall this was a fantastic read and one I will think of often particularly for it’s intelligent prose and encouraging commentary on self love and personal strength.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the complimentary e-arc for review.

Kennedy Ryan never ceases to take my breath away! Before I Let Go was one of my most favorite books in 2023 and I couldn’t wait for Soledad’s book! I love these women with all my heart and it was such a joy getting to reunite, cry, celebrate, and laugh with them again. Their wit, grace, love and strength are remarkable and I firmly believe they should be in charge of ruling the world.

While there is a romance, the heart of this story is about self love, acceptance, and friendship, but it’s also a love letter to the women who have shaped, raised, supported, and loved us - the friends who are more like family, the sisters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts - and the next generation of women we are raising. Kennedy writes about the complexities found within female relationships so brilliantly.

Soledad and Judah’s slow burn romance was tender, passionate, and perfectly imperfect. Soledad’s journey of reclaiming her space and learning to love and accept herself after enduring some incredibly cruel circumstances was inspiring. And precious, thoughtful, wonderful Judah was such a rock. His patience to wait as Sol embarked on her journey of discovery was so touching.

While the story is fictional, Kennedy’s writing is deeply human and relatable. There were many moments throughout this story that made me pause and take a moment for self reflection. It’s incredibly easy to fall into a rhythm or relationship - romantic, friendship, or parenthood - where we put others first and that role becomes our identity, and we neglect to carve out space for ourselves. Through Soledad and Judah’s characters, we’re reminded to pursue what brings us joy, to recognize that wholeness isn’t a destination but a process, to be bold and enjoy your own company, and to surround yourself with others who will cheer you on.

Beautiful from start to finish, this story is sure to stick with you! I can’t wait for Hendrix’s book and I’m really hoping Lola gets her own book too!

Kennedy Ryan's Skyland, Georgia series is quickly setting the bar for what I want out of a great contemporary romance! This second book featuring Soledad, is a beautiful, messy, dual POV, second chance romance that features two divorced Black MCs who despite the odds and obstacles find a way to make space for their sizzling and undeniable attraction.

The most important message in this book for me was the emphasis on self-love and surrounding yourself with great friends and a supportive partner who will help uplift you and not tear you down. Soledad is a homemaker turned influencer who has to pick herself up after her cheating husband gets caught embezzling money while also learning how to support her three daughters all on her own.

Spicy, heartfelt and oh so relatable. Judah Cross is the material of book boyfriend dreams!! I loved what a great father and partner he was for his ex and two autistic sons. He fell hard for Soledad but was willing to wait until she was ready for a relationship making him all the more sexy and desirable. I cannot recommend this book more!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. The cover is outstanding and what's inside does NOT disappoint!! While this is part of a series it can be read as a standalone.

Steam level: door wide open!

Thank you Forever and Kennedy Ryan for a free copy for a honest review.

I love Kennedy Ryan I think she’s my favourite author. When she announced early copies I jumped at the chance. I was excited for Soledads story. This women really went through the rigger.

Not only was this a romance love story this was a story of growing, self love and really pulling up your big girl panties and just do what you 2 to take care of your family.

Highly recommend once this comes out March 5th

KENNEDY RYAN DOES IT AGAIN 🙌🏽💓
I can’t wait to get my physical copy and annotate it!! Such a beautiful book!

An emotionally charged, steamy, diverse romance from Kennedy Ryan that hits all the right notes? You don't say. This was one of Ryan's best. It tackles mature emotional themes, explores female empowerment and what it means to fall in love with yourself. Coupled with steamy romance and a robust cast of supporting characters and it's a don't miss.

Before I Let Go was one of my top reads of 2023 so when the opportunity to read the ARC came around I knew I just had to get my hands on this! Thank you to Estelle and the rest of the forever team for this opportunity. Once again Kennedy Ryan drew me in with such raw emotions that left me feeling all of the feels. Soledad's story needed to be told and if you enjoyed Before I Let Go you need to read this one!

I’d give this book ten stars if I could!

This Could Be Us is a stunning story of rediscovery and love in all its forms. The connection between Soledad and Judah was so devastatingly beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. And the autism rep was so important. As a mother of an autistic child, I felt so connected to Judah’s sons and saw so many similarities. Their stories were told so well. This was absolute perfection!!

Judah and Soledad deserve the world and Edward…….don’t let me catch you! 😤

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Excited for Hendrix’s story next!

Wow! I read Before I Let Go and absolutely loved it so when I got the chance to read this, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. The way Kennedy Ryan writes emotions is absolutely amazing—she truly makes you feel what the characters are feeling and you feel connections to characters and even the ones you don’t, you feel like you know them and it’s absolutely amazing. This book was so good and I’d absolutely recommend to others!

I love books that make me FEEL something and Kennedy Ryan is the QUEEN of expressing emotion in her characters. Her stories are some of my very favorites and I enjoyed a little bit of crossover from past characters in this book (although it is definitely a standalone book).

Kennedy Ryan does it again. Soledad’s story from scorned wife to Super woman was great. What would break some, she pushed through and made it happen.

What I love about Kennedy Ryan is that she has this ability to write amazing romances interwoven with complex/deep conversations. Readers can see themselves and their struggles within the pages of a book with the assurance of a HEA (Happily Ever After). Safe and seen.

This Could Be Us was an emotional read for me, much like its predecessor Before I Let Go. I cried in the prologue!

Healthy co-parenting, self-love, autism rep, epic friendships... This book hit all the marks of a beautiful top-tier romance for me.

This read was so captivating and gave all the feels. It made me sad, but happy. It made me mad, but proud. It broke me, but mended me. @kennedyryan1 gifted us a beautiful work of art. The representation of children and people diagnosed with autism 🧩 done so well and with much attention and care. The representation of healthy blended minority families 🙌🏾

I absolutely loved this book ! It was my 1st arc and I’m glad for the ride it took me on . Soledad’s journey is so closely related to my own experiences. My reading experience for this year was a whirled wind and I’m glad I took my time with this one and really appreciated the many relationships she navigated through. My emotional connection with the characters are unmatched for any book thus far this year . Highly recommended if you loved Before I Let Go !!!

After absolutely devouring Before I Let Go and Reel I was very thirsty to get my hands on the ARC of This Could be Us. I feek guilty because I know the intention of ARCs is to get feedback on the book in a timely manner but I Intentionally slowed down my read of this book. I wanted to savor it like a well prepared meal and really allow myself to enjoy it and even give myself time to digest each part of this next installment of the Skyland Series.

Speaking honestly, while excited for this book a big part of me was not super interested in Sol’s story. I loved her in Before I Let go but as I'm sure is intended I always cringed at her character and her submission to Edward and the way she made excuses for his lack of support as a partner ect. With strong characters like Yas and Hen seeing Sol be this subdued Stepford wife was not my thing and I didn't know how I would enjoy her as a main character.

All of my reservations about reading Sol’s story changed from the very first pages of This Could Be Us. We immediately get introduced to the new characters and are pulled into their lives. Kennedy is a master at making you care about her characters from the start. I instantly loved Judah Tramaine, Aaron and Adam and felt connected to their family dynamic. These are Characters that while not fully fleshed out in the early pages, we still feel close to and want to protect because we know they have been through a lot leading to the moment we first meet them in the book.

No time was wasted getting to Sol’s story, her life came undone so quickly I had to put the book done and take a breath once the dust settled. What I loved about Sol’s story is that we watch her life get burned to the ground in every way possible and then watch as she slowly rebuilds her life and herself.

In BFILG we don't see what really happened to Yas and Si in real time, we get flashbacks and put pieces together of their story but with Sol we see it all as its happening and I like that about this book.

Judah is top tier book boyfriend material that checks all the boxes. Nurturing father, smart, attentive, protective, supportive, patient and sexy as hell! I love that Judah is so detail oriented and hyperaware especially when it comes to Sol, I don't know if it was intentionally written that way to shed light on his possibly undiagnosed autism but it was very a sweet character trait for him that shined brighter as the book went on. Judah’s character is solid as a rock… the toy store scene TORE ME UP😭🤐

I can't say enough good things about this book without spoilers. Watching Sol transform and rebuild her life and the life of her daughters was beautiful. Much like Yas in BILG, Sol had an amazing support system and she leaned on her sisters, friends and community while also offering herself when she could. I love that Sol drew strength from her mother and the history of the women in her family as so many women do.

This book is as rich and satisfying as some of the meals described inside. Each character brings something to the table and leaves an impression on your heart. Sol learning to put herself first and her daughters learning to live life in a way they never thought they would are all ingredients to the recipe that transforms Sol in this book. Every women should have a copy of All About Love by Bell Hooks and a Machete to get them through the tough times.

I freaking love Kennedy Ryan. Everything about her writing is so beautiful and engaging and keeps me feeling deep things the entire time. This book was no exception! Soledad's journey to self-love was beautiful and relatable as a mother myself, and I LOVED the autism rep!! So awesome to see that. And what a great thing, to feature a MMC who was a dad that was SO involved with his kids. Shouldn't be such a huge deal, but it really is. Really enjoyed it!