✨BOOK REVIEW✨

This Could Be Us by @kennedyryan1

Shew! This series has my heart. Ryan’s passionate personality really shines through her writing and she has really perfected her craft in the Skyland series. “This Could Be Us” is book 2 in the series (“Before I Let Go is book 1 and is AMAZING) and this is Soledad’s book.

Soledad is left to pick up the pieces after her husband and father of her 3 girls turns their world upside down. Soledad takes the crappiest situation ever and fights like hell to keep her daughters’ lives as normal as possible, by creating a career for herself, and begins the journey to find herself and stand on her own.

I think one of my favorite things about the Skyland series is the friendship between Soledad, Yas, and Hendrix. As a woman, a wife, and a mom, I can’t begin to explain how important and special my friendships with my girlfriends are. This trio constantly makes me laugh and they have each other’s backs like no other.

There’s not as much romance in this one as in book 1 but the romance was still on point. Judah was so patient and understanding and also just the best dad. My brother is autistic and non-verbal for the most part and I thought Ryan handled this subject matter so delicately.

Read if you love:
💗Self discovery and self love
💗A mother’s sacrifice
💗A friend group like no other
💗Idris Elba 😉
💗Strong women
💗A little bit of forbidden romance
💗Autism rep

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one is out March 5th! I recommend reading “Before I Let Go” first to get the full experience of these characters! Thank you @netgalley & @readforeverpub for the eARC. All thoughts are my own! 🫶🏼

Wow! Outstanding read!

After her marriage was in shambles by betrayal and deceit, Soledad is left to pick up the pieces of her and her daughters lives. Sol is on a journey of self-discovery and self-love after her divorce. She is looking for who she is outside of spouse/partner, outside of a mother. She is learning to truat heralef and her own judgment again. I loved her resilience through everything she went through.

And Judah?! Gah. He was just exquisite. 🤌🏼 I adored him and the way he took care of his two boys who are autistic. The way he was always aware of Sol and her feelings, how he always put her and her girls first in this messy situation. The pining! There is so much pining and tension! The chemistry. 🫠
Their love. It was such a joy to see them find something in each other that was always missing. Life can be chaotic and throw you for a loop, but there is always hope for better, for MORE.

Thank you for the advance copy!

I really enjoyed this book - I couldn't wait to read Soledad's story. Her character arc was incredible and I loved her journey to finding herself, as well as her relationship with her daughters. That said, I didn't love this one as much as Before I Let Go. The conflict with Edward was so vast that at times I felt Soledad's relationship with Judah felt a little rushed/forced, yet it was obvious they were going to end up together - not enough of the will they / won't they angst. Sol's inner conflict was a little overdone - she'd have the same conversations with her sisters, then her friends, then herself, so it got repetitive. I also didn't feel like all of the Edward conflict was completely resolved - for example, there was a lot of talk about how one of the girls was very attached to Edward, and this didn't really pan out to major conflict beyond small spats between mother/daughter here and there. There was never a climax leading to resolution of this conflict.

I did really love the characters, though, and am excited for the next book!

Such a beautiful story about self discovery. It was powerful and full of emotion. The characters were so well done. I absolutely loved it!

Ms. Ryan does it again! (But did we really think she wouldn't??) I tried to force myself to take my time so I could savor this book, but ended up devouring it in the end. Soledad's story was beautifully told and I loved the journey of self love and pouring into her own cup. & Judah and Sol's relationship.... talk about chemistry! Best book I've read all year!

This Could Be Us breaks our heart and then restores us, in true Kennedy Ryan fashion! I was sad to come to the end of Soledad's story (for now?). This gives us hope that there is a love out there that we can call our own. It sucks that getting to that love sometimes requires so much turbulence. Thanks for reaffirming that even when we are learning to love ourselves, we can be open to allowing others to love us as well. Well done Kennedy Ryan, well done!

4 stars. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC. I loved following as Soledad found her strength and recovered from the effects of her marriage. I found her character development to be really strong and what kept me engaged in the book, leading me to read it all in a day. I was really cheering for her to find her voice. I was less impressed with the character development of Judah, and the quick way it all seemed to wrap up, which led to the loss of the star. I really liked the first book in this series as well, so I'm looking forward to reading about Hendrix in the third book.

Ms. Ryan, you have done it again! You have completely tore my heart in two and put it back together with tender love and care. I absolutely adore Soledad and her journey to finding herself along with Judah (heart eyes) being the person she needs. These two are the definition of soul tied lovers. Ugh!! I can’t wait for the physical copy to come out so I can shed happy tears on the pages instead of my iPad LOL

Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for this ARC. I feel so lucky. This book was another 5-star read by Ms. Kennedy Ryan. It’s not just a romance. This is about love in all senses of the word. Love of your family, your children, your significant other, and mostly love for yourself. I loved Soledad whom I was able to relate to as she is Puerto Rican and I loved Judah. The family dynamics were unique and beautiful and I truly love the friendship between Yasmen, Soledad and Hendrix.

It’s been really hard for me to review this book without spoiling anything for everyone else. Just like Before I Let Go, this book is amazing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

At it's core this book is about Soledad. There's divorce, betrayal, secrets, and finding new love, but the main storyline is Soledad re-finding herself. There is great autism representation as well.

This is book 2 in a series but can be read as a stand alone.

This is a moving story with some steam! Highly recommend.

Absolutely amazing. Kennedy Ryan never disappoints. I absolutely loved this book. I find that some authors end up writing characters with the same cores in each of their books so although the characters are different, there are threads of them that a reader can identify as this particular author’s character. And this is not a bad thing. But Kennedy Ryan’s characters are not like that AT ALL. Kennedy Ryan has such a talent with masterfully layering characters with so many layers of personality and uniqueness that they jump off the page and sit right next to you commenting on their story while you’re reading it. This is something that I love about her books.


Okay, now let’s talk about the book. Oh my gosh!! Amazing!!!! Soledad went through such a journey in the book and I loved that we were given a front seat to her thoughts and the emotional roller coaster she went on. I love that her journey was so real and so relatable. I loved that it wasn’t balanced or packaged nicely. It was raw and real in a way that only reality is. I love that the focus of the book was Soledad’s journey from having her world crumble to rebuilding her life and herself from the rubble. And in this journey, there was love that didn’t take away from the focus of her self-love, growth and evolution but stood there offering love and support to a woman who was becoming whole all on her own.

I loved that this book hi-lighted how divorce isn’t always acrimonious and bitter. The co-parenting relationship was healthy and it worked well. I loved that this book hi-lighted diversity and difference and included a lot of the different ways humans are human.

I loved the true depth of her daughters’ emotions. I love that Kennedy Ryan gave them a voice that wasn’t small or dismissed easily. Their voices, opinions, feelings about the changes occurring in their lives were clear and present and added another layer of relatability to this book.

I love that the villain of the story was just a passing thing. The villain was present just enough to be an impetus to her journey and got no more of her energy or her tears. I love that. I love that it was just about her and we didn’t have to read chapters and chapters of her being villainized.

And Judah. Wow. Where can I find a man like this? I loved how unwavering he was. He was such a solid beacon throughout the entire book. Completely unmoving. He knew exactly what he wanted but as intense as he was, he didn’t take over the book or her life. He knew what she needed and offered it to her wrapped in his love. I love that their romance wasn’t the focus of this book. She was the focus. Her journey, her self discovery, her standing on her own two feet and creating a solid foundation for her and her babies. I cried with her, I rejoiced with her, I cheered for her, I tried to follow her on social media. I went through every emotion with her and you can’t tell me that we’re not besties.

This book was an amazing ode to all of the women who find themselves having to put the pieces back together after being shattered. While Soledad’s journey is uniquely her own, through reading her story, I thought of all of the strong, independent women I grew up looking to, listening to, and learning from and I felt a deep gratitude and pride for having had them in my life.

Kennedy Ryan will have you calling your grandma and thanking her for the moments she spent teaching you family recipes in her kitchen when you were young. She will have you creating new traditions with your babies and journaling the stories of your great loves to hand down to your daughters one day.

This book was amazing and I am so grateful I was able to read the ARC on NetGalley.

If you haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend it. Like a Kennedy Ryan book often does, it will change your life.

Kennedy Ryan has become a new favorite author! I loved this book even more than the first one. The fmc was such a strong woman and I loved reading about her journey. The way Kennedy goes about describing cultures and showing rep for things like autism in this story is just so well down. Give me more!!

When romance readers say they’re obsessed with men written by women, they are talking about Judah Cross, ok? 😮‍💨

I love Ryan’s books so much, and particularly this Skyland series, because she writes about actual adults with actual problems trying to navigate relationships. A couple of 20 year olds trying to live the dream in NYC — these characters are not.

In this book you will absolutely fall for both Soledad and Judah. She is a woman scorned learning to make it on her own and providing for her three kids. Judah is the BEST dad and coparent on planet earth (these are the things you get hot for later in life ladies).

Ryan’s books are definitely open door and when this slow burn finally ignites, well, Soledad and Judah don’t play ok? It’s been awhile for both of them 🤣

So much of these arbitrary number ratings we give these books can come down to our mood at the time, or any other subjective reason. This book did not completely wrap me up and become my whole personality like ‘Before I Let Go’ or ‘Reel,’ but that could come down to my headspace at the time. I did really, really enjoy it and would highly recommend it. Especially if you like reading romance about older adults. Ryan remains an auto-read author for me, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

Phenomenal second book to follow Before I Let go. Soledad’s journey is one that felt very realistic and unfortunately can happen to anyone. Her journey to self discovery was delightful to read. The dynamic with Judah, Tremaine and their children, as well as Soledad and her daughters demonstrates the love parents have for their children and the lengths they would go to, to ensure their children feel safe and loved. The support form soledad’s sisters, Yasmin and Hendrix also shows how sisterhood is a vital part of a woman’s journey. They stepped in to support her emotionally, physically and financially when needed while still allowing her room to stand on her own and learn to trust herself,

The way Kennedy Ryan writes romance is beautiful, it has layers. The characters aren’t just people you root for but the characters you can relate to. “This Could Be Us” is Soledad’s story of heartbreak, family, chosen family, love, and self love. I loved this book so much.

I was thrilled to get an ARC of This Could Be Us from NetGalley. The second book in Kennedy Ryan’s Skyland series does not disappoint! Soledad’s story is filled with heart, grit, and determination. Kennedy Ryan is such a thoughtful and intelligent author, you can see it in her words and storytelling. There’s also beautiful representation of autism, what it looks like for different people, and how families cope with related challenges as well as experience joy. For fans of Yasmen and Josiah from the first book in the series, Before I Let Go, the couple is back! Along with Hendrix. I would’ve loved to have seen a little more from those characters, but understand this is Soledad’s story. So excited for book 3 coming up in the series!

Kennedy Ryan can do no wrong! I looooved everything in the book. Soledads journey was beautiful and inspiring. And as always the romance was on point

This Could Be us is a powerful story about getting back up once life knocks you down, and learning the importance of self love.

Soledad’s main focus had always been her family. Taking care of her kids and husband was her full time job. She was unhappy in her marriage but she was willing to make sacrifices. She did not want to unsettle the life that she had built until she learned that her husband was not the same man that she thought he was.

“Soledad Hermosa. Beautiful Solitude.” This quote sums up the story in a beautiful manner. It speaks volumes about the emotional journey that our girl had to embark to regain her footing after her world was flipped upside down.

This book will pull at your heart strings. The MMC was patient, and caring with Soledad while she handled her business. I couldn’t help but fall in love with him and the spice 😳🙌🏾

The queen did her thing with this book, I can’t wait for you to be able to read it and fall in love with Soledad.

At this point, Kennedy Ryan I will buy any of your books. This was my second Kennedy Ryan book that I have read and I enjoyed every moment of it. The characters are believable and the situations while extreme at times are believable and relatable.

I felt like I was on a healing journey myself while reading this book. The struggle was real but the self-healing was even better. So excited for this to officially be released in March 2024!

Wow…I’m not okay. This might be one of my new favorite books. Like this might be my new Roman Empire… and I won’t stop thinking about it until I find a Judah….

We saw glimpses of Soledad’s life in Before I Let Go, but truly meeting her and reading her story was so much more than I could have hoped for. The care, compassion, and love poured into this narrative are undeniable.

One of the aspects that stood out to me was the thoughtful representation in the book. From the portrayal of Afro-Latina identity to a nuanced exploration of autism. Also, the discussions on caring for loved ones long after you're gone resonated with me.

At its core, this is a story about a journey of self love, complex family dynamics, coparenting, and of course unbreakable friendship. Can I give a shoutout to all the Rich Aunties? Spending more time with the Skyland characters was EVERYTHING!!!

Reading this made me feel seen and heard… and the way I couldn’t put this down, I didn’t want the story to end.

I loved every second.