Before I Let Go | 
pickI now know what all the hype was about! This is my first read by Ryan and let me tell you -this book has everything! Realness! Drama! Best friends! The “grown up” scenes had me blushing 🤣 I appreciated the theme of mental unwellness and the way that life can impact our mental capacity, regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic status etc. The subject is not discussed enough, especially in Black communities and amongst Black men. Excellent read. ✨
pickYasmin and Josiah, divorced co-parents and business partners, have the most well-adjusted relationship. It's not hard to believe this is fiction. The best part of this book is how it helps remove the stigma from seeking professional health help and normalizes going to therapy.
pickI loved this book so much. I couldn‘t put it down when I got a chance to read. It was such a beautiful story about grief and loss and finding yourself after trauma. I loved how relatable these characters were and it just came together perfectly. Definitely a new favorite for me.
pickYazmen & Josiah recently separated after a certain event, but are co-parenting & running a restaurant together. Lately, though, they‘ve been drawn to each other again. 1 kiss leads to more than they expected. Will they get past their complications? Is it too late for their love?
5⭐️ This 1 I surprisingly enjoyed. I‘m not a 2nd chance person, but this was executed very well, in my opinion. There was connection, communication, therapy, & spice.
pickFirst book of #Rushathon finished. I enjoyed it.
#SeriesLove23 @Andrew65 @TheSpineview
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 This was a book I picked solely because of its beautiful cover, and it was a pleasant surprise to also very much enjoy the story! Though the crux of this story is a romance - a divorced couple with unresolved issues - and it is quite spicy, there is a lot more to this one.
Occasionally it felt too long, but I loved the setting & the characters, and it looks like it‘ll be the first in a series, so I definitely plan to check out the rest!
pickAddressing mental health through incredible losses is such an important topic. And, it hasn‘t been addressed much through fictional narratives. You can tell that the author did their research and that‘s what made me enjoy the novel so deeply. The thing that I couldn‘t get past were the immense amount of sexual scenes. I am by means not a prude, but rather the sheer amount of sex really took away from the plot of the novel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)
pick5/5 ⭐
Such a powerful book. The characters were raw and real. It felt like having a glimpse into somebody else life.
A beautiful romance, but with painful realities. While it‘s so honoring of suffering between people, it was heavier than I was looking for due to my mood of wanting a lighter romance. I think there will be more in this series, so best believe when I‘m in the mood for honest complicated relationships in a romance, I‘ll be returning to this author. Stunning work.
pickThe hype is real. This book showcases love in all its messy glory. It highlights how feelings are never black and white, but love can endure in all forms. Among all the intense feelings there is a lot of positive rep about therapy and recognizing mental health struggles. Just an all around fantastic read.
Also, I want Hendricks to be my bestie. Her one liners had me rolling.
Check content warnings!
pickSoft pick, it felt way too long at times, but overall it was good.
pickThis book was very addictive. Yasmen and Josiah are a divorced couple doing the best they can to coparent and manage a restaurant they started when they were young and high on their love. The young love that didn‘t know the hardships and grief coming it‘s way. This was a second chance romance that raked me over the raw emotional coals. I cried a lot and appreciated Ryan trying to destigmatize therapy for men. Thank you again @Jas16 I loved it.
pickGorgeous cover. I am swooning over it.
This book is 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Not my normal read and it took a bit to get into the language. I find books like these use a lot of extra details that I find annoying. But I quickly grew to like Yas and Si and their messy entanglement. I was rooting for them! It was a bit obvious where it was going but I think that is the point of these books? Just enjoying the ride.
Getting out of my comfort with this.
Sunday night update - one day to go!
#20in4 #readathon @Andrew65
Goal is 4 books
Finish-
✔️3-Body Problem (#doublespin)
✔️Homesick (WP)
Read-
✔️Gender Queer (#transRightReadathon)
✔️Cursed Bread (WP)
Start-
Pod (WP) - started!
Also started tagged on 🎧
pickThis book was so beautiful. Challenging in spots as it doesn‘t shy away from tough things like grief, depression, and pregnancy loss. But the love that shines through from family and friends is spectacular and so true. Wonderfully written. #BOTM #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
pickI absolutely loved this book! I was so captivated with all the characters that I hope it‘s a series. LoL I need books that focus on the minor characters next.
Quick overnight Anniversary trip. They upgraded us when I mentioned it was our anniversary, a lovely suite overlooking the golf course. Perfect spot to read! #currentread
pickI was up all night finishing this book. It‘s absolutely groundbreaking. It‘s so beautiful and so stirring. Reading this is like eating soul food; it‘s good for the soul! I plan to recommend this to every reader I know. Ms. Ryan has a new fan! I cannot wait for Soledad‘s story! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickDisregarding plenty of steam, this was a romance without a pile of action as it plays out mostly in the heads of the two MCs. It‘s a pick because I really liked the atypical romance setup - a couple‘s marriage could not survive grief and depression but remain successful co-parents and business partners. In their own heads each loves and lusts for the other if only they get out of their heads.
This book feels like the couple fell down two flights of stairs and trying to piece together what was once their life. The emotional reality of what actually happened is being release through a slow burn of sorts but I‘m all in and as of right now, I‘m this very moment..I‘m team Yasmen and about two seconds from slapping the snot out of Deja! #beforeiletgo #kennedyryan #teamyasmen
pickWhen a couple suffers an unimaginable loss it can either break them & their marriage irrevocably or bring them together even closer than ever before.
Yasmen & Josiah are the perfect couple that promised “until the wheels fall off”. But when they lose the unimaginable Yasmen breaks in every way possible & their marriage does to. But they have so much together; children, a business, history, & a deep love. Can their story really end?
#12Booksof2022
October: Remarkably Bright Creatures (of 53 books)
November: I didn‘t read any books.
December: Before I Let Go (of 7 books)
pickThis book was a difficult read for its realness. A true to life second chance romance about a divorced couple working through what caused their marriage to fail. Kennedy Ryan is an amazing author. This is a romance, but know going in it is very much their journey. See comments for content warnings. 5⭐️
#bookspinbingo
#Jumpstart2023
#ReadHarder2023 - read by POC author POC
pickMy 2022 reading:
📚Read 173 books which is my most EVER! 🎉
That is mostly because I found Ruby Dixon‘s Ice Planet Barbarians series which I devoured & moved on to her Icehome series which I loved even more. According to StoryGraph, I read 62 books by Dixon. Those also clearly influenced my genres (SciFi Romances) & moods (adventurous & lighthearted).
114 books I read were part of a series
7 were rereads
The tagged was a favorite from December
This book was everything it needed to be, I felt seen, I felt hope and I felt the power of healing.
pickThis book was everything it needed to be, I felt seen, I felt hope and I felt the power of healing.
Thank you so much @KateReadsYA for this awesome #jolabokaflodswap package!
A bunch of my favorite treats, the book at the top of my tbr (tagged) and an extra book too!
Thank you @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting!
pickI‘ve been exhausted all day because I could not put this book down last night. Yasmen and Josiah are divorced but partners in parenting and business. They once loved each deeply but couldn‘t hold their marriage together after tragedy. Now as they try to move forward something in them cannot seem to completely let go. Raw, real,and bursting with pain and love, this book was so damn good.
November's #botm has some really great add-ons. I couldn't resist picking three this month.
