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jenguerrero's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Grief, Infertility, and Death of parent
louisekf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is not a light read, but a powerful examination of a marriage. While Yasmen has faced her feelings, Josiah has repressed them. I loved how the author focused on psychology/therapy as a positive force. The story is told from both perspectives, with some chapters narrated by Yasmen and others by Josiah. There were some great side characters, including Yasmen’s two friends: Hendrix and Soledad, and young teen Deja.
Warning: graphic depiction of pregnancy and miscarriage/stillbirth; lots of curse words (for those who don’t like that sort of language in books); graphic open door “spice.”
I was surprised to find some recipes at the end of the book, as I’ve usually only seen those in culinary cozy mystery books They sound delicious!
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I was very late to it. With the next book in the series coming out shortly, I guess I had the incentive to finally read this one! I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Wesleigh Siobhan and Jakobi Diem. All opinions are my own.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
abidavisf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I can hear Yasmen and Josiah’s voices so clearly in my head, feel everything that they felt. I have been in a somewhat similar situation to Yasmen (though it cannot compare to the enormity of Yasmen’s loss), and to be able to hear both her and Josiah’s sides was completely gut-wrenching while also incredibly healing. I considered possibilities about my former partner/relationship that I never have before. The demise of a relationship, the loss of trust, it has all been captured so realistically and with so much heart. I feel like I should be devastated, but I actually feel a sense of closure.
There are moments of beauty and tragedy within Before I Let Go that are then expertly juxtaposed with humour and hope. 10/10. A must read.
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Mental illness, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Dementia
jjhina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, Death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Suicidal thoughts
theswordandthesea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
notimeto_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death and Pregnancy
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Series: Skyland #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: November 15, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Riveting • Raw • Beautiful
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn't solve or save everything.
It couldn't save their marriage.
Yasmen wasn't prepared for how her life fell apart, but she's is finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they're always drawn back to each other, and now they're beginning to wonder if they're truly ready to let go of everything they once had.
Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another...and then more. It's hot. It's illicit. It's all good--until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?
💭 T H O U G H T S
Before I Let Go was my first venture into Kennedy Ryan's repertoire and I picked it up at the beginning of 2024 simply because I desperately wanted to read my ARC of book two in the series, which was releasing in February. What a pleasant surprise this one was!
I absolutely loved this second chance at love story!
It is so much more than a romance and it's filled with such deep and raw emotion. Yasmen and Josiah are both complex and such fully developed characters. Getting both of their POVs allowed for an in-depth look at how each handled the same event in completely different ways. There is so much power in this aspect of the storytelling, because it showcases how one event can affect people entirely differently based on a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
Their ability to put aside their differences and continue to run a business together and co-parent their children is incredibly beautiful and mature. Not only does Kennedy Ryan focus on the romantic
relationship, she also demonstrates relationships of friendship, parenting, and maybe most importantly, the relationship with self, with such integrity. Don't get me wrong their passion and chemistry lifted right off of the page, but I loved that it was so much more than that.
The secondary characters were also fantastic and it made me really look forward to continuing on with books in this series. Again the bond between Yasmen and her friends felt so organic, supportive and life-giving. I want more of that in my books.
Before I Let You Go was an absolute gem! The characters and the relationships are one I won't forget and it was easy to immediately jump into This Could Be Us as soon as I finished. While I await another installment, I look forward to exploring more of her backlist.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• steamy romance
• the second chance trope
• romance with depth
⚠️ CW: grief, death, child death, miscarriage, pregnancy, infertility, medical trauma, death of parent, mental illness, depression, sexual content, divorce, suicidal thoughts, cursing, panic attacks/disorders, car accident, injury/injury detail, dementia
o
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"You have no idea what it takes to get out of bed most morning, but I do it. Everything hurts, but I keep doing it."
"Grief looks different for everyone. You saw her as falling apart and me as strong, when maybe she was doing something I wasn't able to do."
"'I told her it wasn't that I wanted to take my life,' she says. ' But that I didn't want to live it. I'd wake-up disappointed that I wasn't still asleep and think, Oh, my god, I have to do this again. I have to be here again. The only that got me our of bed was knowing I had to take care of my children, even though I had no desire to even take care of me. All day I had to remind myself of how much they would miss me if I was gone. Of what I would miss if I wasn't here, even though here was the last place I wanted to be for a long time. I ached every moment of every day.'"
Graphic: Infertility, Grief, Child death, Pregnancy, Death, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cursing, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Dementia
depression, divorcedesirai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Mental illness, Child death, Miscarriage, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
daydreaminlilac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Child death
hopelesslava's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death