Reviews with content warning for Death - Before I Let Go

Wasn’t super impressed but it was a good read.

Realistic, distinct characters, with strong arcs for the main characters and thought provoking ideals about grief and depression.

I did have to come back to this book though since the beginning starts so slow and I only got excited because I flipped to the last third to give me some motivation to read it.

*spoilers*

The whole time I was reading Yasmin’s POV I was like “Girl, leave that man alone!” I couldn’t decide if I was rooting for her or for Vashti because clearly Josiah is hot & great so why wouldn’t they be together, especially when Yasmen was slow-playing. I think Josiah needed more flaws though or something. He’s a great dad, husband and businessman. He finally goes to therapy to support his son but even that was too easy a decision.

Most of his struggle was off-page or in memories so I didn’t feel the tension build up. We did see him have to come to terms with trusting Yasmin and opening himself up again so I guess that was enough.

Yasmin’s growth was pretty clear though as she struggled to accept that she wanted her husband back.

Also, keeping their relationship a secret when they finally got back together had no stakes. There was some emotional turmoil and Yasmin and Josiah finally had a full conversation which was nice for their character development. However, we knew they would end up together so there wasn’t much mystery around that.

I wasn’t a fan of the inner monologue reading like the characters were talking to me the whole time. They were explaining things that they already knew like it was narration. Also, the dialogue often felt like it was trying too hard and read unnaturally.

The story is beautiful, and sad, but also redemptive. It was probably one of the most mature romances I’ve ever read not just in subject matter, but with how in-depth Ryan writes about loss. Not my favorite and I love I would it but it’s worth giving it a try.

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lyssaloo92's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? Yes

4.0

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anna_m16's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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thejadamonique's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

Love Kennedy Ryan and loved this book! Don't read many books with a couple who was together have to navigate being without each other but still being in each other's lives. Love the growth from the characters and a love story from a divorced couple. Only reason it's not a 5 is cause some small cliche moments and the focus seemed more on the sex initially rather than the relationship as a whole towards the end but still a great book!

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itsjojo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

“Even when she fell, she stayed; when everything urged her to give up and go, she stayed for us, and she fought until she found herself again.” 💪🏽 ✨

I loved this book with my WHOLE heart! ❤️ The author did such a great job of portraying the different sides of grief and depression and how we all handle things differently. The story of Yas and Si so devastatingly beautiful. This book for sure made me feel things. This is my first Kennedy Ryan book, but I can already tell I’ll probably read anything she writes! 🫶🏽

“I’ve learned that life isn’t about taking what you deserve, it’s about getting all you can while you can because it’s short. Because it’s fickle. Because it takes when we least expect it.”

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genesis_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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auteaandtales's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This one is probably on me because I’m not the biggest fan of second-chance romance, mainly because I think it’s hard to find a balance between having something that was strong enough to break them up but not bad enough (or ridiculous enough) that they can’t be together again. Also, I feel like it’s challenging to create an existing chemistry between two characters that the reader will believe, and not only that but you don’t get to see that chemistry build up, it’s like a lot of their interactions happened off-screen which is not my jam. Watching an emotional connection form always feels special to witness.

I think the extremely challenging topics in this book were handled well, although I have never been through anything like that before so I’m not the person to ask, and I think the breakup made sense, but the thing I struggled with was that I felt no chemistry. It didn’t feel natural. Not to say that none of this tugged at my heartstrings, a lot of this book is very emotional. I especially appreciated the relationship between Yasmin and Deja and the discussions on therapy and grief.

I loved the friendships, as well, and I’m really excited to get to know them more in book two! I enjoyed a lot about this book, and I even enjoyed them a lot together, I just wish we got some more banter and emotional bonding between them instead of what felt like was mostly a sexual bond, because I’m sure there’s more to them than that.

But my first Kennedy Ryan book is complete and I look forward to reading more, as I liked the writing style and the humour and the way difficult things were handled as well as the relationships in the ‘background’ characters. Also, there was a bit of miscommunication, but it was nice seeing adults communicate properly for the most part as well.

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clg7585's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

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