A review by imtashamonet
This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.0

I finished reading this book over a month ago, and I'm just now finally sitting down to finish my review. My apologies to those of you who read my reviews. If I am nothing else, I am consistently inconsistent.  

First, I just want to start by saying that I know my reviews of Kennedy Ryan books annoy hardcore fans, and I want to clarify that I know the novels are good, but I'm also a very particular reader. I read book descriptions and I expect for the author to fulfill the promise of the premise. This does not mean that I lack taste. If my reviews in anyway disturb your reading experience, I will not count it against you if you skip them. Enjoy what you like! Me being critical does not mean I did not enjoy.

This second installment of The Skyland Series was much more enjoyable for me than the first. Everything in the description was present throughout the book and the premise of a woman who loses everything, but doesn't have the room or space to fall apart or start something new until she can build herself up again was definitely fulfilled. This Could Be Us leans more heavily into woman's fiction to me than romance even though we get the POV of both the FMC and MMC. While I cared about what was going on in Judah's life, it only mattered so much to me as it impacted what Soledad had going on and her healing journey (though I cannot neglect to mention that the autism representation in this book was something I thoroughly appreciated and it added a richness to Judah's story that I'm eager to experience again). So much so that if he were not in the book at all, I still think that I would have enjoyed it all the same. 

It was great to see more into Soledad's life considering she was present in the first book. One of the areas that really touched me was her relationship with her daughters and the reactions they had to how everything transpired. I'm very sensitive to parent/child relationships and this is where Kennedy Ryan took me through it. I felt everything Soledad felt, and I cried numerous times while reading. If a book makes me cry, I'm in. There were moments where I felt Hendrix stole the show, but I could be biased because I am a Hendrix fan. There were moments that we also got small peeks into Hendrix's life through conversations that I think will be nice lead ins to the book focused on her coming out next. Yasmen felt very non-existent in this book and that's not saying she wasn't around; her presence just wasn't really felt in the same manner that Hendrix's was. It's not her book though, so I suppose that's alright (though it does make me wonder more about the dynamics of their friend group).

I will not pretend that I am a huge romance reader. I much more prefer books that have romance in them and not necessarily the main point of the book. Having said this, outside of the HEA or HFN (I truly don't know which one this book has), the romance really took a backseat for me. Sure there were spicy moments, declarations, and some pushes and pulls between Soledad and Judah, but the romance took a major backseat for the majority of the book. This, in no way, is a bad thing for me because I like that kind of book. I just think people who are expecting a novel that focuses primarily on the romantic aspects of the FMC and MMC's relationship may be a bit disappointed.