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A review by auteaandtales
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Mental illness