pboyes's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy
spencerhoneyy's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
readingwithjamie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This will be one of my top books of the year, if not the top...I LOVED THIS BOOK! This is book one in the Skyland Series by Kennedy Ryan.
Where do I even start...this book made me feel so many things. I laughed I cried....ugh. I am so glad that I buddy read this one and took our time, bc this one is an emotional hitter.
This book follows Yasmen and Josiah, who are divorced. It’s clear that the divorce had been rough on the entire family and it seems that everyone is just now recovering. There are hints that this wasn’t just your average divorce, but one that had some deep issues at its core. Beyond co-parenting, the two are also business partners and own a successful restaurant together, so to say they have complicated dynamics is an understatement. Kennedy does an excellent job of slowly revealing the details of what the family has been through and through her words, you can feel the intensity of their relationship. I just can't get over her writing!!
The story is also one of loss and grief and how each of us processes these things differently. I felt the depths of despair in the words on the page. It is also a story of seeking professional help after a loss as we often fail to process our grief. What I loved most is how much the importance of therapy is emphasized throughout. There is such an emphasis on how people deal with things differently, and how therapy can help with that.
I highly recommend you read this one, especially if you love characters who aren't 20 somethings, second-chance romance, want all the feels.
If you choose to read this please make sure you check trigger warnings.
Overall: 5 million!!
Spice: 3 - was not super spicy but the tension...
Where do I even start...this book made me feel so many things. I laughed I cried....ugh. I am so glad that I buddy read this one and took our time, bc this one is an emotional hitter.
This book follows Yasmen and Josiah, who are divorced. It’s clear that the divorce had been rough on the entire family and it seems that everyone is just now recovering. There are hints that this wasn’t just your average divorce, but one that had some deep issues at its core. Beyond co-parenting, the two are also business partners and own a successful restaurant together, so to say they have complicated dynamics is an understatement. Kennedy does an excellent job of slowly revealing the details of what the family has been through and through her words, you can feel the intensity of their relationship. I just can't get over her writing!!
The story is also one of loss and grief and how each of us processes these things differently. I felt the depths of despair in the words on the page. It is also a story of seeking professional help after a loss as we often fail to process our grief. What I loved most is how much the importance of therapy is emphasized throughout. There is such an emphasis on how people deal with things differently, and how therapy can help with that.
I highly recommend you read this one, especially if you love characters who aren't 20 somethings, second-chance romance, want all the feels.
If you choose to read this please make sure you check trigger warnings.
Overall: 5 million!!
Spice: 3 - was not super spicy but the tension...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Grief, Child death, and Miscarriage
rachels_booknook's review against another edition
4.0
In the author’s note at the beginning of this book, Kennedy Ryan writes, “Before I Let Go is a story of joy, healing, and recovery. Consequently, it is also a story, at least in part, about loss.”
I want to start by acknowledging the trigger warnings in this book as described by Kennedy Ryan – “a stillbirth, loss of a loved one (past/off-page), discussion of complicated grief, depression, and passive suicidal ideation (no attempt)”. I appreciate that she sets these out right at the beginning in the author’s note and acknowledges that she consulted with many individuals – both with lived experience and professional counselors/therapists – during the writing process.
I’m honestly not entirely sure why I picked up this book. I even won a few books from Forever and I chose this as one of my books because I saw so much praise for it. I usually try to stay away from pregnancy loss trigger warnings. But I decided to read it anyway. Usually I love getting background details in a book, but this time I was glad that the author was a bit more reserved. Some parts were definitely hard for me to read though, emotionally.
I honestly wouldn’t call this book a romance. At least it’s not really what a romance means to me. This book is about mental health, grief, depression and how people deal with loss. Therapy plays a large role in this book which I thought was great – especially seeing the kids and Josiah learn to embrace therapy. The book acknowledges that there can be a stigma around therapy – especially amongst Black men. Seeing Josiah become comfortable with therapy and letting it actually help him, I thought was one of the best parts of the book.
I also loved the friendship between Yasmen, Soledad and Hendrix. I’m excited to read Soledad’s story, coming out next year.
Also I have to mention the cover – it’s stunning!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Child death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Dementia
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I loved this book so much!
It begins with a divorce between two people who deeply love each other. The wife had severe depression (you learn why in the book but check triggers if you have them). She went to therapy and begins to find her new life. They each quickly realize they miss each other and the life they shared (the reader can tell this early on).
So beautiful. I cried tears (which only happens once or twice a year). Such a beautiful story of healing, therapy, depression, love, loss, relationships. Looking forward to book 2 and other books by Kennedy Ryan!
I loved hearing her talk about the book with the Bad Bitches in Love bookclub. As she mentions in the author’s note:
“It’s the first book I ever wrote, drafted nearly 15 years ago, before I’d even published anything.”
She talked about how her previous version of this book had “All of the hurt but non of the healing.” She now has the wisdom of therapy and adding layers of communication to her characters. I think it’s one of the best examples of therapy (esp therapy with men) that I’ve read.
Chapter 2
“If therapy has taught me anything, it’s that you run from your pain in a circle. You end up exhausted, but never really gaining ground.”
“Whatever remains is as cold and stiff as the look he slants over his shoulder at me before the door closes behind him.”
Chapter 3
“People talk about the stages of grief, but there is a stage of depression—at least for me—where you go from feeling pain so acutely you can’t bear it, to feeling nothing at all.”
Chapter 4
“Sometimes I wish I didn’t know Yasmen so well. We both have these tells, secret passageways to our thoughts that took us years to find.”
“How do people do this? When the rug is pulled out from under the life they thought they would have forever, how do they pretend it’s not seismic?”
Chapter 7
“Grief is a grind. It is the work of breathing and waking and rising and moving through a world that feels emptier. A gaping hole has been torn into your existence, and everyone around you just walks right past it like it’s not even there.”
Chapter 11
“Therapy can be intimidating, and folks aren’t always ready when we want them to be. They’re ready when they’re ready. Josiah thinks he’s going because of Kassim, but maybe it’s that deep down he’s just finally ready.”
Chapter 22
“I’m grateful for friends who feel like sisters. And I think I’m most grateful for time, which doesn’t always heal all wounds, but teaches us how to be happy again even with our scars.”
Chapter 27
“This is not me saying you were wrong and it was all your fault. It’s me understanding how completely incompatible we were in our grief.”
Chapter 32
“Depression,” she goes on, “is a liar. If it will tell you no one loves you, that you’re not good enough, that you’re a burden…”
“You have to make peace with that woman, Yasmen, because she is you. She’s not someone you banished with therapy and meds. She is you. You cannot dissociate from her. Until you reconcile that, you won’t find true peace. Until you have compassion for her instead of judgment, you cannot fully heal.”
“So when will I forgive myself and be about the business of making the life I deserve, even when I don’t feel I do deserve that life?”
Chapter 43
“Our traumas, the things that injure us in this life, even over time, are not always behind us. Sometimes they linger in the smell of a newborn baby. They surprise us in the taste of a home-cooked meal. They wait in the room at the end of the hall. They are with us. They are present. And there are some days when memories feel more real than those who remain, than the joys of this world.”
“You have to decide if being afraid of losing Yasmen again is worth never having her again.”
“I started measuring how much I loved people in terms of how much it would hurt to lose them.”
It begins with a divorce between two people who deeply love each other. The wife had severe depression (you learn why in the book but check triggers if you have them). She went to therapy and begins to find her new life. They each quickly realize they miss each other and the life they shared (the reader can tell this early on).
So beautiful. I cried tears (which only happens once or twice a year). Such a beautiful story of healing, therapy, depression, love, loss, relationships. Looking forward to book 2 and other books by Kennedy Ryan!
I loved hearing her talk about the book with the Bad Bitches in Love bookclub. As she mentions in the author’s note:
“It’s the first book I ever wrote, drafted nearly 15 years ago, before I’d even published anything.”
She talked about how her previous version of this book had “All of the hurt but non of the healing.” She now has the wisdom of therapy and adding layers of communication to her characters. I think it’s one of the best examples of therapy (esp therapy with men) that I’ve read.
Chapter 2
“If therapy has taught me anything, it’s that you run from your pain in a circle. You end up exhausted, but never really gaining ground.”
“Whatever remains is as cold and stiff as the look he slants over his shoulder at me before the door closes behind him.”
Chapter 3
“People talk about the stages of grief, but there is a stage of depression—at least for me—where you go from feeling pain so acutely you can’t bear it, to feeling nothing at all.”
Chapter 4
“Sometimes I wish I didn’t know Yasmen so well. We both have these tells, secret passageways to our thoughts that took us years to find.”
“How do people do this? When the rug is pulled out from under the life they thought they would have forever, how do they pretend it’s not seismic?”
Chapter 7
“Grief is a grind. It is the work of breathing and waking and rising and moving through a world that feels emptier. A gaping hole has been torn into your existence, and everyone around you just walks right past it like it’s not even there.”
Chapter 11
“Therapy can be intimidating, and folks aren’t always ready when we want them to be. They’re ready when they’re ready. Josiah thinks he’s going because of Kassim, but maybe it’s that deep down he’s just finally ready.”
Chapter 22
“I’m grateful for friends who feel like sisters. And I think I’m most grateful for time, which doesn’t always heal all wounds, but teaches us how to be happy again even with our scars.”
Chapter 27
“This is not me saying you were wrong and it was all your fault. It’s me understanding how completely incompatible we were in our grief.”
Chapter 32
“Depression,” she goes on, “is a liar. If it will tell you no one loves you, that you’re not good enough, that you’re a burden…”
“You have to make peace with that woman, Yasmen, because she is you. She’s not someone you banished with therapy and meds. She is you. You cannot dissociate from her. Until you reconcile that, you won’t find true peace. Until you have compassion for her instead of judgment, you cannot fully heal.”
“So when will I forgive myself and be about the business of making the life I deserve, even when I don’t feel I do deserve that life?”
Chapter 43
“Our traumas, the things that injure us in this life, even over time, are not always behind us. Sometimes they linger in the smell of a newborn baby. They surprise us in the taste of a home-cooked meal. They wait in the room at the end of the hall. They are with us. They are present. And there are some days when memories feel more real than those who remain, than the joys of this world.”
“You have to decide if being afraid of losing Yasmen again is worth never having her again.”
“I started measuring how much I loved people in terms of how much it would hurt to lose them.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
blkgrl_bibliophile's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Y’all.
Seriously, y’all.
The last book that had me this wrecked was Seven Days in June and while I loved that book, this one might have emerged as a new favorite. I will always be here for books that celebrate Black love and the love between Yasmen and Josiah gives us that and so much more.
What makes this book different?
The centering of mental health and specifically the negative mindset that exists in the Black community (sometimes more with Black men) about what it means to seek out therapy—and most importantly, how grief and loss take up so much space in the will to LIVE that it ends up making us LOSE in the end…but only if we let it.
I’m not one to spoil a book, but when I tell you to go read it, don’t hesitate, go. Now.
Until then, I will leave you with a quote that will probably sit with me for a long time.
“…love happens in the fragile context of our mortality. That love and life occur just behind the reach of our control. There is only one letter of difference between love and lose and somewhere along the way, for me they became synonymous.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Suicidal thoughts
ambersbooks's review
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy
dan047's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Death
sollyreads's review against another edition
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
4.0
Maybe I’m new to the second chance romance trope, or maybe this story was unbelievable. I’ll start with the setting of Atlanta, a city I personally I love for it rich history as well as becoming a growing black metropolis. We meet our main characters as a divorced couple maintaining an amicable business and co-parenting relationship, but our immediately reminded that the sparks between them will always fly. My favorite part of this novel was not just in the romance between the two leading characters, but in the development of Josiah. I found myself sharing so many of his moments and flaws and his breakthroughs were so beautifully written that the caused me to realize things about myself as well. Ryan handles trauma and healing and learning to love again so
delicately in this book, however there are important trigger warnings to take in mind before taking on this book. I loved the story and wouldn’t mind reading about what happens next to our main characters.
delicately in this book, however there are important trigger warnings to take in mind before taking on this book. I loved the story and wouldn’t mind reading about what happens next to our main characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts