I take part in several memes post such as Top Ten Tuesday. Sometimes, a book sticks out on there for various reasons. I believe I first read about Before I Let Go by Ryan Kennedy on one off Candyce from The Book Dutchesses’ lists. At least, that was when I added this book to my TBR and eventually to my shopping card. I knew I wanted to read this, because of what I read about this novel. It actually sets high expectations, because I’m a sucker for character driven books with all the emotions and character growth. Was I satisfied by this book?

About the book

Before I Let Go Series: Skyland #1
Published by Forever on November 15, 2022
Pages: 376
ISBN: 9781538706794
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

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 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?

Award-winning and bestselling “powerhouse” author Kennedy Ryan is at her absolute best in this compelling, scorching novel about hope and healing, and what it truly means to love for a lifetime (USA Today).

My review

Expectations

As stated before, I really enjoy reading character driven books. They often provide much more depth than plot driven books do for me. As this is a romance, I think the characters should be superior to the plot in order to feel the chemistry between them. I expected a lot from this book, since I’ve read many positive reviews. However, Kennedy Ryan is a new-to-me author, so I have no comparison material. So, the stakes were quite high.

Characters

This book tells about Yasmen and Josiah who have been soulmates for a very long time. They have been happily married, but huge set-backs and their difference in dealing with their trauma drove them apart. They marriage didn’t last. The book starts two years after the divorce and they found a new steady rhythm in co-parenting their two teenage children and running the family restaurant. They still love one another, that’s hard to let go. This love is immediately visible and undeniable. Because Ryan chooses to switch POVs evvery chapter, you get to know both Yasmen and Josiah well, as well as their difference in how they dealt with everything they’ve gone through. Whereas Yasmen suffered from servere depression and struggled to get out off bed and care for the kids every single day, Josiah turnt into a workaholic who believed if he denied everything, it all would disappear eventually. Now, Yasmen is slowly getting back to work and is seeing Josiah more and more. A parent-teacher conversation for one of the children sets a lot in motion which leads to a huge growth for literally every single member of the family. I really enjoyed finding out about this growth and how both Yasmen and Josiah react to it.

Writing

This book is written well. Dual POV is a big bonus for me in romance, because this way we get to know both characters equally well. This is definitely the case for Yasmen and Josiah. Furthermore, the POV switching makes their differences in healing from their set-backs clearly visible. It also provides more insight in how they heal both individually, but also together as a family. By using flashbacks Ryan provides insight in what happened and how this lead to their marriage falling apart. Everything Josiah and Yasmen go through is elaborated in depth.

Plot

Despite enjoying the characters and their growth, I had a rough start with this novel. It took me a while to get captivated by the story. However, when it reaches turnign point, I just couldn’t put the book down, I wanted to know what this would mean for the characters and whether they indeed would grow like I was expecting them to do. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that knows no slowing down until the final page and that’s how I like my books. The author has woven various themes into this story such as trauma, grief, trust, healing, friendship and love. All themes are explored in depth and this adds up to both emotion and intrigue. However, these themes play a role in the changing atmosphere as well, whereas this story starts out quite dark and tense, there’s hope once it progresses. This makes the atmosphere much lighter since there’s room for more love and laughter. There’s definitely smut in this book, but it has a meaning as it takes part in Yasmen’s and Josiah’s journey. So, this is not your spicy romance novel, but once there’s spice it’s meaningful.

Final thoughts

As you can see, I really enjoyed Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan, even though i had quite a rough start. The characters are written well, so is their growth. The dual POV and multiple switches provide a good insight in them and their stories. The plot is infierior to the characters which should be the case for me with character driven books. This author is new to me, but I’m definitely curious to read more of her books. The second book in this “Skyland” series is about Soledad and she definitely has a story to tell judging from her presence in this book.