It's been a minute since I've made any meaningful content about what I've been reading but I have been reading. So let's talk about a few of the books I've finished in the last couple of months. Starting with one of my favorite books of the year:

I knew nothing about this book going in, other than the fact it was written by Kennedy Ryan and it was the first book in a series. I have been mutuals with Kennedy Ryan for a few years now and it dawned on me that I hadn't read any of her work yet. So I went to my mutuals and asked where I should start, and repeatedly, Before I let Go came up. So when I saw it in the store at Black Book Bash earlier this year, I scooped it up and read it a week later while I was on the way to NYC.

I loved it.

But what makes reading this book a memory I'll never forget is the fact that I went in blind and found out it was a Second Chance Romance while I was sitting on a plane next to my ex-wife. So fucking funny.

I can't really put into words what exactly made this book so special other than Kennedy Ryan has access to some kind of magic that I am now addicted to.

Before I Let Go is the first in the Skyland Series, which follows three best friends as they each work through the next phase of their lives and figure out who they want to share them with. This one follows Yasmen a year or so after a devastating loss that drove her and the love of her life apart. Now she and Josiah are trying to figure out their lives apart, while being forced around each other as dedicated co-parents and co-owners of their thriving restaurant. The story not only follows their individual efforts to move forward with their lives, but also the way those efforts keep leading them back to one another.

DISCLAIMER: I am going to try to give you my thoughts without any major spoilers, but keep in mind that I have a lot to say and some of it will definitely reveal more about the story than the back blurb will.

Obviously, this story's beauty rests in the power of Yasmen and Josiah's love for one another. Even after a tragedy so huge that it decimated both of their mental health and drove a wedge between them large enough to end their seemingly perfect marriage, neither of them can manage to truly envision a future that is full without the other. But Kennedy did something truly special in this book, because while that is beautiful, it is the lengths she goes to explore every element of that loss, struggle and restoration that truly demonstrates the beauty of their story.

Kennedy not only gave us a beautiful picture of two lovers finding their way home, but a complicated and haunting look at loss, at depression, at the grief of watching your lover move on...hell, at the grief of being the lover trying to move on. She missed nothing in her exploration of Yasmen and Josiah's story. Even down to the impact it had on their children and friends. As I read, I found myself overwhelmed by the depth of this story. To the point where I felt sympathy even for the people Yasmen and Josiah attempt to fill the void with (not enough to stop hating them though. Don't worry).

Everyone told me that Kennedy Ryan has a gift for bringing important conversations to life in her writing, so I can't say I was completely surprised. But boy was I delighted to experience this story and I will DEFINITELY be back for more of her writing.

If you plan on grabbing a copy (which I HIGHLY recommend), please be a pal and use my link, where you can currently get it for a dollar off: https://bookshop.org/a/87137/9781538706794

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