Before I Let Go

Before I Go caught my eye on bookstagram so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I think the fuss is warranted for this book, folks.

I'd call this story a domestic fiction read with a side of second chance romance, topped with a dollop or two of spice. The story had a lot more depth than I had expected and successfully tackles some emotional issues. 

What I loved: 

• an authentic look at the pain and complicated love between a once married couple who share children and a business together whose lives were forever changed by a devastating loss
• witnessing an example of positive co-parenting
• showing how people process grief differently and normalizes the use of therapy in emotional healing.

What I didn't love: 

• The physical bond between Yas and Josiah sometimes overpowered their emotional bond
• The sex talk was pretty cringy at times
• The pace of the story dragged in the middle 

This is a slow burn story that explores emotionally heavy themes which include divorce, grief and depression (see Trigger Warning below for another topic which could be a spoiler). It's a story about messy but authentic relationships as a family struggles to deal with painful emotions that lead to a predictable and neat and tidy (yet satisfying) ending full of hope and love.

Trigger Warning below

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Trigger Warning: Stillbirth

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Kennedy Ryan

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Domestic Drama

Series: #1 in Skyland series

Type and Source: eBook from public library

Publisher: Forever

First Published: November 15, 2022

Book Description from GoodReads: 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’s 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?