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Review
4.5 stars
A heart-wrenchingly emotional second-chance romance that is real, raw, and beautifully written. This book hurt my heart, but healed me in the best of ways, and I loved it!
Josiah and Yasmen were a golden couple with the world at their feet – they had their dream home, two happy children, and a thriving restaurant – and then tragedy struck. Lost and drowning in a debilitating grief, they fell apart. Now, two years later, they are still a big part of each other’s lives, co-parenting their children and working together running their business. They’re starting to climb out from their dark times and finally reach for happiness again. But does moving forward really mean moving on from each other?
Oh, this book made me feel! My heart ached for both Josiah and Yasmen and all that they went through. Their losses were truly devastating, and they handled it so differently and just couldn’t pull it together. Now they’re finally getting to a good place, and they are both determined to keep moving forward. The problem is that though they are divorced, there is still so much love between them, which makes it hard to move on with somebody else.
Through dual perspective we get to see both sides of the story. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong, it’s just a horrible situation, and they dealt with it how they needed to at the time. But when you love that hard, it’s hard to truly let go. And though I was happy that they reclaimed their lives, I was so sad watching them try to move on when they so clearly belong together!
While they’re trying to figure out life without each other, their connections keep them closely tied, and as they see more and more of the ‘new and improved’ versions of each other, they’re realising that the chemistry that always sizzled between them is still very much there. One kiss becomes one night, which becomes Josiah and Yasmen taking every opportunity to recapture their old passion – which is now hotter than ever. But even with all of that love and passion and history between them, can they trust each other again and risk it all again?
“How do I trust her?” … “I can’t do it again. I don’t think I’ll survive it.”
I love a second-chance romance, and all of the elements are there, but this book has a bit more – delving into everything that happened between Yasmen and Josiah in the past, and working through it with them to understand how it fell apart, and all that they’ve learned in their time apart so they can figure out what they want for the future. I was with them every step of the way, I felt it all with them, and I loved how honest they were with each other as they worked through it all.
Their children are a big part of the story, and again, the issues that they go through together are real and relatable. I loved the family dynamics, and how beautifully that was explored. We also get to meet Yasmen’s two best friends who have her back through everything. They are fantastic characters, and I’m excited to hear that Ryan will be releasing a book for Soledad – and wondering whether fireball Hendrix will also get a story?
I loved this book. Full of drama and emotion, and a beautiful story of soul-mates, and once-in-a-lifetime love.
I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Jakobi Diem and Wesleigh Siobhan, and they tell the story beautifully. They bring heart and soul to Yasmen and Josiah, and I recommend listening to this one.
Such a captivating read.
4.5 stars.
Skyland
Before I Let Go (#1) (Josiah & Yasmen)
Review
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This Could Be Us (#2) (Soledad)
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Meet Kennedy
A RITA® and Audie® Award winner, USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish, and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts. Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, TIME, O magazine, and many others. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.
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