Before I Let Go (The Skyland Series)

The best book I have read to this day.It literally got me into reading love, love,love.

⋆˙⟡┆2.5 starsand could’ve been 3 if josiah hadn’t said “how could i ever trust yas not to push me away at the first sign of trouble?” when referring to his clinically depressed and deeply traumatized wife asking for a divorce after he refused to listen and accept her grief. don’t even get me started on how furious that line made me.yeah no so i didn’t read the same book as everyone else because how is anyone in their right mind rating this five stars? don’t get me wrong – i loved the female friendship, and the heavy discussions on grief and mental health, and the glimpse into how complicated motherhood is – but oh my god the “romance” was beyond terrible.it was bad from the start, because of the vashti situation. i hate when a book uses one main character’s relationship to progress the romance of the book somehow. it’s icky. and it’s annoying, when both characters are “moving on” but are actually just thinking about how much they’re attracted to each other and how jealous they are. you know, for a book that preaches the importance of therapy and knowing yourself, josiah and yasmen were couldn’t be honest with themselves or each other about their feelings. not to mention the repetitive bs that was yasmen’s “i gave his love away” and “i forfeited my right to him” and BOO HOO SHUT THE FUCK UP.and can we talk about how impulsive and rash the whole divorce was to begin with? yeah, josiah’s pretty much a walking red flag the majority of the time and yasmen should’ve never married him to begin with but how are we making such a big decision about the relationship when she was in the worst headspace? and they hardly even talked about it? and josiah has the audacity to say he fought for their love when he put up the most half-assed fight against yasmen asking for a divorce. don’t piss me off rn.bonus points, i didn’t like the spice at all.so, the deep parts of the book? great! loved them! but the actual relationship and romance and the way the “love” (quotation marks bc i’m not convinced it was anything more than physical attraction) was portrayed and handled? actually just so bad. so bad. you could write me an entire essay on why you think this book is phenomenal and i still wouldn’t believe you. so. flop.── .✦ pre read60 pages in and this book is pissing me the fuck off already but alas i want to love kennedy ryan so i’m pushing through and hoping it gets better 🥲

rate: ★★★★★idek how to start here with them but oh lord my love for these two. this story truly warms me and comforts me. They honestly feels like a warm hug and I can’t get over how deep and intense their love and emotions for each other was. Even after everything that happened to them in the past and even with that damn divorce we as readers and even the members of their community could see that they were meant to be. Yasmen is a woman that carries her heart on her sleeve and feels deeply. She is more prone to act on her emotions & allow herself to feel everything. My heart truly broke knowing all she went through and the constant guilt she holds for the past. Josiah is the man that is quick to push away is feelings, the type that don’t believe in therapy & is always cool and levelheaded. His fears thou he play them down at times are real and relatable and watching him get help and dealing with everything was just perfect. These two even after everything worked hard to make their coparenting life steady. Did I mention how amazing of parents they are? Yes both kids had their own issues and seeing how they were impacted by the divorce was all to real. But Yas and Si made sure they got necessary help & Si even started therapy as a means to help their son. The Wade family is just amazing and they have my heart.