Reading Pathways: Kennedy Ryan

Since its release in 2022, Before I Let Go has been many readers’ introduction to Kennedy Ryan, and there’s a reason people become ride-or-dies after having read it. It introduces us to the three women central to the Skyland series, Yasmen, Soledad, and Hendrix, but centers on Yasmen’s life as she comes out of a long period of grief. She and her ex-husband, Josiah, can’t hate each other; they coparent two incredibly smart but overwhelming children and run a restaurant together. As we follow Yasmen on her journey toward potentially moving on and realizing that moving on might mean something different than she expects, we also see a family coming together, with each person in it making themselves better for the ending they deserve. Content notes for grief, therapy, and discussion of miscarriage. 

I know I said I would read any and all of her books in audio, but this one is particularly worthwhile in that format. When the director-auteur of a movie about a hidden figure of the Harlem Renaissance discovers the perfect actress for the leading role, he knows he’s in trouble. They already have intense chemistry, but if they’re going to be working together, the power imbalance between them would not allow them to pursue anything romantic.

Neevah won’t do anything to mess up her big break, even as she’s keeping her chronic Lupus a secret from everyone beyond her nearest and dearest. Reel evokes all the best forbidden romance vibes, while also exploring what it means to build a village. Why, I hear you thinking, does it need to be read in audio, though? Because there’s music. Not only do we get to see the creation of this epic film, but we also get to experience parts of it, and part of that is through song! There are original songs whose lyrics we can read in the text version, but it’s nowhere near the experience of hearing April Christina sing them in your headphones or in your car. Did I mention it also won the Audie award? It’s good, y’all.

Even though it’s responsible for Kennedy’s first (but not her last) romance award, I don’t push this as the first book of hers to pick up unless someone is looking for something incredibly specific. The first in the intensely hard-to-read Hoops series, Long Shot introduces us to Iris and August, two people who have a sizzling connection at the absolutely worst possible time. Iris is already in a relationship, and August is about to embark on the busiest period of his life: entering the NBA Draft.

When they meet again years later, August is at the height of his career, but Iris’s “perfect” life with her own basketball boyfriend—one of August’s biggest rivals—is anything but. The two still have that intense connection, though, and maybe August can be the one to help her find her way out, for herself. There are so many content warnings for this book, and if you’re looking for anything in particular, I recommend using your preferred method (Storygraph is a good place to start). But the most important thing to know about this one is that it is heavily themed in sexual violence, particularly committed by professional athletes. Read with immense care.

Kennedy will tear you apart with most of her books, but occasionally she writes something lovely and sweet that is more smiles than tears. Here, we’ve got two high-performing media professionals whose college friendship offered a great deal to them, but whose paths diverged as they pursued their careers. When they’re thrown together for a big interview at Homecoming (a big deal at HBCUs, no matter how long it’s been since you graduated), everything they never said comes back, and every spark they didn’t address shoots to the surface. Maybe they’ve got their work and their lives, but who’s to say things can’t change for the better? Coming Home was an Audible Original that was later published in print, but it’s another one that I recommend trying in audio if you are a regular listener (it’s Homecoming! There is a marching band!).