This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan
Publisher: Forever
Pub Date: 3/5/2024

Thank you to Forever for the free copy on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Soledad Barnes, a meticulous planner and domestic goddess, faces her life unraveling when disaster strikes, destroying the perfect existence she had with her husband, Edward. Amidst the struggle to sustain her family and herself, Soledad rediscovers her identity and confronts the possibility of new love, questioning whether she can trust again after such significant betrayal.

This Could Be Us is the second book in the Skyland series and is interconnected to Before I Let Go. I highly recommend reading Before I Let Go first so the reader can connect with the supporting characters even more and also see the difference in Soledad from Before I Let Go to This Could Be Us.

I absolutely loved Before I Let Go so I was excited for Soledad’s story in This Could Be Us. This beautiful story is woven with themes of self love, healing, motherhood, and forbidden love. Wow what an incredible story! Soledad was portrayed as such a fascinating female main character, transitioning from a lonely stay-at-home mom with the ‘perfect’ life to embarking on a journey of self-discovery. Judah, a complex male main character, offers a compelling look into parenting children on different parts of the autism spectrum, shedding light on challenges I hadn’t fully grasped before. The refreshing portrayal of Judah’s co-parenting contrasts starkly with Soledad’s situation, adding depth to the narrative. To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say that the book explores really heavy subject matter so take a look at StoryGraph for the content warnings and take care while reading. The story focuses mainly focuses on Soledad’s journey of self love and healing while the romance is an extremely slow burn enhancing the story rather than dominating it. The author skillfully integrates the subplot of Yasmen and Hendrix’s friendship, underscoring the significance of adult friendships. I appreciated that everyone was very mature in the book and focused on situations that were very realistic. Now I can’t wait for our girl, Hendrix, to get her story!