#Kennedy ryan

[acotars]

Read in 2023:

It begins with a tremor, a realization that love happens in the fragile context of our mortality. That love and life occur just beyond the reach of our control. There is only one letter of difference between love and lose, and somewhere along the way, for me they became synonymous.

BEFORE I LET GO by Kennedy Ryan ★★★★

#litedit #bookedit #nalitedit #litofcolor #before i let go #kennedy ryan #skyland #skyland series #edits* #2023* #all

[wyn-n-tonic]

Books by Black Authors for Black History Month!

I wanted to share a list of books I love and books that I'm looking forward to reading that are by Black authors in acknowledgement of Black History Month. I feel like a lot of my fellow readers (especially my fellow white readers) always go into a, kind of, reading slump in February and I don't know if that's because the month of January is just ten years long that February feels like a hangover or if it's because they feel the desire to read books by Black authors but then the majority of what is marketed is usually books that are steeped in trauma or nonfiction books. And, like, yeah, nonfiction books are so important but when they're the only kind of book marketed it can make finding the other kinds of books that much harder but I believe that if you read the fun books and the happy books and the fantasy books it will make you want to seek out the nonfiction resources. I'm blabbering so long story short, I thought I would make a little list to do some of the legwork for my fellow readers to find stories that they can check out.

I used GoodReads links (and one StoryGraph) link, you can choose who to purchase from yourself (although I will suggest BookShop.org as your purchase does go towards indie bookstores, I also really like the Libby App which is just your library and it works with your Kindle/Nook/Kobo/iPad). All authors that I have included in this are American or have strong ties to the USA which is why I did not include authors such as Bolu Babalola, Talia Hibbert, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie but I do highly recommend checking them out if you haven't because they do write gorgeously.

Kennedy Ryan has an extensive backlog and beautiful writing, beautiful prose. She had a book called Before I Let Go (Skyland #1) come out in November 2022, it is a second chance romance between a married couple. It has been on my shelf forever, the cover is beautiful and I've heard nothing but truthfully incredible things. I have listened to snippets of the audiobook but keep putting off getting the actual audiobook because Kennedy is the kind of author I want to read the grammar, syntax, wording of everything from. This book actually got optioned to be adapted into a television show and there's a second Skyland book coming out in March called This Could Be Us that has the ARC readers going wild.

Jasmine Guillory is one of my favorite authors. She is a Bay Area native and has a law degree from Stanford. Not only do I think that she writes beautifully but I cannot even describe to you the way that I kick my little feet and twirl my hair. I feel like my favorite of hers changes. Up until a few weeks ago, I would've told you that Olivia Monroe in Party of Two was my favorite Jasmine girly but I listened to Royal Holiday to kick off my reading for January and Vivian Forest is such a beautiful character. She's a 56 year old Black woman who is a veteran social worker who thinks it's too late for her on several fronts and then she gets swept off her feet while on a vacation with her daughter AND THE ROYAL FAMILY. What?! I also think that Jasmine writes, like.... character appropriate sex scenes if that makes sense. Like, Vivian's scenes are more reserved than Olivia's were, Vivian's more closed door than Olivia's were. She also has a Beauty and the Beast inspired book called By The Book and I kept texting my friend the entire way through and then made her buy a copy so she could text me right back with all her thoughts. Amazing. I love her.

You want cozy fantasy romance with monsters and happy Black women being loved by their hot monster lovers? Kimberly Lemming has GOT YOU COVERED.

Plugging my new author friend P.J. Leigh and her book Olawu. She actually responded to my request for some indie author recs on Threads and sent me a copy of Olawu that will be here on Friday and I'm so excited. She describes it as: "Set in precolonial East Africa with romance, action, sisterhood, found family, and a feisty but flawed female lead." I cannot wait to dig into this one.

Another author who messaged me is indie author Quiana Glide. Her bio is that she is an unabashed fangirl and her books feature pregnancy trope, cosplay, professional wrestlers and cafe owners solving murders. Her books sound fucking great and they are available on Kindle Unlimited for my KU girlies (gender neutral).

Celestine Martin messaged me as well and she writes paranormal romance with Black witches, emo mermen and fae princes. I tripped over myself running to my Libby app to place a hold on the audiobook.

25 to Love! by Joye Johnson is another one available on Kindle Unlimited for my KU girlies (gender neutral). The synopsis is: "TV's hottest dating show is '25 to Love!'. To nab a guy from her past, Lola signs on as the token girl of color. All's fair in love and ratings--can a week on TV get Lola closer to the one that got away?" You know what I love? Second chance romances, besties, that's right.

Splinter by Jasper Hyde was another I was recommended. Jasper writes paranormal, LGBTQ+ books. Jasper Hyde is a pen name for Georgina Kiersten who also goes by Rian Fox. The pen name denotes the subgenre that they write. Georgina does go by they/them pronouns and writes plus sized rep and neurodivergent rep too.

Kelly Cain. That's it. That's the tweet. THE EVERHEART BROTHERS SERIES????? If you know anything about me, you know that I have a hearing issue and so I've used audiobooks before but I never really clicked with them or got the hype. Turns out I had boring ass narrators (look I did the audio version of a lot of nonfiction books I had to read about old dead white guys in college so of course I had that feeling). THE EVERHEART BROTHERS AUDIOBOOKS ARE WHAT CHANGED ME. Deanna Anthony, the narrator, is so engaging and I didn't feel like I was listening to an audiobook, I felt like I was sitting across the table at brunch having a gossip session with my bestie. If you read it and you didn't like it, that's fine, but I didn't lie to you and enjoyment of art is subjective but also you're wrong and argue with a wall.

I've been seeing a lot of talk lately about Pride & Protest by Nikki Payne. This is a Pride & Prejudice and one of the reviews says, "If you ever wanted P&P to feel more like watching a swoony, steamy episode of Insecure, this is the book for you."

Currently, I am reading You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi. It deals with themes of grief and romance and also bisexual representation. Absolutely beautiful prose. Akwaeke is Nigerian and has been in the USA since college. They are non-binary and go by they/them pronouns.

I also cannot end this list without mentioning Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow. This follows three generations of a southern Black family in the neighborhood of Douglass in Memphis, TN (I was born a couple miles away in Raleigh) . Now, this book does have quite a few trigger warnings that I won't put here but I do encourage you to READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS before you purchase this book as it does deal with some pretty heavy subject matter.

I'm also going to end this by saying to keep an eye out for anything done by my best friend, the person who I have shared so many amazing, beautiful, life changing experiences with ALL OVER THE WORLD for the last fourteen years: Isana Skeete (Isana does not use pronouns). If you look at the GoodReads account for Isana that I linked, you'll see lists made with recommendations of books with queer POC rep and asexuality representation.

#long post #black authors #book recs #book club #booklr #kennedy ryan #jasmine guillory #kelly cain #kimberly lemming #tara m. stringfellow #akwaeke emezi #nikki payne #georgina kiersten #jasper hyde #pj leigh #joye johnson #celestine martin #romance books #paranormal romance #contemporary romance #i'm posting this now and then will rebagel in the morning

[mschocolateworld]

Ludzie nie mogą nas dopełniać, jednak mogą kochać, nawet jeśli nie jesteśmy idealni, o ile im na to pozwolimy. Możemy znaleźć szczęście u czyjegoś boku, ale najpierw trzeba poczuć się szczęśliwym z samym sobą.

Kennedy Ryan - “Świąteczne obręcze”

#kennedy ryan

[triviareads]

do you have diverse modern romance recs?

Yep! I've (mostly) organized it by author:

Naima Simone: I'm obsessed with literally everything this woman writes, both Harlequin and not Harlequin. Naima writes a lot of fabulous Black heroines (and she writes great body diversity as well) and a decent amount of POC heroes as well. My favorites include . Black Tie Billionaire (Black heroine, Asian hero), Secrets Of A One Night Stand (Black heroine, Pacific Islander hero), and Trust Fund Fiancé (both the hero and heroine are Black). The best thing about Naima's books is just the uniformity in how she writes every body type as attractive and desirable and the sex is very hot. Would absolutely recommend.

Katrina Jackson: I haven't talked about Katrina enough, when she's out here doing the most for mafia romances and spy romances with diverse characters. I could happily read her novella Beautiful & Dirty over and over, but it's a prequel to the mafia series which ends with my favorite, The Don, which has a Black heroine. Katrina also wrote a spy series (The Spies Who Loved Me!) and the first in that series, Pink Slip, has a Black heroine who's lusting over her married bosses (the wife, Monica, is Latina I believe) and surprise, they're both into her too.

Angelina M. Lopez: Angelina writes excellent Latino rep. Her fictional town Freedom, Kansas, which is the setting in multiple stories, has an amazing Mexican-American community she builds on. I'd recommend After Hours on Milagro Street, which has a Mexican-American heroine, as well as her upcoming Full Moon Over Freedom, which is next in the series. The way she melds culture, magic, and romance is gorgeous. Also! Lush Money, which is set within this universe, has a Latina heroine and is very fun and worth reading.

Tara Pammi: If you want to read about Indians in India or Bollywood-centric romances, Tara is the author. I liked Claiming His Bollywood Cinderella and The Secret She Kept in Bollywood (that man is suuuch a DILF he's great).

Jadesola James: I've talked about her before (see here) but Jadesola has written a couple Harlequin Presents stories set in Africa. I'd recommend The Royal Baby He Must Claim and The Princess He Must Marry, which are about sisters who are Nigerian princesses.

Talia Hibbert: The Brown Sisters books are bangers, sexy and emotionally comforting at the same time. I'd recommend all of them: Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown. I also love her novella Guarding Temptation, which has both a Black hero and heroine and Wanna Bet? which has a Black heroine and a British-Indian hero (thanks for reminding me @viscountessevie).

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai: The hero and heroine are in-laws (well, her husband, his brother, is dead) so the romance was very emotional and slow-burn, but the pay-off was absolutely worth it. The heroine Sadia is Pakistani-American, and the hero Jackson is of Japanese and Hawaiian ancestry. Alisha also delves pretty deep into South Asian family dynamics which hit a liiiittle too close to home, but I can't deny the accuracy.

Reel by Kennedy Ryan: This a romance between an actress and her director (both are Black) and I particularly appreciate the amount of research Kennedy Ryan put into the Harlem Renaissance, Black artists of that era (she created a fictional artist to base the movie off of), as well as their contributions to the Civil Rights movement which I think isn't discussed enough.

Sink or Swim by Tessa Bailey: See here.

From what I recall, Katee Robert did a pretty good job of body diversity without super explicitly mentioning race in her Fairytale Villains Who Fuck Wicked Villains series.

#naima simone #angelina m lopez #talia hibbert #tara pammi #jadesola james #kennedy ryan #alisha rai #tessa bailey #katee robert #contemporary romance #book recs #ask

[4everbrookemarie]

GREAT READ ALERT ‼️

If you like to read, even if you don’t like your read RUN (not walk) RUNNNNNN to the nearest bookstore (Barnes and noble) , Target, or wherever else this book is sold and purchase it!! You will not be sorry.!

This book is so raw! I loved every second of it. There are moments when you might shed a tear or two and then there are moments when you’ll be smiling, even clutching your pearls!!!

Don’t take my word for it though, read it for yourself!!!

Bravo Kennedy Ryan.!!!

I can’t wait to start her next book “This Could Be Us”

#book #bookshelf #read alert #good reads #bookworm #nerd #before I let go #Kennedy Ryan #raw #emotional #authentic #addictive #delicious #cry #laugh #clutching my pearls #Yasmen #Josiah #the Wade’s

[jaydedbee]

But I want to stand with you when it rains, when the wind comes. When it’s hard and the odds are stacked against us. We didn’t always do that before, but I believe if and when trials come, we will stand together.”' ― Kennedy Ryan, Before I Let Go

I miss this book so bad

#before i let go #kennedy ryan #favquote #booklr #2023reads

[traeumenvonbuechern]

If you like "Reel" by Kennedy Ryan, you should definitely pre-order "Stars in Your Eyes" by Kacen Callender! Not only are they both beautiful, emotional Black romances set in Hollywood, but they are also two of my favorite romances of all time. Please check the trigger warnings before reading though!

("Stars in Your Eyes" comes out October 31, 2023.)

#reel #kennedy ryan #stars in your eyes #kacen callender #bookblr #booklr #romance books #black romance #book recs

[fated-mates]

We’re talking about worldbuilding this week, and you’re getting a glimpse into Jen and Sarah’s everyday non-podcasting romance chatter.

This one is for everyone — we talk about paranormal and historical romance, about what we think fantasy means when it comes to romance, and (most importantly) about how contemporary romance just might require the most worldbuilding of all.

We discuss books by Beverly Jenkins, Nikki Sloane, Alisha Rai, Kresley Cole, Eva Moore, Kate Clayborn, Lauren Layne, Angelina M. Lopez, Charlotte Stein, Sally Thorn, K. M. Jackson, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Kennedy Ryan, India Hilton, Adriana Herrera, and Judith McNaught. Links to everything we discussed in show notes.

#romance novels #romance books #contemporary romance #paranormal romance #historical romance #fantasy romance #Judith mcnaught #Kennedy ryan #kresley cole #beverly jenkins #Nikki sloan

[entrecosmos]

“I can’t remember ever wanting a woman the way I want her. I don’t just want to bury my hands in all that dark hair, or to discover for myself how sweet her lips taste, or to explore her body. I want more of her memories, her secrets—to accept an invitation she hasn’t extended to anyone else.”

Kennedy Ryan, Long Shot

#bookblr #leituras #studyblr #quotes #booksquotes #dark academia #kennedy ryan

[tallprettyaries]

Me + my favorite books.☺️

#blackgirlswhoblog #pretty #black girls of tumblr #booklr #bookworm #black women #blackout #kennedy ryan #tiffany d. jackson #blackgirlbloggers #black girl magic #beauty #black art #me

[wyn-n-tonic]

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan is $3 on Kindle (in the US) today!

It looks like a lot of her other books are on sale today too so, you know, just go on a little shopping spree.

#kennedy ryan #before i let go #book sales

[triviareads]

Could you please recommend a smutty book with a good "almost caught fucking" scene?

Sure! We love a good exhibitionist (purposeful or not) moment so here are some of my favorites:

Glory and the Master of Shadows by Grace Callaway: Wei goes down on Glory in her house and they hear creaking in the hallway and it turns out the next morning it was Glory's mom (to be fair, Maggie has zero legs to stand based on what she and Ransom get up to in their own book).

The Duke Who Knew Too Much by Grace Callaway: Fabulous blowjob scene where (I mean idk how close they are to getting caught but they definitely catch other people) they hear another man through the curtain giving instructions to a woman on how to blow him and Emma enthusiastically follows these instructions on Alaric.

The Earl I Ruined by Scarlett Peckham: Another curtain blowjob scene! This time at their own engagement party and the curtain drops juuuuust as Constances is finishing Apthorp off. Icons.

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean: Cross is soooo jealous someone kissed Pippa before him that he eats her out in the corner of his gaming hell.

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt: Isabel is sneaking around a private residence and is nearly caught but is saved by Winter who drags her in a corner and then she proceeds to blow him with such feeling that they're both crying by the end.

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas: In which Derek Craven is thoroughly horrified (and turned on) that the hot woman he's about to have sex with is, in fact, Sara Fielding, so he tells her to go back to where she came from but then starts fingering her anyway, and is then interrupted by an employee while they frantically try to put themselves to rights.

The Education of Ivy Leavold by Sierra Simone: Julian and Silas finger Ivy under the table in a hotel dining room and I think Silas is basically like "listen.... if the other diners have ever had an orgasm, they knew what was going on here" while they carry her out.

Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas: Tom fingers Cassandra through an orgasm while yelling at her cousin to stay out of the library when he wants to check in.

Contemporary:

lmao my first instinct was to say Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez but they were caught by the paparazzi who all got excellent shots of Mateo eating Roxanne out from under her skirt in a car. But it's the thought that counts.

Heartless by Elsie Silver actually really surprised me because in a small town rancher romance, you generally don't expect him to gag the heroine with her panties and bend her over while a birthday party is taking place a few hundred feet away. What a winner.

Asking for Trouble by Tessa Bailey: Brent fingers Hayden in her kitchen during a dinner party and juuuuust as she climaxes a little old lady wanders in and is like "were you stealing a kiss, mister?"

The Rebel King by Kennedy Ryan: Max is fully sucking on Lennix's nipples through her sweatshirt (and then under her sweatshirt) while there's an apartment full of other people getting very turned on listening to them from the next room. So I guess technically they were caught? Or they weren't? idk but it's a fun one.

The Evolution of SIn trilogy by Giana Darling has a few nearly-caught moments, including a scene where he's fingering her in a beach in Mexico, and another where he's juuuust finished having sex with her and there's someone at the door of their hotel suite and surprise! It's her sister who's his fiancée.

#book recs #grace callaway #scarlett peckham #sarah maclean #elizabeth hoyt #lisa kleypas #sierra simone #historical romance #ask #angelina m lopez #elise silver #tessa bailey #kennedy ryan #giana darling #contemporary romance

[bookcub]

@princessofbookaholics is doing another romance readathon and im gonna try another line up like i did last year (and im gonna start now cause um why not lol)

here are the prompts and the book i plan to read to fill them (some fit more than one category!!

read a romance with your favorite trope:

queen move by kennedy ryan (i forgot this was on my list but i am a sucker for friends to lovers so this is a good addition)

read a romance you weren't able to get to last year:

accidental pinup by danielle jackson (this looks to be filled with body positivity which i love, so this one should be fun)

read a romance by a bipoc author: american royalty by tracey livesay (this is inspired by meghan marckle and prince harry and im curious to read a fictional interpretation rather than the real life gossip)

read a romance that's part of a series (it doesn't have to follow the same couple, companion novels/novellas will do!):

by the book by jasmine guillory (this is part of a series by different authors turning disney movies into romance novels. super fun and silly and the audiobook of this is better than without imo) (technically i finished this the last week of january)

read a romance that doesn't have an illustrated cover (challenging, I know!): hate to want you by alisha rai (this will be a reread and i might do the rest of the series as well depending on my enjoyment level)

read a romance with lgbtq+ rep:

sorry, bro by taleen voskuni (i am sooooo hyped about this book. my great great grandparents were from armenia and i have encountered zero books with armenian characters) (and the main character is BI!!) (i am ecstatic)

read a romance with any pastel color on the cover:

set on you by amy lea (peach background, its a very cute cover and i oddly like romance novels set in gyms!!)

#rr2023 #kennedy ryan #danielle jackson #tracey livesay #jasmine guillory #alisha rai #amy lea #taleen voskuni

[bookishwum]

I can’t go down memory lane. There are stretches of it that hurt too much, yes, but there are miles that felt too good.

— Before I Let Go, Kennedy Ryan

#before i let go #kennedy ryan #books #quotes #romance #second chance romance

[sarcasticbabywhispererjess]

Ugh, the domestic abuse in this is really rough to listen to. The first time she tried to run, I called all the problems she’d run into. I hope she gets away soon and we get to the happy relationship.

#bookblr #romance #DV #long shot #kennedy ryan

[simblrbyambsey]

Kennedy had a productive morning, helping mom with the newborns! Davy Door and Shadie Knives

#100 baby challenge #ts4 simblr #Kennedy Ryan #Pippie Orange #Davy Door #Shadie Knives