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Romance Review: This Could Be Us

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Thank you Forever Publishing for the review copy!

This Could Be Us
By Kennedy Ryan
Series: Skyland Book 2
Book 33 of 2024

Where Before I Let Go was all about rebuilding joy after grief, This Could Be Us is about learning to trust yourself after betrayal. 

We knew from book 1 (which I highly recommend that you read) that Soledad’s marriage was rocky, but her husband turned out to be SO much worse than I thought! 

This Could Be Us shows so many different depictions of love: romantic, familial, friendship, and self love, and all of them were done so beautifully. I cried a lot of happy tears, which was especially nice because Ryan’s last book made me ugly cry several times. I think This Could Be Us could best be described as empowering. 

Judah is a top tier book boyfriend. He’s an exceptional father and co-parent to his ex wife and shows so much empathy towards Soledad at every stage of her journey. 

Something that stood out to me was Soledad’s journey as an influencer. I loved Ryan’s depiction of the hard work of being a mother and homemaker, and how that could translate to being an influencer. I always love depictions of influencing as hard work and positive depictions of social media! 

I hope you love This Could Be Us as much as I did!

[book synopsis]

Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. Because, of course, she does. She plans everything. She designs everything. She fixes everything. She’s a domestic goddess who’s never met a party she couldn’t host or a charge she couldn’t lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigrette for that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes poof in a cloud of betrayal and disillusion.

But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost. She’s too busy keeping a roof over her daughters’ heads and food on the table. And in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise.

But then an unlikely man enters the picture—the forbidden one, the one she shouldn’t want but can’t seem to resist. She’s lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trust herself?

After all she’s lost . . .and found . . .can she be brave enough to make room for what could be?

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Jan 23rd – Out this Week

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

I am so excited for this week’s new releases!! While a lot of people have an ebook, audiobook, and physical book going at the same time, I like to have a contemporary romance, historical romance, and fantasy going at the same time. 

🎁 The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, Berkley Romance  
Contemporary RomCom | Pop Star

🎁 Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru, HarperTeen
YA Fantasy Adventure | Twist on Treasure Island

🎁 The Bookbinder’s Guide to Love by Katherine Garbera, Harlequin 
Contemporary Romance 

🎁 Gothikana by RuNyx, Bramble
Romantasy | Reprint | Sprayed edges 

🎁 Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise, Forever 
Historical Romance

🎁 My Fair Brady by Brian D. Kennedy, Balzer + Bray
YA Contemporary romance | LGBTQ | Musical theater

🎁 The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky, Harlequin
Contemporary Romance | Fake Dating 

🎁 Diva by Daisy Goodwin, St. Martin’s Press
Historical fiction

🎁 ARC/ ALC / free publisher mail

Are any of these on your radar?

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Jan 16 & 18 New Releases

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

This month has SO many amazing books coming out! These are on my radar, and are mostly fantasy & romance – with a couple thrillers and even a nonfiction book thrown in! I missed posting last week so swipe to see last week’s new releases!

16th

🎁 Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa | YA Historical Romance | Pride & Prejudice Retelling | LGBTQ
🎁 The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews | Historical Romance
🎁 The Fury by Alex Michaelides | Thriller
🎁 The London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein | Historical fiction | Dual timeline
🎁 Valley Verified by Kyla Zhoa | Contemporary Romance
🎁 Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar | Contemporary Romance 
🎁 Our Hidden Conversations by Michele Norris | Nonfiction | Journalism

18th
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi | Fantasy
I Wish You Were Mine by Jessica Peterson | Contemporary Romance | Kindle Unlimited  

🎁 ARC/ ALC / free publisher mail

Are any of these on your TBR?

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January 9th: New Releases

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen
Contemporary romance | Rom Com

From the publisher: In this charming rom-com about two star-crossed lovers, a woman whose life is guided by her belief in the red-string of fate finds her perfect match—but his skepticism about true love puts a knot in their chances.

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend* by Emma R. Alban
Historical romance | Young Adult

From the publisher: A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!

The Heiress* by Rachel Hawkins
Mystery | Thriller

From the publisher: THERE’S NOTHING AS GOOD AS THE RICH GONE BAD.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Recipe for a Charmed Life* by Rachel Linden
Heartwarming romance | Magical realism

From the publisher: After a day of unrivaled disappointments, a promising young chef finds every bite of food suddenly tastes bitter. To save her career, she travels to the Pacific Northwest to reconnect with her estranged mom, and discovers a family legacy she never suspected in this delicious novel from the bestselling author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.

Do you have any of these on your TBR?

*Received as a free gift from the publisher