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?
Title : This Could Be Us
Author : Kennedy Ryan
Format : eARC
Page Count : 416
Genre : contemporary romance
Publisher : Forever
Release Date : March 5, 2024
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★
Hollis' 2 star review
Can't believe this is getting an even lower rating than Before I Let Go (only half a star but still). I think maybe.. I think maybe I might have to uncouple with this author because the love I have for the Grip series and Long Shot has just never been found again. No matter how much I tried to manifest it into being.
Having said that, there's always one thing that Ryan does really well in each of her books. And in this one it's the autism rep. I can't speak to it from personal standpoint but everything she touched on, combined with the author's note and her own experiences, just felt so.. real. Genuine. Beautiful. And, IYKYK, the scene in the game store made me cry.
But everything else? I felt zero chemistry from this romance that was painfully insta and forced from the word go. I was eyerolling over the stupidity of Soledad's occasionally over the top villain of an ex. And I was bored by all the influencer content which took up way too much space in this story. Which was already crammed full of therapy TED talks, dialogue around grief and loss, finding one's bliss through self-love, and more; plus, like, you know, the romance. The fact that we also rehash a lot of the same information, in the same ways, over and over also didn't help matters.
I've said it before and I'll be saying it forever, I guess : contemporary romances are doing too many things these days. It's overwhelming and distracting and unsatisfying.
So, yes, this might be the end of the line -- as much as I wish it weren't. But as always.. your mileage may vary and if you loved what came before in this series, you might very well feel the same about this one.
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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