This Could Be Us

Early last year, I absolutely loved Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan. The first in her Skyland trilogy, I was left eager to continue the series (and to read more from this author in general!). This week, the Skyland series continues with This Could Be Us, offering a hard-earned happily ever after for Soledad. It starts with some major drama involving her no-good husband of nearly 20 years, but through a process of self-discovery, Soledad will eventually find love with man who is genuinely good. 

Special thanks to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

Soledad and Edward have been together for half her life, married for nearly two decades, with three daughters together. But their relationship has been strained lately, with Edward acting strangely and treating Soledad badly. Then an unexpected and awful event upends their life: Edward is arrested for significant crimes, leaving Soledad and her three girls to fend for themselves in the aftermath. News that Edward had an affair only adds to the devastation. But Soledad is determined to move forward from this and not be dragged down by the man she thought she knew. She starts up her own business as an influencer and embarks on a journey of healing and self-discovery. Meanwhile, she’s developing feelings for Judah Cross, incidentally the forensic accountant who first noticed Edward’s crimes. Having a relationship with Judah will be complicated, given their tangled history. And Soledad isn’t in a place to trust a man again. But over time, these two will discover how they can make a relationship work, both for them and for their respective kids. 

Review

This Could Be Us gets off to a surprising start that immediately captured my full attention. In the previous Skyland book, Before I Let Go, there were already hints that Soledad’s husband Edward wasn’t being fully open with her or good to her. Was he cheating on her? Did their relationship simply go south? But early on here, it’s evident that things are much worse, and Edward’s mistreatment of Soledad isn’t good. When the FBI shows up at their home to arrest Edward, the whole mess is suddenly clear to Soledad, and it’s become public throughout her community. Clearly she needs to divorce this man she apparently didn’t really know anymore. How can Soledad move on from this? How can she take on the role of a single parent to her three daughters?

A big part of This Could Be Us is about Soledad’s personal transformation. It’s not just going from a stay-at-home mom to a successful influencer able to keep her daughters in their extracurricular activities and private schools. More than that, it’s about Soledad learning to love herself and trust herself. She’s guided by bell hooks’s book, All About Love: New Visions, and by her late mother’s diary entries. Soledad gets comfortable dating herself and feeling whole on her own. I loved seeing this journey and how it helps her gain confidence in herself. 

However, the romance with Judah Cross is still something worth rooting for, even if it needs to wait until Soledad is ready. Their relationship won’t be easy: Judah is the one who discovered Edward’s crimes, after all. Dating the man who put your ex in prison? Awkward! But it also underscores how different Judah is from Edward. Unlike the ex, Judah is honest, caring, kind, patient, generous… all the good qualities you could want in a partner. He always treats Soledad well, respects her choices, and supports her in everything she does. Such a welcome turnaround from that rat Edward! 

Beyond Soledad’s personal journey and her slow burn romance with Judah, family and friendship both play vital roles in This Could Be Us. Soledad is a mother to three daughters, navigating the tricky situation with their father with grace. Judah co-parents his two teenage sons with his ex-wife, still a close friend to him. Their twin boys are autistic, which adds another wonderful layer to this novel. Their experiences with autism are handled with great care and sensitivity. On top of child relationships, the book also highlights relationships between adult siblings, between close friends, and with parents. 

There are so many layers woven throughout This Could Be Us, making for a rich and complete look at a rapidly changing family unit. With some authors, juggling so many themes in one story would end up muddled, overwhelming, or just unfocused. But Kennedy Ryan has such an incredible handle on her characters and story that it all fits together perfectly. Instead of feeling like too much, this novel feels full in the best way. It’s an honest look at a mother, her daughters, her tentative romance, and the many people in their lives affected by all these changes. This novel is a masterclass in depicting a cast of characters as having full, complicated lives while making it cohesive and enjoyable for the readers. 

Final Thoughts

This Could Be Us is a superb novel that balances love, family drama, and self-discovery. It’s a mixture of genres, principally romance and women’s fiction, highlighting slightly older characters (around the age of 40) than usually shown in romances. The Skyland series has been utterly perfect so far, and I can’t wait to see Hendrix’s love story in book #3, due out in 2025. In the meantime, I will be reading more from Kennedy Ryan! Her novels are transcendent. 

Get the Book

You can buy This Could Be Us here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan
Series	Skyland (#2)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Romance
Setting	Atlanta, Georgia
Number of Pages	416
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	March 5, 2024
Publisher	Forever

Official Summary

“Heart-searing, sensual, and life affirming.” ―EMILY HENRY, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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?

For fans of Tia Williams and Colleen Hoover comes a deeply moving and personal novel about sacrifice, self-reliance, and finding true happiness from “one of the finest romance writers of our age.” ―Entertainment Weekly