This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan
On my first trip to the Skyland neighborhood in Before I Let Go, I cried. A lot. On my return trip in This Could Be Us (Forever) by Kennedy Ryan, I’m more shocked by the scandal and intrigued by slow-burn, forbidden romance between Judah and Soledad, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my visit.
We briefly met Soledad in Before I Let Go, Book One of the Skyland series, and like her friend Hendrix in that book, I rolled my eyes. I thought this naïve housewife is going to get duped. And even though Soledad does indeed get duped, I no longer roll my eyes at her (maybe some side eye, but doesn’t everyone have their side-eye moments?). Instead, I respect her for her comeback and her strong survival mode.
Complicated History and a Conflict of Interest
Soledad Barnes has been dealt a humiliating blow: her once prominent husband Edward has been carted off to jail on suspicion of embezzlement, leaving her to fend for herself and her three daughters. With their assets frozen, and no job herself, Soledad has to hustle to keep the family not only together but in their Skyland home and the kids in their private school. Her pension for being a stellar homemaker and cook works to her advantage, as she makes a living as a social media influencer to keep the bills paid.
So how did Soledad get here? Seems Edward’s archnemesis at work, Judah Cross is to blame for their predicament (at least in Edward’s eyes), since he’s the one who reported the embezzlement to the company’s CEO. Forensic accountant Judah Cross is singular in his focus, dedicated to his family, and honest to a fault. He’s ended a lackluster marriage with his wife Tremaine and cares for his twin boys who are on the spectrum.
When he spots Soledad at a company Christmas party, he’s immediately struck by how his nonverbal son connects with her, and then there’s the fact that he’s unable to take his eyes off her. Unfortunately, when he learns she’s the wife of the co-worker he’s been investigating, she becomes off-limits to him.
These two may burn slowly, but are hot when ignited. Kennedy Ryan’s steamy love scenes are always full of emotion and here is no different. These two may have a forbidden romance, but it’s one that they can’t turn away from. Their bodies and their souls were meant to be together.
Functional Families Who Live with Dysfunction
In the prologue, Judah mentions that his twin boys Aaron and Adam have some of the same mannerisms he does, and later, he notes that he sees a lot of himself in the way his boys interact with the world around them. These all lead the reader to conclude that Judah is also on the spectrum. Because all three of these characters have some form of autism, Ms. Ryan gives readers varied and authentic portrayals of individuals who live with autism, essentially mapping out how wide the spectrum can be and how much care, sympathy and support those who don’t have autism should show. Just because someone may be socially functional does not mean their lives are free from complications of the condition.
It amazes me how naturally the scenes in This Could Be Us play out between estranged spouses and parents and children. Soledad and her children dealing with something that most of us will never have to face (a patriarch being hauled off to jail for white-collar high crimes) could have come across as unrealistic and phony, but Soledad’s outrage and sorrow, the children’s confusion and blunt questions, and how each daughter processes their father’s transgressions in their own way shows the depth that Ms. Ryan has given to not only the main characters but to many of the secondary characters as well.
The same is true for divorced parents Judah and Tremaine and their boys. They relate to each other with familiarity and cordiality but without intimacy. They put their children first and competently handle their sons’ complications, but not without showing the fragility and helplessness that I’m sure most parents in their situation would feel.
And there are still school career days, bake sales, and community festivals to be had, which give readers ample reason to smile while being immersed in the scene. The author makes us feel as if we are indeed in the fictional Skyland neighborhood.
If you’re a Kennedy Ryan fan, you’re used to one of her books figuratively tearing out your heart. This one will tug at your emotions in a different way but still give you that satisfying HEA at the end and keep you rooting for Soledad and Judah page after page, despite all the odds against them.
Read the review of Before I Let Go, Book 1 in the Skyland Series.
About Kennedy Ryan:
A RITA Award Winner and Top 25 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts.
She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Atlanta families living with Autism, she has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for families living with autism.
