I will love be loving a book/series and something about it will make me mad and I'll put that book down and forget about it for a while. Not quite a DNF, I'll finish it eventually...or not (i.e the ending of Iron Flame (I may or may not ever read Onyx Storm).
That being said, life is to short to read a book you don't enjoy. I do DNF books.
If I enjoy a book, it's a five star read for me. If I gave it less than five stars there is probably something specific I did not like or that bothered me. If I didn't mention it in the review, ask me (I'll probably remember what it was).
Cry Meter: 🥹 Watery eyes, 😢 There were tears, 😭 Sobfest
"Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything.
It couldn’t save their marriage."
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cry Meter: 😢 (there were tears)
Favorite Quote: (I couldn't choose one, I may update later)
I'm not sure how to start this review...partially because I haven't written a book review in a very long time, but also because this book truly blew me away.
Before I let go drew me in right from the start, I started it while traveling home from BRBF (where I got it signed by Kennedy Ryan herself!) and this book immediately had me in a chokehold. I was trying to read in the dim blue lights on a late flight (I gave up after reminding myself that this is why I wear glasses now), today kept pausing work to read a bit, read through my lunch break, and finally finished it at home after work.
This book was poignant, and beautiful, and real. It was my first Kennedy Ryan read and I am immediately a fan!
As per usual, more below the cut
Everything about this book fully captured me; Yasmen and Josiah's separate struggles to come to terms with everything that has happened, their attempts to move on or move forward, the love and care they have for their children, their parallel journeys towards healing, and the strength of their friendships and relationships.
I have not experienced everything Yasmen has been through, but I have been depressed and it is something I still struggle with to this day. Everything about her struggle, her attempts to heal, and the nuggets of wisdom from Dr. Abrams resonated very deeply with me.
I really appreciated that Vashti wasn't villainized just because of her brief relationship with Josiah and I appreciate even more that her feelings weren't a sacrifice to Yasmen and Josiah's love for each other.
I LOVE the positive representation of therapy and medication. And that that positive representation didn't just come from Yasmen, but also from Kassiam, from Josiah's friend who encouraged him to seek therapy, and (eventually) from Josiah himself.
I wish that Josiah had paid more attention to Deja's attitude toward her mother and actually tried harder to get to the bottom of it instead of just telling himself he should. And I'm surprised that therapy for Deja wasn't broached sooner after Kassim started.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more by Kennedy Ryan.
Paralives is out May 25th, 2026 in Early Access!! which means…some features will be available right away and others will be added overtime as free updates ⚙️🛠️
hey quick PSA but “reading before bed to wind down” only works if you’re normal about books btw. if you aren’t you are going to end up awake at 2:52am after finishing the whole book just trust me on this one
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