Showing posts with label Skyland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skyland. Show all posts

Monday, May 12, 2025

Review - - Can't Get Enough

Can't Get Enough
by Kennedy Ryan
Skyland - Book 3
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Reviewed by PJ



Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry's rarefied air. Your vision board? She’s probably living it.


She’s a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions—always striving upward. And in the midst of everything, she's facing her toughest challenge yet: caring for an aging parent. Who has time for romance? From her experience, there's a low ROI on relationships. Anyway, she hasn't met the man who can keep up with her. Until...him.

Tech mogul Maverick Bell is a dilemma wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit and knee-melting charm. From their first charged glance at the summer's hottest party, Hendrix feels like she’s met her match. Only he can’t be. Mav may be the first to make her feel this seen and desired, but he’s the last one she can have. Forbidden fruit is the juiciest, and this man is off limits if she plans to stay the course she’s set for herself.

But when Maverick gives chase—pursuing her, spoiling her, understanding her—is it time to let herself have something more?

PJ's Thoughts:

Kennedy Ryan is a force. While a book written by her is always a reading adventure, it is also an emotional, all-consuming, visceral experience. I don't just read about these complex characters, I live their journeys with them. They fill me with hope, anguish, accomplishment, fear, solid supportive friendship, chosen family, and soul-deep, enduring, hard-won love. 

I'm not overly eager to read billionaire heroes at the moment but I'll make an exception for Maverick. Ryan has crafted a self-made business mogul, ruthless when necessary and not hesitant to go after what he wants but with a tender side as well. I loved the relationship he has with his dad, the gentle care he uses with Hendrix's mother, and, hello, Black surfer? Yes, please. I love that he is not out of touch with his roots and is willing to put himself forward to offer a hand up to others as well as fight injustice. I appreciated the respect between him and Hendrix, as well as the red-hot chemistry and deepening affection. I especially enjoyed how open they were with one another. Open and honest communication and trusting enough to be vulnerable with one another can be very sexy. 

Speaking of vulnerable, Ryan digs deep with strong-willed, motivated, successful businesswoman, Hendrix. I love that she knows who she is - personally, professionally, sexually - and goes after what she wants, that she also gives of herself to help others in her community, and that she refuses to bend to societal pressure by compromising what she knows is best for her. But I also was happy to see her become open to growth and compromise in those personal relationships. Being confronted not only with a heartbreaking family situation (handled by Ryan with great writing skill and emotional care) but also an unexpected romantic one which leads to a messy business one causes Hendrix to step into uncharted waters and make difficult decisions. It's a thought-provoking process of an independent woman weighing the wants and needs of both her head and her heart. I was with her, cheering her on every step of the way. 

Can't Get Enough is the third book in Ryan's Skyland trilogy. While I'm a stickler for reading a series in order and the primary characters from books one and two feature prominently in this third one, readers new to Skyland should be able to fully enjoy Hendrix's story should you decide to read it first. Whatever order you choose, all three books have my highest recommendation. 

Content warning: Alzheimer's

Monday, March 11, 2024

Review - - This Could Be Us

This Could Be Us
by Kennedy Ryan
Skyland - Book 2
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Reviewed by PJ


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?

PJ's Thoughts:

This story. OMG! I loved this story! If you haven't yet read Kennedy Ryan, pick up a copy of This Could Be Us and let her carry you away on a wave of emotion before gently depositing you onto an island of hard-earned happiness. It's a ride worth taking. 

There's so much to love about this book. I don't want to give away spoilers so I'll try to steer clear of specifics but here are some of the things that make it special. 

Autism representation: This is a topic with which Ryan has personal experience and it shows in her writing. Her characters on the spectrum are realistic, layered, whole individuals, written with a caring, relatable hand.  

Finding your voice again: Soledad's journey out of the ashes of her shattered life is a blueprint for all women. I loved how she gradually rediscovered her strengths, her persistence, her worth. I admired the example she set for her daughters, how hard she fought for them. And I cheered her on as she learned to once again love and trust herself. She's one of my favorite characters that I've met in a book this year.

The single dad we all deserve: It's the bad boys who get all the attention (don't get me wrong, I do love a bad boy as well as a redeemed rake) but Judah is the good guy we need, the one we all deserve. Best friends with his ex and her new husband, successful, loving co-parent of twin boys with Autism, worthy of trust, determined to do the right thing, respectful of Soledad's journey, supportive, and sensual in all the best ways. A lifetime love. 

The bonds of friendship: Get you some girlfriends like Soledad's. These women are the ride-or-die women you want in your corner. I love how these friendships are portrayed in this book, how they have one another's backs, the lengths to which they will go to support, lift up, encourage, and love one another. I love the example they set for the younger generation of girls in their lives. 

In short, this book is a shining star of emotion, friendship, mothers and daughters, starting over, self love, romantic love, and finding - and using - your voice. I loved it.