Reading Pathways: Kennedy Ryan

If there’s one Black romance author whose name is on a lot of lips these days, it’s Kennedy Ryan. While she’s been self-publishing since the mid-2010s, she came fully onto the romance scene when she became the first Black author to win a RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America members’ vote (In TWO THOUSAND NINETEEN. ONE NINE.). Since then, she has gotten multiple publishing deals with traditional publishers, both to republish and distribute many of her self-pubbed books and to publish brand-new ones. Ryan’s books are what some might call tearjerkers. They are always romances with a central love story and a Happily Ever After (HEA), but they will put you through something before you get to that incredibly satisfying ending. She approaches subjects including sexual assault, elder caretaking, chronic illness, parenting autistic children, grief and loss, and so many more topics, so you should definitely check out content notes for each book before picking them up. And while her books are exceedingly good in any format, I am a diehard Kennedy Ryan Audiobook Evangelist. Many of her books are brought to life by audio favorites like Wesleigh Siobhan, Jakobi Diem, Ebony Flowers, and...