Kennedy Ryan’s Romance Stories Are Shaping Black Women’s Futures
Award-winning author Kennedy Ryan has written over 20 bestselling books. Her stories aren’t just about love—they are about making Black women feel deeply seen, wanted, and powerful.
Her most recent novel, This Could Be Us, was named Amazon’s Best Romance of 2024. It follows an Afro Latina woman, Soledad, a single mom who finds healing, love, and freedom after heartbreak. Ryan brings a real-world lens to every love story, where Black women are not background characters—they are the stars.
“Whether you are Black or fat or disabled, you get to be pursued; you get to be the focus,” Ryan says.
This Could Be Us Honors Black Women’s History and Healing
In This Could Be Us, Soledad’s healing journey begins with self-love, guided by bell hooks’ All About Love. Ryan wanted to highlight the emotional work many Black women do while also celebrating their power to choose joy.
The book also sheds light on the history of Black stay-at-home moms. Ryan explains that during World War II, some Black women finally had the chance to stay home, thanks to the wages their husbands sent from war. However, laws later criminalized this in parts of the South, forcing Black women into domestic labor even when they could afford to stay home.
“It was a crime in that part of South Carolina for a Black woman to stay home,” Ryan says.
Through Soledad’s story, Ryan celebrates a woman who reclaims that stolen freedom—and chooses love on her own terms.
A TV Series Is Bringing Her Stories to the Screen
One of Ryan’s earlier hits, Before I Let Go, is being turned into a TV series by Peacock. It’s part of her Skyland series, which follows the lives of three friends living in Atlanta. The screen adaptation is another way Ryan is making sure Black women take up space in every medium.
This move from page to screen expands her mission—placing Black women front and center in romance, television, and culture.
Ryan doesn’t believe romance is just escape. “It’s the genre that guarantees joy,” she said. For her, writing romance is a way to affirm the lives and desires of Black women.
Creating a World Where Black Women Are the Main Characters
Kennedy Ryan’s earlier books, like Until I’m Yours, already hinted at her gift for deep emotional storytelling. Even when writing about unlikely heroines—like a blonde lifestyle mogul—she creates room for readers to connect. Her characters are layered, flawed, and human.
But at the heart of her writing is this: Black women don’t have to earn love. They don’t have to be perfect. They get to be fully themselves and still have epic, joyful romances.
Across her 20+ books, Ryan writes Black women as alchemists, survivors, dreamers, and queens. Whether falling in love with themselves or with someone else, they are always worthy.
Kennedy Ryan Is Redefining Who Gets a Happily Ever After
Kennedy Ryan is doing more than writing love stories. She’s creating a new world where Black women are not ignored, silenced, or sidelined. They are the main characters in every sense.
Her books remind readers that love is not reserved for a certain kind of woman—it’s a right for all. That message is changing the face of romance, one bestseller at a time.
