Kennedy Ryan’s Books Redefines ‘Happily Ever After’ For Black Women
By Taryn Finley ·Updated March 3, 2025 < /> It’s easy to see where Kennedy Ryan’s inspiration for her romance novels come from.On the evening before Valentine’s Day, the New York Times-bestselling author realized she had forgotten her earrings back at the hotel ahead of a Spotify Audiobooks event promoting her forthcoming novel, Can’t Get Enough. Without hesitation, her husband doubled back to retrieve her statement accessory before the event officially started. Set against the backdrop of Bar Nena – a sexy bar downtown New York draped in red lighting and love in the air – the dozen or so of us present before doors open let out a chorus of “awwws” as her husband of 27 years returns just in time for Ryan’s first on-camera moment of the night.It’s a simple gesture, but holds the weight of an “I love you.” And it feels akin to the kind of affection we the Black women protagonists in her books get to experience. But if you’re new to Ryan’s work, don’t expect a cliché ending. Instead, she prioritizes a more progressive view to show how Black women find healing for themselves on their love journeys.“In most romance novels, we have kind of an idea of what the Happily Ever After is going to be,” Ryan said in an interview ahead of the event. “These books kind of interrogate that and bring a modernity to it. As a woman, what is a relationship going to look like for me? I get to determine that, not based on any archetype, but on what works best for me.”Can’t Get Enough isn’t just the title of the third and final book in the Skyland series (based on a fictional, upwardly mobile Atlanta suburb), it describes her vast and growing audience’s hunger for her writing. The series highlights a group of three friends, all Black women yet from diverse backgrounds. Each book is dedicated to one of the three. The first novel, Before I Let Go, told the story of Yasmen, a recently divorced mother of two learning to love again after significant grief and depression. The second, This Could Be Us, followed Soledad, a stay-at-home mom of three who’s learning how to self-partner herself after her husband betrays her trust.The third installment, out on May 13, will tell the story of Hendrix, a successful, independent businesswoman who is child-free by choice. Fans know Hendrix as bold and providing comedic relief among the friend group, but Ryan promises Can’t Get Enough will show Hendrix in a fuller, more vulnerable way as she navigates forbidden romance, sacrifice and self-reliance. Kennedy Ryan Ryan called Hendrix “a key figure” for the Skyland series.“She’s such a modern woman,” she detailed. “She may or may not get married. She’s very independent, and she’s incredible. She’s a business owner, and we find out when we get into Can’t Get Enough, she runs a venture capital firm with her sorors and so she’s looking for ways to build community and to build generational wealth for other Black women.”If that doesn’t sell you, Hendrix’s book is hands down, the spiciest. “All I’m going to say is: closet scene,” the author teased.Ryan was raised in a small town in North Carolina by two preacher parents. Naturally, she had to sneak to read romance novels after she fell in love with them in the eighth grade. Black authors like Beverly Jenkins and BeBe Moore Campbell played a major part in Ryan finding her voice in literature with their work in romance and mental health, respectively. She was also fond of Kathleen E. Woodiwiss and Joanna Linsdey’s books.Though her family may have not approved of her reading romance at a young age, seeing how her family championed community support inspired the key friendship dynamics in her writing. She witnessed how her mom showed up for her best friend when she got a cancer diagnosis, praying with her at the hospital and helping get her kids to school. And the company she kept was a true village.“That was such a model of women being strong for each other and for our community,” she said. She thinks that’s not only important for the relationships in her books, but in real life, too. “Our community is going to be what we rely on the most. So strengthening that, healing, creating structures and uplifting our businesses and organizations is going to be more important than ever.”What’s also refreshing about Ryan’s books is how Black men love and show up for these characters. In a dating pool filled with piss for Black women who date men, fully fleshed out, caring men like Josiah in Before I Let Go and Judah in This Could Be Us are an oasis. And they aren’t there to save women, going beyond the cowboy and billionaire tropes.“What I am saying through these men is you shouldn’t settle,” “I need someone who’s going to respect me as an equal. I need someone who I can trust. I need someone who is going to esteem my goals and dreams as much as their own, and that definitely comes from my own relationship.”As the first Black winner of a RITA Award for romantic fiction, Ryan has broken the mold of what it means to write romance. The care and intention Ryan pours into her work creates a lush landscape for women to see themselves reflected and loved in ways they may have not seen before. “Each of these women are facing big challenges in their lives but finding joy in the midst of that and then growing and navigating life in the context of real community with other women,” Ryan explained. She continued, “As a writer, I think [Skyland] really clarified where I feel most on-purpose, most on-mission and that is really writing from the margins to the center. I’ve done that in other books but this series was so very specific in making sure that Black women were at the center, were celebrated, were beautiful, different body shapes, different sizes, different vocations, different statuses as far as kids and marriage and the choices they make in their careers. But really just centering the beauty of the diversity even within that group.”Though Can’t Get Enough means Skyland books are coming to an end is bittersweet for Ryan, the characters will live on in an adaptation premiering on Peacock. Malcolm D. Lee will direct and executive produce alongside Dominique Telson and Ryan. John Legend’s production company Get Lifted Film Co. and Debra Martin Chase’s Martin Chase Productions are also involved. Ryan isn’t able to give too many details about it, but she did hint that they may have the central cast nearly finalized.“I can’t announce anything until the studio and the networks say we can, but we do definitely have developments. It’s just waiting for the thumbs up on when we can share more. But I’m very, very excited about it.”Can’t Get Enough hits bookshelves May 13. The post Kennedy Ryan’s Books Redefines ‘Happily Ever After’ For Black Women appeared first on Essence.
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