Kennedy Ryan's next book in the "Skyland" series is on its way, and fans now have a sneak peek at what's in store for their favorite characters.
Ryan exclusively revealed the cover for the final installment, “Can't Get Enough,” out May 13, 2025, with TODAY.com.
With all of her covers, Ryan says they must pass the “gasp test.”
“The first time someone sees (the book), I want the response to be a gasp,” Ryan tells TODAY.com.
The “Skyland” series, which began in 2022, follows a group of three friends who reside in the fictional neighborhood of Skyland in Atlanta.
Each book follows one of the characters as she goes through the ebbs and flows of love and life and focuses on topics such as mental health, self-love and sisterhood.
In “Can’t Get Enough,” readers will follow businesswoman and self-proclaimed “rich auntie” Hendrix and her budding (but forbidden) relationship with tech mogul Maverick Bell.
Hendrix is well known for her quick wit and being the comedic relief of the series. While her story is “funny and sexy,” we’ll also get to see more of Hendrix’s vulnerable side, Ryan says.
“Can’t Get Enough” feels “timely” to the conversations many women have today, Ryan says, especially women who are child-free by choice, like Hendrix.
“I feel like this is such a providential intersection of the story and something that is so important that we’re discussing right now in culture,” Ryan says.
When it comes to inspiration for her books, Ryan likes to draw from everyday life.
For “Can’t Get Enough,” the title came from a 2011 J. Cole song of the same name that lined up with what she was writing at the time.
And the cover's color scheme?
Ryan says she was walking through Target when she saw a photo of a lavender matcha latte — and everything just clicked into place.
“I literally sent the photo to my editor and I was like ‘This it it, this is the cover,'" she says.
Hendrix’s cover has actually been years in the making. Ryan says she originally chose the photo on the cover of "Can't Get Enough" for Yasmen's book, “Before I Let Go,” the first of the series. That cover went in another direction, and Ryan filed the photo away for later.
When it was time for Hendrix’s story, Ryan knew it would be perfect.
“Hendrix is in such a place of command,” Ryan says. “With that cover, she’s looking right into the camera, and she has such confidence and assurance, which is who her character is.”
In short, it passed Ryan's "gasp test" with flying lavender and green colors.
Ryan says the end of the "Skyland" series feels “bittersweet” because the characters have come to mean so much to her and her readers. But the books accomplished the mission she sent them out to do, she says.
“I enjoyed bringing these women in culture. Their stories, their hurts, their vulnerabilities, as well as their strengths, and deconstructing the myth of the strong Black woman," she says.
The upcoming series adaptation of “Before I Let Go,” which is currently in development at Peacock, is also helping Ryan grieve the conclusion.
“It helps that it's going to be on television and there will be a new iteration of these characters and these stories in this universe," she says.
Read the official blurb for ‘Can't Get Enough’:
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. She hasn’t met the man who can keep up with her anyway. 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 and appreciated, 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?
