Actual rating 4.5 stars.

Aw, I decided to request Bend Toward the Sun on a whim, and I’m so glad I did!
 
I love reading love stories that feel real and honest, and this is undoubtedly one of them. I fell in love with both Harry and Rowen, and I swooned over them so much. It’s one of the slowest of slowest slow burns I read this year, but so worth the read! The writing is gorgeous, and Jen Dvon pulled me into the story, and I just couldn’t let go. And I adore the cover, by the way!

WOW. Jen Devon was born to be a writer. I am in love with the way she writes and cannot wait to read more of her work. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it was everything and more. I found myself dragging out the reading of this book because I didn't want it to end. It was such a beautiful, emotional story and I am so in love with Harry and Rowan. There was a lot of baggage that both characters carried and I was so happy to see them get the happy ending that they deserved. The Brady's were so lovely and I am desperately hoping that we get to see a Temperance and Duncan story in the future. This book exceeded my expectations and is most definitely one of my favourites of the year!

I absolutely LOVED this book. The story was fantastic - I loved the romance, the family, and especially the winery setting. I've already recommended that our Adult Librarian add this to the August cart. Looking forward to other books by this author in the future - a great debut!

Harry and Rowan meet during a particularly competitive game of hide & seek which was just excellent and from there I knew I was going to love this one. I love a big family in books and especially love when big families take in characters who don’t have family and don’t understand the love in big families. The Brady family was so fun to read about and I think I see which characters are getting books and I hope I’m right.

This book has a lot going on and yet doesn’t have much of an overarching plot. Which are my favorite types of books. The book relies on the characters emotions and gorgeous writing. Harry and Rowan have great banter with each other, but also with Rowan’s friends and the other Brady siblings.

This book is emotional. Both characters have trauma (new for Harry & old for Rowan) and they deal with it in very different ways and expect the other to react which causes some conflict.

What I really loved about the 3rd act conflict is that it happens a tad earlier (around 75%) so we really get to see them make up in a way that felt real and then still got some moments of them as a couple. I literally cried at two points at the end.

I was hesitant to pick this one up because based on the cover I had no idea what I was getting into but a few extremely positive reviewed made me request the ARC and I’m so glad I did. I can’t wait to see what Jen Devon writes next.

Also, the title is adorable. Plants grow towards the sun, seeking out sunlight to survive, and I fully believe that both Harry and Rowan bent towards each other to save themselves which makes the other the sun in their eyes.

Absolutely love the book. I am a romantic at heart and will no matter what be a sucker for these novels.

I'm sorry. I just did not enjoy this story or the characters. If you love hallmark movies then this is for you.

This is one of my favorite kinds of romance. A contemporary without a zany premise, just two people with tough backstories finding each other. This one had lovely, evocative writing as well. It's not five stars for me because I found the pacing to drag at times and I didn't find the conflict quite meaty enough, but I will definitely be looking for more from this author!

rating : 3.5
loved this book sm omg
it’s second chance romance and the setting is great (a vineyard!!!)
imagine a hallmark movie. that’s it, that’s the book but like in a good way
harry and rowan had sm chemistry and harry was so patient and cute towards rowan + the angst omggg

I sped through this book. It ensnared me almost instantly. Rowen and Harry’s romance was *chef’s kiss*! I loved that they helped each other heal from their past traumas and how they both grew as time went on. Harry’s family’s dynamic was beautiful.

I thought everything was beautifully written and the descriptions of the vineyard and surroundings gave me a clear visual of what they’re meant to look like. There was so much detail in the descriptions that I did find myself wanting to just skip over these paragraphs at times because I wanted to get back to the story.

I will be thinking about this book randomly in the future for sure. It will stick with me, and that’s always my favorite part of reading a good book.

🍷 Bend Toward the Sun 🍷
Jen Devon
Pub Date: August 9, 2022

🌸 Rowan and Harry have stolen my heart! I will be honest and say it took awhile for that to happen. I am not a big fan of slow burn romances and this one is slow, but the ending made it worth it.

🌸 Rowan is a botanist who has sworn off love and is only looking for one night stands with no strings attached. Harry is a doctor who is only interested in committed, lasting love. Rowan has a lot of childhood trauma that has made her untrusting. Harry lost a patient and has spiraled into a deep depression. Can they overcome their difficult pasts and find love with the help of their friends and family?

💭 Thoughts:

This story has one of my favorite meet-cutes. It brought me back to when I was in high school and we would play commandos.

The characters are really well developed. I absolutely loved Harry’s family! The more I read about them, the more I wanted to be part of the family. Each one of Harry’s siblings is unique and memorable in their own way and. There are five of them. Rowan’s two best friends, Frankie and Temperance are the kind of friends we’d all be lucky to have.

I enjoyed the descriptive language used to describe the Brady house, the meadow, and the vineyard. I could really visualize the beautiful settings in this book.

The chemistry between Rowan and Harry was palpable. If you like steam, this book brings it. There is a lot of angsty banter between them. I enjoyed the depth at which we are able to get to know both characters. It really helps to understand where they both are coming from.

Overall, a fun, heartwarming read that covers some very complex topics.

Read If You Like:
❤️ A fun meet-cute
❤️ Slow burn romances
❤️ Second chance romances
❤️ Vineyards and country settings
❤️ Big families with lots of supporting characters

Congrats Jen on a wonderful debut novel! I look forward to reading more from you in the future.

Thank you @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and @kisscrafter for an advanced copy to read and review!

Bend Toward the Sun was a beautiful, emotional book, and I adored it! What a tremendous debut from Jen Devon! I love the style of this book. The writing had great pacing and a lyrical quality to it that made reading such a pleasure.

This book is Harry and Rowan's love story and it brings the romance. I loved their journey as they struggled against each other and then together to find the love of a lifetime. This book has such great character depth. Rowan and Harry are both broken and hurting people who have been bruised by hard circumstances in life. In addition to Harry and Rowan, this book features the most amazing family, the Bradys. They will win you over and you will want to move to Pennsylvania to live on their vineyard/B&B. I promise. It looks like we will get more of the Brady family with a few of Rowan's bffs in future books! I can't wait!

If you are a fan of Kate Clayborn, try this book out. They have similar poetic styles in their writing and tell beautiful stories with great emotional depth. I was utterly charmed by this story and am eagerly awaiting Jen Devon's next books.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review!

I am in awe that this is Jen Devon's debut novel. It's a beautiful book with a cover that perfectly embodies the story within its pages. Rowan and Harry are very complex, two-dimensional characters who grew tremendously from the first page to the last. Devon has a vivid way with words, and the descriptions of the sights, smells, and feelings both characters experienced made me feel like I was right there. It's a quiet, tender story with moments of humor (often in relation to Harry's huge loving family) I loved this steamy and delicious romance and look forward to more from Devon!

This might be my favorite read of the year. Jen Devon’s writing is unbelievable, and so lyrical without being exhausting or pretentious. Her characters are fully fleshed out, and her storyline has natural progression. The feelings this books evoke are so deep. I want to buy dozens of copies of this book and hand it out to anyone walking by. If you like romance, please read this. Harry and Rowan will steal your hearts.

An angsty second chance romance is one of my favorite things to read about and this one hit the spot.

DNF at 15%. I really wanted to love this but unfortunately I ran into some pretty big issues with it pretty early on. I found the beginning extremely rushed, to the point where I wasn't even 10 pages in and the two main leads were already almost kissing. It was very much insta-attraction, which I generally don't get along with, especially in romance, because I like for the tension to be much more drawn out rather than have the characters immediately like each other. Also there was another scene pretty early on where the characters were already talking about their Emotional Baggage and I just found it very clunky, especially given how early on in the book we were. A shame since I really wanted to like this, but alas, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This doesn't influence my review


If my shelving of this book doesn't tell you enough, perhaps the fact that I was able to savor the first half should help, but after that, the fact that I was able to tear right through this - sacrificing precious sleep - and actually distracting me for once (lately) should tell you everything you need to know.

I kept thinking how I would write this review once I finished. The book was lush, but grounded; terribly romantic without being saccharine; it successfully built characters that had believable hang-ups without sacrificing the enjoyment by wanting to yell repeatedly at them (and I should mention features the prickly-only-wants-casual-defensive heroine clearly in her own way. Not a favorite, but as you'll see, it worked here). Their mistakes were human, and like the winery where this takes place, they breathed life and made me feel them.

Look the best books have setting well integrated and sex that advances the plot and I do think a debut author deserves to stand on their own. Layer on this intense internal conflict that only gave me flashes of claustrophobia because of everything else this book was grounded in, and these incredibly romantic scenes, not to mention THE ACTS OF LOVE. That said, I do wonder who inspires Devon because there are these echoes of my favorite authors that I couldn't shake. Not in a negative, rip-off way, in that way that reminds me that this book is what I've been searching for.

I appreciate that both characters are open and communicative but not in a perfect, soft way that is becoming so popular currently. Sometimes it was selfish, righteous, and flawed. Sometimes it was uncomfortable or entirely breathtaking. The fact is, the dynamic feels very realistic to me. Sometimes I didn't love a metaphor ("took my mouth like a battlefield" was particularly off for what I believe the author hoped to convey), sometimes it was bogged down in them a little. Still, the book clearly pushed all these evocative, emotional buttons and I stayed up till 2 am reading it.

Harry is an absolutely appealing hero. The way he is characterized makes my heart sing-an arachnophobe dealing with the aftermath of losing a patient for the first time. He's believably entitled, believably lacking the internal resilience in many ways of a person who hasn't faced much hardship, and though at one point a character points out that Rowan (the heroine) is stronger than him, I treasure his vulnerability.

Rowan is a prickly free-spirit who very carefully guards her personal connections. She's awkward (or at least she tries to say she is), grounded, hilarious, and charming. She's a botanist, just another way I think Devon crafts the delightful work of character building and integrated setting but also gives us Rowan's vulnerabilities and softness. While Harry is soft with people, Rowan is at best in her openness to everything but people.

The opening scene gave me the impression that I would love this book. And indeed, it is filled with these swoon-worthy moments instigated by both main characters. This review most certainly shortchanges a lively set of secondary characters. I just adored this debut; the author, for me, echoed different pieces about what I love most about my favorite authors-with perhaps less polish, but you will still forget you are reading a debut. That was enough to get me to write a review on Wednesday morning. 4.5 rounded up.

Love this book was very good reading . This is true sometimes we who are damaged don't think we are worth anyones time. Great for summer reading!

A lovely, angst-filled romance. Rowan is a botanist who prefers to avoid relationships and Harrison (or Harry) is an obstetrician reeling from the loss of a patient. Harry and Rowan meet in a greenhouse in the vineyard Harry’s family recently required. It is in need of repair and recovery and they enlist Rowan to help them. Over the course of the year, Rowan and Harry alternate fighting and giving into their growing feelings for one another.

I really enjoyed this. It has a cozy feel and it was interesting to learn more about vineyard care and plants. Rowan and Harry have a lot of chemistry. There is a cast of lovable supporting characters including Harry’s siblings and Rowan’s two best friends. Recommended to readers looking for an emotional contemporary romance with found family.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC via NetGalley.

Bend Toward the Sun is a romance/women's fiction novel that follows main characters Rowan and Harrison. Their paths intersect when Rowan, a botanist, agrees to restore the vineyard at Harrison's parents up-and-coming bed and breakfast. Both Rowan and Harry are dealing with various emotional baggage and have highly different views on relationships and what they want for their life, but despite that, they can't seem to resist each other.

Bend Toward the Sun was a different genre/read than what I typically gravitate towards, but the great reviews I was seeing convinced me to give it a try. Unfortunately, this novel didn't hit me quite as strongly as it did others.

What I enjoyed:
- I enjoy romance novels that are a little deeper and have a bit more substance, which this definitely had.
- Along that same line, I appreciated the character development. I felt we really got to know both characters and the issues that plagued them
- I loved the setting. I felt like I there at the vineyard.

What I struggled with:
- This novel had so many aspects of what I value in my romance novels, so it took me a couple days to figure out why this one missed the mark for me. I think the biggest drawback for me was the character of Rowan. When I'm not a fan of one of the main characters in a romance, I find it hard to rally behind them, and therefore the novel. Rowan was headstrong, inflexible, and very closed-off about her hang-ups and after 50%+ of her continually shutting Harrison out, I just got tired of it.
- Another drawback for me was the lack of levity. While I like my romance novels to tackle serious obstacles, I also like there to be some humor to balance it out. This novel, and it's characters, read just a bit too serious for my liking.
- Was a little too long/drawn out

All that said, there was nothing inherently wrong with this novel, it just wasn't one that spoke to me. It's been getting great reviews and I can see why. I think there are plenty of others who will enjoy this.

I would recommend this to fans of women's lit, serious romances, slow burn romances and stories focusing on character development.

I loved this book! Great slow burn and would be a great summer read
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.