Sometimes there is that powerful connection between two people and they heal each other. I loved this story
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood. Jen Devon created a world in which I didn’t want to leave. I’m ANXIOUSLY awaiting for what I hope is going to be a sequel for TJ and Duncan!!!

While it is not appropriate for my students, it IS appropriate for my friends and coworkers. I loved this book!

Rowan has a PhD in botany, she also has a way of guarding her heart after a broken romance several years before. Harrison is a doctor that is broken due to the loss of a patient and a marriage. She has been living on a friend's couch. He has just arrived at his family's vineyard.

Rowan agrees to work on Harrison's family vineyard to complete a paper she had begun and has not been able to complete. She is going to ignore Harrison because she is not interested in any form of relationship and has been told by others that he is, and he seems to be in to her. He, on the other hand, is very interested and knows she is the one for him, he just has to make her understand.

I could not put this book down. I had to take their journey with them to see if he would win and they would be together, or if she would win and this would be a one night stand, or maybe two night stand, and nothing more! I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fabulous.
It is a beautiful story that me me feel all the feels.

Rowan is a botanist who is undecided in life. She meets up with some friends and they play a game of hide and seek that turns into a life changing event. Enter Harrison Brady, an OB/YN who has just come back to his family home. Once me meets Rowan he is gone.

This story is very well told, the pacing is great and the writing is beautiful. There are so many well written lines about love that at times it found myself crying.

This story is one that should be read by all those who love romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC. I wanted to really love this book but I had a hard time getting into the story. The romance was beautiful and achingly honest but the middle dragged a bit for me. If you are into botany, that adds a wonderful aspect to the story.

This book is beautiful and achingly emotional in the best way. The writing is immersive and I will be handing this book to everyone I know.

Thank you for this ARC! I really wanted to love this book. However, it did fall flat for me. It took awhile to get into the story and I just was not invested enough in the characters. As a science teacher, I did love all the botany references and STEM representation! It seems many others enjoyed this book, so I would still recommend it if you like romances and multiple POVs.

This book had so many great things in it! I absolutely connected with this book in such a beautiful way. I love a good romance story and Rowan & Harry had it all. The story is captivating in its details and beautifully written. As an MSW, I deeply appreciated that mental health was highlighted. I feel that too often, men particularly, suffer from the stigma attached to mental health struggles. I highly recommend this beautiful and heartbreaking romance to anyone out there looking for a great read!

3.5⭐️ There was a lot I liked about this book but some pieces that prevented me from giving it a higher rating.

When Rowan’s doctoral thesis does not get approved, her plan is to spend the next year fixing her dating and resubmitting her work. However, after attending a party at the Brady family vineyard, and being impressed with the farm, Rowan’s best friend encourages her to take a job helping take care of the vines. Unlike Rowan’s family, the Brady’s are a loud, loving and large crew who are all working together to make this dream winery come to life. There, she meets Harry, one of the siblings, who is home taking a break from his life as a doctor in LA. It is instant attraction for both Rowan and Harry and the chemistry is undeniable. Still, Rowan has difficulty with trust and Harry has some own trauma from his past that haunts him. As the two open up to each other, their complicated but beautiful relationship begins to unravel.

What I loved: I enjoyed the small-town vineyard setting and learning about the field of Botany/ makings of a successful winery. The supporting cast- Rowan’s two best friends from college and the entire Brady family- added so much warmth, humor and emotion to the story. I assume some of these characters will be the stars in future books, and I can’t wait. I also loved Rowan and Harry’s witty comebacks and inside jokes. It kept me on my toes!

What’s not making this a 5 star reads for me was that there were a lot of ups and downs, arguments and miscommunications between Rowen and Harry that made it hard for me to fully enjoy the book. While this made the course of the relationship “realistic”, knowing it was not always rainbows and butterflies, I often found that the self-sabotaging behavior went on for too long. At 30+ years old, I think Rowan and Harry could have spoken more rather than have large periods of time where they avoid and ignore one another. The amazing ending did make up for some of these feelings, and helped me understand why the author did what she did, but my heightened angst and anxiety as I read did impact the overall experience.

Read if you like:
-Instant attraction but slow burn romance
-Supportive and big families
-Vineyards/ wineries
-Botany
-A strong cast of side characters
-Anxiety rep
-Dual POVs

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the beginning and loved the last few chapters. But I was bored in the middle. I guess I’m finally getting tired of the storyline of the woman who had some childhood event that makes her put her walls up and isn’t able to let someone love her. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book early.

I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.
This was a beautiful story. It shows that no matter what kind of damage has been done to you in your past, when you find the person who can make you “whole” you can overcome that damage and become a better person.

This book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. The main character is quirky...she is working toward her doctorate...needs to present her thesis completely...The other characters are likable and supportive of her...This is a quick fun read...

"I want the strings. I want to tie you up in mine, and I want to get tangled in yours."

What You'll Find:
✔️Friends to Lovers Romance
✔️Insta Attraction
✔️Close Proximity
✔️Tortured Hero
✔️Dual, Third Person POV

Rowan has a doctor's degree in Botany. And doesn't do strings, due to her past. Harrison is a doctor dealing with the traumatic loss of a patient. Who only does strings. And when these two both find themselves on a soon to be salvaged winery, the attraction is instant. But can they make it work?

Bend Toward The Sun takes place on a picturesque setting that I really enjoyed. I learned so much via Rowan's botany knowledge that I really enjoyed. The (Harrison's) family dynamics in this are great as well. It has a 'found family' feel that always resonates with me. But aside from that, this story was just likeable for me. There's some emotion, tension, steam and even little bits of humor. But I just didn't feel it. I think the ups and downs and miscommunication, especially from Rowan made it difficult for me to lock in and enjoy this one. Even if it did make for a beautiful moment in the end. I think this is a solid debut, just perhaps, not quite the story for me. There is a great set up with these side characters for future stories though, that I'd be interested in reading.

*I received a complimentary ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and given freely.

I stayed up all night to finish because I was so invested! A wonderful story of to broken people helping each other to heal and falling in love. I love how emotional Harry is. You can tell that by how deeply he feels his trauma but also the fact that he cries at weddings and brings his mother flowers. Rowan never had the support system he did growing up, so her wounds run deep and it is a difficult hurdle to get over. I love the two of them together because there is almost a magnetic force and it gets steamy! The whole supporting cast and Brady family was such a great addition to the story and really brought so much humor and vivacity. I hope to read all of their stories soon. This is the best romance book I have read in a long time and it really helped me to better appreciate the little things in life. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

I really love the language used to describe the natural world in this book. It was poetic and beautiful. And the family dynamics were a treat.

This is my book of the year so far! I know, it's February, but I see this book keeping its top spot for a long time. I love everything about it, from the rich depths of persona and right struggles given to the characters to the transporting sense of place to the lovely dance of growing closeness. Devon has all of her instincts on peak performance and has written an immersive, UNIQUE story that's hard to come by these days. I loved it and am keeping this one to read again and again, just like I do with Eat Pray Love and everything by Sarah Addison Allen. Glad I 'found' this author.

OMG! I didn’t expect to love this book so much!

It truly matched with each expectation I have about a well written-heartfelt- intense love story!
This is such good recipe for angsty- second chance romance novel:
A sweet- lovely family
Events take place at spectacular wine yard ( reminds us of Russell Crowe’s Good Year and Keanu Reeves’ A walk in the cloud)
Two adorable, broken characters still deal with their past burdens, struggling to move, connecting each other to heal: balanced angst and dramatic confrontations
Steamy, pant melting moments blended perfectly with tear jerking chapters
Less cliche, more unique and heartwarming conjunction

Overall: I’m so happy to be introduced to Jen Devon! I think Harry and Rowan’s stories will stay in my heart for a long time! I’m looking forward to read the future works of her!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

This was a beautifully intense romance that sucked me in from the start. The characters were developed intentionally with relatable flaws. I loved that this story was emotional, spicy, relatable, funny, and romantic all at the same time. From laughter to tears, this book gave me everything I would want.

A gorgeously atmospheric, heartbreakingly angsty, surprisingly STEAMY contemporary romance about an OB recovering from the loss of a patient and a botanist at a crossroads in her career. Together, they heal and learn to love in character arcs that parallel with the rehabilitation and eventual flourishing of an overgrown vineyard. A rare combination of angst and high heat that you so rarely find in contemporary these days, and I was SO pleasantly surprised. If you're looking at this cover wondering whether this is going to be a closed-door romance, I assure you it is not. The door is wide open, repeatedly. Along with a lot of other viable surfaces.

You want to read BEND TOWARD THE SUN if you enjoy:
- angst & characters gently working through personal traumas
- high heat
- big warm family & supporting cast
- dramatic kissing in the rain
- fog-shrouded vineyards

I have described this book as a gentler version of A WALK IN THE CLOUDS featuring a blonde Keanu Reaves but with far more focus on the romance and less on the external plot. The perfect read for a stormy day curled up by the fireplace when you want to wallow in Feelings, possibly sipping your vino of choice for thematic reasons.

I was hooked on the characters in Bend Toward the Sun from the get-go. Jen Devon creates memorable characters with depth and humor who work through past hurts in a relatable and real way. Rowan and Harrison are two of my favorite characters this year. Yes, I know it's only the start of February but I read this book in December and I'm still thinking about them! 😂 I love a good book in where the guy falls before the girl does and that is the case for our friend Harrison. I highly recommend putting this on your pre-order list! Bend Toward the Sun comes out in August 2022.