A round of applause for Jen Devon and this book! Bend Towards the Sun was my favorite book of 2022 (and quickly became one of my favorites of all time). I fell in love with Temperance and Duncan in that book, so needless to say, I had VERY high hopes for Right Where We Left Us. I can confirm Jen delivered and then some!



Right Where We Left Us thrusts us back into the world of the Brady Family and the Cloud Tide B&B and Winery, this time following Duncan Brady and Temperance Madigan. This time, the two are forced to confront their complicated past and figure out what the future looks like for both of them.



Jen Devon writes truly beautiful book. I cannot tell you how often I’ll read a line, set the book down, and pick the book back up to reread it again because of how bewitching it was. Every character is so unique and you cannot help but feel like the Brady family (and really all supporting characters) are truly flesh and blood real. The tension and angst leap off the page, and you will fall in love over and over again with Duncan and Temperance. I love a good second chance romance, but this one truly takes the cake. And the hints about Malcom’s (potential) love story have me not so patiently waiting for the next book!



I have already left a space on my shelf next to Bend Towards the Sun for this book when it comes out this summer. Please consider preordering or requesting from your library!



Thank you so very much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC!

Temperance is a paediatrician struggling to keep her small town clinic open, but is forced to take a break in the summer to help her best friend get married and heal her body from a minor accident. The only catch is her ex-boyfriend and longtime love, Duncan, is the brother of the groom. Will Temperance and Duncan be able to sort through their messy past to find love together in the present?

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Bend Toward the Sun, and Jen Devon's writing is warm and inviting. I also liked Temperance and Duncan as characters, as well as the other brothers in the family. There were so many extra characters mentioned that at times it was confusing to keep track of everyone, and I feel like the tension between Temperance and Duncan was never fully explored. It really felt like the two of them could have talked one time and solved all of their misunderstandings.

There was also a plot point about Temperance being in debt that was never fully explained or resolved.

I was happy that the characters ended up together but found myself wondering over and over again what their actual connection was based on, since they kept expressing frustration that the other person didn't see or understand them for who they are as adults. The final section of the book where they have their conversation that brings them back together and they confess their love seemed a little rushed because they didn't resolve these issues.

This book was overall a light read and gave me the cozy small-town feels. I especially like the scenes with the festivals and parties, and the author is excellent at describing the setting of the farm. If the next book is about Malcolm and Frankie, I'm interested in reading it!

Right Where We Left Us is a Fantastic story about friends, family, relationships, & passion. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book on #NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own, but hopefully, you'll put this on your TBR list.
Right Where We Left Us is a stand-alone by Jen Devon, but do yourself a favor & read Bend Towards the Sun first cause then you'll know a little more of the back story as well as a better introduction to the infamous Brady family.
Right Where We Left Us is an evolving storyline as you read it. Sorry to steal the ogres/onion analogy from Shrek, but this story is like peeling back the layers of an onion to learn more and more about the history of the two main characters that you follow through the book. Speaking of following, my biggest gripe about this book is the challenge of following the timeline throughout the story. The story goes from the present time to 15 years in the past, then back to the present time, and then it jumps to two weeks later, which then becomes the new present time. I personally think Jen Devon is a talented writer, but I'm hopeful her next book will flow better as a timeline cause her characters are hilarious & her ability to write romance is top-notch!

A beautiful novel in which I do not think the cover does it justice! Devon hits me in the heart with her beautiful prose and emphasis on emotional resonance. I couldn’t put this book down and think that it’s going to be a big hit if people can look beyond the cover. This book would also be good for book club discussions, with lots of deaths beyond what seems initially like a simple romance novel. Highly recommend it!

The pining on this one was reaaaaal. Second chance romance is the superior trope. The interconnected relationships and complex dynamics of the side characters in this story made this one so much more special. Once I got past the characters and all the names, I really loved Temperance and Duncan’s story. This made me feel all the feels and I’m excited to read more books by this author!

I loved Jen Devon’s debut and I’ve been waiting for Right Where We Left Us for almost 2 years and was not disappointed as it literally takes you right where she left us in Bend Toward the Sun.
Right Where We Left Us is a beautifully written second chance romance about Temperance and Duncan. We get to see how after 14 years they finally resolve their issues and finally get together after so much angst.
I loved that we get to see Harry, Rowan, and the Brady Bunch again.

This was second in series and if you didn't read first I think you would be lost. TJ and Duncan fell in love when they were 18. They split up and since then they have been hooking up but never really making a serious go of the relationship. They have been trying to keep the distance to avoid ending up but forced proximity brings these two together again.

This has a lot of innuendos which I thought were funny. This was a second chance romance with family drama tossed in. Spicy!

I read the first 25% of the novel and then skimmed the rest due to many reasons I will cover in my review.

My introduction into this story was a bit chaotic. This is mainly because we are bombarded with so many side characters in the first two chapters. It doesn’t help that they are all siblings and best friends, so it is hard to keep them straight. So this was a let down and made me hesitate to read the rest of the novel.

As I read on, the scenes were super boring and seemed to just happen rather than being strategically planned to progress the plot. And the conversations between the characters lacked any substance and were pretty tiring to read.

I was irritating that TJ and Duncan kept hinting about their bad relationship but took forever to reveal why they broke up but kept hooking up every once in a while. It just seemed weird. I think this novel should have been planned out where the first half was them in their younger years and then it flashed forward to where the novel starts.

Overall I was not pleased with this one. I wish I would have known own their was another book that tells about TJ’s best friend Rowan who is getting married in this book. Maybe this would have helped me keep characters straight and made the plot more interesting.

*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

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

Temperance and Duncan are two high school sweethearts who had a volatile breakup only to be forced back together for a summer when their best friend and brother get married.

This book had a lot of great romantic troops, but ultimately fell a little flat to me. Unfortunately, some of the writing had really beautifully created lines, but then others felt forced and a little too metaphoric, and I felt I often didn’t get lost in the pages as much as I normally would in other books.

I think the main characters were flawed, but genuinely compassionate and caring individuals. I just wish we saw more of their backstory and got a little more depth as to why they were unfit together as teenagers because I feel like the animosity they had towards each other later on wasn’t incredibly justified. The situation with her parents was a plot that really caught my interest and I think the family dynamic was really well done. I also love the Brady family I think their clan was so fun to read, especially the little outings that they had.

But I did get a little jumbled at points with characters and some descriptions dragged on a little bit for me personally but I think the romantic and steamy scenes are just the right amount of description. The second chance romance didn’t hit as hard as I’d hoped, and maybe I wished there were more flashbacks to their times together at 18 as well as the “bonus” hookups they had throughout the years. Not a bad read if you’re looking for second chance enemies to lovers found family tropes.

Tropes:
Found family
Second chance romance
Exes
Small town
Found family

I tried to read Jen Devon's first book, got a few pages into it, and was like "I guess the writing is polished enough, but I don't care about this character's angst or anything to do with this greenhouse or really anything else that's going on here", and noped out. The description of this one sounded much more interesting, though, so I figured I'd give the author a second chance and requested it. This time I got maybe 10% of the way in before I just couldn't, because my GOD did it drag, and also there was like a Bridgerton cast's worth of relatives and supporting characters to keep track of right off the bat, and again I didn't care about any of these people! The author needs to make me care about the main characters first, and unfortunately I just... didn't. (Also what is it with Taylor Swift lyrics in romcom titles now? That really didn't help with my disconnect either, because this book reads more like women's fiction rather than the vibe the title and cover seem like they're trying for.) Suffice it to say, I suspect this author just isn't for me, but thanks regardless to St. Martin's for the ARC in return for my even more honest than usual review!

I recall giving Devon's debut novel Bend Toward the Sun a generous review despite a number of reservations. While those reservations didn't sit well with me at the time, there were definitely aspects of the first novel I appreciated, and I wanted to see if a second book would change how I was feeling about this author's writing. Well, the problems I had with the first novel are unfortunately amplified tremendously in this follow-up book. The Brady family is the center focus once again with Duncan Brady as the tortured hero. Temperance, Rowan's best friend from the first book, is the tortured female main character and the love of Duncan's life, as well as perpetual thorn in his side.

This book attempts to review the long, painful history of Duncan and Temperance to explain why these long-lost lovers can never be together. The reasons are exhaustively long and illogical. They do further my deep-seated belief that second chance romances are not a trope I enjoy. Duncan is a tragic soul, misunderstood by his family, the rock in every relationship he has, but never truly appreciated. Not to be outdone, Temperance too is a tortured soul, misunderstood by her family, hardworking to a fault, and forced to hide secrets that she mysteriously feels she cannot share with anyone. Hidden secrets are in abundance, even when the reasons for bottling them makes no sense. From the first pages, the romance is overladen with years of deceit and misunderstanding. Aside from disliking this type of heavy handedness, I struggled to empathize with their failed relationship. I also greatly disliked the platitudes that are shared by all sorts of people throughout the book. At one point I started highlighting them but then stopped because there were so many. Taken out of context as I go back and look at my notes, the inspiration words of wisdom spewing out of so many characters' mouths seem even more absurd.

Angsty romances can be so wonderful, but I think they take a deft hand to pull off. Clearly this book rubbed me the wrong way, and I think given my hesitance about her first one, she's just not an author who works for me.

Temperance and Duncan have known each other most of their lives, but after a brief go at a relationship when they were young, things fell apart and they were left alternating between explosive chemistry and uncomfortable forced proximity. Now grown adults, Temperance & Duncan are pushed back together as her best friend marries his brother.

Initially this book hooked me. I love, love, love the title and the first scene was written with such fantastic description you feel like you're standing in the greenhouse with the characters. You immediately understand the tension as they're clearly estranged but also still attracted to each other. I love a second chance romance so I was 100% in at that point.

At some point about halfway through, though, the detailed descriptions when from the thing I liked best to the thing I liked least. There was way, way, way too much description across the board. In a story with so many characters and so much back story, that really slowed the book down. I also didn't really love the reason they were trying to stay apart; clearly they were both interested in and attracted to each other consistently and the reason given wasn't great. I would have preferred if explained it by saying they needed to do some growing up apart rather than the very, very archaic reason given.

That being said, it's a cute story about a cute family and it had the appropriate amount of spice. I would definitely read more from this author and see how it goes.

Returning to the Brady family felt like returning home. You get to see the whole family and big life moments for Rowan and Harry while still diving deep into Temperance and Duncan's love story. Similar to the first book, you're treated with Duncan's quick wit with lines like "you can't stick a flower in an a**hole and pretend it's a vase ma" and more. Loved getting glimpses of how life was for Maren and Temperance/TJ pre-Brady family and why their bond is as close as it is.

Bring on Frankie's story!

the story is very slow with a lot of world building that becomes confusing to the story line. the last two hours seemed to be the full story. also confused what was flashbacks and what was current time. the story itself was cute even if it was buried under MANY layers

If you like second-chance, meant-to-be, opposite sides of the tracks romance with incredibly detailed descriptions and a huge cast of characters, this book is for you.

Temperance Jean and Duncan have known each other all their lives and the connection between them is undeniable. Except they keep denying it and finding reasons why they can’t be together. When his brother and her friend get engaged and plan their wedding, the two of them try to put their past behind them and get along. The pull between them is too strong and, surrounded by his large family and even more townspeople, they find themselves back where they always do: fighting against their undeniable bond.

The dense description and attention to detail often got in the way of the core story, with so many characters to keep track of and irrelevant insights provided about other’s activities and motivations. The world-building could have been much simpler while just as enticing for the reader to continue the series. There were definitely times that it would have been nice to cut to the chase, the end is all that these two could have hoped for.

3.5 stars rounded down. I really, really wanted to like this one more than I did. When approved for this title, I went back and read Jen Devon's first in the series, BEND TOWARDS THE SUN to make sure I had all the character backgrounds (and I love small town romances). In the first book, I chalked up the "meh" feeling I had about the main characters in the first book as the reason I didn't quite enjoy it, and the I loved the tension between Temperance and Duncan and really looked forward to reading their second chance story. I also love the Brady family! Unfortunately, I think this is just a stylistic issue for me in that I felt the author's descriptive writing, while very beautiful, takes away from necessary plot development and advancement. RIGHT WHERE WE LEFT US felt slow, drawn out, and the miscommunication elements didn't seem severe enough to warrant the back and forth between the characters. I appreciate a slow build, but being 2/3 of the way through the book, I was still waiting for the pace to pick up. I think all the elements of a five star romance were there for me, but the execution fell short.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an advanced eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Temperance & Duncan
✨Second Chance Romance
✨Multiple POV
✨Found Family
✨Childhood friends to lovers
Temperance pretty much spent all her youth around Duncan and his family. His family has a gorgeous large house on a winery that is the family business, which Duncan is the most involved from all of the siblings. Temperance is a resident doctor and so her & Duncan are drowning in their workload.
T&D have always had this flow and spark between each other but aren’t “together” after years of stuff. Well one of the brothers propositions to Duncan that they should become “friends”.

💗Temperance, Frankie, & Rowan💗 Every girl needs a friend group like them. I love that fact that everyone is intertwined in this book. It adds to the intrigue of the book.

This book is very well written. I enjoyed that the author Jen Devon kept me engaged the entire time. The words she uses to convey her story and help you feel like you’re actually seeing it firsthand. It’s cute, sweet, and funny. A love story between friends that are like family, and childhood best buds.

Right Where We Left Us was a quick and enjoyable second chance romance. I absolutely loved the dual perspectives. It had a good blend of humor, romance, and also some steamy moments. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an enjoyable contemporary romance!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Temperance and Duncan are like two planetary objects, drawn to one another due to a consistent, intense magnetic pull. At times they come too close for comfort, temporarily colliding before drawing back into a safer, more comfortable orbit. <b><I>Right Where We Left Us</I></b> is a story of the reunion of childhood sweethearts at a family wedding and a chance at second-chance love.

Our FMC and MMC had a whirlwind childhood romance which they kept hidden from both of their families. When an accident leads to an ultimatum, Temperance and Duncan try to untangle their lives despite having seemingly interwoven destinies. Fourteen years later, when Duncan’s brother is set to marry Temperance’s best friend, the two childhood sweethearts are set back onto a path of an inevitable head-on collision, the final opportunity to see if they can mend what was broken all those years ago.

I was completely smitten with this book. The writing style of Jen Devon is one that I rarely find in romance books these days: a true mastery of scene and plot development, coupled with the ability to build staggering tension between our FMC and MMC which had me completely engrossed in their story. Her skill of establishing a scene based on all five senses was so intoxicating that I wish all books could be written in the same way, though I doubt my feeble heart could handle it! This book was incredible, and I highly recommend it to all who are looking for a romance with slow-burn tension, delicious spice and redemption.

Tropes in this story:
✨ Second-chance love
✨ Childhood sweethearts
✨ Tattooed, brawny MMC
✨ Intelligent, doctor FMC
✨ Chronic illness
✨ Misunderstanding and dishonesty in past

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book via NetGalley, but my review is all my own.

This book has a solid second chance romance plot line. But my favorite thing about it, by far, was the Brady family. Meddling siblings and a whole group of people who love the main characters endlessly is what truly makes this story. I was thrilled to see Temperance and Duncan get there happily ever after, turning found family into forever family.