Right Where We Left us by Jen Devon follows Temperance (T.J.) and Duncan on their journey to a second chance romance. I gave this book 3.5 stars because I felt like I was missing the character development and felt like I was dropped into a novel where I was supposed to already know the characters. I didn't know this was a second book in a series. I think it is an interconnected stand alone but I felt like I was missing something as I read it so a better reading experience might have been to have read the first book in the series prior to this one.

What I did enjoy about the book was the connections between the Brady family. I also like that it was told in dual POV because I really enjoy reading the inner thoughts and feelings and getting the perspective of both main characters.

While I did feel the connection between the main characters, I had a hard time getting invested in their relationship and had to power through to finish the book.

I enjoyed the troupes in this book and if second chance romance and forced proximity are high on your list of troupes, then this book may be for you! If you enjoyed her first book and enjoy an angsty romance full of pinning for one another, then I would give this book a try when it releases on June 18, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to voluntarily read this book and give an honest review.

Synopsis: Temperance and Duncan had a brief summer together, but after an unforeseen event, they are now only on again/off again lovers and can barely stand to be in the same room. They are forced to spend the summer together as Temperance’s best friend is marrying Duncan’s brother...and Temperance’s sister is also married to another one of Duncan’s brothers. Now having to spend all this time around each other may allow them to heal old wounds and rekindle their flame, but they have to let each other in to finally get it right.

Review: I genuinely feel like second chance romances are hard to pull off. In this case, it felt like this was the 100th chance to figure it out, and they still haven't. The entire book was encapsulating the self sabotage that they both had done to the relationship. At some point, they really should've just called it off and been friends. YES, I understand that it is a romance book and they will get their HEA, but I genuinely did not feel like it was worth the strife and the problems they created all on their own.

I think that if this story had been written a little bit differently, it would've resonated more with me. There were multiple times where I literally thought "Temperance, you are a doctor of medicine, you should act a little bit more mature and hear him out." Like I wanted them to act their age and attempt to fix it or just call it quits instead of being in limbo for most of the book. I didn't need them to get together in the first chapter, but at least have progress or a direction for the characters.

I think that this is an overall enjoyable book though. The small town vibes and found family aspect for Temperance are endearing and of course, Duncan is a tatted, muscular farm boy who adores her. If you want a quick read, this would be good!

**Also, this is actually the second book, but was not labeled. I was super confused with all the characters that were at the beginning that seemed to have short intros. I ended up searching up her other books and noticed that there was the connected book.**

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Full disclosure: I already think this writer can do no wrong, so am I truly an impartial judge? Only one way to find out. Pick up Bend and fall in love. You’ll have no choice but to then pre-order Duncan’s story, which releases on June 18, 2024.

Partial Disclosure: I’m not even finished with the ARC yet, but I’m reviewing it anyway, because nothing short of a meteor crashing into the planet could cause this to end badly.

Duncan Brady sees himself as the ugly duckling of his family, but not like that. He knows he’s gorgeous, and he knows he’s funny, but he feels unaccomplished compared to his siblings who are out there rocking advanced degrees and best-seller lists. He was on his way to potentially great things, until a piss-poor decision shattered his heart and that of the woman he just can’t get out from under his skin.

The tattoos and the beard may have modified his exterior, but inside he’s mad at himself and the world for the situation he’s in, and the love he wants to get back, but doesn’t feel he deserves.

Dr. Temperance Madigan shaped herself into the form most pleasing for her emotionally absent parents, but her calling isn’t to sit in a boardroom and dictate the direction of her family legacy. She wants to be on the ground, in her clinic, helping parents and children be healthy and thrive. There’s just the problem of funding, and her parents are holding all the financial cards.

There’s also the problem of Duncan. Thanks to the marriages of her sister, and now her good friend, to Brady men, she can’t get away from him, and she can’t decide if she even wants to. He does things to her insides that she loves and hates simultaneously, because he also broke her way back when they were teenagers, and the heart doesn’t forget.

The push and pull between these two is beautifully frustrating. I’ve never met two people more determined to ignore their own wants and needs. I want to slap them silly and lock them in a room together until they figure it out. Or something else that begins with F.

I love seeing glimpses of Rowan and Harry from Bend. Their story was agony, and their HEA is lovely to witness. There’s also the tension between friend Frankie and Brady brother, Mal.

Jen, if you’re reading this, they better be book three or I will throw things. The only thing I love more than a broken man is a broken man who’s broody.

Right Where We Left Us by Jen Devon was such a fantastically emotionally romantic book. I love how quiet Jen Devon's writing is in the best way possible. It's not overly complicated, it's straightforward but filled with such emotion. This book was no different than her debut novel, in fact, I would say it was even better. There is great character development and you definitely feel everything that the characters feel. The pining, oh my goodness, the pining. I really enjoyed reading this book.

I would like to thank St. Martins press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

so this book was extremely hard to read with all the characters and their back stories that I did not really follow at all.. it’s definitely a very slow burn book and for sure does not work as a standalone novel.. you’ll get way to confused if you don’t read whatever novel comes first.. it was boring.. but I would definitely need to read the first book to understand anything.. and Duncan and Temperance were extremely immature in my opinion.. they’re both characters that did not heal in ANY WAY..

Right Where We Left Us by Jen Devon
I want to say right away that the description should have said this was a sequel. This book was very hard to read because there were a million characters whose backstories must have been established in the earlier novel, it does not work as a stand-alone. The novel is a slooooow burn second chance romance between Duncan and Temperance. They are both unhealed characters who, even in their thirties, contestants say what they actually mean and want. This was tough for me. Because they aren't acting like adults. If they were in their 20s the angst would make more sense. Maybe I'm not the right audience. Definitely needed to have read the first book. Great for lovers of Hallmark and Lifetime movies.

This is the second book In her series about the Brady family and I was delighted to be back at Cloud Tide! I loved spending more time with this family and getting to see the continuation of the relationships from “Bend Towards the Sun”. However, this book was a really slow go for me to get into the relationship between the 2 main characters. I wanted more of them together! By the last section of the book I felt like they finally got momentum and we finally got some time with them to be invested in their relationship. This book was just ok for me as I wanted all the feels I felt in book one, however by the end it left me looking forward to the 3rd in the series.


Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

On-again, off-again. Hot and cold. Push and pull. Just a few ways to describe the relationship between Temperance Madigan and Duncan Brady, which began way back when they were eighteen. And now, after not seeing each other for more than a year, they’re brought together again for the wedding of Duncan’s brother and Temperance’s best friend. With this second chance presenting itself, will they finally get it right?

I stayed up reading this until 2 a.m., which was when I had to finally force myself to go to bed (but I finished it as soon as I woke up in the morning), so I think that should be an indication of how much I enjoyed it. Enemies to lovers, second chance romance, a large group of close-knit friends—all of my favorite components of a romance book are present. Unfortunately, there’s some miscommunication that is dragged out for too long, but I know sometimes that’s just a part of the genre. Looking forward to reading more of Jen Devon’s works!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for the gifted eARC!

Wow I did not enjoy this one. Overwrought, way too many characters, repetitive, and unlikeable (in a boring way) main characters. Temperance may be the worst FMC I’ve ever read in a romance; being sleep deprived and liking high end underwear aren’t personality traits.

Honestly this reads like if Happy Place had a baby with Yours Truly but that baby had really bad colic and wasn’t cute enough to make up for the constant crying.

Right Where We Left Us

"Real love can be messy, T.J. Anyone who says otherwise is either doing it wrong, or they just haven't gotten down to the bones of it yet."

Oh my stars, the PINING! The second chance romance worked SO WELL for me! I do NOT often say that, but I adored the pining, the backstory, the chemistry, the BANTER and the delight that Jen Devon wove into Duncan and Temperance's love story.

Set back at Cloud Tide winery, Temperance and Duncan are continually thrown together for wedding related activities to celebrate Rowan and Harry. The meddling friends work, and eventually Temperance and Duncan call a truce because they'd rather not waste another second not being together.

SO DELIGHTFUL. Devon has a beautiful way with words. Her imagery and love declarations - my heart.

Y'all don't sleep on this one! Much like Duncan, this one is "the embodiment of full-throttle joy".
Check this one out for:
Second chance romance
Forced proximity
Best friend's brother
Small town setting

Right Where We Left Us is on shelves June 18, 2024! Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

This was a cute read. I read it quickly while I was on vacation. I didn’t like being introduced to so many people so fast with the beginning of the book but since it was a large family, maybe that’s how it had to be done. I wanted the main characters to be more developed Because I was really starting to like them

Right Where We Left Us is a contemporary, slow-burn, second-chance romance that has the reader drawn to Temprance and Duncan as the protagonists as the story progresses. There is so much angst and tension, but there are also very sweet moments throughout that tug on the heart strings.

Although this book moved at a slower pace, in my opinion, and seemed to drag on at times, Jen Devon has done a fantastic job at painting vivid pictures of settings and characters alike. It felt like I was in attendance at Brady family events and various moments throughout the novel.

Overall I enjoyed this read, it is a book I would recommend.

I'm thinking this was a case of the book not being for me. I usually love an angsty romance but this was too much for me. I was angry at the characters the entire time and that lead me to not really care about them. Plus I felt zero chemistry between Duncan and Temperance.

Bend Toward The Sun is one of my all-time favorite romance books and I eagerly anticipated the return to the Brady vineyard and all of the family’s shenanigans.

TJ and Duncan’s story is a slow burn, second chance romance. If these tropes are your jam then I think you’ll like this book! Personally, they are not for me and so I struggled to be invested in this story. It took me a very long time to read it. It’s a lot of angst and the couple spends a lot of time apart, but I just wanted to see them together.

Right Where We Left Us, written by Jen Devon, is a captivating homage to the concept of forced proximity and second chances. The narrative revolves around Temperance Madigan and Duncan Brady, who believed they had everything figured out in their youthful, idealistic love years ago. However, fate had different plans for them. Years later, they find themselves circling each other in their close-knit community, using sarcasm and dark humor to maintain a distance when circumstances bring them together. A family event involving the Bradys will test the boundaries of their unspoken agreement, forcing them to either come to terms with their differences or form a pact to navigate through the situation. The novel delves into themes of family dynamics, personal authenticity, and the struggle to stay true to oneself amidst external pressures. It seamlessly blends deep, thoughtful moments with steamy, romantic encounters. The characters, representing both traditional and chosen families, are skillfully developed, with Temperance embodying resilience, adventure, and optimism, while Duncan exudes hidden selflessness, mischief, and determination. Despite its strengths, I found it challenging to connect with the failed relationship between the protagonists and was put off by the clichéd phrases scattered throughout the book. While angsty romances can be compelling, this particular execution fell short for me, leading me to question whether this author's style aligns with my preferences.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Right Where We Left Us is a captivating story of love between two individuals who are perfect for each other but find themselves at the wrong time. The story is beautifully narrated in immersive and heart-achingly gorgeous prose, making it an unforgettable read. This second-chance romance unfolds slowly, building tension until it ignites into a passionate and fiery love story.

I normally love a second chance romance but this just didn’t do it for me. The female main character annoyed me a bit. And there were SO many side characters it was hard to keep track. I kept feeling like I was missing something.

Temperance Jean Madigan and Duncan Brady have a history. Their whirlwind secret romance years ago has culminated in occasional fast and furious hook-ups and sporadic run-ins. These two have a pull to each other that they can’t escape and at times is frustrating to witness. Temperance is dear friends with the Brady family. She and Duncan are bound to cross paths often, which they do- at Duncan’s brother’s summer wedding.

The wedding changes the course of their relationship trajectory. It sets in motion events which lead to a beautifully complicated, complex, and chaotic second chance romance. I almost had too much of the back and forth in this one. I kept reading and by the end of the book the totality of the relationship makes sense and is understandable. Extremely slow burn and angsty, but the conclusion is worth it! Stick with it to get the complete picture of what makes these two such a couple to root for. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

There were things I loved about this book and things that made me want to put it down and move on. I thought the character development was really good! The place where it just was like, alright already was with Temperance. The author didn’t do her justice in the first 3/4 of the book, so when the last couple of chapters came, I didn’t buy it….she showed zero of the emotions in the begnning. I know romances are the push pull thing, but there wasn’t enough of Temperance to hold on to.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I was excited for this ARC copy after seeing all the positive reviews on Goodreads. I never say no to a romance especially a second chance one. The plot felt a bit drawn out but there was plenty of spice to keep you engaged. If you like a spicy slow burn and a fan of the Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, Carly Fortune style and detail of writing then this would be for you.