Thank you to the Publisher and Net Galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not going to lie to you. What 100% caught my eye was the Taylor Swift reference. In addition the dual point of view and second chance romance was such a delight to read. I can't wait to go back and read the first book in the series so all the points connect but I did truy enjoy reading this book and cannot wait to read more :)

"Right Where We Left Us" started off with a big character dump and I never got away from the feeling that I was reading a book from the middle of a series. As far as I can tell, this isn't part of a series, but I never was able to keep the characters straight and felt like I was missing background information.

This is a cozy summer romance with lots of angst and family involvement. Duncan is all self-doubt and secrets, Temperance is afraid of failure and won't even attempt to commit. There are some nice scenes, but the failure to communicate and overall frustration just didn't win me over. This contemporary could have easily been written ten or twenty years ago, aside from the little pop-culture bits. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly isn't bringing anything new to the table and all of these ideas have been pretty played out.

The other thing I didn't connect with was all the little tacky one-liners from every friend and family member. So many random insertions of the power of love or being brave, etc, and they were completely unnatural as part of a conversation.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

These books are so deeply emotional. Full of mistakes made as youths and desperate pining. Temperance & Declan fell hard in their teens but tangled family knots put them in a solicitation they weren’t prepared for.
The knots have just become more tangled through the years and neither is sure how to u ravel their part. Lots of self esteem and money complications.
It took a bit to get through this book but it’s because there are so many lines that required me to take several moments to absorb and process.
Beautifully written and achingly difficult, in the way only young love can be.

Jen Devon's debut was one of my top reads that year, so I had really high expectations for Right Where We Left Us. I know sophomore novels are hard... but this one didn't measure up. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy Devon's writing (I did) or that I didn't like the main characters (I did). I just felt like she did such a great job with the Brady family in BTTS that RWWLU felt redundant. I didn't feel the need to know Temperance and Duncan's story; I was bored 90% of the time. I am looking forward to what else she writes outside of this world, but this book was not for me.

3.5⭐️

A bit late reviewing Right Where We Left Us, but definitely a cute second-chance read!

I wish Goodreads, or anywhere indicated that this is a second book in a series. It is marketed as a standalone, which I did read as one, but it would have benefited me to know this was already a work in progress. The reader is introduced to too many characters way too quickly, and this was more confusing than engaging. It took me a long time to feel connected to any of the characters for this reason!

Once I became more acquainted with the Brady family, it became more enjoyable to read. I like Temperance and Duncan together, and I did like the few flashbacks we got of them when they were younger. The characters had some depth to them!

Sweet and romantic summer read, with a definite slow burn. I would definitely recommend trying to read “Bend Toward the Sun” before starting this one though!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I might be in the minority on this one, but I don’t think this book was for me. I think one of the issues was that I didn’t realize that Right Where We Left Us was the second book of interconnected standalones and I didn’t read the first book. Personally, I don’t think Right Where We Left Us works as a standalone. Right off the bat in the story, you are thrown right into this extended family and family proposal without having much backstory, and it was very difficult to keep everyone straight. Even by the end of the book I’m like….who is this person again?

Specific to Right Where We Left Us, it’s a second chance romance story that follows a dual POV. It might be because I didn’t read the first book, but I just couldn’t connect to the main characters and outside of maybe a little angst, I didn’t feel a lot of emotional chemistry between the FMC and MMC. Usually I love the second chance romance trope but in this case, it just didn’t make a lot of sense to me why they couldn’t be together in the first place.

If you read and enjoyed the first book, this book might still work for you if you felt connected to the characters in the first book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up DNFing this book at 43%. This cannot be read as a standalone in my opionion, as I did not read the first book in the series and I didn't even know it was part of a series when I grabbed the galley. I felt like I was plopped in an already established storyline and it was hard for me to catch up. And because of that, I just didn't reach for it and felt an obligation to keep going as long as I did.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i really enjoyed this story that kept bringing tj and duncan back together and the forced proximity trope is working well here. sometimes the backstories confused me but the way devon winds it into one story was well done. i liked that the family gets involved trying to get them together but the family isn't the forefront and makes characters confusing.

Right Where We Left Us has great angst and I really liked Duncan and Temperance as a couple. Their chemistry was very present on the page and I always enjoy second chance romances because they guarantee some top shelf hurt/comfort. I think the author did a great job with the hurt aspect, but I missed the comfort and everything was just a giant miscommunication trope. The random two week time jumps after Temperance and Duncan had a highly emotional encounter without any sort of closure or discussion drove me nuts. The whole issue stems from Duncan literally not using his words or explaining anything. He is vocal about his love for Temperance, but he’s so close lipped and secretive I don’t understand how he could have any anger towards Temperance. The whole storyline was so frustrating - I wanted to bang my head against the wall. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!!!!!! Right Where We Left Us is just okay. I wanted so much more than just two adult children refusing to properly communicate and keeping things that aren’t even a big deal secret. There was so much potential between Duncan and Temperance, as I relatively liked their characters separately and loved them together. Unfortunately, this entire read was so infuriating I still want to pull my hair out just thinking about it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Griffin, and the author for providing me an early copy!

Jen Devon is the kind of author who will rip your heart out, crush it into a million pieces, and stitch it right back up again. Right where we left us is no different. Jen has been an auto-buy author since her debut. This is for fans of second-chance romances and stories filled with emotional depth, rooting for the characters to get it right finally, Jen Devon's writing is heartfelt and engaging, capturing the raw emotions and the sizzling tension between TJ and Duncan. It is such a passionate tale of two souls finding their way back to each other, proving that sometimes love deserves one more chance.

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

After reading and absolutely devouring Bend Toward the Sun, I was really excited to jump right into this one and continue my time with the Brady bunch- and the women who love them. Originally, I didn’t realize this was a 2nd book and tried to read it as a standalone, and was SO confused during the first chapter that I figured out I had missed an entire book that would explain this all. I jumped into this almost immediately after finishing Bend Toward the Sun, which was extremely helpful, but I still found myself slightly confused by all the characters- especially ones who were given nicknames that I had to learn all over again. These books would benefit from a little family tree at the beginning of the books, honestly, as there are just so many brothers and spouses they are really hard to keep track of.
Anyway.
I was really excited for this book after loving BTTS so much, but unfortunately it was really a struggle. Devon’s prose is quite poetic and beautiful and quiet, and this was something I loved about Rowan and Henry’s story, but unfortunately I had a lot of trouble connecting to Temperance OR Duncan this time around, which made the slower, descriptive writing a bit of a struggle. I struggled to understand why these two weren’t together, after it being so abundantly clear that they were both madly in love with each other. Other than Duncan’s unfortunate situation with Temperance’s dad, there didn’t seem any reason for these two to stay away from each other.
While Devon’s writing is absolutely beautiful, I had a harder time connecting with this story and unfortunately did not relate to it the way I did with her debut. I will absolutely continue picking up her books in the future, but I won’t be picking this one up again.

Included as a top pick in weekly June New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

3.5 stars rounded down. I was happy to be back in the world of Bend Toward The Sun, and back with all of the characters, including Rowan and Harry and the whole Brady family. And I knew this was going to be full of angst, but... wow. There was so much tension, but I wasn't really invested in why Temperance and Duncan had so much tension? Maybe we just didn't get enough flashbacks, but there was just too much tension and animosity for me. At the very least, there was no third act break-up (though they didn't get together until the last 5 or so chapters, so I would have been MAD).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with an eARC of Right Where We Left Us in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this author’s debut novel Bend Towards the Sun when I read it a year ago. This book picks up on the second chance love story of former high school sweethearts Temperance and Duncan, characters introduced in the first book, who are thrown together to help with their friends’/family member’s wedding.

I will say that I would have enjoyed this much more if I had read the first book more recently. The author beautifully fleshed out all of the main characters in the first book, but reading this as a standalone was confusing keeping the many characters straight. Perhaps because of this, the pacing seemed a bit uneven, especially at the beginning as I got my footing.

I liked that this author took some risks with her writing, using lush and evocative language to describe the gorgeous country setting. Her dual perspective style was effective in fleshing out the hidden emotions and thoughts of the two main characters. However, I had a hard time rooting for these characters to come together because I had no idea WHY they weren’t together already. That part of the plot seemed improbable and muddled to me. Unlike my experience reading the author’s first love story, I did not personally connect with these two characters. Sometimes that just happens when reading a romance story though. I’ll happily read Jen Devon’s next book for her quirky metaphors and the next chapter in the fun and loving Brady family.

Thank you to the publisher for letting me read this ARC.

This was cute and entertaining. It is a comfort read, and something I enjoy. I can’t say it was anything special or spectacular, but it was great for curling up in the couch and enjoying a restful
Reading experience.

I am a sucker for romance books, but when you add in tropes like forced proximity? I will stop whatever I'm doing to read those books!

The tension is just amazing! I swear you can feel so many emotions in a well written forced proximity book, and this was definitely a well written book.

This book reminded me exactly why romance is my favorite genre.

I felt like I was transported into the book, and I could see the scenes playing out beautifully.

Just look at all the good reviews available for this book.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this book!

This book was a little too front-loaded with stories tangential to the romance, which kept it from pulling me in. When the main couple was together, I really appreciated the angst! I had read this author's debut, which is why I was eager to read this one, but I feel like the world of it is a little over-peopled and unwieldy for how intimate and intense the romance itself is.

mmm mmm mmmm this book is SCRUM-DIDDLY-UMPTIOUS! YUM.

In all seriousness, I loooooved this delicious second (third/fourth/fifth) chance slow burn; it was an absolutely captivating, atmospheric page-turner written by a highly talented and capable writer.

Set in the intimate universe built in her debut, BEND TOWARD THE SUN, this book tells the story of Duncan Brady and Temperance Madigan, and in a dual POV tight-tension journey, we experience the roadblocks keeping these fated mates apart, and how they ultimately choose long-awaited love amidst setback.

Not only is this book extremely hot, like HOT hot, it is also just so beautifully written. I got emotional throughout this book, and it wasn't just from the utter Feels™ I got from TJ and Duncan's story. The writing was so lush while still clearly crafted with care and intention. It's a higher-plane reading experience that I didn't want to end. And the tension, the pining, the heat: WOW. Excruciatingly next-level good.

I desperately hope we get more stories in the Brady-verse, especially ESPECIALLY Mal's story. I need *that* book immediately.

I can't wait to scream about RIGHT WHERE WE LEFT US -- it really deserves all the hype and I can't wait for more readers to fall in love with Brady and Temperance -- and with Jen's singularly special brand of storytelling.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. RIGHT WHERE WE LEFT US is out now!

Duncan runs his family’s business. He is always busy. While he is great at his job he wants more. One of the things he wants is a chance at a relationship with Temperance. Temperance is a doctor who works too hard. Her parents are a constant thorn in her side but she feels she needs them to accomplish her goals. She has always wanted to be with Duncan but she doesn’t know how to make that happen. They spend a lot of time together because Temperance is part of Duncan’s family through marriage so they can’t escape each other. And now Temperance’s best friend is marrying into the family so they are thrown together to work on the wedding. Will they finally figure out how to make a relationship work?
I’m not going to get all detailed and crazy. This is a good solid love story between two adults who have always wanted to be together but they never felt like they could make it work. The author does a good job creating a world around them and showing how they fit into it. Duncan has an amazing and supportive family but there is also some tension because of expectations. At the end of the day they all love each other and want to support each other. I thought the confrontation between Duncan and his parents was good without going over the top. Duncan is working hard to make the changes he wants in his life. The author does a good job showing Duncan’s determination. Temperance is straddling between two families. Her parents use her to their advantage while Duncan’s family treats her as one of their own. Seeing the juxtaposition was really good. I could understand why Temperance was having trouble getting out from under her parents’ demands. I thought her desire to be with Duncan made sense and it made me sad for her. There is a big reveal moment near the end of the story that made me laugh. Given how the author developed Duncan, I can believe that he could accomplish what was revealed.
This book takes place in Pennsylvania in a small town. It is a second chance love story. It is also a family drama. There is no bad guy. If you are looking for a story that will make you believe in love, give this a chance. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

Synopsis:

Temperance ("TJ") Madigan and Duncan Brady have never gotten it right. After one radiant, secret summer together when they were 18, they’ve been on-again off-again ever since. When a wedding at the Brady’s vineyard lands TJ there for the summer, their mutual avoidance strategies prove impossible. When forced proximity begins to chip away at their armor, buried tensions resurface, old wounds urge confrontation, and once-in-a-lifetime love demands one last chance to finally get it right.

Review:

This was an aaaaaaaangsty second chance romance between two people who don't have a choice but to be around each other because of their friends and family ties. It's a small town setting (which I love for romance) and I loved getting to know the warm and welcoming Brady family - but also appreciated that, as most family dynamics go, they weren't perfect. TJ was an ambitious and fiery FMC and Duncan is a hot, reliable and handy MMC. This is the first book I've read by Jen Devon, but it won't be my last!