This book, like it's predecessor, tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you turning page after page to read more. It was happy return to this cozy town and finally learn the story of Josie and Clay. The build up of positive emotions and Josie past trauma had me dying to see what happened next and rooting for them. It's a complex path to follow that had me laughing and crying.

Can two people who love each other manage to stay apart or will the universe force them together? Clay is a good guy. He loves his town and he loves Josie even if she does keep him at arm’s length. He doesn’t know why she pushed him away years ago but he’s a patient man. Josie loves Clay but she has so much self-inflicted pressure on herself that she can’t forgive herself. (I am being circumspect so that I don’t reveal why Josie is so hard on herself. It’s a good reveal and very emotional.) Josie and Clay have a lot of history between them and some of it makes up the wall between them.
Clay starts and ends the story as a solid presence I Josie’s world. He is a nice guy that everyone loves. I like his positive attitude even when he’s frustrated with Josie. Josie has a big growth curve in this story. She carries so much pain that she has to work through in order to find her way back to true happiness. I like that in the town Clay and Josie have no choice but to see each other. Josie has to actively avoid him while he tries to be where she will be. I almost cried when Josie told Clay everything and he had to process it. By the end I believed that they would be a good couple and I was rooting for them. The story has a lot of side characters that are all necessary to get Clay and Josie back together.
This is a small town, second chance romance. This story is about healing and finding happiness. I recommend reading What I Should’ve Said because the stories actually overlap. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

This book was SO emotional. I really enjoyed reading more of the story for each of the characters without the main characters being pulled away from the focus of the story. The side characters again, were so loveable and enjoyable, they just enhanced the core story itself. Clay and Josie's story was one of straight up devastation, raw emotion, love and tragedy. Their sort of whirlwind romance rolling straight into the loss of her Grandmother, and worse, was absolutely heartbreaking.
I found myself gasping out loud as I read and we learned what things happened in the past, and as we again were put through the turmoil of Summer and the impact she had on the group.
Max Monroe seriously knows how to hit every single emotion through their writing.

I absolutely love Max Monroe! When I received this book I was so excited! This book is so emotional. It’s emotional and heartbreakingly beautiful—the kind of story that stays with you and you can't stop thinking about, long after you close the last page. Josie and Clay’s story aches in the best possible way. Every regret, every longing glance, every “what if” feels so real, and the full-circle moment at the end had me in tears. Make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this one. It covers some pretty heavy topics. If you love second-chance romance, emotional journeys, and characters willing to fight with everything they have for love—put this on your TBR list ASAP! Consider yourself warned, do not read this book out in public because you will be ugly crying. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this one.

I’ve been invested in Josie and Clay’s relationship since meeting them in the first book of the Red Bridge series. With so much unresolved tension I just knew there was a story there.

While I didn’t feel the same gut punch as WHAT I SHOULD’VE SAID, I was fully emotionally invested. I found myself frustrated at times with Josie and fell fully in love with Clay. He is the most golden of golden retrievers.

I enjoyed my return trip to Red Bridge and seeing so many familiar faces.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such a great story. I love the two timelines and how you get to see the before and after. The relationship between Josie and Clay is so good. I loved seeing how much they love each other even with all the different things that happened between them. I loved the twist at the fake wedding I had to go back and make sure I read it correctly.

The synopsis intrigued me, but I was soon disappointed when I felt disconnected from the characters and had to force myself to read despite being only 14% in. There was nothing wrong with the characters, the plot, or the writing, somehow, this was just not for me.

~
Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was an emotional rollercoaster. I thoroughly enjoyed that it was part of a duology; it truly immersed me in Josie and Clay's world. From beginning to end, I found myself completely invested in their relationship, which felt incredibly special. The intense emotions ran deep, and I'll admit, it will take me some time to fully recover from this read.

Whew. This one hurt, in the best way. I’ve been waiting for Josie and Clay’s story since book one, and let me just say: it delivered. I cried in the first book and then cried again here, because apparently Max Monroe has zero chill when it comes to emotional destruction.

Told in a dual timeline (which was a little tricky to follow in audio, just give me “then” and “now” pls!), we finally get the full picture of their past, the fallout, and everything in between. Their chemistry? Still 🔥. Their love? So real. Their communication skills? Um. Not great lol. Josie, girl, I love you but you really did waste years pushing away sweet baby Clay, the greenest of green flags. He’s loyal, quiet, and so clearly obsessed with her in the best way.

Their story is messy, raw, and full of second-chance angst. But underneath all that pain is growth, healing, and a truly beautiful love story. Even when I wanted to shake Josie, I was still rooting for them every step of the way.

Definitely recommend reading this after book one to really feel the emotional gut punch (in a good way, promise). Heartbreaking, healing, and totally worth the tears.

Thank you Hambright PR and Entangled Publishing for the eARC.

This book was an emotional ride. I loved that this book was part of a duology because it really allowed you to live in Josie and Clay's world. While reading you can't help but root for these two. Their relationship was something extremely special. I felt so many emotions while reading and it is going to take me awhile to recover.

Thank you to Entangled for the ARC.

This is a tough one for me because I did like the writing and the characters. The story made me feel a lot of different things, (I cried several times), but the way it was written with the “before the moment,” “after the moment,” sections also made me anxious as hell. I was stressed the whole time wondering what the moment was, and as it went along it felt like something that would hurt like hell. And it did. The reader is constantly being tugged between a time of new love and pure joy, and then a time of deep pain and longing. The thing that really got me was all that needed to happen was one conversation and the conflict would’ve been resolved. I don’t mind the miscommunication trope, but it was heartbreaking watching these characters go through it for so long unnecessarily. And when the conflict was resolved it wrapped up so quickly. I enjoyed so much about this book though that I’m excited to jump into some other books from this author.

3.5/5⭐️ 2/5🌶️

If you’ve read What I Should’ve Said, get ready to for When I Should’ve Stayed! Much of the story occurs on the same timeline of WISS but told from Clay and Josie’s perspective. There are also flashbacks from 5 years ago which helped us understand their sad backstory. And all of it gives us the wonderful opportunity to spend time with Summer and Grandma Rose! I loved this story as these two characters were so complex! Clay is the ultimate golden retriever, eager and all-in but not the most patient of guys. His best quality? He loves Josie with everything he has. Josie was tough FMC for most of the book. She has a tender heart, but she doesn’t let many see it. Her misplaced guilt from her past as well as her grief have quite a hold on her. Like the first book in the series, this was an emotional read. Get your tissues ready! I loved the continued found-family bond the characters all have with each other. I also really enjoyed the equal time in the present and past. Another win for Max Monroe!!

**A Beautiful Conclusion to an Emotional Duology**

This book truly pulls at the heartstrings. As the second in a duology, it’s essential to read the first book to fully appreciate the emotional depth and character growth. It's a beautiful story about love, forgiveness, learning to trust, and discovering self-worth.

I loved seeing familiar faces from the first book—it felt like revisiting old friends. While this one didn’t touch me quite as deeply as the first, the two together form an unforgettable journey.

The authors invite you into this small town and make you feel like a part of it. You root for the characters, laugh with them, and cry alongside them. Don’t miss out on this heartfelt duo.

This book 3.75
Series 4.50 stars 🌟

✅ Josie Ellis & Clay Harris
✅ small town in Vermont
✅ Angsty second chance romance, he never signed the divorce papers
✅ multiple timelines
🌶️: a little

A long list of content warnings, and some are major portions of the plot so please check them. This is book 2 in a series and one of the timelines is parallel to Book 1. I didn’t read book 1 and I don’t think you need to read them in order.

4.25/5 Stars

“Some love stories burn bright for a moment. Others? Never stop burning.” This emotional journey of love, heartbreak, and healing had me hooked from the first page.

When I Should’ve Stayed dives deep into Clay and Josie’s past and present, unraveling what tore them apart and whether love is enough to bring them back together. The dual timeline can be a bit disorienting at first, but ultimately adds rich layers to their story. Josie’s decisions frustrated me at times, but Clay—pure golden retriever energy—was her steady, loyal counterpart and the absolute heart of this book.

With overlapping timelines from What I Should’ve Said, it’s best read after book one to fully appreciate the emotional weight. Still, Max Monroe’s writing shines with depth, heartache, and hope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First & foremost…peep those trigger warnings before reading.

Finally I got to find out what happened that “destroyed” the relationship between Josie & Clay, miscommunication to the max.

While their story is a little tragic, you can’t get much more devoted or romantic than Clay.

Josie however, she frustrated me so bad this book. She’s very relatable but I felt myself getting so annoyed because she had a great man ready to be her rock and she just didn’t go for it (except when she did IYKYK lol).

I def could’ve done with less of Summer’s story on this one. I mean, MM already broke my heart once with that one….how you gonna do us like that!?!

Overall, a great story set in a town that had a lot of love for their people. You absolutely have to read the 1st book 1st for this duology/series and you definitely wouldn’t want to miss it. That was my fav of the 2.

this book was terrible and all because of the heroine. She was portrayed as a person suffering alone, but she was just fucking stupid. I hated her!!!!

Clay really needs to move on to someone who deserves him.

#netgalley #WhenIShouldveStayed

When I Should've Stayed was a different kind of emotional ride, following the first book, What I Should've Said. We got Josie's story with Clay, which was only hinted at in the first book. The story is written with time jumps between past and present to slowly reveal why and what ultimately tore them apart in the past. I would recommend reading this shortly after What I Should've Said as there is a lot of crossover in the details. Overall, I enjoyed seeing Josie & Clay's stories fill out the full picture of Red Bridge. There were sweet and heartbreaking moments throughout.

This series by Max Monroe is the first books I have read by them. I've been told this is different from what they usually write, as this was a little heavier and sad. With that being said, I really enjoyed this second book. I do believe it is best to read the first book before going on to this one. I found reading them back to back helped them not be as sad. I suggest looking at any trigger warnings, as some topics that the book covers can be hard for some.

Overall I really loved Josie's story and find out her back story as well as her perspective of what was happening that we had experienced with Norah in the first book. Highly suggest checking out this book!

Love this writing duo, and I love a second chance!! This one hit the spot and the cover is a beaut. Dragged a bit, but ate it up regardless! I just can't get enough of their writing!!