Oh how my heart broke over and over in this one. There was plenty of suspense throughout the time jumps to keep me reading to find out what happened. Clay was so determined and really loved Josie, it definitely showed. Josie was going through so much pain, but I loved how their ending came together.

B O O K ❤️ R E V I E W
TITLE: When I Should’ve Stayed
AUTHOR: Max Monroe
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️
KU: ✅
NARRATOR: Mindy Kennedy & Ryan West

Imagine you marry your high school love & it’s perfect - the perfect relationship - but over years due to loss and life, you grow apart & divorce… but he’s still madly in love with you and well, you’re not divorced…

I enjoyed this book, it was definitely emotional. The first book was a 5 star reading, but the secrets and miscommunication in this one frustrated me where I couldn’t give this one 5 stars but it’s still a great story.

Tropes:
❤️ second chance
❤️ high school sweethearts
❤️ it was ALWAYS her
❤️ healing with grief/loss

When I Should’ve Stayed

By @authormaxmonroe

5 stars

She thought they were divorced. He never filed the papers. Now he’s determined to prove their love story isn’t over.

Let’s start with this beautifully written dedication: “To the power of love. To the dichotomy of beauty and pain. To the hope that resides in new beginnings, and to finding the one person who puts your fears at ease.
And to the love story that sits between these pages. You’ll stay in our hearts forever.”

Tropes:
🩷Second chance
💜Still married(whoops!)
🩷Grumpy(her)/Sunshine(him)
💜Small town
🩷Found family

When I finished the first book in the Red Bridge series, What I Should’ve Said, I was itching to get back to get Josie and Clay’s story. When I Should’ve Stayed not only scratched that itch, but it made me swoon, giggle, sob and heal. I loved the dual POV and dual timelines that crashed into the now. I loved how much Summer was such a big piece of both of these books and of everyone’s lives.

The way Clay proposed a first date to Josie was the cutest and most memorable way ever!! I was cheesing ear to ear!
The 4th of July scenes… truly fireworks!! *Swooooon!*
The water tower at the end. Perfect hilarious icing on the whole damn cake.

This story was beautiful, masterful and made me feel all the feels. This is truly a story of how love can heal you.
I highly recommend putting this series on your summer TBR.
Oh gawwwd, that reminds me, Summmmer!! IYKYK. 🩷

The only question I have….Will Tad, the hot sheep farmer who is awful at his profession, get his own story?! 👀

Thank you Max Monroe + Entangled Publishing for my copy of When I Should’ve Stayed. 🤍 I received this book for review, all opinions are my own and given freely.

What I Should’ve Said absolutely wrecked me so when I saw the opportunity to read an arc of When I Should’ve Stayed, I’ve never ran so fast. I was so delighted to receive this arc and jump back into this world w these characters. I had so many questions surrounding Clay + Josie’s relationship from What I Should’ve Said so I was all too eager to get those answers. I absolutely do feel like you should read What I Should’ve Said before reading When I Should’ve Stayed.

I’m not sure anything could have compared to What I Should’ve Said. I did enjoy When I Should’ve Stayed. I didn’t love it as much as What I Should’ve Said though. I did love getting more Grandma Rose, Bennett, Norah and Summer. I did feel like there was a lot of repetition w this book and book 1 and even though it was different POVs, I didn’t think it was really necessary. I would have preferred if it had picked up from where book 1 ended instead of feeling like mostly a recap of book 1 for the majority of book 2. I did enjoy it though and will continue to recommend it! I’m absolutely looking forward to book 3 as well.

When I Should’ve Stayed releases July 1.

This book is absolutely one of the BEST books! My emotions were all over the place - reading this book is like riding a very intense emotional roller coaster. The book is pure delight, heartbreak and magic - it is everything that makes a reader fall in love with a story. When I Should’ve Stayed not only touches on emotions of happiness & sadness but it also deals with loss, starting over & learning how to rebuild and never walk away from true love. The story of Josie & Clay is so overwhelming intense & easy to fall into.

There are plenty of laugh out loud moments & banter between Josie & Clay. And there is just as much angst and emotion between them. Emotions run deep in this book especially with all that Josie goes through. My heart kept going out to Clay as he held on to Josie & refused to never give up & let go.

It was wonderful to see characters from Book 1 of this series make their way into this story. I did not think Summer could get any cuter or sweeter but she absolutely pulled at the heart strings!

With is a book that needs to be read! There is even an option to listen to the audiobook. Whatever fits you best just make sure to get your hands on this book as soon as possible!

So I absolutely loved the first book in the Red Bridge series, "What I Should've Said." I thought it was heartbreaking and romantic and gave me all the feels. I gave it 5 stars. But I'm really disappointed by this 2nd in the series, "When I Should've Stayed". The only thing I really liked about the book is that the characters were an overlap with the first book - making me feel like I knew them already which was nice. What wasn't great is that 75% of this book is just a rehash of the first book told from a different viewpoint. There was, at most, 25% of new content in the book. That was completely disappointing and unoriginal. I almost DNF'ed several times throughout the book. I wish there was more original content in this instead of just a copy of the last book.

First, if you haven't already read "What I Should've Said" (published in 2024) I suggest that you read it before this one because this book has a lot of spoilers in it if you don't know the story and the characters.

The story is told from two points of view and although each chapter identifies a character and a date for the narrative, the dates have no years and the the years are important to figure out what is happening and why. The years bounce around.

This book is chock full of emotions. Love, anger, grief. I also laughed quite a few times. The authors sure know how to write a story. Love most of the characters. But I had to take a point off my rating because I'm very annoyed with Josie. She makes some really stupid decisions that drove me nuts.

If you're looking for an emotional read, this is certainly the book to provide you with lots of tears and other feelings.

When I Should’ve Stayed absolutely lived up to its anticipation. Clay and Josie are something special and I don’t think I’ll ever get over them. Clay loves Josie so loud and proud that you can’t help but smile and giggle over all his antics to keep her attention.
Josie feels like her decision to divorce was inevitable; She was left without a choice and had to walk away. Red Bridge is her favorite place and can’t imagine leaving, but she also feels like she’s drowning. Clay will stop at nothing to show Josie they still belong together- even if that something is finally confessing they’re actually not divorced🙃
The dual timeline for their story kept me so invested in this story; Before The Moment and After The Moment.
Even though it’s told in that back and forth manner, I felt like their story flowed effortlessly. It kept me on the edge of seat and wanting all the answers.

I absolutely recommend this series if you haven’t started yet. Get your pink heart shaped sunglasses on and tissues at the ready!

Let me first start out by saying I adore Max Monroe. What I should've said was one of the most beautiful books I have ever read .I have been highly anticipating this read for so long and was so excited for an early copy. Unfortunately this book was a total miss for me. Even with such a break between reading both books, I felt like I was reading the same book twice, but with les emotion and investment. The jumping timelines gave us no time to truly invest in what was happening with each character at any point, and when there was any glimpse of a connection forming to the story or the character, the POV AND timeline jumped. I am typically an audio girl, so I waited for the audio release and I am not sure if that did me a disservice, but either the writing itself or the narrators lack of connection made me completely detached from this book. I know this book is already well loved so this could definitely just be a "me thing", but it was definitely a let down for my expectations.

3.75⭐️

I loved What I Should’ve Said. We got a glimpse of Josie and Clay from book one.
I thought I was prepared for the emotional damage, but I was NOT 😭
Reliving Summer’s story then Josie’s sad story really pulled on my heart strings 🥺

I had a little trouble connecting with this story at first. The time jumps were a little confusing.
Also, I felt Josie did not need to wait 5 years to communicate her feelings.
I understand it was her trauma response, but Clay had some patience.

I’m so happy Josie and Clay were finally able to reconnect.
They deserved to find their happiness after all the heartbreaks they’ve dealt with.

🩷Second Chance Romance
💜Small Town
🩷HEA
💜Emotional

4.5⭐
1.5🌶️

Although this is the second book in series, you don't necessarily have to read book one to enjoy this one. My gosh... Max & Monroe seriously did the dirty in this one. I was seriously expecting for my heart to break reading Clay and Josie's story. How they seemingly had everything and then when life dealt them consecutive bad hands, it seems even the strongest love couldn't withstand the heartbreak involved.

I really did feel for Josie, who repeatedly loses those closest to her. If that wasn't enough, she has a manipulative and malicious mother who tries to make her life a living hell. The only really family she has left is Grandma Rose and her younger sister, Norah... And eventually, Clay.

I loved Clay, who since the moment got down on one knee (pretty much in front of all the residents of Red Bridge) to ask Josie for a date until the very end, his love for Josie unconditional. He was a literal cinnamon roll MMC who loved hard and gave his all.

Josie on the other hand never thought she could feel this way about Clay... Loving him so much it hurt. I did feel frustrated with her at times - how she took the choice away from Clay and still went and divorced him thinking it would be the end of that. I felt like because of the grief and regret she was holding onto pushed her into making bad decisions which weren't necessarily the best cause of action. If only she had communicated with Clay it would have saved a lot of heartbreak. Ultimately, I still adored their second chance romance like no other!

I enjoyed the layout of the book which was told in two halves - before and after the moment. It's also dual POV, in which we gain insight from both Josie and Clay retrospectively. Although the story does tend to jump around regarding time frames, it wasn't hard to follow the story at all.

Let's just say, this story will undoubtedly stay with me for some time and Summer will always be the one I think about 💗💗🥹

Get your tissues ready because you're in for one heck of an emotional ride!

Thank you Max & Monroe and Netgalley for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review 🫶🏻

How can a perfect, heart breaking story get even better. This book made me laugh and cry. Just when I thought I was over the story, Max Monroe ripped my heart out and crushed it all over again.

This is a story I’d read over and over again. Even with the pain

4 tremendous ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For this book!

This book took me apart piece by piece and tenderly put me back together.

Can it be read as a standalone? Probably... but reading the first book will definitely enhance your reading experience!

You will most likely need some tissues to read through this one!

I absolutely loved Clay, he is the purest example of a Golden Retriever if ever I read one! You can't help but fall for him along with Josie.

And Josie, Josie.. I just wanted to give her the tightest hug to push back the broken pieces in place.

Clay and Josie come together after 5 years of divorce to help make little Summer's wish come true. As they stand facing one another, Clay cannot help spilling the secret he's kept inside for so long.

Gasp!

There are multiple time jumps which felt a bit overwhelming in the beginning but after a while I got used to them.

Absolutely recommend for an emotional yet heartwarming reading experience.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Authors Max Monroe for the ARC and opportunity to share my thoughts.

When I Should've Stayed is a beautiful love story about miscommunication, martyrdom, and the chance of coming back before it's too late. The hope that true love can withstand the hardships and the hurts and somehow remain.
Max and Monroe have realy opened themselves up, pushed harder and deeper, and gave US so much of themselves to create such a painfully beautiful story. I missed their usual humor, but that's just my preference...humor through the pain. I'm very grateful for this opportunity to read another Max Monroe masterpiece. This story is the second in the Red Bridge series and feels like they already are alluding to a third... possibly involving a certain sister and sheep farmer.

I’ve been waiting for Josie and Clay’s story since What I Should’ve Said, and yep, it hit just as hard as I expected—maybe even more. This book hurts in that good, necessary way. It’s about heartbreak, healing, and the kind of love that doesn’t let go even when everything falls apart.

Josie is stubborn, guarded, and doing what she thinks is best—even if it means torching her own happiness. And Clay? He’s the guy who never stopped loving her, even when she walked away. His whole heart is still wrapped up in her, and you feel that in every scene. They’re messy and complicated and not always on the same page, but you believe in them. You want them to figure it out.

What really got me was how the story didn’t shy away from the hard stuff. It sits in the grief and the regrets and lets these characters work through them. Clay is this big-hearted guy who wears his emotions out in the open, and Josie’s trying so hard to keep hers buried. Watching them navigate that imbalance was painful and real and incredibly moving.
And let’s give a round of applause for Grandma Rose, who brings just enough lightness without ever undercutting the emotional weight of the story. She’s iconic.

This one’s for the readers who like their love stories full of heartbreak, forgiveness, and people clawing their way back to each other. You’re going to want tissues. And maybe a hug after. Now I’m anticipating the next book in the series and wondering if I have to wait a whole year😭!

Thank you Max Monroe and NetGalley for the eARC!

Excuse me, Max Monroe?? Who gave you the right to emotionally wreck me like this?! 😭 When I Should’ve Stayed was the absolute perfect follow-up to What I Should’ve Said—and by “perfect,” I mean it ripped my heart out in the most beautiful way possible. Clay and Josie own me. I'm officially starting a petition for an entire book just about them after this one because I am not ready to let go. If you're into sobbing, swooning, and screaming into your pillow at 2 a.m., congrats—you’ve found your next favorite series. 💔📚

This is book 2 bout Clay and Josie and can be read as a standalone, but if u want a full character experience, u should read book 1, and it definitely is worth the read.

Josie moved to Red Bridge from New York to live with her grandma and now owns a diner, and she catches cheaters on the side. Clay moved to this small town Red Bridge from New York and owns a County Club now. Clay has liked Josie since she stepped foot into his club, and they get married. Then they get divorced, and Clay still loves her and doesn't wanna believe they are divorced. Clay is gonna get his true love back at all costs. This book is really good and has me in my feelings, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Thanks, NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for this ARC.

After reading the first Red Bridge book I was instantly intrigued with Clay and Josie. Clearly something big had gone on between them and I was dying to find out exactly what.
Enter When I Should’ve Stayed. A simply beautiful story that will have you experiencing every emotion - keep tissues handy for this one!
This book flips back and forth between the past and present of Josie and Clay’s relationship. Clearly madly in love, something happens along the way and they are no together. Along the way you experience the raw, bittersweet, regretful feelings until the final breakthrough when everything is revealed and you feel like you and the characters can start healing together.
This emotional, second chance romance was completely captivating and (as long as you read the trigger warnings), I would absolutely recommend reading it.
Thank you so much to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC!

This is book 2 in the Red Bridge Series

When I Should’ve Stayed is an interconnected standalone novel, but I highly recommend reading Book 1, What I Should’ve Said, where we first meet Josie and Clay. Josie appears to detest Clay, but Clay is clearly still in love with her. Josie is hurting and believes she has done what is best for both of them when she asks him for a divorce. However, when she discovers that she is still married to Clay and has been for five years, she is thrown for a loop and is forced to confront her true feelings. In When I Should’ve Stayed, we witness Clay and Josie’s romance, its eventual downfall, as well as its unexpected second chance.

This book is a wild emotional rollercoaster that’ll leave you feeling both heartbroken and uplifted. It’s a powerful reminder of how life can throw us curveballs and how those unexpected twists can have lasting impacts. The story is filled with flashbacks that reveal the ups and downs of Clay and Josie’s relationship. Clay is a true sweetheart who spent years loving a woman who had no idea why their relationship ended and no real hope of getting her back. But he never lost hope or his determination to win her back, even holding onto the biggest secret of all that he never filed their divorce papers. Josie goes through a lot, and Clay is always there for her, a constant presence in her life. I wish we had gotten a bit more of Clay’s backstory and I hope to see what happens next with Josie and Clay in future books set in this series. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the chance to read and share my honest thoughts on this book.

I was so excited to get my hands on When I Should've Stayed by Max Monroe
This book was so much fun with plenty of emotional depth.
It was pure delightful. The romance is sweet, the banter is fun, and the setting is perfect.
So charming and sweet, with likable characters, sweet romance, and a rich setting.