This is a novel that might drive the reader back to faith. Ava St. John is very good at her marketing job and is in competition at work to make partner in a huge firm. She lives life at a fast pace with little time for anything, but work. She loves her job and the creativity it takes to be successful at it, so she doesn't mind missing out on other things. One morning Ava is on her way to visit a client when her car is hit at high speed from someone behind her on the freeway. It's a very bad accident and Ava is unconscious in the hospital when she hears a voice. The voice gives her 2 choices: to find Lucas Phillips and live out the rest of her life or to pass on peacefully and die. A story of faith, family, friendships and second chances. As the story unfolds, and Ava and Lucas reunite over shared memories, especially fishing, discoveries for each begin to pave the path forward. In this story the author’s strong faith is forefront and the questioning of her main characters becomes an important storyline factor. The author’s faith shines in this beautifully written story. Highly recommend for those who love small town stories with emotional depth. Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley.

I thoroughly enjoyed Where Are You Now. It was clever, unique, romantic, and quirky.
I really loved both Ava and Lucas. They were both interesting, charismatic, smart, and complex.

The storyline was compelling and emotional, I was drawn in immediately, and I honestly couldn't put it down.

This is the first book I've read from Jenny Hale, and it definitely won't be the last. She writes beautifully.
I love how she gave her characters faith and how that faith was tested at times, but it didn't fail. There are not many authors I've come across that have added that element to their writing. It was refreshing to see.

I highly recommend.

4 stars from me.

Thanks to Netgalley, BooksGoSocial, and Jenny Hale for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What if you died but got a second chance? God gives Ava a choice, stay in heaven or return and find her childhood best friend, and live the rest of her life. However, she hasn't seen him in years.

This book will make you think about choices and how small ones can affect your life in large ways. It also makes you think about second chances. Jenny Hale does a wonderful job telling this sweet story. It's thought-provoking and will keep you interested until the last page.

Jenny Hale is an auto-read author for me. Her stories are inspiring and full of heart. And I always want more when I'm finished reading them. Where Are You Now was no exception. Ava St. John faces a near death experience and hears a voice to find someone from her past. She now faces the challenge of finding her former best friend who she hasn't seen in years. Where Are You Now is a story full of faith, fate and second chances. It's slightly different than the other books by Jenny Hale, but like the others, is absolutely worth the read!

Where Are You Now by Jenny Hale tells the story of Ava St. John, a woman who deeply values her career and the life she has built for herself. On the way to an important business meeting, her world changes in an instant when she is involved in a devastating car accident. While unconscious in the hospital, Ava encounters a powerful, otherworldly voice that offers her two stark choices: to let go and pass away peacefully, or to return to life with the mission of finding Lucas Phillips.

Determined to live, Ava chooses the latter—yet this decision forces her to revisit the past. She hasn’t seen Lucas since her teenage years, and now her path forward becomes a personal journey of rediscovery, testing everything she thought she knew about both herself and Lucas.

I’ve read and loved many of Jenny Hale’s earlier books, but I’ve struggled to connect with some of her more recent releases. For that reason, I hesitated before requesting this one. In the end, it was probably a mix of curiosity and a sense of not wanting to miss out that convinced me to give it a try. Unfortunately, I have to admit with a heavy heart that this book was another miss for me.

Despite several attempts, I couldn’t immerse myself in the story. I even waited for the audiobook, hoping the narration would help me engage more fully, but I found the voices grating and couldn’t continue. Ultimately, I made the decision to set the book aside and not finish it.

My biggest struggle was connecting with the main character. Ava’s voice, choices, and inner reflections never resonated with me, making it hard to feel invested in her journey. On top of that, the religious undertones throughout the story weren’t to my taste and created a barrier between me and the narrative. As others have pointed out, the novel seems especially suited to an American audience, and I would agree with that observation.

While I know many readers will find meaning, comfort, and inspiration in Where Are You Now, it simply wasn’t the right fit for me.

Ava St. John is in a terrible car accident. While in a coma she hears "Find Lucas Phillips and live out the rest of your life, or pass on peacefully—which will it be?” Lucas was her childhood best friend, but she has not seen him in years. While searching for him she becomes closer to her Mom and finds that her priorities have changed. Good story but a bit to much religion for me.

I so enjoyed this heartwarming tale of love, 2nd chances and family dynamics.
2nd chances are my favorite thing in a book. It means there's hope and maybe a chance to start over.
The spiritual content was a blessing to me and a reminder that God works things out in His own time not ours.
This story has wonderful characters that will keep you on your toes all the way through. I also loved setting.
I really liked this book and the cover is simply gorgeous and inviting. Its what made me choose the book.
I didn't really like Lucas at all. He was too closed off for my taste. I don't like people like that. But I did find myself wondering if he'd turn around or not. Something must've happened or did it?
Ava I felt was too pushy towards Lucas. She kept forcing it which really wasn't a good idea.
Will they eventually work things out or will they go their separate ways? Y'all just have to pick up this book up and read it!! I highly recommend it!
5 stars from me for a job well done!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Where Are You Now by Jenny Hale is a warm hug of a book. The book will touch your heart and you'll look at your life differently after finishing it. Ava St. John is very good at her marketing job and is in competition at work to make partner in a huge firm. She lives life at a fast pace with little time for anything, but work. She loves her job and the creativity it takes to be successful at it, so she doesn't mind missing out on other things. One morning Ava is on her way to visit a client when her car is hit at high speed from someone behind her on the freeway. It's a very bad accident and Ava is unconscious in the hospital when she hears a voice. The voice gives her 2 choices: to find Lucas Phillips and live out the rest of her life or to pass on peacefully and die.

Ava chooses to live but she hasn't seen Lucas Phillips since he moved away when she was 15. They were best friends before he moved, but lost touch over the years. How will she find Lucas now? What will she do if she does find Lucas? Is that all she has to do is find him? The accident and the search for Lucas bring Ava to question everything she knows about what's important, faith, and what she wants out of life. If she doesn't find Lucas, will she die? Ava has a lot to deal with while recovering from her injuries. I absolutely loved Where Are You Now and feel like it's a gift to all readers to unwrap. I rate Where Are You Now 5 stars with my very highest recommendation. Get this book and enjoy every moment because it's magical. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Harpeth Road Publishing for an advanced copy of Where Are You Now in exchange for a fair review. #WhereAreYouNow

Ava St. John is sure she has died. She hears a voice and it tells her she has two options, find Lucas Phillips and live out her life, or pass peacefully. Surely she is in heaven, but is sad she can not see her father who passed before her. Ava wants to live, but how can she find Lucas, her best friend from childhood. When Ava awakes, she finds out a doctor named Lucas had looked after her. Is this her Lucas?

Ava goes back to where she grew up to stay with her mother while she recuperates. Ava is anxious that her promotion at work might be affected, but there is little she can do now. While she is healing, she makes it her mission to find Lucas. She even thinks she saw him on the street the other day. When she starts her therapy, guess who is running the clinic? Is it fate or just luck? Should she share what the voice told her? Ava can not figure out why she has to find Lucas, but when she does, her fate just might be revealed to her.

Jenny Hale brings us another heartwarming, tender story of healing, family, love and second chances. I adored the characters and the storyline so much that it was easy to get wrapped in the warmth of the book. My thanks to author Jenny Hale, Harpreth Road Publishing and Books Go Social for my advanced copy which I read and reviewed voluntarily. A solid five star read my friends.

I’m a huge fan of Jenny Hale books and so I am always excited to read her new books as and when they come out.

So this latest story is somewhat different to her other novels, don’t get me wrong it was good and really well written as with all her books, but to be honest if I’d know there was a heavy Christian story element within the story, I might not have read it.

I did enjoy the story but not so much the heavy religious Christian element and references to God, I think there should have been a tag for this, so as the reader knew before heading into the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters, seeing how they interact with each other and especially liked the mother/daughter close bond.

I have read every single book Jenny Hale has ever written and have found that she just gets it right every time.

Ava is involved in an accident and while she is unconscious she hears a voice that says "Find Lucas Phillips and live out the rest of your life, or pass on peacefully—which will it be?”

Ava chooses to live and sets out to find Lucas, the only problem being she hasn't seen him since she was 15.

This is a story about finding perspective on what is most important in life and where you want to be, it really made me think and to be honest it has been stuck in my head since i read it!

Highly recommend!

"Where Are You Now" is the first novel I have read from author, Jenny Hale and it sparked my interest to read her other novels. It's a sweet, non-spicy story of faith and second chances. As Ava St. John is forced to re-evaluate her life and consider one's purpose in life, the author inspires readers to do the same. It was refreshing to read a clean romance novel and I loved how the writing beautifully described scenes that were easy to picture. Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC!

This is such a heartwarming story of second chances and having faith. After Ava has a near death experience where she hears a voice telling her to either find Lucas and live out the rest of her life or pass peacefully, she chooses the first. Lucas was her first love, but so much time had gone by. What would happen when she found him? Meanwhile, Lucas was struggling with his own demons and Ava coming into his life was beyond unexpected. I was quickly pulled into their story and enjoyed every minute of it. Another beautiful story from Jenny Hale. Thank you to #NetGalley #JennyHale and #HarpethRoad for the opportunity to read and review #Whereareyounow

This is a book that I had a hard time putting down, read in two sittings. A christian based romance on second chances and family bonds. Ava is in a horrific car accident where she is given a second chance on life if she finds her best childhood friend, Luke. As they reconnect, Luke is going through personal problems and Ava is wondering what will be in the future for her.

Loved the re-connection of Ava and Luke, they both helped each other move forward in their lives. Loved the setting of the lake in Tennessee. I highly recommend.

This book’s intriguing plot pulled me in from the first chapter as Ava, the ambitious, workaholic FMC is introduced, suffers a terrible car accident in which she codes, and she has an out of body experience. She feels the presence of the greatest love she has ever felt and hears a voice which says “Find Lucas Phillips and live out the rest of your life, or pass on peacefully—which will it be?” Ava chooses to live. Lucas was her childhood best friend whom she hasn’t seen in 20 years and she has no idea how to contact him or what to do if she does find him. What a journey she goes through in her search for Lucas and the insights she gains once she finds him effect a great change in her perspectives on life. I found myself considering my own priorities and how well my actions reflect them. I loved the MMC, Lucas, who was suffering a traumatic experience and greatly needed to hear Ava’s story. He and Ava were such an amazing pair even after the passing of so many years. Highly recommend! I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

3.5 ⭐️ for Where Are You Now
Goodreads review posted on: 08/06/2025

Ava St. John is in an accident to start off the story and is given a choice to find an old friend and continue to live her life or pass peacefully from the accident. She chooses to find Lucas and continue to live her life. She does find Lucas in Nashville, their home town where she reevaluates her life with the help and comfort of her mother.

Ava has choices to make regarding her past and future and how to make peace with both. Lucas has to do the same and the story follows their journey of love, remembrance, finding peace and saving not only themselves but each other.

This story was well written and was a 3.5 ⭐️ contemporary read for me! Thanks NetGalley and Jenny Hale for the read!

Where Are You Now is a soul searching story by Jenny Hale. Ava St. John, a New York marketing exec, is well on the way to partner and hopes for the announcement soon. Ava has devoted her life to her career, having little time for herself or her ex-husband. On her way to a very important client meeting, fate takes Ava’s plans in a very different direction when a speeding motorist crashes into the rear of her car sandwiching her. Although Ava was talking hands free with her friend Rachel when it happened and the accident was reported immediately, backed up traffic made the rescue difficult. In fact, there was a point when Ava technically died but miraculously was brought back from the brink in better condition than would have been expected.

During the resuscitation, Ava found herself in a place of complete darkness enveloped in immeasurable love. While in this place she was given a choice; find Lucas Phillips, her childhood best friend, and live out her days or pass peacefully now. Her choice was to live. But how best to interpret what she has chosen?

After days in the hospital, the first time Ava awakens it is to see a doctor with the name tag saying he is Lucas Phillips. Ava swiftly slips back to sleep with no chance to ask. When Ava fully awakens and does ask she learns Lucas has left the hospital and moved elsewhere.

When Ava is discharged in her mother’s care, rather than recuperate in her small apartment they decide to fly to her mother’s cabin on Marrowbone Lake near Nashville. Ava’s aftercare has been transferred to Vanderbilt, where once again she encounters Lucas. But Lucas barely resembles the boy she once knew, carrying a heaviness he isn’t willing to share, but then Ava isn’t sharing about her recent experience either.

As the story unfolds, and Ava and Lucas reunite over shared memories, especially fishing, discoveries for each begin to pave the path forward. In this story the author’s strong faith is forefront and the questioning of her main characters becomes an important storyline factor. I did enjoy this novel and do recommend it!

A good twenty years or more ago, there was a TV show that featured characters who had died, but were given a chance to go back to life to see if they could fix some mistake they had made. This popped into my mind when I started reading Jenny Hale's book "Where Are You Now?"

The story opens with Ava St. John in hospital after a devastating car crash which has left her with multiple injuries and a questionable future. As a reader, I had glimpses into her thoughts as she moved in and out of consciousness. She had no sense of the passage of time or the severity of her injuries. She was concerned that she would lose a hard-worked for promotion to partner in an advertising agency and wanted to just get up and leave to sort that out if only her body would allow. It didn't. Instead she had what most experts call an out of body or near death
experience while she was undergoing resuscitation. While there, she heard a voice which told her she had a choice to make - move on to peace or return to life find her old friend Lucas and live her life. She chose to give it a try.

This is a novel which challenges one to consider what their future holds or may hold after death. The Christian faith provides the lens to look at that. It is also a story of how the loss of a father affected both Ava and her mother. In her efforts to find Lucas, happenstance, or maybe God's will, makes the job easier than expected, but what does Ava need to do next? Lacking clarity, she does what her body needs to rest and recover all while trying to rebuild what was once an extremely close friendship with Lucas. He has his own issues to face, but is reluctant to open up and share.

I liked the way the author chose to tell the story. Her description of scenes and nature drew me in very early on and I like all the main characters. I shed some tears at some really heartwrenching moments. There was one little spot that made me stop and think perhaps the editor missed something. Ava and Lucas are preparing to take a canoe to go fishing with her dad's poles when Lucas apparently grabs "oars" to paddle them out. As a person who enjoys using paddles to canoe, this struck me as a blip. It was the only one though, and not a major distraction to my enjoyment of the story.

Over all, this book was one which made me think and reflect back on life choices and the what-if's that might surround them. It is not all doom and gloomy and has a happy ending (which I pretty much expected from early on.) Life can lead one in many directions. This book helps put that in perspective.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #BooksGoSocial for allowing me an advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own.

Ava St. John, a woman who cherishes her life and job, finds herself in a life-altering car accident on her way to a work meeting. She ends up in the hospital, unconscious, and is confronted by a booming voice that presents her with two options: to find Lucas Phillips and continue her life or to pass on peacefully.

Choosing to live, Ava awakens to the realization that she hasn’t seen Lucas since she was a teenager. Fueled by this newfound determination, she embarks on a journey to find him, which leads her to question everything about her life and Lucas’s.

“Where Are You Now,” written by Jenny Hale, is a captivating tale of faith, second chances, and new beginnings, an absolute gem. From the moment you lay eyes on the beautiful cover to the very last page, you’re enveloped in its enchanting world.

This inspiring and heartwarming romantic story is a perfect blend of elements that make it truly unforgettable. Ava’s character is portrayed with such depth and compassion that you can’t help but root for her. When she finally finds Lucas, her life takes an extraordinary turn, and she embraces a newfound courage and openness to new possibilities.

The search for Lucas becomes an integral part of Ava’s journey, and her unwavering focus on God adds a layer of spiritual significance to the story. It’s an unputdownable read that keeps you on the edge of your seat, captivated by the amazing storyline.

I highly recommend “Where Are You Now” to anyone who loves a heartwarming and inspiring romantic story. It’s a testament to the transformative power of faith and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Where Are You Now is a lovely and touching story of healing, second chances, and evaluation of one's life. Ava is in an accident that she should not have recovered from but she did. In the near death experience, she hears a voice that leads her to find an old childhood friend Lucas. She works for a big marketing firm in NYC and is on the shortlist for a promotion. Now she is recuperating, spending some quality, healing time with her mom and reconnecting with her old friend Lucas, who has changed. This whole story is about a spiritual experience and realization that life is a gift, one to use for what is important. Heartwarming and poignant story.
I received a copy for the purpose of an honest review. These are my thoughts.