Wow! I didn't think I'd love this book as much as I did. I absolutely loved and adored it. Sweet but complicated characters in this truly amazing love story. All of the characters were very likable (I loved the Brady family), the story was beautifully written and oh-so-steamy. This book had a lot of emotion, it made me smile and it warmed my heart. If not for life's obligations, I could have read this in one seating. A beautiful book that's now on my Favorites 2022 book list, and it is one I highly recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

Jen Devon’s debut Bend Toward the Sun razed my heart and nourished it back to life. Devastating in the best way, this romance set on a neglected and newly acquired vineyard in Pennsylvania had me longing for walks in wildflower-filled meadows, swims in mist-covered ponds, and games of hide-and-go-seek in old greenhouses.

If you’re a follower, you’ve seen me mention—on several occasions—how much I love books set on vineyards. I often fantasize I have a long lost relative who leaves me their countryside vineyard in their will. So, this novel about a family who has recently purchased an old vineyard with plans to restore it was right up my day-dreaming alley.

The Brady’s, the vineyard-buying family, is one of those families. Large, well-established, comfortable with one another—but also with past hurts and maybe some grudges. But their love for each other comes first. Bend Toward the Sun is Harrison Brady’s story, the middle son among five other siblings. And, please Jen Devon, please be writing more of their stories. I can only imagine that’s the plan, because the vineyard is just in the early stages of development and there are so many hints about Harry’s sibling’s stories within the novel. Harry, a doctor, has had a hard year, and he’s joining his parents and some of those siblings at the vineyard to work while he attempts to heal.

The book opens on a housewarming party at the vineyard, in the middle of the family’s traditional game of hide and seek currently happening throughout the vineyard. It’s one of the best openings I’ve read lately. But the reader sees it from a guest’s perspective, Rowan, who has been dragged to the party by a friend of the family. Rowan is hiding in an old greenhouse when she encounters Harry. Sparks fly!

Rowan, a botanist, has her own past issues. Raised by a neglectful mother, basically alone since the death of her beloved grandmother when Rowan was twelve, the closeness of the Brady family is foreign to her. She hasn’t allowed anyone in except her two closest college friends since a bad relationship in college convinced her “love” is just another name for lust. But she can’t deny her attraction to Harry or his family’s vineyard.

She’s hired to work on the vineyard, helping to restore the vines while she works on her dissertation. As time passes, Rowan and Harry find themselves drawn together, but their pasts, and Rowan’s vow to keep it casual, complicate their growing feelings.

Harry’s a cinnamon roll who wears his heart on his sleeve, and I just wanted someone to give him a hug. Suffering from panic attacks after losing a patient, reading through his struggles was gut-wrenching.

The chemistry was off the charts for these two, as well. Plenty of tension built while waiting for them to finally crash together. And when they finally do crash, wow!

Bend Toward the Sun has earned a permanent place on my shelf, and it’s a love story I can’t wait to reread. It delivered exceptionally in the romance department, even providing a few surprises. And while there may have been a few tears along the way, it’s my perfect kind of romance. The best reward for enduring all that heartache!

This is not your typical romance. Yes there was some really sweet moments and some steamy scenes and ultimately a happily ever after. But the road to get there was full of angst, grief, disappointment, and messiness.
Rowan and Harry were both emotionally unavailable and carrying lots of baggage that it added a lot of depth to the relationship. I loved the winery setting and the lush descriptions of the scenery. I also loved the large case of side characters that added support to the story.

I have a few things I didn't like. First, the inevitable break up felt a little dramatic and unrealistic to me. I kind of wanted to punch Harry and felt like his actions were unforgivable. This might be because I related to Rowan's story more so I was totally siding with her. The pacing of this was also a tad slow at times, especially in the middle. There was a lot of introspection and not a lot of plot which made the story feel slow at times.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a little heavier romance novel.

Thank you you to Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rowan is a botanist with a PhD who meets a large family called the Bradys through friends who recently bought a vineyard and need help with it. She is in an academic rut, trying to figure out what comes next for her. She had a complicated childhood and a previous relationship that ended badly. Her friend applies on her behalf with the family tending to the vineyard, and she takes notice to one of the sons who is also in a career rut as an OB-GYN.

I enjoyed the alternating perspectives and the setting of a vineyard and all the descriptions that came with it. I thought that the back and forth between the characters got a little tiring and the miscommunication just dragged on. The premise of both characters having complicated relationships and pasts is a bit overdone. It took me awhile to finish the book.

What a great debut by Jen Devon. I felt the tension and heat between Rowan and Harry right away. Yes it was insta-lust, but god, did you actually FEEL it. So many times it feels forced, but it did not feel like the case for this one. The passage of time was also done so well. It often feels like time moves forward in books and you miss so much, but the way Devon wrote weeks and months passing had the perfect amount of detail and emphasis on what was happening that the falling in love felt so natural and real. And the prose-- THE PROSE! I don't think I've highlighted lines in a book in years, but I did it at least three times with this one.

Now, with all this good, why only four stars? Well, I was just so frustrated with the way Rowan and Harry interacted with each other when it came to discussing their relationship toward the end. They both acted exactly how they knew they would (with the other responding accordingly) and they were both still upset with the other. Also, we never got the apologies, which, I'll be honest, is a big thing for me. Multiple people (rightly) told them they needed to apologize to the other and neither of them ever did! We got the big talk at the end but it was mostly filled with excuses, not apologies and understanding, which I feel we needed to see. I know some people don't need to hear the words and all that... but that's not me, lol. I just wasn't a fan of how the resolution played out. I have had that knock books down multiple stars before, but everything else about this one was just so GREAT, that it still definitely holds up.

I cannot wait for Devon's next book and to get more of her words into my veins.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review

Bend Towards the Sun is the debut novel for the very talented Jen Devon. It is the story of botany academic and PhD Rowan McKinnon. Rowan has had a difficult and lonely life. She grew up with her mother Sybil and grandmother Edie, at least until her grandmother passed when Rowan was 12. That was the last love she had been shown as her mother was cold and neglecting.

Rowan’s grandmother had been the loving and caring person who loved her garden and her granddaughter and shared each with the other. It was this love that led Rowan to her future in botany, but their were major disappointments in her PhD studies. Her lab assistant had furnished made up date to her, negating her research. Without being published, her future in academia is halted.

However, in her college experience Rowan had made two true friends, Temperance, now a pediatrician, and Frankie, a photographer. It is because of these true friends that Rowan finds herself at the housewarming for Temperance’s sister Marin’s in-laws as they take on their retirement project, a straggly vineyard and large home that will become their vineyard and B&B. And where Rowan first encounters their hurting son Harrison.

Interestingly, Rowan’s research had to do with vineyards and her doting friends submit her resume behind her back. This gesture may just have been the kindest betrayal any friends had ever committed. Because of this, Rowan has a job, a home, and the opportunity to find her future.

I cannot rave enough about this book and was shocked to learn it was the author’s first. This novel shows stunning imagery, in depth character development of beautifully flawed people, and the plot development of a seasoned author. I did very much enjoy this story and wholeheartedly recommend this book!!

In Bend Toward the Sun, the emotional debut by Jen Devon, we are introduced to Rowan McKinnon and Harrison Brady.

Rowan and Harrsion are each struggling with their own emotional journeys. Harrison is trying to cope with losing his first patient. While Rowan is still trying to cope with a horrible childhood and an ex-fiancé that was a complete narcissistic jerk.

As Rowan and Harrison are brought together by his family's vineyard, they begin to develop a strong attraction and connection. Can a simple friendship really stay that way?

I loved this debut novel! The relationship between Rowan and Harrison was raw and heartfelt. Their chemistry was undeniable.

I loved the whole Brady family! They had such love for each other. This book also has great female friendships, turned found family with Rowan and her friends, Frankie and Temperance.

I highly recommend this book to all romance fans! I hope we get to see more from the Brady Family! Duncan's story please!

Steep with emotions, angst and family, Bend Towards the Sun by Jen Devon is a spectacular debut novel. Rowan McKinnon meets Harrison Brady in a game of Team Tag and they can feel an instant connection to each other. He’s an obstetrician coming back to his family’s home to help restore its vineyards and recover over the loss of a patient. She’s in need of space to finish her doctorate research in Botany, and feels a pull from this vineyard to come rescue it. Both in need of healing and not looking for any kind of relationship, these two fit well together but it takes time fort them both to see it.

It was a wonderful surprise to find a gem and it all starts with the cover and title. I love tropes of second chances and personal growth alongside a new romance. With the help of Harrison’s family, Rowan sees for the first time what a family unit behaves with one another. Her grandmother taught her one love language and that was through plants. Harrison had a family to fall back on when he lost his way and didn’t know whether he can continue to be a physician. Renovating the vineyard and focusing on the here and now, Harrison was able to let time and distance from his situation, bring things into perspective. Each of them were tentative to declare their love for the other with the actual 3 letter words, but they were able to say it in their own way.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story because it had everything I love in a romance. The damaged characters, the large family, the connections with friends, and the slow build of a loving relationship. Within this story she also set the building blocks for 3 more stories which I am hoping will become a series. I highly recommend Bend Towards the Sun to anyone who loves a good second chance romance.

Oh be still my heart!! I've found a new author to follow!! Jen Devon nailed it with Bend Toward the Sun. I fell in love with Harry and Rowan. I loved them before they loved themselves....or each other.

Harrison (Harry) and Rowan are two wonderfully crafted characters that are both a little bit broken. For each of them, the damage occurred in different ways and the scars aren't always visible but they are just as real and sometimes paralyzing. Initially, you think you understand where Harry's issues are coming from and for the most part you do. But there's definitely more to it and you find that out as the book progresses. Rowan is clearly a deep pool of issues from the beginning. Her story begins with the heartbreak that is her mother and doesn't let up. She has only ever truly wanted to be loved and every time she put herself out there in the past, she's been hurt in unimaginable ways. So, it's understandable that she doesn't want to risk herself anymore by the time she meets Harrison.

There's just so much to love about this book from the two main characters to Harry's wonderful and intrusive family. To the vineyards and farm which in a way are a character in their own way. The book was well paced. The author knew exactly when to give in to a reader's insistence that Harry and Rowan needed a romantic interlude...it could be she heard me screaming at my kindle? On a serious note, everything was well balanced and flowed smoothly. I can't wait for another book...hopefully something is on the horizon. I'd love to see more in this world but would also be interested to see what else Ms. Devon has up her sleeve.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

What a debut this was. This book had the steam, the emotion, the characters, the slow burn, and the women in STEM representation.

Rowan and Harry meet unexpectedly during a game of hide and seek and a vineyard Harry's parents have recently bought. Rowan in a botanist who recently finished her PhD, and is looking to stay in academia, and publish in a journal. Harry is a OBGYN who recently lost a patient and is on a leave of absence to recover from the loss. They both begin working on the vineyard and the sparks fly from the very beginning.


What I really loved about this story was having 2 characters overcoming trauma in their past not by having someone else fix you, but having someone support you and allow you to learn to heal yourself. The banter was spot on, the chemistry was there from the beginning but the author never relied on just the instant connection but built a solid relationship between the characters. The secondary characters were great, and really added to the story. Harry's family was such a delight to read about and they had me wishing to be part of. Overall there were so many great things about this book, and it will be a favourite of the year.

Don’t let the phrase “A Novel” on the cover fool you. Lush, evocative, poignant, Bend Toward the Sun is one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished it. It also happens to be one of the most romantic books I’ve read in a long time, with a HEA so perfectly sweet and tender. This book will definitely show up in my top reads of 2022 list at the end of the year. Yes, it’s THAT good.

It’s a quiet charmer of a book, a slow burn romance full of yearning and pining and a great deal of internal angst. Set against the backdrop of a would-be Bed & Breakfast/vineyard/winery in Pennsylvania, the book focuses on Rowan and Harry and their long and winding, and sometimes painful journey to a happily-ever-after.

Rowan, newly armed with a Ph.D. in botany, is wary of human emotions. Well used to being abandoned or betrayed by the people she loves, she is very careful about who she lets in. She has exactly two friends and aside from Temperance and Frankie, she’d rather hang out with plants and animals. After all, as she says, plants don’t fuck you over like people do.

Obstetrician Harry, whose retired parents have recently sunk their savings into a vineyard, has come home from Los Angeles after unexpectedly losing a patient. Reeling from the loss and the subsequent breakdown of his marriage, he finds himself mired in grief, depression, and anxiety. Having grown up in the midst of a happy and boisterous family of 6 siblings, he’s never known loss or depression of this magnitude.

If Rowan is a hardened shell of a human due to the circumstances of her own life, unwilling to let anyone into her heart, then Harry is her counterpoint, all fragile feelings and completely vulnerable and open. It would be easy to say that this is a grumpy/sunshine romance but that wouldn’t be the most accurate description of this book.

One of the things that I loved most about this book is the fact that it spans a whole year. And when the dark moment comes, there’s still a good chunk of the book left, which is good because these two with their broken hearts and trust issues deserve way more than a quick fix.

It’s a romance that makes both the MCs and the readers work for it. For every hopeful and healing moment of joy, there is a painstaking step back, where you get the true scope of Rowan’s long-standing emotional issues and Harry’s fervent desire to acknowledge their true feelings.

It’s an angsty book and it took me some time to realize that I do enjoy angsty books when the angst is internal, like here. There are no outside forces at play, no third parties, it’s just two people who have a lot of emotional baggage to sort out.

The book also does a beautiful job of capturing the setting, nature playing a huge role in the story. I admit, I wasn’t sure I’d be that into a book that focused a lot on viticulture and botany but surprisingly, the book works really well. Part of that has to do with the side characters. The entire Brady family plus Temperance and Frankie make for some pretty compelling characters and by the end of the book, I was already envisioning at least 3 more books featuring some of these side characters. (I truly truly hope this is the first in a series because I love all of these characters and want more books in this world).

Ultimately, it’s a book about learning to love when nothing in your life has ever shown you how to do that. It’s about the bonds of family and friends and learning to open your heart and trust in your own feelings even when your past experiences have let you down, time and again.

The beauty of this book lies in the quiet moments, this isn’t a book for loud, grand gestures but more a book about feeling your feelings and learning to acknowledge them and ultimately share them. There’s a lot of fun, flirty banter but also a lot of deep conversations between two people, one of whom leads with his heart while the other has closed it off entirely. And it’s beautiful to witness when these two finally come together and find common ground.

Bend Toward the Sun is an emotional romance set in a vineyard in Pennsylvania. Rowan and Harry are falling hard but have to learn to love themselves again before they can love each other.

What I loved:
-The setting on the vineyard
-Rowan's job getting the vineyard up and running again
-Rowan is a botanist, so all of the gardening/plants
-Harry's huge, boisterous, loving family - especially his ma and brother Duncan
-Every single one of the side characters
-Rowan is super introverted so I identified with her a LOT
-Rowan's personal growth throughout the book
-Her supportive and funny friends
-Beautifully written

FYI:
-This book takes place over the course of a year, and there were many big skips in time that I was not a fan of. There was obviously not much happening during those times, but I still felt like I was missing things in Harry and Rowan's story.
-At times, the MC's actions and attitudes seemed a bit over the top/dramatic, although we do get explanations throughout as to why.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to readers who love romance, settings on vineyards, and/or characters who have to overcome past trauma to devote themselves fully to a relationship.

Please check content warnings if you may be sensitive to some of the trauma described in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

An amazingly beautiful book full of emotion. The pace was perfect for an enjoyable slow burn romance.
Rowan and Harry are engaging characters that I began to care about from the very beginning of their story. Their romance is not easy and each one has a past that is haunting their present and putting their future as a couple in jeopardy. I was completely invested in their relationship.
The secondary characters of the Brady family creates a true family dynamic that I cannot help but envy and wish for a fun big family like theirs to be a part of. Rowan's friends are well-crafted with fabulously unique personalities. The setting is so vividly described that I felt like I was amongst the vines and open fields of the vineyard.
I cannot recommend this well written an extremely enjoyable book enough! Rowan and Harry's love story is a beautiful and heartwarming romance with characters that I will miss. I can only hope that there will be another opportunity to visit the vineyard in another book about this lovely family.
I am extremely grateful to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital reviewer's copy of this wonderful book in exchange for sharing my honest review.

This is the sort of book that wines and dines you. I just fall into the story and sigh about how pleasant it’s all going. Slow burn? Who cares. The whole beautiful story of a family that everyone wants and the beautiful place its built on is enough. I’m in my happy place. And then before it’s over I wanted to throw the book across the room! Twice. I mean this in the best way. It happened because the book sunk it’s emotional claws into me and demands I feel it. Definitely a 5 ⭐️ for me.
Wonderful writing, intense, fun and romantic. Trust me you just want to visit this family, hang out and see it for yourself.
I started reading this first and finished with the audiobook. I loved both! But the narrators were perfect! Chris Brinkley and Erin Mallon were the voices and I loved it. I can’t say enough good things about this one. Get the book or listen to it on audio. It’s good.
Thanks Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Bend Toward the Sun is a beautifully written love story that surprised me in so many ways. The writing has a way of transporting the reader to another time and place. I could visualize every setting with such detail, from the sights and sounds to the smells. This book tackles tough emotions and issues and tells Rowan and Harry's story with such honesty and care, while also feeling hopeful, A great read for anyone looking for an uplifting, emotional love story.

This story is told in third person dual point of view. Each chapter is labeled for either Rowan or Harry. I loved Harry’s family, the Brady clan, who have purchased an abandoned vineyard in rural Pennsylvania with plans to renovate and open a working winery and bed and breakfast combo. Harry’s mother is from Spain where her family operates a vineyard, so she has lots of family advice from overseas but is looking to contract with someone local to figure out what to do with the mess that is the current vineyard. Will and Gia have six children, five boys including Harry and one girl who is currently away at college. Those who aren’t living at the vineyard often visit for family birthdays and holidays. I can’t gush enough about how much I loved the family in this story.

I really should have loved this book. It’s both fun and angsty. Harry is a doctor who is grieving the loss of a patient and has taken leave from the practice in Los Angeles to be with his family during this difficult time. His close friend, Temperance, is also the sister to his brother’s wife and Temperance’s roommates, Frankie and Rowan, are very close. Temperance sends Rowan’s resume to the family to be hired as a contract horticulturist for the vineyard. Rowan and Harry meet during an in-progress game of hide and seek, which I found fun and creative. The family is very competitive.

Rowan, who has previously been burned by love and did not have an ideal loving childhood, is a botanist who is working in academia but appears to be more at home with plants than people. I was excited to read another book about a woman in STEM and I thought I would enjoy flipping the old trope so that Rowan was the emotionally unavailable party who wanted a casual relationship with no strings while Harry was openly affectionate. However, I had a problem with the way Rowan uses science as an excuse to keep things casual. Turns out that I find the old “it’s just biology, baby” line to be just as distasteful coming from an intelligent woman as a man. This wasn’t her only excuse, just the one that annoyed me the most.

I laughed, I cried, and I was frustrated by both main characters at points. This novel takes a familiar trope and flips it which I both found refreshing and annoying. The character development of both parties was also a bit jumpy. There were parts that were 5 star worthy and parts that really made me want to put the book down. Overall, I enjoyed the Brady family and their vineyard project, and I will definitely revisit any future stories about the siblings finding their HEAs, especially Duncan and Mal.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy provided for an honest review.

Rowan, a botany student, doesn’t believe in love. But when she meets Harrison one night at a party, sparks fly. But life becomes tough for Harrison. He’s an obstetrician and loses a patient and doesn’t know if going back or helping his struggling family’s vineyard is what he should do. Both of them make their own path along the way admits scares and dreams they each have.

Get ready to cry. It’s a good angsty, second-chance story. The love story is intense and feels so real, it’ll leave you forlorn. The pining, the healing, the struggles are all there.

Bend Toward the Sun is a novel that follows the love story of Rowan and Harrison. Rowan has a Ph.D. in botany and Harrison is a doctor. The two meet unexpectedly during a family game. Rowan wants to keep thing casual, but Harrison is not a casual type of person.

After reading many reviews, I have an unpopular opinion about this one. I didn't love the banter between the two main characters. I thought they had more chemistry with their family than with each other. I didn't love Rowan's back and forth attitude about being in a casual relationship with Harrison. I want to read this again to see if I was just in a bad mindspace when reading this one.

Read if you like:
Family drama
Small town love story
Wine/wine making

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this one before it was published in exchange for an honest review.

Rowan is a horticulturalist and needs to publish an academic paper to stay relevant in her field. After an unexpected setback, she finds herself working for the Brady family and helping to restore the vineyard they recently purchased. Harry returns home after the loss of a patient pulls the rug out from under him and upends his life in Los Angeles. He hopes that returning home and contributing to his family's new endeavor will help him to heal.

What I loved:
Plant puns (I need a Party Thyme or Sage Against the Machine t-shirt ASAP!!)
Smart humor (horticulturist and medical doctor main characters led to some fantastic jokes)
All the scenes with Harry's family
Asparagus' dislike for Duncan
Jen's poetic writing
The romance (insert fire emojis here)

The story takes place over a year, which let the insta-like embers burn into a genuine connection and relationship. There is a very strong physical attraction between Rowan and Harry, and the first half of the book is full of pining and emotional unavailability. As the seasons change and our main characters develop and grow as individuals, their magnetic attraction begins to draw them together. I am glad that Jen took the time to let the characters grow and heal from their traumas; the choice to set the book over a longer period of time was extremely smart for these characters.

I cannot say enough good things about Jen's writing. It is lush, poetic, and beautiful. In case you need some convincing, here are some of my favorite passages:

"Life had flourished and thrived there, despite years of apparent neglect. Rowan felt a pang of kinship."
"You can't mourn the loss of something you never had."
"You don't get to choose when someone needs you."
"His pupils eclipsed the irises of his eyes, crowding out all but a thin rim of smoke around the edge. 'I'd rather have you now and miss this for the rest of my life, than never have you at all.'"

I can't pinpoint why, but I connected with Bend Toward the Sun on a deep level. The writing was poignant and wrapped itself around my heart like a blanket. I dearly hope that Jen revisits the Brady family in future books.

Bend Toward The Sun
Jen Devon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶/5

Slow burn ✔️
He falls first ✔️
Female STEM rep✔️

Bend Toward The Sun is officially on the market. A stunningly beautiful debut from @kisscrafter - you’re doing yourself a disservice by not dropping everything to pick this one up immediately!

The story follows Rowan, a socially awkward botanist and Harry, a disturbingly handsome doctor recovering from some emotionally damaging circumstances. The sparks fly upon their initial meeting in the midst of an annual family tradition, but based on their pasts they’re both initially hesitant to act on anything. As they get to know each other, he falls hard for her, but she refuses to give in despite the feelings she feels equally as hard.

This one will hit you in all the feels as you cheer the two characters on towards each other. Just when you think that he’s broken down her walls it all falls apart and you’re heartbroken for both of them while still desperately hoping for them to find their way back to each other.

Such a great read that I’ve demanded Mimi move it immediately up on her TBR- so should you, you won’t regret it!

Loved this one and appreciate the opportunity to have been able to read an ARC copy courtesy of @kisscrafter and NetGalley. It’s not to be missed!