Member Reviews
First off, I am obsessed with this purple cover! I loved the dual POV here, but I did have some problems with the miscommunications. But there was plenty of pining here and I did enjoy Duncan and Temperance together.
Cute but found myself skimming a lot of it. Hard for me to care a lot about the characters. Didn’t love the vibes but that’s probably just me!
Bend Towards the Sun was one of my favorite books when I read it a few years ago, so I was thrilled to hear this book was set in the same world and that we would get to revisit Cloud Tide vineyard and some of the characters from that book.
I also love a good second chance romance so I was thrilled to dive into this one and learn about the complicated relationship between Temperance and Duncan. I loved being transported back in time to when these two wonderful characters first met and fell in love and then broke up, and then of course to see how they interact in present day and to see if the timing would finally be right for them to be together.
Jen Devon's writing is lovely as always, and I loved that in addition to the beautiful second chance romance, there's also just such a wonderful focus on family.
First thing I have to say is Temperance is such a great name. My other favorite tv character shares the same name so I knew going in I was gonna love this book. And boy do I love it! I love a good Forced Proximity romance and this one is straight fire. This book had me feeling all my feelings and emotions.
A Second chance romance to root for! I really loved this couple and quickly became invested rooting for them the whole time!
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Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
"Right Where We Left Us" by Jen Devon explores themes of love, friendship, and the complexities of growing up. Set against a backdrop of a picturesque summer, the story follows characters who navigate their relationships and unresolved feelings. Devon’s writing is evocative, capturing both the nostalgia of youth and the challenges of adulthood. The characters are relatable, and their journey of self-discovery is engaging. Ultimately, it’s a heartfelt narrative of forced proximity and second chance romance.
I absolutely loved Jen Devon's "Bend Toward the Sun" so I was thrilled when I saw the ARC available for this. Unfortunately, this story and the couple just fell flat for me. I actually began reading this book in May and only just finished it this last weekend (end of September). I was just never really all that excited to pick it up so read other books instead until I finally decided to just finish it! The backstory was choppy and odd, Temperance's connection with the family was odd, and it's just such a SLOOOOOOOWWWW burn. The many reasons why this couple couldn't be together really made very little sense, along with the family constantly giving advice that sounded like it came from a Hallmark card, and also the weird "fake" relationship that made no sense to the overall plot. This one was not for me.
Bend Toward the Sun was a favorite of mine, so I had high hopes for Right Where We Left Us. I was so thrilled to be back in the fold with the lovely Brady family! While it didn't quite reach the level of BTTS, Right Where We Left Us was still a heartwarming story of second chances and new beginnings. A must read that will stay with you long after you finish. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Forced proximity and second chances are the name of the game in this delightfully written story. Years ago, Temperance and Duncan had an unforgettable summer together. Since then, they have always been drawn to each other, but the timing never seemed to be right and they always ended up leaving. Now, Temperance is back home for the summer, and Duncan can't keep his mind and eyes off of her. Duncan has issues with self-worth, and not having a higher education and working in construction, he doesn't think himself worthy of her. There is a lot of yearning and angst between them and the chemistry is undeniable and you can really feel their pain throughout the whole story. They've tried and failed to be together in the past, but could this time be different?
A well-wriiten and lovely story that had me invested from the start. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.
3.5
It was great getting Duncan and TJ’s second chance romance story. This book is a stand alone but it helps knowing characters and back stories if you have read the first book. I don’t love this book as much as Bend Towards the Sun. Jen Devon’s writing is beautiful. I love angst and a slow burn but I felt like there weren’t good enough reasons keeping the two of them apart for as long as they were. I still enjoyed the book and looking forward to hopefully more books from the Brady siblings.
ARC received from netgalley
This was a weird read for me because I felt as though I was missing information throughout the entire book. There are so many previous events that happened that are constantly referred to, and a lot of characters to keep track of, that I thought this had to be a part of a series. It's not though - it's a standalone. For that reason, I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked to.
TJ and Duncan though... talk about angst and sexual tension and second chances. I loved Duncan's character; he's so quietly holding all the pieces together and making progress, and no one really notices it. Definitely a great fictional couple, but too much happened off page that left me confused at times.
Jen Devon is SPECTACULAR and I’ll never understand how this author and her books seem to fly under the radar. I was obsessed with Bend Towards The Sun and Right Where We Left Us has captivated me just as much. This is an EXCELLENT second chance romance and honestly is the template for the trope. Won’t stop screaming about this author and cannot wait for the next book!!
5 outstanding stars!!
Unfortunately i made the decision to DNF this book after multiple failed attempts to consume. I hope to pick it up again at a later time.
What strikes me about Jen Devon’s books is how full of angst her love stories are. It was true for “Bend Toward the Summer”, and equally so for this second chance romance. Again, this story takes place at the Brady vineyard in Pennsylvania. I really like all the characters from this clan, introduced in the first book. Temperance and Duncan were in love as teens, but have been estranged in recent years. Well, when they’re not spending the night together. This is a story where both characters need to deal with their own personal challenges and be honest with one another before they can choose to be together again. While the pacing was at times slow, this was a beautiful love story.
Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.
This is a great pick for everyone who loves slow-burn and second-chance romance, add found family and a beautiful setting.
This book follows a Temperance and Duncan, and their on and off again love story. There's a lot of everything between them: the pining, a lot of backstory, the banter is amazing. It's clear that the chemistry has always been there, but they never truly gave in.
And now that a very special occasion brings them back together, the past memories and the connection surely can't keep them apart any longer.
This book was emotional and beautiful. There were so many sweet moments, the longing and the angst were just amazing.
I just wish I'd read "Bend Toward the Suns" before this one as I feel it'd probably give me even more of a backstory of Temperance and Duncan, but still it was a very enjoyable read.
I loved the first one in this series so much that it saddened me that I did not enjoy this one. The characters felt completely different than who we met in book 1, when I was really excited for their storyline to continue. I was unfortunately not impressed.
4.5 stars
I, E-Reader Addict, do solemnly swear, that if I am so lucky as to be granted an ARC of the next Jen Devon book I will NOT procrastinate my reading of it.
I’m not sure what my deal has been lately, but books have NOT been interesting me lately. Which has made me drag my feet starting new books. And boy did that bite me in the butt this time because DANG this one was good and sucked me in hard.
Which is surprising because I’m not generally a fan of angst for the sake of angst - and there was A LOT of that here. Duncan and Temperance Jean spent a clandestine summer together when they were eighteen, but have been doing a cat and mouse thing (each taking turns playing cat and mouse) for the past 16 years - ever since Duncan cut things off after that long ago summer. Now they try to give each other a wide berth despite getting thrown together over the summer, once again, with the wedding preparations for Duncan’s brother and TJ’s best friend (Harry and Rowan from Bend Toward the Sun).
Turns out, Duncan’s reason for darting away from Temperance all those years ago was quite the reason - and not some stupid, misguided “I don’t deserve her” malarkey. Like, a real doozy of a reason. The author did an amazing job of building the tension, showing the longing, giving the reader SO MUCH chemistry. I don’t usually like a slow burn but this one was fantastic. I despise non-communication (especially in adults), but I was completely able to let that go this time…
As with Bend Toward the Sun, the author’s prose has a poetic quality to it. Again, she did an amazing job with her world building, and the dialog is fantastically witty. But that world building becomes a double edged sword - the Brady family is large and it can frequently be difficult to keep track of who is who and doing what with whom. Not helping the situation is that Right Where We Left Us is clearly a sequel to Bend Toward the Sun, but they aren’t
marketed as a series. I read Bend Toward the Sun (albeit almost two years ago) and was often confused by all the characters, so I can only imagine how confused new readers must be.
I said in my review for Bend Toward the Sun that despite the things I didn’t enjoy about the book, I think Jen Devon has a lot of potential - and her sophomore offering confirmed that for me. And I still hope there are more books, one for each of the Brady siblings!
* thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review
Noooooo this was not the book I was expecting to read. Way too many characters, never fully understood why they couldnt be together. Glad when it ended!
I thought this was such a beautifully written story! Temperance and Duncan’s second chance was all I hoped it could be and more. I felt the heartache right along with them in the beginning!
was sitting at 3 for a while with this one but everything just dragged on so much. I loved Rowan and Harry's story in Bend Towards the Sun, so I was hoping I would love this one as well, but it fell so flat for me. The idea of a second chance romance is great if the characters actually decide to be in a relationship for more than the last 10% of the book. There was so much back and forth and I couldn't get over the push and pull. Everything was so long I didn't even feel like this deserves an HEA. I couldn't believe it took me this long to read but I was so disconnected from the story and the characters. I also feel like there were so many background characters that were unnecessary to the romance. Overall, I should have dnfd and I'm not sure I enjoyed anything about this book. Thank you to St. Martin's press for the e-ARC to read and review!