I absolutely loved Jen Devon’s debut, Bend Toward the Sun, and jumped at the chance to read an early copy of the next in the series. Right Where We Left Us is about Dr. Temperance Madigan and architect/contractor Duncan Brady, who had a brief but intense relationship at 18 that fell apart for reasons the reader isn’t privy to at the start of the book. Due to close ties between their friends and family—her sister is married to one of his brothers and her best friend (Rowan from book 1) is about to marry a different brother—combined with unresolved feelings, neither Temperance nor Duncan have been able to truly move on from their relationship in the subsequent 14 years. Instead they have a pretty toxic cycle of avoidance, arguing, and then hooking-up. When they are forced to work together as Maid of Honor and Best Man for Rowan/Harry’s wedding they realize the time has finally come to confront their past.

I loved this book. Devon’s writing is beautiful and the story was full of angst and pining and longing that really worked for me. Despite the fraught history between them, it was clear that Temperance and Duncan still really care about one another, even when they do their best to push one another away. The family business/winery backdrop adds to the enjoyment as well—I love a romance with a big tight-knit family and it was nice to see more of Temperance’s sister Maren and the curmudgeon Brady brother Malcolm (who I have to believe is the MMC in Devon’s next book)! While this can absolutely be read as a standalone, I wished I had re-read Bend Toward the Sun before diving in. It is equally fabulous and only adds to the enjoyment of Right Where We Left Us. This amazing book releases June 18th. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The most interesting thing about this book is it’s a second chance romance and we don’t see much if any of their past yet they have over 14 years of memories and experiences together. It honestly broke my heart a little reading how much they let themselves get in their own way. Also okay she kind of sucked honestly and didn’t really have a real reason for pushing our love interest away TBH. It’s a lot of miscommunication trope so it’s getting 3 stars cause that’s how I feel

Slow burn spicy contemporary second chance romance with dual pov. There were SO many secondary characters. I wonder if I could have kept better track if I had read the first book (I did not realize this was 2nd in a series until after I looked up the author)? The writing was excellent and often even poetic. Sometimes I found the flowery descriptions beautiful, but other times it seemed a bit too much. I enjoyed the characters and setting. The chemistry was great and the spice was fantastic. The story, ultimately, dragged a little for me. Overall I enjoyed it and will read other books by this author.

I enjoyed Devon's first book in the series, Bend Toward the Sun, and was excited to see a follow-up that featured the same lovely Brady family and all their neighbors and loved ones.

As with the first book, this book had a compelling storyline with a descriptive writing style and plenty of interpersonal drama to amp up the sexual tension between the protagonists. (Honestly, are we sure these two are professional adults in their 30's? Because it felt like they were fully and willingly engaging in quarterlife-level emotional angst throughout the story, and my middle-aged sensibilities were exhausted by the end of the book.)

Regardless, there were plenty of lighthearted moments of teasing and comradery among the cast of characters, and some intrigue about friendships and family expectations that impacted the protagonists' ability to connect with honesty and authenticity. But this is a romance, so we know they'll get their HEA in the end, which they do.

Recommended for readers who love complex, fully developed characters and plenty of drama leading up to a satisfying conclusion.

All in all, I enjoyed this one! Contemporary second chance romances are often a tougher sell for me - so many times the breakup is due to a miscommunication or just characters being idiots and I just often don't resonate with the trope. I will say that I didn't mind the second chance aspect or initial breakup (essentially they were young and dumb).

I loved Duncan and would love if he existed in real life (if anyone has that magic power, I'll order one Duncan please!). Once he and Temperance got together, I totally understood their relationship and chemistry. OMG and also his tattoos!!! and the fact that he had the "temperance" tarot card tattooed on to him?? PLEASE your honor I love him!

I loved the family/found family dynamics in both Bend Toward the Sun and this book - I will say that at times this book felt just a little dense with other plot/characters so I did have to slow down and back up a few times. That didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book at all, just a note that this might be a little slower of a read for some people - but I think this book is worth the savoring!

I do recommend reading Bend Towards the Sun before picking this one up, though it's probably not 100% necessary

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I read and adored the author’s first book and had high hopes for this novel that brings us back for the first book’s MCs’ wedding (this is an interconnected series and I would suggest reading Bend Toward the Sun before attempting this).

Duncan was such a great character in the first book yet in this one, I barely recognized him from those earlier glimpses. Same for Temperance. Both MCs read as surprisingly immature for their ages.

For a second chance romance, I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two MCs, and spent the book feeling like we were told more than shown (80% in and they’re still not together). The pacing was slow and the connection between the two doesn’t read as authentic.

It took me a couple of months of putting it down and picking it back up to try again to work my way through this one.

I really wanted to love this and I’m sorry that I didn’t enjoy it more. Devon’s writing is, in places, engaging and wonderful - I will definitely read Mal’s story (if one is forthcoming).



Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the DRC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
- Forced proximity
- Decades of pining
- Second chance
- Dual POV

When I’m not in the mood for a sugary sweet romcom, THIS is the type of book I want. Bursting at the seams with angst, Right Where We Left Us bring you back to the Brady family (that I absolutely love) and follows Temperance and Duncan - with lots of cameos from Rowan and Harry 💕.

The way Carley Fortune encapsulates the lakeside setting, Jen Devon encapsulates the vineyard/farm setting. Through luscious descriptions, you 100% feel like you are sitting in with the Brady’s as a part of the family and you will feel all the same emotions as the characters on the page.

Temperance and Duncan have spent the last 14 years fighting the cosmic pull they have towards each other (with the occasional hook up) so yes, this is a very slow burn - but the chemistry is explosive. You get to dive deep into what Temperance and Duncan are experiencing and the growth they each must go through before going all in with each other.

Right Where We Left Us is a phenomenal second chance romance with enough pining to satisfy you for weeks to come.

Temperance and Duncan have known each other most of their lives but things fell apart quickly. All grown up, they are stuck being around each other as her best friend marries his brother. I wanted to love this book but it was a really slow burn and I just didn't really feel the reasons they weren't able to be together was enough for them to not wanting to fall back into old ways. Overall it was a cute story and I enjoyed this read but wasn't a favorite.

I adored “Bend Towards The Sun”, so I was excited to dive into this book (the second in the series).

This book features another another Brady son, Duncan and long time family friend Temperance.

What I liked about this book:
- great, flawed but likeable characters
-idyllic setting
-witty and enjoyable banter

What I didn’t like as much:
-second chance romance is my least favourite troupe
-how long and drawn out the reveal was for the reasons these characters broke up years ago

While I still love this author, this book wasn’t my favourite.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

Some second chance romance is great and some is just too slow of a burn. This one was just too slow for me.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for letting me review!

3.5 rounded up

This slow-burn second chance romance was a fun read. The banter was laugh-out-loud funny and I liked the chronic illness rep. I wished there’d been more of her illness shown, but most of it was references and off-page. I also found the shared history between MCs a bit muddled. I often felt like I was missing something.

It definitely made me think more than I was expecting with a simple romcom. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and even seeing references to those characters later in the book necessitated me to pause and think about who they were again in relation to the two MCs. There were also a lot of metaphors that were insightful but sometimes a bit much as well as small bits of wisdom parceled out within the story that was a nice touch. When it came from Gia, I found myself a bit more confused at what message she was trying to relay, but maybe that’s just a quirk of her character.

I didn’t read the previous book in this series, which features the story of two other characters in this book, but that didn’t impair my experience with this book as it is its own standalone within the series.

Worth it for the banter and show-burn spice though. Definitely looking forward to Mal and Frankie’s story.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press & the author for review copies, including our #travellingARC!

“Second chances are when you weren’t ready for your first.”

I loved Bend Toward the Sun for all of its emotion, vulnerability, and real romance between Rowan and Harry, but one of the great parts of the book was being introduced to the Brady family – both those related by blood and those by association. I was thrilled we got to return to Cloud Tide to read Duncan and Temperance’s story. They both loved each other so much that they both got in their own way when they were teens, but years of backsliding and keeping things at arms length have not served either of them well. Right Where We Left Us is a story about two souls destined to be together and giving up the fight against fate in favor of their hearts. It’s a page-turner and you want to scream at them but know they need to be complete fools in order to figure out their truths.

Cute second book in the series. Second chance romance. Some steam. If you liked the first one you will enjoy this one too! Love the Brady family and their vineyard.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

This book made me feel all the feels, and I loved it so much. Jen Devon's writing just hits me hard in the best way possible. I loved Duncan and Temperance so much, and watching them reconnect was a joy. Also, if we don't get Mal's book, I might riot. If you loved Jen's first book, I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Fair warning, this is book 2 of a series but isn't described as such. There are so many characters, I think if you haven't read Bend Toward the Sun, you might be lost. I loved the first book and so wanted to love this as much. Sadly, not so. It was so repetitive that I ended up skimming a lot of the Temperance/Duncan plot line and reading about the others in the family, which for me was more satisfying. I never did understand why Temperance kept pushing Duncan away. For fourteen years! I love the Brady family and will definitely read more if (hopefully) this series continues, especially if the next one is about Malcolm and Frankie.

This was a great family and second chance romance. There was a strong cast of primary and secondary characters and a really great storyline and setting.

Read if you love forced proximity and second-chance romance. The plot fell short in a number of ways, the reason the main characters can't be together is pretty dumb tbh. don't read this if you also hate miscommunication.

Temperance Jean Madigan and Duncan Bradley spent a summer together when they were 18. Since then they have been on and off again. They have been off for a while now. There is this family wedding and TJ’s sister who married Duncan”s brother has a best friend Rowen who is marrying another Duncan brother. The Bradly Family decides to do a bit of meddling and get the two back together. This is the most adorable story of family and friends doing what needs to be done to get two back together. In the end all are happy

This book is the second in an interconnected series about the Brady brothers, sons of parents who recently followed their dreams
And purchased a defunct vineyard that they are bringing back to life. I highly recommend reading the first book, Bend Toward the Sun before reading this one. It is advertised that these are standalones but I attempted to read this ARC and had to put it down and read the first book before proceeding with this one due to the characters and their relationships being initially confusing. Reading BTTS helped clear everything up and was a phenomenal read. That being said, I feel terrible writing this review as I loved the first book but struggled with this one. I didn’t understand why this couple couldn’t be together and flow of the story didn’t feel organic and the chemistry didn’t feel authentic. A few times things jumped from cold to hot and back again so fast I had to go back and make sure I didn’t miss something. I love this author’s writing this story felt confusing and I had trouble being fully engaged.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher, author for the opportunity to read and review this book before it releases.
This was a DNF at 10% for me. Chapter 4. I couldn't with the style of writing. I kept hearing a Helen Mirror style narrator reading the pages aloud to me. It read like a documentary.