Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Book 2 in Devney Perry’s Haven River Ranch series starts with an instant connection between Jax and Sasha. Set in beautiful Montana (hello, can I visit here), Sasha soon learns that Jax is sorta kinda her boss and immediately puts up a guard. Slowly but surely, Jax peels back the layers by a little forced proximity and a little surprise that neither were expecting.

Sasha was the “grumpy” to Jax’s “sunshine” and while I rarely come across this reverse trope, I was not disappointed. They they both had family issues that led to trust issues, but it was heartwarming to see them both open up to each other. The ending was touching and I definitely shed a tear, which automatically made this book a winner.

Thank you to Devney Perry and Valentine PR for the eARC of Sunlight in exchange for my honest review.

**this review might contain minor spoilers**
—————————-
4.5⭐️

Oh. My. Goodness??? I absolutely DEVOURED this book. I could not put it down and I finished it in less than 8 hours. I don’t say this often but o kind of wish this book was a bit longer?? Any way, let’s dive into the review.

Jax is (partly) a ranch owner along side his brother, West, and sister in law, Indya. This takes place years after we are introduced to their characters in Crossroads. Sasha goes to Montana to work at Haven River Ranch.

I already knew going into this book it might be my favorite because Jax <i>freaking</i> Haven?? Yeahhhhh, I need to find one of him irl!!

From the first chapter, we get <i>AMAZING</i> banter between Jax and Sasha and their “meet-cute” was so adorable. I didn’t feel like they were forced in any way, you could feel their chemistry from the literal first 10 pages of the book, and I give kudos because to be able to portray that from the get go? That’s talent.

Just like Crossroads, we also get a bit of a mystery element on Sasha’s backstory. We see huge character development and awareness of Jax and Sasha throughout the story that made me fall in love with them. I really enjoy when authors use parallel situations of other characters to guide our main characters to make the right decisions and reflect on their current situations and in a way, write their own paths. (I hope that makes sense lol - iykyk?) Jax and Sasha paths were beautifully written and honestly there wasn’t much I would change on their journey.

I’m not usually a fan of the accidental pregnancy trope, but if you do it right? LIKE DEVENY PERRY?? then sign me up. I can’t tell you this was everything I wanted, but it was everything I unexpectedly needed when reading Sunlight. This whole book gave me the warm butterflies that I’ve been missing from a romance novel.

<i>Sasha: “Distract me. Tell me a secret”
Jax: “I love you”
Sasha: “Tell me to tell you a secret”
Jax: “Tell me a secret.”
Sasha: “I love you” </I>

For fans of Reckless by Elsie Silver, I think you will get that warm feeling again when you read Sunlight. I’ve been trying to chase that high again and I think i found it… or it found me… however you want to put it! The feelings I had when I finished Reckless were almost on par to how I felt finishing this book (Aka with some tears in my eyes!).

The only reason I didn’t rate it a perfect rating is because I felt like the story development with Eddie was rushed and I would have wished that we dug a bit deeper into that. Because although he wasn’t a HUGE part of Sasha and Jax story, he was a huge part in Sasha’s character development and I wished there was a bigger resolve than the quick one at the end.

(I have my suspicion that book 3 might be about Eddie, but we’ll see 🤭)

Jax and Sasha stole my heart. They have so much chemistry that I was waiting for it to explode off the page. There is a bit of mystery behind Sasha and why she is so closed off that she keeps people at arms length and for good reason. Jax is this white knight riding in with his cowboy hat. He is so fun to read. I live that when these two facecan unplanned pregnancy, he steps up and makes it his mission to help Sasha fall in live with him and Montana.

Safe to say Devney is one hell of a writer.
I read this during the toughest moments in my country and it has helped me dissociate for sure.
And for that, I thank you Devney.

This woman takes you on a ride of a relationship that went from the coldest to the warmest.
Jax ate away at Sasha's walls like an absolute master.
The push and pull, their gimmick of "Tell me a secret" and "Tell me a lie" is so out of this world, so fucking cute and so creative.
I loved every last second of it.

Devney might have just made me an accidental pregnancy trope stan!

Sunlight takes place 7 years after the events in Crossroads.
From the very first interaction I knew I would love Sasha and Jax. Their banter was fun and easy. Chemistry was HOT! There was a lot of back and forth and a few time jumps that left me wanting more. The angst was low but steamy when we needed it to be. Jax and Sasha both having traumatic pasts and revealing it slowly to each other made it an emotional read at times. The letters to Eddie and the big reveal was quick and didn’t get dragged out which I liked. This was a quick read and I was glad we also were given a glimpse of what West and Indya have been up to.

Tell me a lie: This book did not rip my heart out and make me cry.

I swear Devney Perry cannot write a bad book even if she tried! Sunlight was an absolute 5 star read and honestly one of my favorite reads of the year! There were so many sweet moments as well as ones that hit so close to home. I related so much to Sasha’s story and her struggles so seeing her progression was so healing. Jax also perfectly complimented Sasha.

If you are a fan of small town romance, cowboys, and accidental pregnancy trope, this book is for you!

I am so thankful to Devney Perry and Valentine PR for allowing me to read this!

There’s such a delight in immersing into a Devney Perry small town story. She certainly dominates this trope and gives us such lovely stories with wonderful characters. I loved the first book in this series and couldn’t believe she could write another better one, but she did, and wow.

Sasha was a very closed up character but even so, her niceness, great humor, and huge capacity to love comes through. Jax comes on as playful and snarky, sometimes he behaved like a typical little brother to West, and completely heartwarming and thoughtful with Sasha. It was his tenacity that allowed him to get close to Sasha, and once we have our surprise pregnancy, his considerate and supportive ways really win him the girl.

Sasha and Jax have this cute game of asking for a lie and asking for a secret. Many important feelings and thought were exchanged in this cute game, I loved it!

There’s a mystery throughout the book regarding someone called Eddie. I was dying to know the secret and that kept me passing the pages until I could find out what. Sasha felt like she had a huge load on her shoulders and at times she seemed to be overwhelmed by all her responsibilities. I loved seeing Jax try to help shoulder her load. I particularly loved one dialogue, among all the wonderful banter they exchanged. He asked how she was doing, she asked: You got me? He said: I got you, she said: Then I’m all right. Wonderful and so heartwarming!

I adored this book and pretty much everything Devney Perry writes. The main characters were great and had good chemistry from the start. I loved seeing the relationship develop. I enjoyed the game they had of tell me a secret/tell me a lie. There was a perfect amount of spice and romance but also some emotional moments which help to connect to the characters.

Thank you Devney Perry and Netgalley for the arc :)

If anyone is going to make accidental pregnancy work for a hater like me it’s Devney Perry. I’m only a hater when I feel like the couple has literally nothing in common but the baby but Jax and Sasha… 🙂‍↕️ I LOVE THEM. In Cross Roads I wasn’t Jax’s number one fan but consider me converted. Both of them have such emotional depth. More than most of Devney’s other characters (in my opinion). Jax is lowkey a lover boy at heart despite his Montana playboy cowboy exterior.
“I’m really good at hugs and pancakes.” And delivering orgasms, but that was something I preferred to show women, not tell.”

I was starting to get annoyed with the letters Sasha was writing but she finally talked about them at the right time and can I just say I love her even more. I don’t want to spoil anything but I have so much respect for her as an 18 year old girl taking on the world. Moving to Montana as an escape for her and Eddie. I loved this one so much. I can’t wait for more. 5/5 ⭐️

“Stupid. Freaking. Cowboy hat.”

When I got the ARC for this one I immediately pushed my other books to the side, this was one of my most anticipated reads and it did NOT disappoint. I read Crossroads and immediately wanted to know more about Jax and I am so glad to finally have it.

This book was incredible and I literally couldn’t put it down. Sasha and Jax are so perfect for each other and I love that they both opened up to each other in their own time and it felt so natural and not rushed at all. I was intrigued from the very beginning and wanted to know what had Sasha keeping her walls up so fiercely. I will forever love Jax Haven and I’m so glad we got more to his story. I could go on and on about how amazing this book was, but please just do yourself a favor and read this book, and also anything else by Devney Perry too.

Tropes:
Accidental Pregnancy
Cowboy Romance
Small Town
Workplace Romance
Forced Proximity
He’s her boss

Thank you to Valentine PR and Devney Perry for the chance to read this beautiful ARC 💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I will always devour whatever Devney writes. The Haven River Ranch is quickly becoming a favorite series. I was so happy to return to the ranch and we get little snippets of West!

Sunlight follows Jax and Sasha. It is full of such raw emotion that I was either crying or laughing with the characters. I loved that the timeline for this one felt longer. I was able to get to know the characters more and watch their connection develop.

✨Sasha is our grumpy and closed off fmc. There’s a secrecy to her and we get little snippets of her past throughout the book. She is sassy and hardheaded. I could relate to her on that lol. I loved that by the end of the book she was willing to accept the things that made her happy.

✨Jax is our sunshine rugged cowboy. I have a soft spot for him. Some of his past is so painful that I just wanted to hug him. We got snippets of him in Crossroads, but I LOVED getting to know his character.

✨Jax and Sasha were painfully and heartwarmingly real. The way they were written was so beautiful. Jax knows that Sasha is closed off and he still did everything he could for her. He knew she wouldn’t accept his help, so he would offer it in ways where she wouldn’t feel like a burden. He was gentle and caring to her in ways that helped her heal. I love that Sasha made Jax work for her and became his safe spot as well. She stuck up for him on things he wouldn’t have on his own. Their secrets and lies were everything to me.

Obviously I love them and this entire book 🥹

Sunlight has:
🤠 Cowboy romance
☀️ Surprise pregnancy
🍯 He’s her boss
🏠 Small town
📝 Forced proximity
✨ A little suspense
💛 Grumpy/sunshine

Ps, it releases October 15th

Thank you @devneyperry and @valentine_pr_ for this ARC! 🫶🏼

☀️💛 𝓢𝓾𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 ☀️💛
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡

“𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕” Montana is growing on Sasha despite the cold winter. 🤫

“𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒆” Jax looks terrible in his black cowboy hat.🤭

Jax and Sasha. Their unique banter tells quite the story. So many secrets between them slowly come to light. But the lies? Well, they become their most important truths.

This is book 2 in the Haven River Ranch series and once again, Devney paints a gorgeous picture of Montana ranch life. You can certainly read Sunlight as a stand alone, but to get the most out of Jax and Sasha’s story, I highly recommend reading book 1, 𝓒𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓼𝓻𝓸𝓪𝓭𝓼, where we are introduced to the Haven family.

Devney never fails to weave a captivating, emotional story. Sunlight is no different. A beautiful, small town cowboy romance that will tug at your heartstrings from the very beginning. lol

Jax and Sasha are immediately drawn to each other (their “meet cute” over a grocery cart is fabulous fun) but she soon discovers that he’s her “boss” (one of the owners of the ranch) and Sasha is determined to only be in Montana temporarily - she really hates the cold. So Sasha keeps her distance from everyone, especially Jax, until, well, she gives into Jax’s cowboy charms - there’s just something about that cowboy hat - the result being a surprise pregnancy. But they barely know each other! Let the awkwardness begin.

As Sasha and Jax begin to realize that their futures are looking very different then what they imagined, their tortured pasts come to light and secrets are revealed. Honestly, I read this book in one day as I was absolutely enthralled and totally invested in Sasha and Jax all the way thru to their well-earned HEA.

“𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕” I need more Haven River Ranch books. 🤫

“𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒆” I did not fall hard for Jax Haven. 🤭

Another Devney book binged in less than 24 hours…

Dare I say I loved this one even more than Crossroads?! I’m a sucker for accidental pregnancy and this one is done SO well! I loved every minute of this book.

The instant attraction between these two can be felt through the pages. It was hot and I was so ready.. only for Sasha to pull back because OOPS, he’s her boss!

Gimme a small town, forbidden romance any frickin day. BUT THEN.. She adds in accidental pregnancy!! I ate this shit up y’all.

I can’t not mention Jax. That smirk… I could SEE IT! Every single time. I want him to smirk at me like that. Especially in the bedroom. Wait, what?! But also, he’s endearing and soft when he needs to be. The way he steps up and supports her during her pregnancy is swoony. He’s just a freaking MAN and I may have giant crush on him. It’s fine.

The secret/lie game throughout the book is so fun and it felt special to experience it with them.

Loved this one so much and can’t wait for the next in this series!!

"You got me, right?" "I got you." She leaned into my side. "Then I'm okay."

As if I needed another reason to fantasize about dropping everything, moving to Montana and suddenly becoming unafraid of horses, here comes Sunlight!

If there’s one thing Devney Perry is going to do, it’s write an mmc that sweeps you away SO freaking fast. Jax is no different. I loved the way he was patient with Sasha and how he was really just all in from the beginning. Sasha is a complex fmc. She’s hesitant to form connections with anyone and is ultimately pretty lost. They both make mistakes and are far from perfect but they own it and become safe spaces for each other.

One of my favorite parts of both this book (and Crossroads too!) is there’s sort of a mysterious/secretive aspect to them. You’ll have questions when you read, and by the end when secrets are revealed you’re in so deep with the characters you just feel so much..

I love this series (and everything Devney writes tbh) very very very much and I hope there are more! I can’t wait for everyone to meet Jax and Sasha!

✨Read if you love
- surprise pregnancy
- cowboy romance
- small town
- forced proximity
- workplace romance
- he’s her boss
- he cooks for her
- funny meet cute

Also I saw that lil nod to Vanderpump Rules. I loved it 💕

4.5 rounded up💫 or maybe just a full 5 stars TBD!! all I know is I LOVE ME SOME DEVNEY!!!🙂‍↕️👏

We’re back at Haven River Ranch and it’s Jax’s time to shine! He’s a hot cowboy!🤠 a player who doesn’t want commitment! UNTILLLL Sasha and their perfect grocery store parking lot meet cute🥹🥹

✨small town / cowboy romance
✨accidental pregnancy
✨forced proximity
✨they both have ~mommy~ issues
✨dual POV
✨some spicy scenes🔥
✨he’s her boss…ish

They bantered, she tried to resist, he persisted! She just wants someone to trust and take care of her for once!! ❤️‍🩹 I loved them + it was nearly perfect! (The ending was rushed I’m sorrrrryyy I guessed it was coming but still wanted a *smidge* more but also I still loved it IDK!!)

Love love love! This book was everything I was hoping it would be.
I adored the small town, cowboy, cozy ranch vibes and loved being back at the Haven River Ranch. The family aspect of these books completely draws me in and hooks me. I can’t get enough.

Devney Perry knows how to write the perfect men. JAXXXXXX. Oh my heart. I knew he was trouble since book 1. I love love love him. And though this felt a bit slow burn-ish and it was the accidental pregnancy trope, it worked SO well. Can’t wait for book 3!

I am a big fan of the accidental pregnancy trope but there is no one, I repeat *NO ONE*, who writes them as well as Devney Perry. I have been in a reading slump and this book cured me. Right away I was sucked into the story and could not get enough.

An issue that I have with some accidental pregnancy romance books is that I don't always buy the connection between the two love interests and it makes me wonder if the characters would have stayed together had there not been a little bundle of joy. That was NOT the case with this book.

It was obvious from the beginning that there was *something* there, but Sasha has a guard up (and for good reason as we find out later on). She has one goal and that is to stay focused on her new job. She puts a wall up which Jax just loves trying to knock down. Jax is a charming, handsome cowboy who has lived his whole life feeling like he was a mistake. He has a reputation of being a flirt and never gets attached. That all changes when he meets Sasha and finds himself struggling to focus on much else besides his crush on her.

They slowly start to form a friendship of sorts and are somehow able to ignore the insane tension between them (they don't ignore it very well though). Even though Sasha really did try her best to ignore the hot cowboy (I would not have had her strength), she is only human. One wild night and a positive pregnancy test later... the hot cowboy is here to stay.

He made her feel safe and she made him feel wanted. Their love story was filled with SO many tender, sweet moments that had me melting and even more that had me giggling and kicking my feet. Jax is such a flirt (while also being a secret sad boy) and somehow it felt like he was flirting directly with me through the pages (ugh... if only). Their chemistry was off the charts and once they decided to just go for it? Wow. THE STEAM! My god...

The ending was beautiful. I was genuinely shocked by one of the plot points being revealed the way it was and was a blubbering mess the last 10%. There was a side character plot that made my heart break but the ending gave me so much hope for their happily ever after (which I realllllly think might be the next book?).

Haven River Ranch miiiiiiiight end up being my new favorite series by the author. It feels so fresh and different from other small town romances.

My only negative comment about this book is that it was not 500 pages longer because I did not want it to end.

I have been itching to read this book since before I finished Crossroads. I really like the small-town trope. I like how the main characters met over a shopping cart incident, who would have guessed what happened next. There really must be something magical about Haven River Ranch and that Montana air. It was good to see the characters from the first book, but I could see reading this book without having read that one first. Just get your hands on this series for some wholehearted fun with a little bit of smut.

Dare I say that this might be one of my favourite Devney series yet?! 🤭 I am so in love with the Haven River Ranch! 😍

Sasha is right up there with Winn as one of my favourite Devney FMCs! She was so freaking strong, independent and hard working, but she was also lonely, lost and heartbroken. She didn’t have anyone in her corner, but it was so sweet to see her slowly letting Jax in.

Jax was such a fun playboy, but he fell hard and fast for Sasha. I loved the way he loved to rile her up and push her buttons, purely because it was the only way he could have her 🥹 He stepped up immediately (well after one night of drinking 😉) to be there for Sasha and “my Josephine” 🥹 and let her set the pace. He was so patient and loving, and he made me fall in love with him also! 😍

Jax and Emery’s friendship also deserves a special mention. I loved how he was her safe space, and the immediate bond between Sasha and Emery. I’m so excited to get her book so I hope it’s next! 😍

Thank you Devney, Valentine PR and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes:
- Cowboy Romance
- Surprise Pregnancy
- Workplace Romance
- Boss x Employee
- Forced Proximity
- Small Town Romance
- Reformed Playboy
- He Falls First