Right Where We Left Us by Jen DevonStar Rating:
Spice Level:
Published by St. Martin’s Griffin on 06/18/2024
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, Second Chance Romance
Format: DRC (359 pages)
Source: NetGalley
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Temperance Jean Madigan and Duncan Brady have never gotten it right. After one radiant, secret summer together when they were eighteen, they’ve been on-again off-again ever since. Now, despite red-hot chemistry and TJ’s closeness with Duncan’s family, they’re virtually strangers, only capable of adversarial banter, awkward small talk—and the occasional messy hookup.
When a wedding at the Bradys' vineyard lands TJ there for the summer, their mutual avoidance strategies prove impossible. The last thing TJ wants is to be under those angsty, heated glances Duncan thinks he hides. And for Duncan, having fiery TJ constantly close is the ultimate distraction that he absolutely can’t afford. When forced proximity begins to chip away at their armor, buried tensions resurface, old wounds urge confrontation, and once-in-a-lifetime love demands one last chance to finally get it right.
Temperance & Duncan fell deeply in love when they were 18. They spent one secret, inseparable summer together and then a plethora of insanely crappy things happened that inevitably led to their breakup. In the 14ish years since, whenever they entered each other’s orbit, they were drawn together like magnets. But years of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and guilt meant they never could get it right. Now, Duncan is helping build his family’s winery, and Temperance is a pediatrician at a local clinic. When Duncan’s brother proposes to Temperance’s best friend, the couple who has tried to deny their feelings for so many years is now being forced to spend the summer together.
The chemistry between Temperance & Duncan was delectable, and the setting and side characters were positively delightful. Jen Devon’s writing is wonderfully descriptive and easy to read. I will say that the miscommunication trope usually infuriates me, and this book was no different. The mutual pining and lack of talking was difficult to take at times, but the banter, tension & sexual innuendos more than made up for it. I will also say that there are several parts of Temperance & Duncan’s backstory that I feel like I missed. I wish we had gotten a more in-depth flashback to their summer of love. I have so many questions about what happened back then. Especially surrounding the engagement ring Duncan bought for Temperance and what I assume was his first proposal. There are several hints that he proposed once before, but it was never talked about in depth. I’m not sure if it was left out intentionally, or if it was mentioned in the previous book. But I have a mighty need to know how that proposal went down.
All in all, this was a beautifully written second-chance romance. Were there moments where I wanted to grab the characters by the shoulders and shake some sense into them? Absolutely. Was I also simultaneously rooting for Temperance & Duncan’s HEA? Of course. Was the ending exactly what my soul wanted and needed? One hundred percent.
Having not read Jen Devon’s first novel, Bend Toward the Sun, I had no idea what I was getting into when I started Right Where We Left Us. Minus a few burning questions, I was pleasantly surprised at how well this book worked as a standalone novel. I will definitely be picking up Bend Towards the Sun so I can spend more time at the Brady family winery.
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