Synopsis:

“Heart-warming, sensual, beautifully written.” –Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

Two imperfect people. One year under the sun. A love story you won’t ever forget.

Rowan McKinnon doesn’t believe in love. With a botany PhD, two best friends who embrace her social quirkiness, and some occasional no-strings sex, she has everything she needs. But she hides deep wounds from the past—from a negligent mother, and a fiancé who treated her like a pawn in a game. When an academic setback leads Rowan to take on the restoration of an abandoned vineyard, she relishes the opportunity to restore the grapes to their former glory.

She does not expect to meet a man like Harrison Brady.

An obstetrician profoundly struggling after losing a patient, Harry no longer believes he is capable of keeping people safe. Reeling, Harry leaves Los Angeles to emotionally recover at his parents’ new vineyard in Pennsylvania.

He does not expect to meet a woman like Rowan McKinnon.

As their combative banter gives way to a simmering tension, sunlight begins to crack through the darkness smothering Harry’s soul. He’s compelled to explore the undeniable pull between them. And after a lifetime of protecting herself from feeling anything, for anyone, Rowan tries to keep things casual. 

But even she can’t ignore their explosive connection.

“A lushly drawn portrait of two people with a magnetic, soul-deep connection.” – Rachel Lynn Solomon, New York Timesbestselling author

“A gorgeous love story full of lyrical writing and raw emotion.” – Jennifer Probst

“Soul satisfying, sensual, and unforgettable.” – Libby Hubscher

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.

“Something existed between them made of highly flammable material, and Harry wasn’t sure he’d survive the blaze if it ever caught fire.”

Jen Devon, Bend Toward the Sun

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!