Then There Was You (Fair Oak)

I absolutely loved this story. Kylie and Dev found each other at a crucial point in their lives. I loved there banter and the story as well as the inclusion of the parents and Jordan and Harper.

This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I didn't read book one and was a little confused when certain topics or characters got brought up but I was still able to follow along.

I have been waiting for Kylie and Devlin's story and this did not disappoint. I did not put it down until I was finished.

"I've always been too much. Too fierce. Too loyal. Too passionate. Too crazy. I know some days I active the world is ending, and other days I firmly believe life can't get any better. I fully acknowledge my imperfections, but I will never apologize for being a woman who feels things too deeply because it's led me here to him."*Sigh* *Swoon* I loved this book so much. I had a chance to read some early pages of Then There Was You, but I've been holding off on reading it in its entirety because I knew I was going to enjoy it. Jenn takes us back to Fair Oaks, and not only do we get to see what Jordan and Harper are up to, but Kylie and Devlin get their own story. Devlin is my favorite type of lead male character: he's broody, he's rich, and he hates just about everyone, but he has a soft spot for Kylie Jo Sullivan. Kylie is strong and independent, and she doesn't take crap from anyone, not even the notorious Devlin King. They challenge each other and piss each other off, but that's part of what makes them so great. Devlin is a bit of a bitter divorcee and Kylie is also recovering from a rather traumatic break up, and they agree to a friends-with-benefits situation. They only have three rules: keep it safe, keep it quiet, and keep their emotions in check. But we all know how friends-with-benfits goes in a romance- eventually, someone is bound to catch some real feelings. The angst, the steam, the vulnerability! I love their supporting cast- from Kylie's family to their friends Grant and Rachel and Conrad and Serena King, everyone feels so real, like you could go to Fair Oaks and run into any one of them. We meet Kylie and Devlin in Now This Is Us as secondary characters, and I've always thought it takes a talented author to be able to craft them in a way that makes them worthy of their own story as main characters, and Jenn has accomplished just that. I was just as invested in Devlin and Kylie's story as I was in Jordan and Harper's. You can read them as standalones, but as amazing as the books are, you'll want to read them both!

I loved this story so much. Kylie and Devlin are both broken and have been through a lot and watching them work through their pain, find comfort in one another, and fall for each other was everything. This story is very real and emotional but also filled with top notch banter, tension, angst, and all the butterflies and swooning.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣What starts as friends with benefits develops into a beautiful, emotional connection with sizzling chemistry and layers of vulnerability. Kylie + Devlin are opposites but complement one another so perfectly and Jenn has such a beautiful way of showcasing their personalities and connection in her writing. So many amazing scenes that were fun, sweet, intimate, tender, flirty, sexy, emotional. This book made my heart squeeze with every kind of emotion. The brokenness, the pain, the vulnerability, the desire, the love was so palpable. I just adore this couple. And the Fair Oak world. Absolutely recommend!!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣More reasons to read:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣👔Devlin King. Gahhhh🥰⁣⁣⁣⁣☀️Nicknames⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣🚿shower scene 🥺⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣❤️‍🩹Who hurt you?⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣🏘️Small town vibes ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣💃🏼Kylie Sullivan⁣⁣⁣⁣🫡Laugh out loud moments⁣⁣⁣⁣👫🏻Amazing supporting characters ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣🏈Football (& Philly sports)⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣🍊Orange chicken and fried rice⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣🌼Daisy bouquets⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

TW: miscarriage, infidelityJennifer Lee’s debut novel, Now This is Us, is my favorite indie debut of 2022! As such, I was very excited to read the sequel, Then There Was You.Writing a sophomore novel that is just as amazing as your debut novel is not an easy feat, nor is releasing two books in one year. As such, I’m in awe of Jennifer, who is such a talented writer!Her writing style is so addictive and immediately sucks you in. She also has a knack of keeping you emotionally invested in the story while you impatiently wait for the conflict to be revealed because you’re wondering what is preventing her angsty protagonists from being together. Furthermore, she writes angst with such finesse. The banter between her MC’s seems so natural and effortless. No wonder I devoured this book in merely 8 hours.I loved how both Kylie and Devlin, each of them fighting their own demons caused by their troubled past relationships, found comfort in each other, thus helping each other heal. I also appreciated the depiction of how tough it can be to take the first step towards therapy because being vulnerable is hard and suffering in silence sometimes seems like the easier option.I highly recommend this one if you like books with:- Friends with benefits to lovers- Small town romances- Angst and steam- Dual POV- Dual timelinesI’m keeping my fingers crossed that there will be a third book set in Fair Oak with Kylie’s brother, Brady as the MC!

This book was perfectly fine, but thats it. I kept waiting for something to click and it didn't. Like a drawn out attraction, a slow burn of a relationship, some bloody tension at least! But it wasn't that, in fact the best way I can describe it while I try and figure out My thoughts is that, 2 somewhat depressed people had some kind of a conversation a couple times, then decided to help each other get their happiness back, without ever really seeming happy, there's no moment here where we as readers go, thats it! Thats where they fell in love. There's not much angst either, what it seems to be is a build up of what I think the author thought would be poetic thoughts of tragedy when half the time it was confusing and just, well boring if I'm honest. Kylie Jo made herself out to be way more complicated than she actually was and while I get that what she went through can be harder on some women than others, I still think it was a far fetched reason for her to be acting so cagey considering it had been years and doesn't really have anything to do with a new relationship. Not to mention, she basically started the whole thing. Devlin, well he just didn't seem to have personality, ok guy, but again the author was so focused on making it seem like two lost souls came together in understanding that she put more effort into describing every way they smirked at each other, honestly it was so much that i realised how much they DIDN'T seem to smile easily or naturally for each other and that just added to my ' so how the hell did they fall in love' thoughts. It didn't make it easy to accept their relationship because technically it all appeared a tad stale, even the sex scenes sadly. 3 stars is because while it's not my style, it's a well written book and I didnt seem to notice any bad grammar etc.