Sunlight

Haven River Ranch #2

by Devney Perry

From USA Today bestselling author Devney Perry comes a sweeping Western romance about undeniable attraction, unforeseen circumstances, and seemingly unbeatable odds.

My first day in Montana, I got into a tug-of-war over a grocery store shopping cart. The most handsome man I’d ever seen broke up the scuffle before he asked me on a date. I was seconds away from accepting but then he told me his name.

As an owner of the Haven River Ranch, Jax Haven wasn’t my boss. But he wasn’t not my boss either.

Obviously, my only option was to turn him down, scurry away, then pretend like he was a stranger on my first day of work. And obviously, I could never, ever admit that he was my secret crush.

For as hard as I work at my job, I work twice as hard to pretend Jax doesn’t exist. I don’t let myself think about his dazzling eyes or charming smile. I refuse to acknowledge how good he looks in a pair of faded Wrangler jeans. And as tempting as he is in a cowboy hat, Jax is a distraction I cannot afford.

Everything was going according to plan until the annual holiday party. Until I drank one too many flutes of champagne and let him sweep me off my feet. After a night in his bed, there was no more ignoring Jax Haven. Not when I’m pregnant with his baby.

Genres: Romance, Westerns, Small Town Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Forced Proximity, Contemporary

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2024

About the author

Devney is a #1 Amazon, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of over forty romance novels. After working in the technology industry for a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to pursue her passion for writing. She was born and raised in Montana and now lives in Washington with her husband and two sons.”

Visit Devney's website to sign up for her newsletters and learn more about upcoming books.

www.devneyperry.com

Reviews

[Brady Lockerby · Rating 4 out of 5]

oneeeee more in 2024! happy new year to me + jax havens because wow i love this man. i cannot wait for more of this series!!!!!! obsessed

[Chris ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️ God gave me two eyes, and I abused them by reading this idiotic book.

The only thing keeping these two together was the baby, nothing else. There was nothing between them. They had sex a few times, ignored each other for weeks and months at a time, then towards the end, they got together and voilà mes amis, they were suddenly in love! 🌹🥰
Yeahhh “in love” my ass!😒

SPOILER!

For those of you who hate the book but continue reading it because you want to find out who Eddie is, well let me tell you! It’s her freaking brother. It was sooooo obvious from the beginning. The author tried to confuse us here and there but it was very predictable. 😒

Like always, Lori & Olga, it was a pleasure buddy reading a book with you guys. You are the sole reason I didn’t dnf it in the first 10%. 😂

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite possibly my new favorite book from Devney Perry. I loved Sasha and Jax as a couple so much, and watching them fall in love while still trying to get ready for their baby was incredible!

This couple had such great chemistry and an equally deep emotional connection. I particularly loved getting Jax's point of view, which I felt added so much to the rance in a much needed swoony way.

I adored this and highly recommend it!

I received an ARC for review
Will be in my next vlog

*edited to correct my auto correct of Jax

[Lilyya ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Casey Reads 🌸 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the first one & this one was just as good! I have had trouble enjoying romance lately & this beautiful story has restored my faith in the genre. 🧡

It’s hard to give a review of this one without giving major plot points away. We get glimpses of all the characters of the last book with a new love interest for Jax that moves to town to help with the ranch.

I loved their love story & there are just so many amazing side stories & back stories in this that make it even better. I am hoping we get a 3rd book, because I want to see all these characters again. I would even enjoy a book about Jax and West’s parents, because I want to see them back together again.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Tell me a lie" "Tell me a secret" 🥹🥹🥹

Ok I loved Crossroads BUT SUNLIGHT??? My favorite! Jax is one of my favorite Devney male characters. UGHHH, he is perfect.

Also, the ending made me so freaking emotional. So so so good!!

-small town
-workplace
-forced proximity
-cowboy
-surprise pregnancy
-emotional topics

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Begging someone to recommend me a good book my last like five have been two star reads 😭

[millena ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute but forgettable

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

I loved this second ‘Haven River Ranch’ book even more than the first! Jax and Sasha’s romance was such a wonderful slow burn with the most fun meet cute. I loved how character-driven this book was. I felt like we really got to know Sasha and Jax so well throughout the story and I love a good surprise pregnancy romance. I hope we get more books in this world because I would love to read more about these characters!

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 4.25 stars
Narrators: Stephen Dexter & Ava Erickson
Narration Rating: 4.5 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 9h 16m

[Noi (in & out)]

Did I like the 1st? No

Will I read this one? Probably

Is it because I'm a sucker for a pretty cover? You know it

[Literally Lesia]

Dnf at 25%. Too basic, too cliche, absolutely nothing to keep my attention. I would still finish it (thanks to free audio book on my Kindle) because Montana vibes and cowboys could save the day, however, one trope that was pulled out changed my mind. No thanks, bye ✌🏻

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐️

Hi I literally sobbed like a freaking baby.

Also this book is literally Theo and Winter 🤭

[hailey🥀🦢✮˖°. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

a cute, quick cowboy romance. what more can a girl ask for?

the hot and cold from sasha got on my nerves, but i enjoyed this overall. jax, the man that you are. so patient and loving and that MOUTH! there’s just something about a (fictional) cowboy that makes me giggle and blush.

[Olga 🌺 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started off too slow. And I particularly dislike time lapses. One minute they met, the other they jumped 3 months ahead.

Jax and Sasha met outside a grocery store. They flirted and chitchatted amicably. She even wanted to date him and kiss him (she admitted further along in the book). I understand instant infatuation and attraction, but from there to want to instant date and kiss? Yeah not my cup of tea.
Then she realised he was going to be her boss, she turned into this uptight distant grumpy person for whatever reason that we are not privy to.

The author made it hard for us to like the MFC and at this point I don't blame Jax for the way he keeps his distance and give her a hard time.

Plus what's with all the ambiguity with different characters mentioned in the books like Eddie, Micah and Emery! Devney Perry wanted us to make assumptions and imagine different scenarios about these side characters but I didn’t appreciate it! I believe her intention was to get us intrigued but for me it was just annoying keeping us in the dark like that. 🤷‍♀️

Then the party arrives and Sasha gets drunk with merely two glasses of alcohol. Obviously, she lets down her inhibitions and they have a more than an underwhelming first tumble in the sheets.
But alas, the morning after. The Walk of Shame. Avoiding serious confrontations because yeah it is immature... I mean easier like that! 🤦‍♀️

There is nothing worse than a fliety and insecure MFC. Own your actions, voice your thoughts woman!

Oh for freaks' sakes. Devney and her time jumps. 6 weeks again of radio silence! Aaaaand she's pregnant! *gasp* shocker!

Devney Perry doesn't do character building. She just skips and shoots.

Meet cute. BAM they can't stand each other. BAM three months later. BAM one night stand. BAM 6 weeks later. BAM she's pregnant.

How are we supposed to keep up or to feel that they're growing feelings for each other!

This is getting so annoying. Sasha is just weird. Unpleasant. Stuck up. Why does he even like her, ok she's pretty but other than that she has no redeemable qualities! I would understand people liking some traits about others but what does she have to offer? She's closed off. Doesn't trust him. She's not friendly. She's not kind. She keeps to herself. She ambiguous. She's a grump and rude! Ughhh 🙄

Couldn't care less about her or Jax for that matter. They're having a child for heaven's sake yet they don't want to share history, background, their pasts, their lives, nothing. They're just a couple of strangers who hooked up, got knocked up and now they want to bring a poor baby into this world. And then we wonder what is wrong with the younger generations! Well.... 👆

At this point, I just want to know who the heck Eddie is and be done with it.

If I could've skipped the first 85% of the book and just read the last 15% it would have saved me so much frustration and irritation. The first 85% deserves a mere .5 but I'll round it up to 2 just for the last 15%.

Oh and we finally know who Eddie is LOL

I would have dnf'd this book if it weren't a BR with Chris and Lori. Thanks ladies for another super fun book commentaries.

[Alylally⛰️⛺️⛈️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preread

I'm so excited for this audio it's not even funny 🥳 I hope it's as good as the first one!!

It was indeed as good as the first one!! I love these couples so damn much.

The best way I can explain how this book makes me feel is this- You. Are. Not. Alone.

This book is such a tear fest and so heartwarming it makes you want to burst. Jax is the best guy. He is always there for her no matter what. What a heart warming and comforting read. 😩❤

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

think this book holds a special place in my heart because i read it during a very difficult time in my personal life and it brought me the perfect sense of happiness and joy. the perfect escape for me.

accidental pregnancy, work place rivals, forced proximity and small town vibes.

✨✨✨tell me a lie✨✨✨

thank you devney for the ALC/ARC💜💜

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐️

I feel like I’m in the minority when it comes to my opinion of this book. While I’ve seen numerous great reviews, I found it to be just average. I struggled to connect with the characters and didn’t find their relationship all that interesting. It seemed their only strong bond was the fact that they were having a baby.

That said, there were parts I did enjoy, particularly the early stages of the book, which I liked more than the latter sections. I also felt the timeline was a bit off; it would skip ahead three weeks, leaving me curious about what happened during that time.

Overall, I found the book to be quite average and lacking the emotional depth I hoped for. Still, I would recommend it, as many others seem to love it.

[give me books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,75

Podobała mi się, serio podobała, ale ja jestem anty tematy ciążowe itp, załącza jeśli na tym opiera się w sumie fabuła i relacja.
Jax był super, ale na jego miejscu w życiu bym się tyle nje starała, bo ile można próbować przebić się przez ścianę

[Syndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunlight is not exactly the best work frim Miss Perry. I read many mant of this woman's works before. I want something more kicking to my heart with all the drama and twist.

Sunlight is light read. Small town vibe. Pretty straight forward.

3 stars

[Uyen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where do I start with my dislike of this book?

1. Eddie is in a camp. A camp that focuses heavily on wilderness therapy. How is this something that the author thought was appropriate? Are we not aware of stories of people who suffered there? Who died?!

And we just thought it was nice and dandy to include it in a romance book? Nah. That’s just gross.

2. The first time Jax and Sasha did the deed was after Sasha had been drinking. She said that she can get drunk after 2 glasses of champagne. She’s claims that she’s a lightweight. I don’t care if the author had to put in there that Sasha wasn’t drunk.
But she was inebriated enough that her entire behavior towards Jax changed and she became more open to him.
This is questionable consent at best.

This is a light romance…not a dark romance. I found that so icky.

Im so disappointed because I enjoyed the first one and liked reading how Indya revamped the ranch, but this second one had so many questionable bits that I hated it.

[fromthestudyof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all know how I feel about the surprise pregnancy trope & YET here I am enjoying it because Devney writes it so beautifully.

I blushed. I laughed. I cried (that stays between us!!).

This book had everything that I’ve come to expect from Devney - sexy cowboys, flirty banter, touching moments, & me feeling very good about my decision to move to Montana. 🫶🏼

[artemis5 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was ass.

First he wouldn’t stop smirking. Then he wouldn’t stop wiggling his toes. And then both of them just continued to be so annoying.

Jax wasn’t memorable in any way and I immediately disliked him from his first POV - ie the FIRST chapter. I don’t know how to describe it other than the vibe was off. I think I just hated that instalust.

Sasha was so boring and she had no personality. I didn’t understand anything she did, which was mostly because she didn’t have a backstory. I wasn’t convinced that she even liked Jax. They had no chemistry and there wasn’t anything that told me either person loved or even liked each other. The only reason they were even together was because of the baby. And they did that baby so dirty because it literally was just a plot device to get them into forced proximity. I swear they didn’t care about it.

Like genuinely, there was no need for the pregnancy trope especially if you were gonna do it so dirty. For one, there weren’t any moments where I saw that they wanted it. Like we didn’t have the classic first kick moment. And no other developments were written about.

That’s the other thing that pissed me off. The pacing. It was all over the place. There weren’t any guidelines of how this story would progress. We would spend maybe 2 days in a chapter or two and then the next chapter 2 months would pass. This meant that there was no progress on us seeing them fall in love and everything just happened off page, which then I’m like why even write this book at all??? The relationship would develop and we had nothing to go on except for them telling us that they were falling in love.

Then there are all the subplots that were never developed. Like the his grandparents and their reaction. Like that’s never really explained or maybe it was and I missed it because by the last third of the book I was just skimming. Then there’s the Lily and Curtis thing and Jax’s relationships with Lily and Curtis. They weren’t explored well enough. Then there’s the whole Eddie plot. I just didn’t understand why we were left in the dark about who he was and where he was. Like it would’ve given Sasha so much more complexity and intrigue to keep me hooked. But I was just really annoyed about the whole thing. And then to find out he had been at one of those troubled teen wilderness school things. I-

I hated that and I hated how Perry finished his storyline. Personally I’m just miffed that he was at one of those because of all the horror stories I hear about them. I just don’t think they’re ethical???

Anyway this book was a flop and I miss The Edens, even though they weren’t that good. But they were better than this thing. Thank god it was relatively short though.

[Kayla | Kayla Reads Smut · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I just found one of my new favorite authors. I officially bow down to queen Devney. The way that I devoured Crossroads and Sunlight in a matter of days. I am obsessed. This series, the plot for both books and the writing sucked me right in and it wasn't enough. I need and want more!

I devoured Crossroads and the second I finished that book, I immediately started Sunlight and I loved this one just as much! The plot is so different from Crossroads but small town ranch vibes are in this book as well. But we sprinkled in a playboy cowboy and a surprise we're pregnant trope. It's a trope combination I never knew I needed in life but now that I have it, I want more.

Sunlight follows the other Haven brother, Jax. He's a reformed playboy who is obsessed with the Haven River Resort's newest resort manager. Like this man is allergic to any kind of commitment. He is the king of one night fun... that is until he meets Sasha. And he is determined to break down her walls and give him a chance. And when they have one night of fun together it leads to an accidental pregnancy, which I loved!

Jax and Sasha, both have childhood traumas that they are working through individually which greatly affects their relationship. Sasha has been alone for a long time, which a history that we are unsure about til the end of the book. But this history has her walls built so high. But with that being said, Jax also has his own family issues with his father and Lily, the woman who raised him. These childhood traumas they need to work through in order to grow as a couple and become parents. All I am going to say, there were a lot of realistic sides to their relationship. At moments, yes I was yelling at my kindle telling Sasha to just fall head over heels for Jax but I also understood where she was coming from.

All in all, I devoured this one and I'm sad it's over. This book also solidified how much I absolutely love accidental pregnancy and Devney Perry's writing!

You should most definitely read this book if you like:
- small town romance
- cowboy MMC
- workplace romance; he's kind of her boss
- accidental pregnancy
- roommates
- forced proximity

[Megan Coggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devney Perry’s books are a balm to my heart.
And this book was no exception. ⭐️

Crossroads wrecked me and Sunlight put me back together.

Accidental pregnancy done right.
Jax & Sasha both had their heartbreaking issues.
And seeing that healing at the end 🔥

[mafer༘⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

the feels when a guy rocks a stetson❤️‍🔥🥵

[Kendall Ferrari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still love Devney's writing style, this one just wasn't for me. I honestly don't enjoy the main trope for this in 99% of books so that part is a me thing. Still love the setting, it was fun to be back in this series, but this was more forgettable than the first book for me personally.

[пустунка · Rating 3 out of 5]

я думала, що це має бути цікаво з тропом «випадкова вагітність», але насправді було якось нудно..

Саша з уникаючим типом прив'язаності, майже до самого кінця намагалася тримати Джекса на відстані. вагітність її м'якшою не зробила. єс, складні життєві обставини і все таке, але вона у мене не викликала ніякої симпатії. от просто наявність персонажа в книжці і все. лише повага їй за те, як вона трималася після втрати батьків. з Джексом ситуація краще, бо він завжди шукав шляхи пізнати Сашу краще та щоб вона втратила надмірну пильність, змогла відчути себе поруч з ним легко та комфортно. він теж не є моїм улюбленим, але на фоні всього іншого – більш-менш. в кінці мені сподобалося, як вони відкрилися одне одному, тоді вони стали бусічками. і я би ще дуже хотіла книжку про брата головної героїні. щось мені підказує, що це має потенціал і було б цікаво :)

3/5 ⭐️

[ivona 𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒ · Rating 3 out of 5]

”distract me. tell me a secret.”

”i love you.”

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ 3.75🌟
when i read crossroads i was very excited for jax’s story. it was another one of quick and easy reads. i really enjoyed it but i will say there were things that were missing for this to be rated higher. feel like it should've been included more actual in depth backstory, especially for sasha. since eddie plot was secretive ninety percent of the book.

as for jax and sasha’s romance i can say i enjoyed it. i liked how their relationship progressed. he was weak for sasha instantly and they were adorable together but i too feel like there was a room for more. it’s not my favorite but i am nonetheless excited for the next one. juniper hill ruined all of her other books for me i’m afraid. i hope i find five star read from her soon.

”you’re carrying my josephine. that’s not exactly freeloading.”

“i’m scared to push with you. i’m afraid i’ll push you away. but damn it, sasha, i want to push.” ”maybe i need to be pushed.”

[cecewe · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was ok till the author started to promote wilderness therapy. It doesn’t sit right with me. We all know children get sent there and most of them are traumatized and abused. She almost romanticized it in this book ?? Wtf. I don’t know how and why the publishers didn’t stop this.

[Tori Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

No body… I mean NO body does this trope quite like Devney does. Accidental pregnancy 🤝🏻 Devney Perry

This book picks up at the epilogue of Crossroads so a few years has passed. It was a little treat for us getting to see our first couple so happy and in love with all their kids 🥹 it was so necessary because Jax was such a player at the end of the first book that we realistically needed a couple years to believe that Jax was willing to learn how to settle down.

The little mysterious plot line on this one had me on the EDGE! I FaceTimed my best friend while reading this book with her and every time we finished a chapter someone would shout “OKAY BUT WHO IS IT?” So many questions, so many theories.

Devney never fails to write in a way that has me entranced. The stories and worlds she writes have me so obsessed that I don’t know how to close the book and I need more. This book is nothing short of that.

I cannot wait to see what’s to come after this!

5⭐️ | 2🌶️

✨ accidental pregnancy
✨ cowboy
✨ forced proximity
✨ workplace
✨ small mystery
✨ small town

Huge thank you to Devney for the ARC to read and review early 🩷