Brooks
Fifteen years ago, I’d planned a romantic proposal, but that was the day Juliet walked out of my life and never looked back. I never wanted to see her again and decided that love wasn’t for me. But now, Juliet has returned to Bitterroot Valley and opened a restaurant. Catching glimpses of her around town makes my heart ache. I want to hate her. I wish she’d do what she does best and go away. Instead, I find myself wanting to be near her. Helping her. Touching her perfect skin. I don’t want to love her. I don’t want to need her.
Juliet
Coming home to Bitterroot Valley might have been a mistake. Just because I grew up here doesn’t mean I belong here. Honestly, I’ve never felt like I belong anywhere. But once I was finally free from the man who lied and controlled me, I knew I needed to be in Montana. My new restaurant, Sage & Citrus, is a big hit, and I’m making friends. But more importantly, Brooks is here. I know he doesn’t want me, but having him nearby is a balm to my jagged heart. The more I see him, the more I’m reminded that Brooks Blackwell is my soulmate. But has too much time passed? Or will we finally get our happily ever after?
(ARC Review)
We all knew Brooks Blackwell’s story was going to wreck us a little, and Kristen Proby made sure of it. Fifteen years ago, Juliet didn’t walk away from the man she loved because she stopped loving him. She left because someone she trusted twisted her loyalty into something dangerous. What looked like a “friend” being vulnerable was actually manipulation, and Juliet was pressured into choosing a path she never wanted—one that cost her everything, including Brooks.
What she didn’t realize was that this moment was only the beginning of years of psychological control, a slow, suffocating erosion of her voice and her worth. So when she finally breaks free and returns to Bitterroot Valley, it’s not a dramatic romantic reunion. It’s an act of survival. A quiet, trembling attempt to reclaim herself.
Opening her restaurant isn’t just a dream—it’s rebellion. It’s proof:
I get to choose now.
I get to build something of my own.
I don’t owe my life to anyone who demands it.
And then there’s Brooks—the last person she feels ready to face.
Brooks has every reason to hold onto his anger, and for a while, he does. But love doesn’t disappear just because time has passed. It lingers. It stings. And every time he sees Juliet around town, he’s reminded of all the things he never stopped wanting.
“If anything, she’s gotten more gorgeous with time. She’s not the girl I once knew anymore. She’s all woman, with more curves than before. More shadows in her eyes.”
Their chemistry doesn’t just resurface; it erupts, leading to one of the hottest, rawest, most intensely written scenes in the entire series (yes, I’m absolutely talking about the garage scene). That moment doesn’t fix anything, but it cracks them open. It forces honesty, vulnerability, and the truth they never got to speak before.
“And I’m suddenly as angry as I am turned on. Because I’ve needed her for fifteen motherfucking years. And I hate her for it. I hate her, and I can’t walk away from her.”
Juliet’s independence is everything after years of control, but learning to lean on Brooks feels like strength, not weakness. Loving him again feels like coming home. It feels safe. Equal. Like she finally has room to breathe. And once their secrets and scars are finally laid bare, it’s obvious: they were never unfinished, just interrupted. Healing isn’t about pretending the past never happened—it’s about realizing she deserves a love that never asks her to shrink.
What I loved most is how this story honors healing. Juliet doesn’t magically “get better” because she’s loved. She grows because she’s finally safe. Brooks isn’t perfect, but he’s steady.
As he says:
“A man’s job is to calm storms, not create them. Do you hear me?”
Tears fill her eyes, and she nods, watching me.
“I’m the calm in every fucking storm. Me. If you’re having a bad day, or a bad minute, or whatever, you let me help you. Because this—” I surge up inside her, and she gasps “—is us. Do you hear the rain?”
“Yeah, I hear it.”
“This is what you think about when it rains, Wildfire.”
Juliet meets him with her own kind of devotion:
“I always want you. Even when I’m so tired, that I can’t keep my eyes open.”
The Blackwells, as always, bring the heart. They welcome Juliet back with warmth before Brooks can even look at her without scowling, and that found-family support is what makes this series so unforgettable.
Where You Belong is a second-chance romance about survival, reclamation, forgiveness, and the kind of love that refuses to fade—not even after fifteen years and a lifetime of scars. They weren’t broken beyond repair. They were waiting to find their way back home.
Release Date: December 11th, 2025
Thank you to Kristen Proby for the ARC read!