Review: Heartland by Sarina Bowen

HEARTLAND
Sarina Bowen
Publication date: January 28, 2020
Genres: Adult/New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Series: True North #7
Format: eARC
Source: Author
4.25 Stars

S Y N O P S I S

Dylan is my best friend, and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn’t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn’t know that I’ve been hopelessly, desperately in love with him since the first day we picked apples together in his family’s orchard.

But I know better than to confess.

Now that we’re both in college together, I’m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me.

Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra…and he actually says yes.
But the cool morning light shows me how badly I’ve endangered our friendship. And I don’t know if anything will be the same again.

M Y   T H O U G H T S

Every new release from Sarina Bowen is cause for celebration. And when it’s an addition to the True North series, centered around the Shipley farming family in Vermont, I get downright giddy. Heartland is Dylan’s story, who (along with his twin sister) is the youngest of the Shipley clan. Now 20 and in college, he struggles with what his future holds. And he buries that uncertainty by living in the moment and having a good time – with plenty of drinks and plenty of girls.

This is all I will ever have – friendship and the ache of wanting more. - Chastity

Chastity fled from the religious cult she was raised in two years ago and was taken in by Leah and Isaac, also former members of the cult and neighbors/friends of the Shipley’s. Starting college as a 21-year-old freshman, Chastity is sometimes overwhelmed but she’s also embracing her freedom, testing her boundaries and learning what she wants for herself. And the biggest thing she wants? Dylan Shipley. Chastity has been in love with her best friend almost since she arrived in Vermont but she knows he’ll never see her beyond anything other than a friend. Until one night during a tutoring session she asks for instruction in more than just algebra.

We fell into kissing the way I once fell off a dock into Lake Champlain. Suddenly and without warning. - Chastity

There was so much to love in Heartland and Dylan and Chastity were at the top of the list. Despite playing the role of the party guy and avoiding his future, and despite being completely obtuse when it came to his feelings for Chastity, Dylan was a sweetheart and totally likable. He loved his family, he was a hard worker, he didn’t play games, and he was a great friend to Chastity. And speaking of Chastity, she was a young woman really coming into her own. I loved that (except when it came to her feelings for Dylan) she was usually willing to stand up for herself and speak her mind. She was brave and had a backbone. She may have been raised in a cult and didn’t enter the “real world” until she was nineteen, but that didn’t mean she was a child or needed coddling. She was learning to form her own opinions and adjusting to the act that she could try new things and forge her own way. I wanted to cheer for Chastity for every hurdle she passed. When their relationship changed, Chastity realized that she may be getting what she wanted, but it also came with a whole new set of uncertainties and insecurities.

Life is full of little moments that don’t matter a whole lot, peppered by a few moments when everything is on the line. – Dylan

There was so much goodness even beyond Dylan and Chastity. The evolving relationship between Dylan and oldest brother Griffin, the chemistry between Chastity and Dylan (scorching hot!), Dylan’s (one-sided) conversations with the goats, Dylan’s friend Rickie (fingers crossed that my guess is right and Rickie will be featured in the next book with Daphne), and so much more. I guess it’s too soon to want the next book, but that doesn’t me from wishing I had it in my hands. Heartland was sweet and hot and swoony, with a perfect mix of humor and heart. If you haven't experienced the True North series, what are you waiting for?

Disclosure: I received a a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This does not impact my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.

GET YOUR COPY OF HEARTLAND HERE!

Paperback https://geni.us/HeartlandPaperback

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