Heartland by Sarina Bowen Also by this author: Him, , Steadfast, Rookie Move, Hard Hitter, Goodbye Paradise, Pipe Dreams, Hello Forever, Bountiful, Brooklynaire, Speakeasy, Fireworks, Overnight Sensation, Superfan, Moonlighter, Sure Shot, Lies and Lullabies
Published by Tuxbury Publishing LLC on January 28, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, General, Coming of Age
Pages: 296
Format: eARC
ISBN: 9781942444978
Goodreads
A stand-alone novel in the USA Today bestselling True North world.
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.
One crazy night sets our friendship on fire. But now my heart lies in ashes...
**Interconnected STANDALONE novel**One of my favorites! This book has it all. Feels, check! Steam, check!. Characters you will LOVE! Don't miss Heartland, it's so, so good! New York Times bestselling author Kendall Ryan
I'm crazy about this series. EVERYTHING IS WOW. Angie's Dreamy Reads
A barn burner of a romance with depth and complexity. The Daily Waffle
This series has inspired me to one day visit Vermont and discover the beautiful scenery in their Fall, to taste the beauty of real maple syrup and maybe visit a brewery or two. Tammy's Timeout
It's the perfect balance of sweetness to tannins with a big scoop of comfort food on the side--and I can't wait for another helping! Totally Bex
Bowen has created a pretty fantastic world in small-town Vermont, and I can't imagine who wouldn't enjoy a virtual trip there. Sasha Says
It will have you wanting to pack a bag in search of a place where the cider is delicious, the banter is hilarious and the men are the stuff we readers dream about. I'm relocating. T. Brothers
* * *Heartland is the seventh book in the STANDALONE USA Today bestselling True North series.
Book 1 - Bittersweet
Book 2 - Steadfast
Book 3 - Keepsake
Book 4 - Bountiful
Book 5 - Speakeasy
Book 6 - Fireworks
Book 7 - Heartland* * *
Topics include: adult romance, family saga, big families romance, siblings, alpha male, brothers, happily ever after, usa bestselling romance, Sarina Bowen, long romance series, happily ever after, bad boy romance, bearded bad boy romance, beards, emotional read, angsty romance, contemporary romance, dirty talking alpha, farmer romance, college romance, Vermont romance, virgin, sex tutor, small town romance
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Yesi’s Thoughts
Heartland simply put is a breath of fresh air. I absolutely ADORED Dylan Shipley in this one! I’m not sure I was ready for him to be all grown up with sex appeal for days, but oh he certainly was all man in this one. Sort of, kind of, a bit of a manho, but still super loveable.
As always, with a new True North book, I am immediately sucked into that world… I find myself fantasizing about living in Vermont and being part of the Shipley clan. Sarina Bowen has built a world so down to earth, so welcoming, and so loving that you can’t help but want to be a part of it. While each and every book is a complete standalone, it is definitely more fun knowing everyone’s story.
This is Dylan Shipley and Chastity’s story, which I never saw coming by way, and what a story it is. Two college students on different paths with different dreams, yet so alike that they are bound to fall for each other. Well, in Chastity’s case, she was all in, Dylan needed a little eye-opening, although we knew that deep down he wanted her too. I loved seeing their friendship turn into something more… not exactly the something more I was hoping for right off the bat, but more indeed. Bottom line, Heartland is sweet, heartfelt, yet steamy and HOT AF! Another winner from one of my favorite authors!
Excerpt
“So why were you having a bad day, anyway?” Ellie asks. “Man trouble?”
“Not exactly. It’s more like a lack of man trouble. I kissed my hot algebra tutor. And I wasn’t supposed to.”
Her big eyes widen. “Which hot algebra tutor? You never said.”
“He doesn’t work at the lab,” I say hastily. “He’s a friend. And he wants to stay that way.”
“Oh.” She looks deflated. “That is a bummer.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No.” She makes a face. “It would be nice, though. This year is kind of lonely. My roommate is a total bitch.”
“Oh, I have one of those, too.”
“Yeah?” Ellie’s eyes brighten. “Does yours steal your clothes and then lie about it?”
“Um, no. She wouldn’t want any of my things. We have singles, anyway. Just a common bathroom.”
“Lucky! She must be easier to stand, then.”
“You’d think.” I take a gulp of mint tea.
“My roommate took my brand-new scarf. With the tags still on! And when I called her out on it, she tried to gaslight me.”
“Gaslight?” I feel my cheeks flush like they sometimes do when I don’t understand the idioms that people use.
“You don’t know Gaslight? It’s a movie from the forties.”
“Ingrid Bergman,” says Dylan’s voice. “We haven’t got around to the classics yet.”
I startle, sloshing my tea over my hand. And when I look up, Dylan is right there. Clear brown eyes. Tousled hair. Tight, muscular body that’s clothed in a nice sweater and ripped jeans. A handsome face that I finally kissed.
Pain slices through me. Because I’m never going to get over him. There will never be a day when I look at Dylan and don’t wish for more.
“Can I talk to you for a quick second?” he asks, taking the mug and grabbing a napkin off the table. He wipes the tea off my hand.
“Now is not a good time,” I say quickly. Because I don’t want to cry in the coffee shop in front of my only new friend.
Dylan actually rolls his eyes. “Fifteen seconds, Chass. Give a man a break.”
“I’d talk to you.” Ellie raises her hand like a school girl. “Pick me.”
And that’s just what I need—another girl in my life who’s swooning for Dylan. Because that always turns out well.
“Fine. Fifteen seconds.” I jump to my feet. Let’s get this over with.
Dylan takes my arm and tows me gently over toward the bulletin board, where nobody is currently reading the flyers for meditation circles and ski equipment sales.
“Look, I’m sorry,” is his opener. “You’re avoiding me. Not that I blame you. I’m sorry things got so out of control.”
“Which things?” I ask warily. Because I don’t want an apology for fooling around with me.
“Pick one!” Dylan raises his hands. “All the things. I shouldn’t have been so inappropriate.”
“But…” I know Dylan was in a serious state of drunken depression when he kissed me. It’s not like I was expecting to hear those kisses made him as happy as they made me. But would it kill him to be a little less patronizing? “Dylan, I’m not twelve years old. It was just a kiss or two. I don’t think I’ll need a full course of therapy to recover.”
He blinks. “Okay. Good?”
“So did you really need to drag me over here to apologize a third time? Did you apologize to all the girls you kissed during Spin the Bottle in seventh grade?”
I heard about Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven only last year, by eavesdropping on Debbie and her buddies at another bonfire. I’d been transfixed by their tales of who’d kissed whom over the years and how often.
At thirteen, Spin the Bottle would have sounded like heaven to me. Seven minutes in a closet with a boy? I would have lobbied for eight. I was always the most inappropriate girl in the bunch.
Yet somehow Dylan sees me as some kind of innocent child.
“No. Good point.” He crosses his delicious arms and smiles at me. “You are in a feisty mood today.”
“Is that so wrong?”
“No.” He shakes his handsome head. “Not at all. Are we going to hug it out?” He opens his big arms wide.
Oh boy. I can’t resist stepping into them. And when he pulls me in, I experience the familiar hormone rush that always happens when I’m close to him. Rapid heartbeat? Check. Goosebumps? Check. My nose lands against his flannel shirt.
My mouth is mere inches from his, of course. But this time he has no interest in kissing me. It takes all my willpower to give him a squeeze and then step back.
“Be well, Chass. I’ll leave you to your tutoring session, even if you’re basically cheating on me right now. But we’re still making caramels this weekend, right? I told Griffin we could use six gallons of goat’s milk. Don’t make a liar out of me.”
“I won’t,” I say quickly. I might be slightly irritated at him, but it will blow over. My capacity to forgive him for not loving me back is basically infinite. “We’ll leave right after Friday classes?”
“You got it. And this is for you. Share it with your friend.” He pulls something out of his pocket. “More market research.”
He puts a little box in my hand and then walks away.
As always, it takes me a second to get over my hormone rush. I stand there blinking for a long moment until I realize Ellie is grinning at me from the sofa. So I go back over to her and sit down.
“Wow…” she says, stealing a glance at Dylan’s retreating backside. “Is that hot hunk of Vermont male your algebra tutor?”
“Yes.” My voice is gravel.
“And your future ex-boyfriend?”
“Nope. I’ll never get that chance. He’s my best friend, but…” There’s no tidy explanation.
“But you want more. I would if it were me.”
I nod, miserable.
About Sarina Bowen
Sarina Bowen writes steamy, angsty contemporary romance from Vermont’s Green Mountains. (Her ancestors began logging and farming Vermont during the 18th century. These were rugged, outdoor types without benefit of a laptop or a good latte. It boggles the mind.)
Sarina enjoys skiing, skating and good food. She lives in Windsor County, Vermont, with her family, eight chickens and too much ski gear and hockey equipment.
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