Review: Heartland by Sarina Bowen

Heartland by Sarina Bowen
Series: True North #7
Published by Tuxbury Publishing LLC on January 28, 2020
Pages: 329
Format: ARC
Genres: New Adult, Romance


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An emotional friends to lovers romance full of risky secrets and late-night lessons in seduction.

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.

Sarina Bowen delivers a sweet and surprisingly emotional friends turned lovers romance in what is probably my favorite book in the True North series. I feel positively giddy after reading Heartland.

Dylan Shipley is the most easygoing member of the Shipley clan. He relishes in his perpetual playboy status and is making the most of his college experience by partying and sleeping around while still maintaining good grades and his duties on the family farm. He has a huge heart, and his fun-loving nature hides some very real pain. It’s a shame Dylan is so underestimated by his family.

Chastity Campbell is a survivor. Having run away from a polygamist cult a couple years ago (the same cult Zach escaped from in Keepsake), she is now an inexperienced 21-year-old college freshman. She reveals her cruel past in pieces and in the most casual ways, which somehow makes it even more heartbreaking. Chastity completely charmed me with her unexpectedly cheery, optimistic personality.

College provides an opportunity for Chastity to satisfy her curiosity about things she missed out on due to her sheltered upbringing. Dylan is her best friend and fortunately he is there to help her navigate life on campus. The bad news is she’s secretly in love with him and Dylan has placed her firmly in the “fragile little sister” lane of the dreaded friend zone.

I was moved by Chastity’s unconditional love for Dylan and his devotion to her. The big and small moments they share delighted me, from him helping her with math homework to them working on their artisanal candy venture.

The side characters make the story even more entertaining. Chastity’s friend Ellie is a sweet, geeky genius. Dylan’s roommate Rickie is an eccentric hoot. I sense a connection between him and Daphne, Dylan’s “evil” twin sister, so I hope we will see more of him in a future book.

Heartland amplifies the tenderness that is a trademark of the True North series and incorporates an abundance of lighthearted fun. The result is a balanced and thoroughly enjoyable read.

Recommended for fans of:
Friends to lovers trope
College romance
Caramels
Goats

** I received an early copy to voluntarily read. **

 

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