Heartland: A College Romance

Sarina Bowen

Jan 2020 · Tuxbury Publishing LLC

About this ebook

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

For fans of: Robyn Carr, Helena Hunting, Elle Kennedy, Catherine Gayle, Avon Gale, Toni Aleo, Kristen Callihan, LJ Shen, Corinne Michaels, Jana Aston, Karina Halle, Meghan March, Jay Crownover, Anna Todd, Geneva Lee, Audrey Carlan, Jill Shalvis, Suzanne Brockmann, Helen Hoang, Christina Lauren, Kristan Higgins, Sally Thorne, Penelope Sky, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Debbie Macomber, Nora Roberts, Maisey Yates, Sarah Mayberry, Elle Kennedy, Lauren Blakely, Susan Mallery, Penny Reid, Julia Kent, Kelly Jamieson, Melanie Harlow, Carrie Ann Ryan, Kendall Ryan, Kennedy Ryan, Helen Hardt, Meghan March, Julia Kent, Meli Raine, Sylvia Day, Chelle Bliss, Brenda Rothert, Natasha Madison, Kylie Scott, Helena Hunting, Sloane Kennedy, Penelope Sky, Elle Kennedy, K.A. Linde, Nana Malone, Jami Davenport, Jaci Burton, Penelope Sky, Helen Hardt, E.L. James, Anna Todd, Chelle Bliss, Kendall Ryan, Kennedy Fox, Harlequin romance, Waterhouse Press, Virgin River, Carly Phillips, Piper Rayne, Cora Seton, Sherryl Woods, Marie Force, Sawyer Bennett.

Ratings and reviews

I’ve been in a book slump for the last couple of weeks and thank goodness, Heartland brought me out of it! I stayed up way too late and devoured every single page between Dylan and Chasity. Heartland was the perfect friends-to-lovers read that I absolutely needed. One of my favorite things about this one was the amazing friendship that Dylan and Chas had. It was just so sweet and endearing reading about their relationship. Obviously my heart was breaking for Chas because of her unrequited love with Dylan. But deep down, we alllll know that Dylan had feelings for Chasity, he was just never in the position to really think them over. The character development with both of them was phenomenal, they grew so much, together. And I couldn’t stop grinning about it. Everything about these two is just so deep and intense, I’ll be shipping them hard for a very long time. Their story brought out every emotion out, imaginable. Heartland definitely makes my top faves for 2020! **AN ARC WAS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR IN EXCHANGE FOR A REVIEW**

Heartland is Book 7 in Sarina Bowen’s True North Series and is Dylan Shipley’s story. I have loved this series from the first book and couldn't wait to dive into Dylan's story. This is a beautiful friends to lovers romance that will give you all the feels. The perfect combination of heart, emotion, humor and passion. I love the family dynamic on the Shipley farm. They are all so support and caring of each other and I felt completely emmersed in their world as I was reading. Dylan is off in college and works on the weekends at the Shipley Farm. He is a little lost on where is fits in, whether on the Shipley farm full time or something else. The death of his father has hit him hard. He is harbouring some guilt and I really felt for him, although there were also times where I found myself frustrated with him and his immature man-whoring ways but by the end we see huge growth with him which I adored. Chastity has grown up in a cult. We previously meet her in Keepsake. She escapes the cult and is working to figure out life outside of it. Dylan & Chastity are best friends but Chastity has always wanted more from him. I loved their friendship so much. I loved how mentoring Dylan was with Chastity , he was also sweet and protective. I loved their young love and the progression of them moving from friends to lovers. Another incredible book in the True North Series and I cannot wait for the next one. 4 stars. *ARC received in exchange of an honest review*

Sarina Bowen takes fans and readers back to Vermont with the seventh novel in her True North series. Inasmuch as the book could work well enough as a standalone, this it the part where I'm going to beg you to read the books in order. Not only is this series a personal favorite--for good reason!--but there are also recurring characters throughout. I promise, you won't regret venturing into the awesomeness that are the Shipleys and their friends and neighbors. Just for clarification, not all of the books are about the Shipleys--so far, there are only three novels. Book number seven is a friends-to-lovers romance between twenty-year-old college sophomore and dairy farmer Dylan Shipley and twenty-one-year-old college freshman and polygamous cult escapee Chastity Campbell. Dylan is living college life to the fullest, earning a reputation for being the sort of guy who goes through girls without making false promises or with any regret. But now he's got a girlfriend, and she just happens to be Chastity's roommate. What's a girl to do when the boy she has it bad for refuses to see her as anything more than a friend? Suffice it to say that there's a whole lot more to Dylan and Chastity than meets the eye--as it should be! I love the fact that these two are layered and complicated and walking contradictions, which made it oh-so-easy for me to relate to and empathize with them. Yes, Dylan is every bit the young guy who has no qualms sleeping with different girls but he's honest about his intentions--or lack thereof--and seeing the side of him as the still grieving son and conflicted brother highlights that he's more than your usual college-aged dude who only thinks about sex. As far as Chastity is concerned, she may be a year older than Dylan, but the first nineteen years of her life were shaped by the dictates of Paradise Ranch, the cult she was born into (and the same one Zach Holtz from Keepsake, book three in the True North series, and Josh Royce and Caleb Smith from Goodbye Paradis, book one in the author's Hello Goodbye duet, were part of). She was trying to reconcile her wants and desires with what she had been indoctrinated into for most of her life, but I loved how she got a firmer footing with her life beyond Paradise. Dylan and Chastity were barely in their twenties and I appreciated the fact that they weren't made into overly ideal and idealistic main characters. They were still coming into their own and were bound to have missteps along the way! I liked that nothing about the development of their relationship was rushed and that the story touched upon Dylan's complex issues with regards to his family. I won't get into it because no spoilers! My advice? Go read Heartland already. Sarina Bowen's latest novel receives five stars. Fingers crossed for more from her book universe! ♥

About the author

Sarina Bowen is the sixteen-time USA Today bestselling author of over thirty romance novels. She writes sports romance, billionaire romance, small town romance, contemporary fiction and YA fiction. She loves Vermont, hockey, and fine stationery. Visit sarinabowen.com for more.

Work by Sarina Bowen includes: Brooklynaire, the Brooklyn Bruisers, the True North Series, Him, Us, Goodboy and Stay in the WAGs series with Elle Kennedy. The Man Hands series with Tanya Eby.