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 … family’s orchard.
But I know better than to confess.
Now that I’ve joined him at college, I’m seeing a new side of him. This Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me.
Until the moment 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, and nothing will ever be the same again.
Heartland is a standalone college romance set in the True North world. Expect: a young, broody farmer, a giant crush, tasty caramels, cute goats and late night confessions.
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This is more of a 3.5 star review. I’ve really enjoyed this series and I hope that the author continues because clearly Daphne needs her own book. While I love the stories behind Dylan and Chastity, this wasn’t my favorite book of the series. There were some continuity issues and certain details that just didn’t work for me. Those issues aside, I liked how the author wrote Chastity. She could have written her to be more anxious and cautious, but instead she wrote a strong woman in the making. I never got the vibe from previous books that Dylan was “screw up”, but the author did a wonderful job of laying the ground work and how even a close knit family doesn’t always see what’s going on with their loved ones. The end of book is filled with all the feels, plus maybe the setup of Daphne’s book and definitely one, maybe two hockey books.
Omg… Dylan made me cry. I loved this.
Read: 2/15/2020
Heartland was the seventh book in the True North series by Sarina Bowen.
Dylan Shipley was a twin and one of the youngest Shipley siblings. He was currently a junior in college. He studied hard and played harder but still managed to go home on weekends and work at the family farm. But he was also known as the fun, no responsibility guy in the family.
Chastity Campbell grew up in a cult, which she escaped from two years ago to live with her cousin in Vermont. She was best friends with Dylan who lived on a neighboring farm and had crushed on him from day one. She was now a freshman in college, still incredibly innocent and saw Dylan regularly. But from his perspective, they were just friends.
Ouch I hated Dylan instantly and I hadn’t even met him yet. But then I met him and I liked him, except for his girlfriend. Ugh. Yep, he had a girlfriend and Chastity was just his friend. But then the storyline progressed and I really loved Dylan. I loved getting into his head as his baggage was unraveled.
In the end, it was heartfelt, light hearted at times, and a fairly quick read. It was a true friends to lovers theme. Even though I love the storyline, I’d love a follow up because there was so much more that could be explored for their future.
Simultaneously, Bowen began creating a picture for Daphne, Dylan’s twin. And Rickie, now there’s a story. We had some teasers, so hopefully we’ll get more from them in the next book.
A continuation of a beloved, contemporary romance series that showcases a sweet friends to lovers story.
When I first started reading the True North series with Bittersweet, Dylan was just the younger brother we saw at family dinners. Flash forward to book 7 and we see Dylan all grown up as a hottie college student in Heartland.
So in this book, Dylan is a college junior and has supposedly earned quite the reputation as a ladies man who loves ‘em and leaves ‘em as relationships or more aptly dating just isn’t his thing. Joining him at college is Cassidy who’s a 21 year old freshman. She’s trying her best at acclimating to college life and society in general having run away from the cult she was raised in back in Wyoming.
Having been raised in a cult, to say that any form of sexual expression or exploration was not allowed is an understatement. But Cassidy at a young age was excited and interested in her growing, stirring feelings. Even though she’s been free of this repression, she’s still inexperienced and wanting that to change.
The problem? She has feelings for her best friend, Dylan and they aren’t going away. Now Dylan loves spending time with his best friend but is pretty clueless of her feelings and possibly his own. Heartland explores the possibility of adding “more” to a friendship.
I actually expected more of the story to be about their “sex tutoring” exploits but that came much later in the book and really wasn’t the focus of the story. This was more a story about someone who’s fallen in love with her best friend. It’s also partly a story about someone who’s trying to figure out and own her sexuality given the bizarre background she came from. Growing up in a cult I can only imagine that a woman’s sexual interests and needs were never discussed so what would that be like for someone who has those natural desire and urges but is called a whore to have those thoughts?
The Cast of Characters
I liked Cassidy. She was innocent and yet self-assured which I liked. If she was a wallflower, I wouldn’t have cared for her as much. She was a good friend to Dylan but man she had to watch him with her roommate which had to suck.
I actually liked Dylan’s roommate more than Dylan. There’s a story behind him that was only hinted at but I’d love more of him (maybe in Daphne’s book?). There just wasn’t anything that struck me as anything in particular with Dylan. We come to understand more about his motivations or lack there of as the story goes on, but overall I thought Cassidy was too good for him.
If you’re a fan of the True North series, you’ll enjoy this story, taking you back to the family farm and reconnecting with the Shipley family. If you love friends to lovers stories, especially those involving innocence and a bit of sexual education, then you’d love it as a standalone as well.
Thank you to Sarina Bowen for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Reading a series is so much better than reading a standalone book. Its like hearing your grandma tell new stories about your family that you haven’t heard before. Not that Sarina is like my grandma…She’s several decades too young for that. Ok maybe it’s not like grandma stories at all. Maybe its more like family reunion stories-hearing about people you already know and love but in a new context. And that is so much better than starting a new standalone with characters you have absolutely no connection with.
We met Dylan and arguably saw him grow up in bits and pieces of scenes from other True North books like Bittersweet and Keepsake. We learned that he is a good time, ie dancing in the kitchen, and a hard worker on the farm. By the time Heartland was written, true Sarina fans were picketing for grownup Dylan’s book. Ok, well…maybe not exactly picketing…but we were ravenous for more Shipley drama and Heartland delivered.
Chastity, who we got glimpses of in Keepsake, was just the right mix of farm girl, independent, and accepting of Dylan’s flaws. She loved him without judging him.
Dylan was just the right mix of good guy and questionable choices. I adored the way Dylan wanted to take care of Chastity. She was everything he never knew he needed and she snuck up on him. He made mistakes but he was good when it counted and heaven knows I’m a sucker for a good guy.
By the end of Heartland it was easy to see that the Shipley family has more stories to tell. Little clues throughout the book suggest Daphne will get her own book too 🙂 and even if I were a terrible detective, Sarina’s website says Daphne’s book is happening soon!
Another ace for Sarina Bowen! Heartland was everything I needed in a college romance. Considering most of the True North series thus far has been mid-late 20-something characters, it was a breath of fresh air to read Dylan and Chastity’s story. Their best friends-to-lovers dynamic was off the charts!
“I wonder what love looks like if not like standing around in the kitchen on a Friday night, stirring caramel and making silly jokes.”
We’re brought back to Chastity’s past with the Paradise Ranch cult. There are other characters in the True North series that came from that place as well. It’s basically hell. Chastity had to learn how to live in a normal civilized community with peers and school. It’s not easy.
Dylan is learning to live with the grief of his fathers death and earning his keep on the Shipley farm. His older brother is always on him about chores, school, majors, etc. There are no breaks for a farmhand from Vermont.
Their friendship was perfection. Dylan would do anything for Chastity and once he finally realizes that he’s got more than friendship feelings with her it’s…whoa. Their chemistry! I can’t deal. I really adored this one, y’all!
This was my first read by Sarina Bowen and I’m sorry I started at the end of the series because I want to know more about all of the couples, guess I’ll just have to go back and start from the beginning then. 😉
Dylan and Chasity are friends, and have been best friends since she moved onto the farm next to his a couple of years earlier when she escaped the cult her family belonged to. Now they are both in college and Dylan is helping her with algebra. You can tell right away that Dylan is protective of Chasity which was sweet, and I really liked the way their friendship evolved to something more even if she did have to give him the little push he needed.
This can be read as a standalone which is how I read it but I think it would be more enjoyable if you know more about a few of the previous couples.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy new adult romances and those that enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope.
Happy Reading!!!
This is my first book read if the True North series and though I am a little intrigued by the other characters and can see myself going back to read more, I never felt lost in this story due to not reading the others. A wonderful NA friends to lovers story with loads of emotions and finding what you really want.
Dylan comes across as your typical having fun partying college guy. Happy to keep things casual and not looking for a relationship. He doesn’t make promises as he has failed those in the past and still struggles with the outcome of broken promises. But he is loyal to his family and friends, always wanting to please everyone. He has a special place in his heart for his innocent best friend and feels fiercely protective of her.
Chastity is just getting her feet wet in this free world, running away from a religious cult wanting more. Struggling with the day to day as well as being a student in college, with no formal teachings in the past. She is truly thankful for the opportunity she has thanks to some friends who also left the life she knew. So thankful for her friend Dylan and his helping her. But struggling with the feelings that are growing for a man who doesn’t see her that way.
Tutoring for her classes, a joint venture business to help with some extra cash and spending a lot more time together. Could this be a recipe for disaster or could it be the start of something wonderful. Will Dylan give commitment a try? Will Chastity follow her heart and share her feelings?
I enjoyed the character growth and chemistry through the story. I am dying to hear Rickie’s story.
*** Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review.***
Rating~ 3.5 – 3.75ish stars.
The 7th addition to the true north series brings us Dylan Shipley and Chastity’s story. Dylan is the youngest in the family and is now at 20 at college. Chastity who we introduced to in Zack’s book (keepsake) is the member of the cult that escaped on her own and lives with her cousins Leah and Isaac (neighbours and close friends of the shipley’s). In the years since Chastity escaped the cult, she’s become best friends (AND FALLEN IN LOVE) with Dylan. Dylan who for his part is completely oblivious to this but perhaps he isn’t completely oblivious to Chastity’s attractiveness ??
Chastity has done a lot more living in the past few years than her entire life, she finally has freedom and wants to do normal stuff like have a boyfriend, pass her maths class etc. Dylan on the other hand, is pretty much a manwhore, a very stereotypical college boy whose life is filled with alcohol, drugs and parties except he has responsibilities to the farm and his two goats and hence spends his weekends at the farm helping his family out.
Through the book we see the progression of their relationship from being best friends to best friends in love and being lovers. They have some very cute moments together and ofcourse they have great chemistry together. We see them go through ups and downs, along with some sweet friendship moments and more passionate ones. Theres some humour and a little drama to get spice in the mix. There’s some heartbreaking scenes in relation to Dylan and his dad. I liked Chastity’s essays that were also part of the book, it gave more insight into her past no matter how sad they were. Also theres the animal and food content that I also enjoyed, seriously all the food mentioned made me really hungry and I wanted caramel despite not being a huge fan of it.
Chastity and Dylan are both still growing, they are still in the very early 20s but because of their life, they are pretty mature in certain aspects and we get to see their connection growing. They understand each other and want to protect each other but at the same time, they don’t want to let go of each other. They were pretty adorable together!
Quibbles: I feel these are definitely personal and more ‘me’ issues…I had such a hard time connecting with Dylan, which is shocking because usually I connect very easily with Sarina Bowen’s male characters. Which is why I really struggled for more than half the book, he was confused, he wasn’t sure about things himself which in turn made me feel confused. It also be that I’m not a huge of NA ? so maybe that contributed, also probably didn’t help that I’m one of those people that doesn’t liked to read of sex of the MCs with other people, sounds a bit weird like I don’t care that are in another relationship etc its just makes me a ehhh when I have to read about sex life and their feelings in regards to that when they are with someone else. After I started understanding/connecting with Dylan, it got better (but it tooook timmeee). There were also random bits here and there that were like very stereotypical college antics that didn’t help my feeling soft for Dylan.
I’m happy that Chastity got her HEA with Dylan who finally realised what he wanted with his life and career, she certainly deserves it after the crap she had to deal with while being part of the cult. Which reminds I guess I felt that aspect of her feeling afraid was never really dealt with in more detail, because she’s clearly still had some fearfulness of them coming for her.
Sometimes you can measure the book by how much it made you feel and this one certainly made me emotions of all parts of the spectrum.
Overall though anyone looking for a good NA story with friends to lovers, with mild angst and sweet characters and love for food would enjoy this one!! I’m looking forward to Dylan’s twins, Daphne’s book because of what is the deal between her and Dylan’s roommate.
*ARC review
Heartland by Sarina Bowen is a friends to lover romance with all kinds of feels. Dylan and Chastity have been friends since they met and yet, Chastity has had feelings for Dylan almost as long. But he was unaware and so far, not interested in anything too serious. But when they are in college they spend time together; can they see what they could have together?
Chastity’s past is heartbreaking, but I loved seeing her move forward. Dylan was enjoying college life, as guys tend to do. He cared for Chastity, but she was also his friend. As lines begin to blur, can they risk their friendship? I loved their chemistry and back and forth. This was a sweet, emotional and touching read.
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
Sarina Bowen’s True North series is a world that I’ll never feel ready to say goodbye to, so when I saw that Zach, the youngest Shipley brother, was the hero of book 7, I couldn’t wait to head back to Vermont – a place that more and more feels like coming home.
Due to Zach’s age, I knew that his story would probably be a bit different than some of the other stories in the series, which also meant that he would be more apt to make quite a few mistakes, that he would need to learn from, as well as say and do things that would make me want to knock some sense into him. And, boy, was I right in this assessment, but because Bowen gives readers Zach’s point of view, she makes us want to give him the benefit of the doubt, wants us to wait for him to realize what’s right in front of him, and while it does take him some time to get out of his own way and to stop hurting Chastity, even if that wasn’t his intention.
It’s clear early on that both characters are a work-in-progress, and it completely makes sense, given their age and the new experiences they’re facing at college. But Chastity has to contend with even more challenges due to her past, and those issues are compounded by her unrequited love for Dylan. As a reader, I felt deeply for what Chastity had faced and what she continues to endure as she moves forward. But I also give her so much credit for truly experiencing all that life has to offer, and even if she’s a bit too innocent and Zach feels the need to protect her, the person he should be protecting her from is himself.
The emotions present in Zach and Chastity’s story are a bit overwhelming at times, especially when readers are given Chastity’s perspective and hear everything in her own words, but it also makes that much more triumphant when she and Zach figure out exactly what they want and go about making it happen.
Heartland most definitely has a friends-to-lovers’ plot line, but I also see it as a story of self-discovery, of figuring out exactly who you are and what you want your life to look and feel like. It’s a heartfelt story that both breaks and heals as Zach and Chastity work to realize where they belong and who they belong with, regardless of their past mistakes and issues.
4.5 Poison Apples
Heartland by Sarina Bowen
Heartland is Dylan Shipley’s book and while I wasn’t his hugest fan at the beginning, Dylan definitely grew on me more and more as the book progressed.
Dylan and Chastity have been good friends for a handful of years now and Chastity has always been a little in love with Dylan and Dylan has merely been in lust with pretty much any girl worth a second glance and who is most definitely *not* Chastity. This goes on with Dylan dating Chastity’s roommate and remaining oblivious to her feelings. When Dylan and Chastity start up a business making and selling caramels, Chastity really seems to grow some confidence and learns to assert herself and ask for what she wants which was wonderful!
I loved so much about this book but what I particularly loved was that I didn’t love Dylan at the beginning yet was firmly team Dylan at the end. Him recognizing his feelings for what they were and also expressing himself and his vulnerabilities to Chastity as well as members of his family truly endeared him to me and I felt like he had come so far and grown so much. Chastity I just adored. She had been through so much and could have gone down a different path but she was all things good and it was a goddamn delight to witness. I loved the progression of their relationship and the nature of their friendship.
This was such a welcome addition to the True North series and I’m so eager for the next book!
*I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog.
I am a devout lover of book series and Sarina Bowen’s True North series is my type of kryptonite. I just love book series that involve a whole bunch of different interconnected characters. And the Shipley family is one such story that grabs you and keeps you entertained throughout the different stories.
Readers of the True North series have been introduced to younger brother Dylan Shipley several times throughout the series. Heartland is Dylan’s story. Mix in characters who’s origins stem from Sarina’s Goodbye Paradise story, and you have a thrilling new story.
Dylan is now an adult and off at college, away from the Shipley farm. Well, not entirely away seeing that he’s within driving distance and able to come running when his help is needed. He’s also the (unknowingly) crush of his friend and neighbor Chastity. Chastity is the “cousin” of the family living on the farm next door to the Shipleys – a recent transplant who escaped from the polygamist cult she had been raised in back in Wyoming. Chastity is quickly learning the ways of the world – broadening her horizons now that she’s living amongst real people and experiencing life out from under the tight constraints of the cult she was brought up in.
This story has several interconnecting stories laced within it. You have the Shipley family dynamic – how Dylan and his older brother Griff work and communicate with one another. There is Dylan’s guilt and resentment he is still dealing with since the death of his father years before. And then there is Chastity and her adapting to a new lifestyle while still struggling with the guilt she is feeling due to facing her desires and how they conflict with the message of the cult and the brainwashing she was subjected to while growing up.
There is also a romance story line. It wouldn’t be a Sarina novel if there wasn’t a love story intermingled within. And this one is hot and steamy. This can be read as a standalone…but there is just so much extra if you happen to read the other books in the series.
If it wasn’t for the fact I fancy half of them, I’d well and truly feel like one of the family now that we are seven books into the True North series. They are so well thought out and ingenious, I truly feel Sarina has material for this series to run and run should she so wish.
For those that follow the series, didn’t Dylan Shipley grow up well! I’ve always known him as younger brother to my favourite grumpy farmer, Griff, but now Dylan holds his own in the attention grabbing department.
On the surface he’s laid back and loving life, but underneath he holds onto a guilt that may explain why his relationships have always been temporary and superficial. Bar his family his relationship with Chastity is the one that brings him the most fulfilment, and when he realises her feelings for him are more than friendly, they put it at risk as they embark on a physical affair.
Chasity is a character I was intrigued and impressed by. She was brave enough to escape a cult she had known all her life, and her fear of the unknown took a backseat to her thirst for learning and immersing herself in her new world. Dylan is her friend first and foremost, but as their relationship takes on a new form Dylan discovers through Chasity how meaningful a lasting relationship can be.
There isn’t a book I’ve read by Sarina that didn’t show me what love is and Heartland is no exception to that.
Visiting these characters again was so comforting.
This book follows Dylan, the youngest Shipley brother, who is is twenties and in college. We also follow Chastity, who has made an appearance in an earlier book.
Dylan is a grade A commitment phobe. Chastity is Dyaln’s best friend and has been harboring a crush on him for a while. So when Dylan finds himself a new girlfriend, Chasity is devastated and crushed.
Dylan makes some cringe-worthy decisions throughout the book. Which made it hard to root for him sometimes. It was obvious he cared about Chastity, at least as a friend, but he’d do some things that made me question it. That being said, he did have redeemable traits of course. He could be sweet and reliable.
Chastity is a little awkward, which makes sense since she grew up in a cult. I adored her. She was loyal and sweet. She was also super open minded. She’s a survivor.
Overall, this was a great addition to an amazing series.