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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Well, what a disappointment this was. It is easily my least favorite of this series so far. I'm not the biggest fan of the virgin FMC and manwhore MMC trope in general, especially when the FMC doesn't even flirt, date, or attempt anything with anyone else, all while being jealous and bitter when watching the MMC with other women, etc. I hoped that Sarina would put her own spin on it, like she did with Zara in book 4 of the series, and somehow this would turn out to be sex-positive and Chastity would be portrayed in a less clichéd way. Alas, this didn't break the stereotypical mold in any way, and tbh, I didn't want to read about a virgin FMC being all sad and pathetic while listening to the guy she loves bang someone else. I was left uninvested and unconvinced of their romantic or emotional connection, especially on Dylan's part; he was so shallow and overall just unlikeable, IMO. This is a couple that I can't see making it long-term. I should have DNF'd, but I didn't.
"I can't imagine what it would be like to have a partner so devoted to you that he'd risk everything to give you a normal life and to be your one and only. Most of us have to save ourselves."
"I can't imagine what it would be like to have a partner so devoted to you that he'd risk everything to give you a normal life and to be your one and only. Most of us have to save ourselves."
"I'm not afraid of the dark, and I'm not afraid of the nighttime. People are far more frightening. In my experience, they do their worst in broad daylight. Right to your face."
3.75-4 stars. This is a good book! Heartland is Chastity and Dylan's book. Chastity grew up in a fundamentalist, polygamous cult. She escaped as a teenager and fled to some family friends' farm in Vermont. There she met and became best friends with Dylan Shipley, whose family has a farm nearby. Their friendship was so close that they go to the same college and continued being good friends there. But things get complicated quickly. Chastity has a huge crush on Dylan beyond friendship. She is curious about many things that she hasn't experienced due to her background, including sex. She works up the nerve to ask Dylan to tutor her in seduction, which leads to a lot of emotion and eventually love.
I have to admit this book started off a bit rocky for me. I was a little weary that the characters were so young (20 or 21), in college, and had moments of immaturity. The first half was a little too angsty for me. (I'm a wimp) This is not an easy, light read. There are a lot of emotions at play. But I enjoyed the second half a lot and it balanced out for me.
Chastity has had a huge crush on Dylan for years. It was a little embarrassing how much she pined after him and he was oblivious. She was willing to take any crumbs of attention that he would give her. In some ways, Dylan was a typical college guy, focused on partying and having casual hookups. But there is more to him than that. He works hard on his family farm on the weekend and carries the stress of family responsibility. He does have a girlfriend when the book starts, Chastity's mean girl roommate, but that doesn't last too long. Dylan was best friends with Chastity, but he never saw her romantically or thought he was attracted to her. I didn't feel any chemistry between them, myself, for quite a while. I felt bad for Chastity that he never appreciated her, as a friend, like she deserved. I wasn't sure I liked Dylan because of his behavior at first either. But, as time went on, Dylan began to realize what a good friend she was to him and how much she meant to him. It was sweet the way he gradually realized that he loved her. He never pushed her away either.
Even though the book started out with Chastity blindly adoring Dylan, by the end, I felt the love between them and that they loved each other equally. Dylan turned out to be a sweetheart and Chastity grew in his love and became more confident. Yes, they were both young, but I felt they made a great match and their future was secure together. I liked both of their characters. They both had been through a lot, with Chastity growing up in a cult, having escaped, but still being quite innocent in some worldy ways, and having no experience with men. Dylan had lost his father and had a lot of guilt he was carrying about that and his tumultuous relationship with his older brother. I was happy to see them both mature a lot, learn and grow from their past experiences, and find happiness together.
Overall, I ended up liking this book a lot. Much of the book has a different feel than the rest of the series- college, new adult, less mature characters. But we do get to visit with the Shipleys and their farm. I love this series and it's small town, Vermont setting. I love the family dynamics and the relationships that affect Chastity and Dylan. I enjoyed the scenes and description of them making caramels together too. They ended up being a cute and fun couple. I look forward to more from this series and Ms. Bowen in the future!
*arc provided in exchange for an honest review*
I have to admit this book started off a bit rocky for me. I was a little weary that the characters were so young (20 or 21), in college, and had moments of immaturity. The first half was a little too angsty for me. (I'm a wimp) This is not an easy, light read. There are a lot of emotions at play. But I enjoyed the second half a lot and it balanced out for me.
Chastity has had a huge crush on Dylan for years. It was a little embarrassing how much she pined after him and he was oblivious. She was willing to take any crumbs of attention that he would give her. In some ways, Dylan was a typical college guy, focused on partying and having casual hookups. But there is more to him than that. He works hard on his family farm on the weekend and carries the stress of family responsibility. He does have a girlfriend when the book starts, Chastity's mean girl roommate, but that doesn't last too long. Dylan was best friends with Chastity, but he never saw her romantically or thought he was attracted to her. I didn't feel any chemistry between them, myself, for quite a while. I felt bad for Chastity that he never appreciated her, as a friend, like she deserved. I wasn't sure I liked Dylan because of his behavior at first either. But, as time went on, Dylan began to realize what a good friend she was to him and how much she meant to him. It was sweet the way he gradually realized that he loved her. He never pushed her away either.
Even though the book started out with Chastity blindly adoring Dylan, by the end, I felt the love between them and that they loved each other equally. Dylan turned out to be a sweetheart and Chastity grew in his love and became more confident. Yes, they were both young, but I felt they made a great match and their future was secure together. I liked both of their characters. They both had been through a lot, with Chastity growing up in a cult, having escaped, but still being quite innocent in some worldy ways, and having no experience with men. Dylan had lost his father and had a lot of guilt he was carrying about that and his tumultuous relationship with his older brother. I was happy to see them both mature a lot, learn and grow from their past experiences, and find happiness together.
Overall, I ended up liking this book a lot. Much of the book has a different feel than the rest of the series- college, new adult, less mature characters. But we do get to visit with the Shipleys and their farm. I love this series and it's small town, Vermont setting. I love the family dynamics and the relationships that affect Chastity and Dylan. I enjoyed the scenes and description of them making caramels together too. They ended up being a cute and fun couple. I look forward to more from this series and Ms. Bowen in the future!
*arc provided in exchange for an honest review*
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really cute overall! I did tear up a little towards the end. I’m glad FMC
got his head out of
his ass, and the FMC got over most of her sexual hangups.
It was really shitty of Leah to announce to everyone that they were moving in the middle of Christmas dinner, and that really pissed me off, especially assuming that the FMC would move with them for what, childcare?
I might eventually try to find the next book to see what the eccentric roommate is gonna do with Daphne lol
got his head out of
his ass, and the FMC got over most of her sexual hangups.
It was really shitty of Leah to announce to everyone that they were moving in the middle of Christmas dinner, and that really pissed me off, especially assuming that the FMC would move with them for what, childcare?
I might eventually try to find the next book to see what the eccentric roommate is gonna do with Daphne lol
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
I don't usually.. or ever.. go for college romances, but this one surprised me. I actually kinda loved it. It wasn't overly dramatic and made me want a Dylan of my own. Yes maybe Chastity is a little uninformed, but look at her upbringing. She had a very interesting background that's for sure. The only thing I wish for is a more 'further down the road' epilogue
Method: ebook
Rating: 4/5 stars
H rating: 4/5 - Dylan
h rating: 4/5 - Chastity
Drama: 3/5
Thoughts: Great read!
This is the first book I have read in this series and surprisingly I jumped into a book #7 which I never do. I didn't feel lost or intimidated by feeling like I didn't know what was going on or who was who. The story flowed with the newest characters on tap. I liked it. My reason for not loving it was Dylan didn't jump off the pages for me. His blah-zay way of thinking of girls and treating them didn't capture me from the get-go. He seemed like he was half in at all times. I did grow to like him more and more as the story went on but him hanging onto the same reasons over and over until he suddenly didn't caused a bit of whip lash for me. I did want for Chastity, I know more about the process of making caramel and could actually smell it while reading it was described so well and frequently. Again, I did like this book, I liked the characters and I am glad they found what they were searching for.
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.
BLOG TOUR
ARC was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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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.
BLOG TOUR
ARC was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This series has a good range of different tropes and each books main characters face a different dilemma to reach their HEA. With this edition, we have a college age romance, with a friends to lovers theme. Dylan Shipley is the second youngest, only by minutes to his twin Daphne, and is dividing his time between Uni and the farm. Chastity, who escaped from the same cult that Isaac, Leah and Zach did, is a freshman to Dylan’s junior year and is struggling. Not so much on the course subjects (well algebra is hard for everyone! It doesn’t count) but more on keeping her feelings for her best friend under wraps. She’d rather have Dylan’s friendship than ruin everything by declaring her love. Dylan himself is busy, and yeah part of that is in the bedroom with his awful girlfriend, but he doesn’t have a lot of spare time being a student and farmer, but when Chastity comes up with a clever idea to use his goats milk, they both jump straight in to making caramels - my favorite! Dylan has always thought Chastity was gorgeous, inside and out, but never went there because he doesn’t do relationships (Kaitlyn was an exception to the rule because of her skills) and he knows that Chastity is inexperienced and innocent. She proves to him that she even though she might not voice exactly what she wants, her body is guiding him to just how sensual she is.
As I said, it’s a college romance, so sometimes these kids do silly things, but their hearts are in the right place. I felt for Dylan’s anguish over his fathers death, which has stayed with him all these years. I also had sorrow for Chastity’s suffering at Paradise Ranch but admired her tenacity to create a better life for herself. Dylan was a typical college student, and a bit of a manwhore. He had a fair bit of personal growth throughout the book, dealing with his demons and understanding what a good relationship can be like. He’s a solid hard worker and I’m happy he and Griff came to an understanding. I hope we get to hear more of exactly what Dylan and Chastity do once college is finished, I know they’ll be the perfect partners in business and life. I’m also very intrigued with Rickie, and his backstory and how he ends up with Daphne - bring on Waylaid!
As I said, it’s a college romance, so sometimes these kids do silly things, but their hearts are in the right place. I felt for Dylan’s anguish over his fathers death, which has stayed with him all these years. I also had sorrow for Chastity’s suffering at Paradise Ranch but admired her tenacity to create a better life for herself. Dylan was a typical college student, and a bit of a manwhore. He had a fair bit of personal growth throughout the book, dealing with his demons and understanding what a good relationship can be like. He’s a solid hard worker and I’m happy he and Griff came to an understanding. I hope we get to hear more of exactly what Dylan and Chastity do once college is finished, I know they’ll be the perfect partners in business and life. I’m also very intrigued with Rickie, and his backstory and how he ends up with Daphne - bring on Waylaid!