Reviewer: Rowena Keepsake by Sarina Bowen
Series: True North #3
Also in this series: Bittersweet, Steadfast, Steadfast, Bittersweet, Bountiful, Speakeasy, Bittersweet, Steadfast, Fireworks, Keepsake, Bountiful, Fireworks, Heartland , Heartland
Publication Date: October 25th 2016
Genres: New Adult
Pages: 326
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Series Rating:
There's a first time for everything. Lark Wainright used to be fearless. Her life was a series of adventures, each one more exhilarating than the last. But her recent overseas adventure was one too many. Now she’s home and in one piece. Mostly. But her nights are filled with terror.
When her best friend offers her a stay at the orchard in exchange for help at the farmers’ markets, Lark jumps at the chance to spend fall in Vermont. But her nightmares don’t stop. Desperate to keep her fragile state a secret, she relies on the most soft-spoken resident of the Shipley Farm to soothe her when her dreams prove too much.
Zachariah is a survivor, too. It’s been four years since he was tossed aside by the polygamist cult where he grew up. He’s found a peaceful existence on the Shipley’s farm, picking apples and fixing machinery. But getting thrown away by your own people at nineteen leaves a mark on a guy. He doesn’t always know what to make of a world where movie quotes are the primary means of communication. Before hitchhiking to Vermont, he’d never watched TV or spoken on the phone.
Actually, there are a lot of things he’s never done.
Zach and Lark slowly grow to trust one another. One night they become even closer than they’d planned. But Lark may still be too broken to trust anyone. When she pushes Zach away, he will have to prove to himself that he's good for much more than farm labor.
Keepsake was one of the books that I was most looking forward to releasing in October so that I can get my grubby hands on it. I quit everything that I was doing, reading and watching so that I can read this book. Sarina Bowen is one of my favorites and this series has really shaped up nicely for me.
I’ve been wanting to read Zach’s book for what feels like forever. There was a lot of time between books to develop theories on who Zach would end up with and it really could have been anyone. We thought that maybe he was Zara’s baby daddy because that would have been a good one, virgin boy fathers baby after losing virginity to town bartender. Then there was May. He could have fallen in love with his boss’ sister and the complication there would have been the younger sister in love with him and was heartbroken on top of Zach not wanting to go there with any of the sisters for fear of losing his job and his home if things didn’t work out. Well, we didn’t get either of those stories because Zach fell in love with May’s best friend, Lark. Lark who went to work in Guatemala and was kidnapped then held hostage for ransom.
Lark is having a really hard time sleeping at night because she has night terrors. She keeps getting sucked back to memories of her time in Guatemala and she thinks that being out in the open air and staying busy on an apple orchard would be good for her. For the most part, being out in the sunshine and spending her days hard at work is good for her but not even that can keep the night terrors at bay for good. When those night terrors get the best of her, she’s not just waking herself up but she’s waking up everyone sleeping in the bunk house. One of those guys is Zach, a quiet guy who has been living on the Shipley farm for some time now.
Zach and Lark become friends and when Lark needs him, Zach is there for her. There isn’t much that he won’t do for the pretty girl with the haunted eyes that is such close friends with a girl he considers a sister. The more time that they spend together, the harder Zach falls for Lark and Lark for Zach. Lark knows that Zach is one of the good ones and she wants to be there for him just as much as he’s been there for her and she introduces him to the world of living…if you know what I mean. 🙂
Sarina Bowen really packs the angst with this one and my heart hurt for both Zach and Lark. They have both been scarred from events in their past and they’re both leaning on each other to just get through it all and I really enjoyed seeing them come together. I loved both Griff and Jude but I think Zach edged them both out for my favorite hero in this series. There was just so much to love about him. His sensitive nature, the protective instincts he’s got for everyone in his life and how hard he works to make sure that he will always have a place at the Shipley farm. I couldn’t help but hurt for how hard he worked to make sure that he proved to Griff and Mrs. Shipley that they still needed him around. To live like that, in fear that the people who opened their home to you would change their mind and kick you out hit me hard because what a way to live. Poor thing worked himself hard each and every day to make sure the Shipleys didn’t regret giving him a chance.
The romance between Zach and Lark was good. I liked seeing Zach really come into his own while seeing Lark. Seeing Zach fall in love hit me in my feels at every turn because I wanted this for him and I loved seeing him when things got rough. Seeing him struggle with what to do and where to go from here while Lark did what she needed to do made for their reunion that much more special for me. They were a great couple and when I closed the book, I was completely satisfied with the outcome. This was a great book and I would probably be re-reading this book from time to time. All for Zach. If you enjoyed the other books in this series than I know you will enjoy this one. Everyone should know Zach, he’s that awesome!
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I’m eager to read this now after having enjoyed the previous books in this series. Thanks for the review, Rowena.
Great review! I can’t wait to read this one — I liked the first book but skipped book 2 because addiction really depresses me. This one sounds great though!