Reviewer: Casee Bittersweet by Sarina Bowen
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld, Tad Branson
Series: True North #1
Also in this series: Bittersweet, Steadfast, Steadfast, Bittersweet, Keepsake, Bountiful, Speakeasy, Steadfast, Fireworks, Keepsake, Bountiful, Fireworks, Heartland , Heartland
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: June 14, 2016
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Escape
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 348
Length: 9 hours 32 minutes
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Series Rating:
The new series is set in Vermont. True North is populated by the tough, outdoorsy mountain men that populate the Green Mountain State. They raise cows and they grow apples. They chop a lot of wood, especially when they need to blow off steam. (Beards are optional but encouraged.)
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the orchard.
The last person Griffin Shipley expects to find stuck in a ditch on his Vermont country road is his ex-hookup. Five years ago they’d shared a couple of steamy nights together. But that was a lifetime ago.
At twenty-seven, Griff is now the accidental patriarch of his family farm. Even his enormous shoulders feel the strain of supporting his mother, three siblings and a dotty grandfather. He doesn’t have time for the sorority girl who’s shown up expecting to buy his harvest at half price.
Vermont was never in Audrey Kidder’s travel plans. Neither was Griff Shipley. But she needs a second chance with the restaurant conglomerate employing her. Okay—a fifth chance. And no self-righteous lumbersexual farmer will stand in her way.
They’re adversaries. They want entirely different things from life. Too bad their sexual chemistry is as hot as Audrey’s top secret enchilada sauce, and then some.
After The Year We Hid Away debacle, I had no plans to read another Sarina Bowen book. None plans. However, as I was looking for new audiobooks to listen to, I thought about how much Holly and Rowena love this author. So I decided what the hell. I might as well give it a listen. Oh my, I’m so glad I did! This book was fantastic.
Audrey Kidder has been banished to Vermont by her employer. After mistake after mistake on the job, Audrey has been sent to buy organic foods from local farms for the restaurants that BPG owns. No problem, right? That’s what Audrey thinks until she sees the price sheet. She knows there is no way any local farmer will take the prices she is authorized to offer.
Griff Shipley doesn’t expect to find Audrey Kidder in the ditch on his driveway when heading home one day. He hadn’t seen her since the two hot nights they had in college. The nights after which she had ignored his calls and never spoken to him again. He didn’t blame her for that, but nor did he want to see her on his farm. Especially when he finds out why she’s there.
I really loved this book. It was sad because Audrey had no self worth. Like zip. Zilch. Zero. She was staying with BPG because she will get a chance to pitch her restaurant idea to them and possibly get funded. She’s tried many things in her short life, but cooking is her calling. Audrey and Griff are still intensely attracted to each other. Their romance seemed like a dead end. Audrey’s dreams were in Boston while Griff couldn’t leave the family farm in Vermont. I was getting close to the end of the book and still didn’t know how they were going to make it work.
This book was funny, too. Audrey was so self-depricating and just funny. She tried not to take things too seriously, but she wanted to be a success. Here’s a one-liner that made me lol even though it was only a thought in Audrey’s head.
I was as good at resisting Griff Shipley as Homer Simpson was at resisting a donut.
I really liked Audrey. When push came to shove, she was loyal as hell. Loyal to Griff. She even went so far as to speak to her mother on his behalf, whom she has been estranged from for two years. Parts of the book were boring (the talk about organic stuff), but it didn’t take over the book.
I’m already listening to Steadfast and am loving it.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
True North
