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Expect: cute goats, college parties, caramels, a hot, broody farm boy and a broken girl who can\u2019t stop loving him.<\/span><\/i><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n An emotional friends to lovers romance full of risky secrets and late-night lessons in seduction.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Dylan is my best friend, and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn\u2019t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn\u2019t know that I\u2019ve been hopelessly, desperately in love with him since the first day we picked apples together in his family\u2019s orchard.<\/p>\n But I know better than to confess.<\/p>\n Now that we\u2019re both in college together, I\u2019m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me.\u00a0Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra\u2026and he actually says yes.<\/p>\n But the cool morning light shows me how badly I\u2019ve endangered our friendship. And I don\u2019t know if anything will be the same again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n Oh, what a story! A beautifully heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance that is sweet and sexy with lots of feels, this book absolutely owned my heart and I loved it so much!<\/p>\n This is the seventh book in the True North<\/i> series, and is the story of Dylan Shipley. Dylan is the youngest son of the Shipley farming family that make up the heart of this series, and while I loved the opportunity to be back in this world, you could also read this as a standalone.<\/p>\n Dylan is now 20 years old and a college student, but is still travelling home on the weekends to help out on the family farm. He\u2019s not sure what his future holds but he is living in the moment, staying commitment free, and has a reputation as a bit of a ladies man.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not the most reliable guy. But I am a good time. Sometimes it\u2019s enough.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Chastity was raised in a cult and ran away as a teenager and found her way to Vermont. Now 21, she lives with other ex-cult members, Isaac and Leah, next door to the Shipleys, and the two families are closely interwoven. Chastity is attending college and embracing her freedom, and she is learning a lot about life, but what she craves more than anything is to experience affection, love and intimacy with somebody\u2026 one person in particular, her best friend, Dylan.<\/p>\n \u201cI have the same dirty mind as everyone else. And I just want what everyone else has.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Dylan and Chastity are at College together, and Dylan helps Chastity out with tutoring, and the two of them even enter into a side business together. They laugh and joke, and Dylan is always there to protect and support his friend. But she wants more. She\u2019s developed strong feelings for her best friend, and when she suggests he tutor her in all of the things she\u2019s been desperate to explore, he is helpless to resist.<\/p>\n I really loved this relationship. Dylan and Chastity\u2019s friendship is beautiful, and their shift to \u2018friends with something more\u2019 is natural and realistic. Their chemistry is insane, but there is confusion and doubt, which is understandable, but they work to overcome it and throw themselves into exploring their mad attraction, and it\u2019s all kinds of sexy. They still joke and laugh, but there is an added dimension to their relationship now, and it\u2019s so much fun watching them together.<\/p>\n I\u2019m very helpful until she\u2019s finished with problem thirty-one. Dylan has never had any interest in a long-term relationship, and though they went into their arrangement knowing that it wouldn\u2019t last forever, it\u2019s just so good between them, and his changing feelings for Chastity knock him completely off his feet.<\/p>\n I forget how to breathe for a second, because I just love her so hard.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s beautiful! These characters are both amazing, and so well-written, and I loved watching the progression of everything between them. Chastity\u2019s feelings are strong from the beginning, but she\u2019s still figuring herself out, and Dylan has a whole lot of soul searching to do as he decides what he wants and where his future lay. It\u2019s beautifully written with lots of emotion, and their journey is realistic as they work it all out.<\/p>\n Loving Chastity isn\u2019t a big decision I made. It just happened. And as for the rest of the big decisions coming my way, they aren\u2019t as scary as they were a few hours ago. This is a fantastic addition to the True North<\/i> series, and I loved catching up with some of the characters from previous books. The exploration of the relationship between Dylan and his big brother, Griff (hero of book #1), is an unexpected cornerstone of the story \u2013 I loved seeing it from Dylan\u2019s POV and, again, I thought it was really beautifully written.<\/p>\n I loved this story so much! I laughed and swooned, and it was just the story that I wanted for these two.<\/p>\n 5 stars!<\/p>\n An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bittersweet (#1)<\/strong> (Griffin & Audrey) Steadfast (#2)<\/strong> (Jude & Sophie) Keepsake (#3)<\/strong> (Zach & Lark) Bountiful (#4)<\/strong> (Dave & Zara) Speakeasy (#5)<\/strong> (Alec & May) Fireworks (#6)<\/strong> (Benito & Skye) Heartland (#7)<\/strong> (Dylan & Chastity) Waylaid (#8)<\/strong> (Rickie & Daphne) <\/p>\n \u201cSo why were you having a bad day, anyway?\u201d Ellie asks. \u201cMan trouble?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNot exactly. It\u2019s more like a lack of man trouble. I kissed my hot algebra tutor. And I wasn\u2019t supposed to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Her big eyes widen. \u201cWhich hot algebra tutor? You never said.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t work at the lab,\u201d I say hastily. \u201cHe\u2019s a friend. And he wants to stay that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d She looks deflated. \u201cThat is a bummer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo you have a boyfriend?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d She makes a face. \u201cIt would be nice, though. This year is kind of lonely. My roommate is a total bitch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOh, I have one of those, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d Ellie\u2019s eyes brighten. \u201cDoes yours steal your clothes and then lie about it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUm, no. She wouldn\u2019t want any of my things. We have singles, anyway. Just a common bathroom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLucky! She must be easier to stand, then.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d think.\u201d I take a gulp of mint tea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy roommate took my brand-new scarf. With the tags still on! And when I called her out on it, she tried to gaslight me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGaslight?\u201d I feel my cheeks flush like they sometimes do when I don\u2019t understand the idioms that people use.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know <\/span>Gaslight<\/span><\/i>? It\u2019s a movie from the forties.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIngrid Bergman,\u201d says Dylan\u2019s voice. \u201cWe haven\u2019t got around to the classics yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I startle, sloshing my tea over my hand. And when I look up, Dylan is <\/span>right<\/span><\/i> there. Clear brown eyes. Tousled hair. Tight, muscular body that\u2019s clothed in a nice sweater and ripped jeans. A handsome face that I finally kissed.<\/span><\/p>\n Pain slices through me. Because I\u2019m never going to get over him. There will never be a day when I look at Dylan and don\u2019t wish for more.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCan I talk to you for a quick second?\u201d he asks, taking the mug and grabbing a napkin off the table. He wipes the tea off my hand.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNow is not a good time,\u201d I say quickly. Because I don\u2019t want to cry in the coffee shop in front of my only new friend.<\/span><\/p>\n Dylan actually rolls his eyes. \u201cFifteen seconds, Chass. Give a man a break.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>I\u2019d<\/span><\/i> talk to you.\u201d Ellie raises her hand like a school girl. \u201cPick me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And that\u2019s just what I need\u2014another girl in my life who\u2019s swooning for Dylan. Because that always turns out well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFine. Fifteen seconds.\u201d I jump to my feet. Let\u2019s get this over with.<\/span><\/p>\n Dylan takes my arm and tows me gently over toward the bulletin board, where nobody is currently reading the flyers for meditation circles and ski equipment sales.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLook, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d is his opener. \u201cYou’re avoiding me. Not that I blame you. I’m sorry things got so out of control.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhich things?\u201d I ask warily. Because I don\u2019t want an apology for fooling around with me.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPick one!\u201d Dylan raises his hands. \u201cAll the things. I shouldn\u2019t have been so inappropriate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2026\u201d I know Dylan was in a serious state of drunken depression when he kissed me. It\u2019s not like I was expecting to hear those kisses made him as happy as they made me. But would it kill him to be a little less patronizing? \u201cDylan, I\u2019m not twelve years old. It was just a kiss or two. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll need a full course of therapy to recover.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He blinks. \u201cOkay. Good?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo did you really need to drag me over here to apologize a third time? Did you apologize to all the girls you kissed during Spin the Bottle in seventh grade?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I heard about Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven only last year, by eavesdropping on Debbie and her buddies at another bonfire. I\u2019d been transfixed by their tales of who\u2019d kissed whom over the years and how often.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At thirteen, Spin the Bottle would have sounded like heaven to me. Seven minutes in a closet with a boy? I would have lobbied for eight. I was always the most <\/span>inappropriate<\/span><\/i> girl in the bunch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet somehow Dylan sees me as some kind of innocent child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo. Good point.\u201d He crosses his delicious arms and smiles at me. \u201cYou are in a feisty mood today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIs that so wrong?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d He shakes his handsome head. \u201cNot at all. Are we going to hug it out?\u201d He opens his big arms wide.<\/span><\/p>\n Oh boy. I can\u2019t resist stepping into them. And when he pulls me in, I experience the familiar hormone rush that always happens when I\u2019m close to him. Rapid heartbeat? Check. Goosebumps? Check. My nose lands against his flannel shirt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My mouth is mere inches from his, of course. But this time he has no interest in kissing me. It takes all my willpower to give him a squeeze and then step back.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBe well, Chass. I\u2019ll leave you to your tutoring session, even if you\u2019re basically cheating on me right now. But we\u2019re still making caramels this weekend, right? I told Griffin we could use six gallons of goat\u2019s milk. Don\u2019t make a liar out of me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t,\u201d I say quickly. I might be slightly irritated at him, but it will blow over. My capacity to forgive him for not loving me back is basically infinite. \u201cWe\u2019ll leave right after Friday classes?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou got it. And this is for you. Share it with your friend.\u201d He pulls something out of his pocket. \u201cMore market research.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He puts a little box in my hand and then walks away.<\/span><\/p>\n As always, it takes me a second to get over my hormone rush. I stand there blinking for a long moment until I realize Ellie is grinning at me from the sofa. So I go back over to her and sit down.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWow\u2026\u201d she says, stealing a glance at Dylan\u2019s retreating backside. \u201cIs that hot hunk of Vermont male your algebra tutor?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d My voice is gravel.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd your future ex-boyfriend?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Heartland-Teaser-3.png?resize=640%2C320&ssl=1\")
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\nReview<\/b><\/h4>\n
\n\u201cHow\u2019d I do?\u201d she asks.
\n\u201cGroovy. Once you\u2019ve divided by Y, you didn\u2019t have any more problems.\u201d
\nShe beams down at her paper.
\n\u201cAlso? You look really touchable in that sweater. Just saying.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nSo long as we\u2019re together, I think I can handle all the other stuff.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Heartland-Teaser-2.png?resize=582%2C291&ssl=1\")
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\nTrue North series<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nExcerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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