Title: Steadfast
Series: True North #2
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Author: Sarina Bowen
Release Date: July 12, 2016
She’s the only one who ever loved him—and the only one he can never have.
Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there's no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere.
For Sophie Haines, coming face to face with the man who broke her heart is gut-wrenching. Suddenly, he’s everywhere she turns. It’s hard not to stare at how much he’s changed. The bad boy who used to love her didn’t have big biceps and sun-kissed hair. And he’d never turn up volunteer in the church kitchen.
She knows it’s foolish to yearn for the man who returned all the heartsick letters she wrote him in prison. But the looks he sends her now speak volumes.
No one wants to see Sophie and Jude back together, least of all Sophie's police chief father. But it's a small town. And forbidden love is a law unto itself.
Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there's no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere.
For Sophie Haines, coming face to face with the man who broke her heart is gut-wrenching. Suddenly, he’s everywhere she turns. It’s hard not to stare at how much he’s changed. The bad boy who used to love her didn’t have big biceps and sun-kissed hair. And he’d never turn up volunteer in the church kitchen.
She knows it’s foolish to yearn for the man who returned all the heartsick letters she wrote him in prison. But the looks he sends her now speak volumes.
No one wants to see Sophie and Jude back together, least of all Sophie's police chief father. But it's a small town. And forbidden love is a law unto itself.
Wow i loved Bittersweet with its sweet and sexy story, the smiling and swooning from start to finish but Steadfast blew me away i was wrecked after reading this book it was written with a raw honesty, intense from the first page to the last and i couldn't put it down. It hits on heavy subjects like drug use and life after prison. I found it compelling, heartbreaking, yet hopeful too. And I really like that it it had an element of suspense to it.
Jude has to return to his home town now there's not enough work on the Shipley farm but returning home finds him facing many challenges. There are plenty of times Jude could have gone and bought drugs when he started getting cravings, but he doesn't! It wasn't easy for him and you really feel the struggle along with him I wanted to pull him out of the book and just give him a hug! It broke my heart but i also felt strength and admiration . But the one thing he didn't think he would have to face is her Sophie!! The only girl he's ever loved but thinks he destroyed. Thinking she would have moved on with her life while he's been in prison.
I absolutely loved Sophie when she found that Jude had returned she could have hated him but she has such a kind soul and a beautiful heart she loved Jude unconditionally through it all. She did need answers though but not just from him but from her family as well.
I really don't want to give to much away of the story and believe me there is so so much more to this book of boy meets girl fall in love then heart breaks then they get back together!! We get suspense, drama and a true love, love story that draws you in like real life. Sarina Bowen has wrote a truly amazing book with this one and will be added to my favourite reads of 2016!!
And I can't wait to see what Sarina Bowen does with our dear, quiet, virgin farm-hand, Zach!
**Arc Most Gratefully Received for an Honest Review but i Honestly feel no words could do this book Justice**
I jumped off the bed and pulled open the door. And there she stood in the dark, arms crossed, looking up at me with big, angry eyes.
“Hi?” I said, confused.
Before I knew what was happening, she stepped over the threshold. Sophie kicked the door shut and then leaned against it. “Are you staying in Colebury?” she demanded. “I have to know.”
“Uh.” Shit. “I don’t have much choice. No other garage will hire me.”
“Hi?” I said, confused.
Before I knew what was happening, she stepped over the threshold. Sophie kicked the door shut and then leaned against it. “Are you staying in Colebury?” she demanded. “I have to know.”
“Uh.” Shit. “I don’t have much choice. No other garage will hire me.”
My brain was playing catch-up. But my body was clueing in to the fact that Sophie and I were barely two feet apart and standing within spitting distance of the bed where we’d had more sex than sleep. Her chest rose and fell with quick breaths, and her cheeks were flushed.
Wait—one cheek was redder than the other. Was that a handprint? I pushed the hair away from her face for a closer look.
“What the fuck?” I whispered. “Who did that?”
“What the fuck?” I whispered. “Who did that?”
“Who do you think?”
Her words were like little chips of ice.
Jesus. “Your father?”
With a gentle thumb, I traced the outline of what must have been a horrible slap.
“Did you tell him you were with…?”
Her words were like little chips of ice.
Jesus. “Your father?”
With a gentle thumb, I traced the outline of what must have been a horrible slap.
“Did you tell him you were with…?”
“No! I’m not an idiot.”
She grabbed my wrist and flung my hand away from her face. Then she grabbed my flannel shirt in two hands and looked up into my eyes.
She grabbed my wrist and flung my hand away from her face. Then she grabbed my flannel shirt in two hands and looked up into my eyes.
Her gaze was fiery and fierce.
“Can you be the one person who doesn’t make me feel stupid today?”
“Can you be the one person who doesn’t make me feel stupid today?”
Time paused like a held breath as Sophie’s hands pressed against my body, their warmth searing my pecs. We stared at each other while confusion rippled through me. And then everything got even more complicated. Sophie rose to her toes and yanked me into a kiss.
I’d never been so stunned. The feel of her soft mouth on mine was so unexpected and yet so familiar it was too much to bear. As our lips did a slow slide together, my breath hitched. But I couldn’t pull back. One more taste, my asshole brain suggested. Bracing both of my palms against the door, I leaned into her sweet mouth.
She opened for me immediately. When our tongues touched, I had the sensation of falling or running too fast downhill. She tasted like Sophie. She tasted like the best thing that had ever happened to me.
Warm hands curled around my biceps. When I nipped her lip, she whimpered, and my dick perked up like a lonely stray who suddenly smelled a feast. I thrust my tongue against hers, and she moaned into my mouth. Her hands went to the buttons on my shirt.
That’s when I remembered who I was, and just how bad an idea this was.
Although it hurt me, I dragged my mouth off Sophie’s.
Sarina Bowen writes steamy, angsty contemporary romance from Vermont’s Green Mountains. (Her ancestors began logging and farming Vermont during the 18th century. These were rugged, outdoor types without benefit of a laptop or a good latte. It boggles the mind.)
Sarina enjoys skiing, skating and good food. She lives in Windsor County, Vermont, with her family, eight chickens and too much ski gear and hockey equipment.
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