Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Steadfast by Sarina Bowen [Review]

Steadfast by Sarina Bowen
Steadfast (True North #2) by Sarina Bowen
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: August 23, 2017

True North
1. Bittersweet
2. SteadfastPaperback | Kindle
3. Keepsake
4. Bountiful
5. Speakeasy
6. Fireworks
7. Heartland
8. Waylaid

Related Series:
(find all the books in the series on the 1st book review)
The Busy Bean
1. Sweetheart

Sarina Bowen
Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
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.
Thoughts on Steadfast: OH, MY HEART! JUDE! SOPHIE! I need a minute. Hold on.

(Word of warning: this might get a little rambly. Jude and Sophie made me tear up so...yeah.)

Okay. Sophie and Jude. The good girl and the ex-con. The fact that his prison time came courtesy of a conviction for killing her brother (in a car accident, not like he went in and did some sort of cold-blooded killing thing) makes things a little tense between them when they first cross paths again. It takes a while for both of them to work through their initial issues. And just when those get put behind them, new issues pop up.

While Jude was the one ultimately in prison, Sophie's life came to a grinding halt when her brother died. She's stuck in a rut with her home life, she was never given the chance to grieve Jude's fate, and she's short on answers to her questions about what happened that night. Seeing Jude again after three years is the jolt to the system she needs. She might fight it at first, but it pushes her to make some changes and that's definitely a good thing.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jude is trying his hardest to put his life back together despite all the roadblocks thrown in his way. His dad has his own problems to deal with, the chief of police is out for blood because of the accident three years ago, and Jude has little local support to fall back on. He does have the Shipleys (LOVE that family), but he's still facing every day on his own since they're not THERE.

I just...REALLY liked this book. It was sweet and sexy and bittersweet all at the same time. Jude and Sophie were perfect with all their flaws. *draws glittery hearts around them*

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