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Friday, October 20, 2017

New Release: Bountiful by Sarina Bowen + Review!



Bountiful 
by Sarina Bowen




About the book:

No last names. No life stories. Those were the rules.

Once upon a time a cocky, copper-haired tourist sauntered into Zara’s bar. And even though she knew better, Zara indulged in a cure for the small-town blues. It was supposed to be an uncomplicated fling—a few sizzling weeks before he went back to his life, and she moved on.

Until an accidental pregnancy changed her life.

Two years later, she’s made peace with the notion that Dave No-Last-Name will never be found. Until one summer day when he walks into her coffee shop, leveling her with the same hot smile that always renders her defenseless.

Dave Beringer has never forgotten the intense month he spent with prickly Zara. Their nights together were the first true intimacy he’d ever experienced. But the discovery of his child is the shock of a lifetime, and his ugly past puts relationships and family out of reach.

Or does it? Vermont’s countryside has a way of nurturing even tortured souls. The fields and the orchards—and hard won love—are Bountiful.




Buy links:





My review:

4 stars
****

 This was a good book. This is Zara and Dave's story. Zara runs her uncle's bar in the country in Vermont. Having gone through a recent breakup, she is prickly and a little bitter about men. Dave is an NFL hockey player for the Brooklyn Bruisers. For the summer, on the off season, he has come to Vermont for a few months to relax and recover. He meets Zara in the bar and is immediately interested in her. He doesn't do relationships, but he isn't a manwhore; he is just focused on his career. He can see that Zara is prickly, so he deals with her gently. She decides that maybe a fling with this hot stranger is just what she needs. A one night stand leads to a summer full of nights together. They agree to no last names or identifying information between them, but they still manage to forge a connection somehow. Both of them are sad to go their separate ways at the end of the summer. But Zara is even more sorry when she turns up pregnant a few weeks later without even knowing Dave's full name or how to contact him. Two summers later, Dave returns to Vermont for the summer again, having never forgotten his time with Zara. He is disappointed to find she no longer works at the bar, but is happy to run into her in the bakery she now owns. But that happiness turns to shock, when Zara, who is equally shocked to see him, tells him that he is a father to her baby girl. Dave has to learn how to be a father. He also still wants Zara and wants them to try to be a family together. Zara is afraid to give him a chance but Dave is pretty convincing and they soon fall for each other. They have to make some tough decisions about the future, but it all works out for them in the end and they get their well-earned HEA. 

I wasn't sure if I was going to love Zara at first. She was prickly and defensive, having a rough history with men. But she, gradually, with the help of motherhood, softened up. I ended up really liking her and felt so bad for everything she went through. She was strong and smart and devoted to her baby. I liked Dave too. He was a nice guy. I felt for him also. He had a lot to deal with, learning that he was a father and feeling unsure about his hockey career. It was really cute seeing him learning how to be a dad and fall in love with his daughter. I liked Dave and Zara together. I didn't feel a huge epic love between them, but I definitely felt their connection. There was also a bit of a slow burn as they learned their way around each other again. I liked the storyline in general. It was believable that they could have this affair that lead to a baby without really knowing each other. But they did know each others' personalities and bodies. I felt like they did fall in love over that first summer together. Neither of them stopped thinking about each other. I liked the secondary characters and seeing glimpses of the guys from the hockey team and the gang from True North farm. 

This was a good book, don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it. But I felt like this book had potential to be even better than it was, only it never quite got there. While I did enjoy this book overall (many parts of it I liked a lot, while a few others, not so much), I didn't really love the ending.  There was no epilogue and I would have loved to see a farther ahead jump into the future so that I could feel more secure in their HEA. Overall, though, for the most part, I really liked this book. 

Bountiful has some really emotional moments, some sexy times, and some very sweet times too. I love a surprise baby story and this book did not disappoint. I was happy to see Zara and Dave end up together in a happy family with their daughter. This series is one of my favorites and I definitely recommend it!





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