Keepsake by Sarina Bowen Review
5 Smooches
Synopsis
There’s a first time for everything.
Lark Wainwright used to be fearless. Her life was a series of adventures, each one more exhilarating than the last. But her recent overseas adventure was one too many. Now she’s home and in one piece. Mostly. But her nights are filled with terror.
When her best friend offers her a stay at the orchard in exchange for help at the farmers’ markets, Lark jumps at the chance to spend fall in Vermont. But her nightmares don’t stop. Desperate to keep her fragile state a secret, she relies on the most soft-spoken resident of the Shipley Farm to soothe her when her dreams prove too much.
Zachariah is a survivor, too. It’s been four years since he was tossed aside by the polygamist cult where he grew up. He’s found a peaceful existence on the Shipley’s farm, picking apples and fixing machinery. But getting thrown away by your own people at nineteen leaves a mark on a guy. He doesn’t always know what to make of a world where movie quotes are the primary means of communication. Before hitchhiking to Vermont, he’d never watched TV or spoken on the phone.
Actually, there are a lot of things he’s never done.
Zach and Lark slowly grow to trust one another. One night they become even closer than they’d planned. But Lark may still be too broken to trust anyone. When she pushes Zach away, he will have to prove to himself that he’s good for much more than farm labor.
Review
‘She looked vivid, as if God had painted her features with bolder paints than he used on the rest of the world.’
Ya’ll!!! This story blew me away. Having read the other two books in the series I was already aware that I enjoyed Sarina’s writing style and her stories but this book took that love to a whole new level. There is a stark contrast to the lifestyles, personalities and demeanors of Lark and Zach; but there is also somethings eerily similar in the hardships they each must overcome. They understand and comfort one another and together they make something truly beautiful.
‘Maybe I spent the first twenty-three years of my life without touching anyone, but Lark had changed me. I craved the contact.’
Fans of the series will be happy to have the entire Shipley clan back together for another apple picking season and joining them in the orchards this time is May’s best friend, Lark. Lark has always been outgoing and carefree but after a work trip to Guatemala goes horribly wrong she is left damaged and broken. Now her dreams are tormented by memories of what she witnessed and the only way out of them seems to be Zach’s comforting touch and smooth voice. This man she barely knows but is insanely drawn too feels so right but their timing is so wrong. Zach is insanely sweet and a touch innocent. Despite all he has never done in life, having grown up in and being kicked out of an polygamist cult, he is all man if you know what I mean. Zach is why romance authors write book. PERFECTION. I loved every moment with him and in the end the worst part was that my time with him was over.
‘I hadn’t known that holding her in my arms was a privilege I’d soon have to give up.’
Keepsake is a standalone novel but I do encourage you to give all the couples in the True North series a go. They are each uniquely wonderful but Lark and Zach are it for me. I went from swooning, to laughing, to heart-aching with tears streaming down my face emotional and I loved each new moment I got with this book and this entire cast of characters.
~miranda
