Bountiful

By: Sarina Bowen

Narrated by: Seraphine Valentine, Teddy Hamilton

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

🌟🌟 5 Stars 🌟🌟

I loved this book and stayed up all night to finish it. Sarina Bowen is a must buy author for me! This series has been great from book 1 but this one was my favorite I think. I loved the characters, they were both so good and normal, like they could be your friends. Dave and Zara are incredibly HOT together and they have a great connection. I loved them together from chapter 1. They have such amazing chemistry that you can't help but fall for their love story. I have a huge soft spot for Men with children in my books. This book was sweet, sexy, realistic and my favorite... Not overly dramatic!!!! I also love that all of these series are entwining but even if you don't remember the other books this could have been a stand alone.

The narration was great! Teddy Hamilton was the PERFECT choice for Dave. He really brought Dave to life for me! Seraphine Valentine was also very good, not sure if I have ever heard her before but I would absolutely buy another audiobook if she was narrating!

9 people found this helpful

✫✫ 5 Stars ✫✫

I loved this book and stayed up all night to finish it. Sarina Bowen is a must buy author for me! This series has been great from book 1 but this one was my favorite I think. I loved the characters, they were both so good and normal, like they could be your friends. Dave & Zara are incredibly HOT together and they have a great connection. I loved them together from chapter 1. They have such amazing chemistry that you can't help but fall for their love story. I have a huge soft spot for Men with children in my books. This book was sweet, sexy, realistic and my favorite... Not overly dramatic!!!! I also love that all of these series' are entwining but even if you don't remember the other books this could have been a stand alone.

The narration was great! Teddy Hamilton was the PERFECT choice for Dave. He really brought Dave to life for me! Seraphine Valentine was also very good, not sure if I have ever heard her before but I would absolutely buy another audiobook if she was narrating!

3 people found this helpful

Feel Goods

The True North Series has been such an emotional, inspiring and sexy journey with a lot of very entertaining and interesting characters. Although the characters do show up from book to book, they do truly stand alone.

Although this book had not a great deal of action and goings on, i still couldn’t turn it off. It had my attention through and through. The characters were endearing, their chemistry palpable and the storyline was so sweet. I really, truly loved it.

1 person found this helpful

Beautiful!

Zara & Dave

There are some series you are just invested in and this is one of those series for me. I love everything about it.

The small town feels, to the character’s in it. I am in love with it.

We meet Zara pretty early on in the series and you are intrigued by her and her story. I love how this story gives us the before, the meeting of Dave the hot hot, hot, f -buddy relationship to the now.

It really helps us to see the progression of the book but also the growth of both characters. This book unfolded so naturally there wasn’t any over drama which I loved. It wasn’t predictable either, and that was refreshing.

Lovvvved the narration it was exactly what this book needed. Teddy :)

8 people found this helpful

5 stars is NOT enough

I adore Sarina Bowen, and this is an amazing series! And I admit that I wasn't sure about this one at first, but OMG!!!!! it is now on my list of ALL TIME FAVORITES!!!!!

Swoon City!

I didn’t realize how much I loved the single parent trope until I listened to the audio of Bountiful! Zara and Dave’s mature dealing of a surprise baby is the best thing ever! I loved it!

Love the crossover

I have been enjoying the True North Series, mostly through audible escape but also borrowing the books (library) to supplement the audio book.

I liked this book although I felt there were some more slow parts in the book. I love that there is a crossover- Brooklyn Bruisers hockey player with Vermont lifer. Dave, a hockey player and Zara, a repeat character across multiple prior books in the series met for one summer and had fantastic chemistry but decided to do the “no details, just fun” thing for the summer. She got pregnant but since she didn’t know much about him she couldn’t find him. He comes back 2 years later and he meets his daughter (surprise!) He is also in the midst of a career crisis and then now, a life crisis. What does he do?

I liked both characters and of course, the supporting characters including other Bruisers. Overall, though, the book felt slower going to me so I am giving this 4 stars.

By the way, the audiobook has Teddy Hamilton narrating. I would listen to TH narrate almost anything and he was perfect. (fair warning, I have a lot of his audiobooks because I think he plays characters so well and has such a a distinctive voice.) Seraphine Valentine is relatively new to me but she did well too. Overall, I enjoyed the narration.

Deep love.

I read #7 true north book first due to reading the summary. It was so good, that I figured to just start the series in the beginning (So far, so good). I also, figured not to read the summaries for each book from there on. Yet, this was a bit a surprise for me how this story flow. I did struggle reading Zara’s story. I don’t know if it’s because I am not into “accidentally” got pregnant by hooking up and continue on reading about the dynamic problems along the way. I don’t have kids, I am only an aunt...I barely could relate how being a mother can be or nevertheless, I barely could relate what a good “fling” with someone, either. Eck. Although, somehow and some way, Sarina Bowen had the ability write/craft relatable characters in other areas. As all cliche of true romance that involves a kid or involved an surprise/unplanned kid, the development is always the same- a whirl world spin rollercoaster of a different lifestyle better or worse. Yet, the more and more I read about Zara and Dave, the more and more it reveal how deep their love is. It’s pretty cool! Overall, I like it but I didn’t love it! 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Zara and Dave

Zara manages her uncles bar and as a rule she does not enjoy any extracurricular activities with the bar patrons. That is until one summer when Dave decides to visit the bar on a regular basis. What starts off as a one time thing turns in to an all summer thing. But Zara is adamant that she's not looking for a relationship and doesn't want to know anything personal about Dave. They have an insane chemistry and keep it all on the surface. They part ways at the end of the summer on good terms, but really without finding out any personal information about each other.

Flash forward to two years later and Dave is back in Vermont. He has some time off from the Brooklyn Bruisers and decides to take his teammates on a vacation destination to the place he fell in love with one summer. He's about to get the wake-up of his life - not only did he leave that summer with memories of Zara, but he also fathered a baby - his baby with Zara.

I will admit, I'm not usually a fan of the secret baby trope but I really enjoyed this story between Zara and Dave. Here were two people who really really enjoyed each other, but didn't want anything serious. Turns out they got more than they thought they would, but the question is can they make it work? And is it that what they really want?

Audiobook
Story: 4
Narration: 4
Overall: 4

The audiobook of Bountiful was narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Seraphine Valentine. Teddy Hamilton did a great job voicing Dave and other various characters throughout the book. I could hear the way Dave was happy, irritated or sad. Seraphine Valentine did an excellent job voicing Zara. She did a great job voicing Nicole and the other various characters throughout the book. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Bountiful.

I've enjoyed reading the True North series and am excited to read the rest of the books. Although Bountiful is parts of the True North/Brooklyn Brusiers series it stands as a standalone.

Oooh Daddy

Great addition to the True North series.
I didn't expect Dave to be such a dirty bird, but like Zara, I was here for it!
Normally I'm not a big fan of books that feature babies so predominantly, but I really enjoyed this one. I think the fact that we meet Zara in the previous books and I went into this knowing she was pregnant helped. And the fact that it isn't a "secret baby" book, really helped!
I liked that Dave and Zara were adults about things, once Dave returned to Vermont after their one hot summer together and discovered he was a father. I loved that Zara didn't hide Nicole from him, that she told him about her right away.
Dave made my heart ache, as he relived some really painful memories from childhood. His childhood really colored the way he lived his life, at least in regards to relationships. But it made me so happy to see him come into his own as a dad, and to realize he was worthy of a real relationship.
Zara's brothers, especially Alec, irritated me with how they treated Dave. It's not like he was a one-night stand who shirked his fatherly duties- he and Zara, together, decided on the no last name, no personal info summer fling. So how was he to know he had a child? And Zara was the one who didn't offer any details to them, when she found out she was preggers- be mad at her, not him! Zara's a prickly one, and I did have a few issues with her, when it came to how she treated Dave and her expectations about him. Considering he walked into a major life-changing event, I think he handled it extremely well, She didn't seem to want to trust him, even though he was proving he was all-in. It was a lot to take in, for both of them.
I enjoyed seeing Zara and Dave navigate all the facets of their relationship- as parents, and as lovers getting a second chance.

Narration by Seraphine and Teddy was terrific. I sound like a broken record when it comes to gushing over Teddy, so I'll refrain. Seraphine did a great job as Zara. She brought the toughness to her character, as well as the softer, more vulnerable side. I really enjoyed listening to this one.

Read as part of the Brooklyn Brusiers

I read this as part of the Brooklyn Bruisers series, not the True North series, which at some point I do plan on circling back to read.

But the second chance vacation surprise baby story between Dave and Zara was hot, funny and cute as all heck.

Not that great

The story was lacking, despite the summary being quite inviting. I was hoping for more than this story could offer.