Waylaid

By: Sarina Bowen

Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Zachary Webber

It’s a tale as old as time: The bad boy meets the good girl. He makes a daring proposition. Then the boy gets a mysterious head injury and loses a year of his life....

The first time I meet Rickie, I don’t know what to make of him. The second time we meet, he doesn’t remember the six hours we spent together. Or standing me up afterward.

I’m not the same, either. I’ve got secrets. I’ve told lies. Bad boys aren’t my type, anyway. Even the ones with troubled gray eyes.

But now we’re roommates. Cue the awkward moments in the hallway when he’s wearing only a towel and a smile. He’s determined to win me over, and his talented hands weaken my resolve.

It’s all fun and games until my past rears its ugly head and his secrets come to light, shaking our fragile connection, maybe even breaking it....

Note: This is Daphne Shipley's story. Contents include Vermont-y ice cream flavors, nerdy awkwardness, tattoos, and a playboy grandpa.

©2021 Sarina Bowen (P)2021 Sarina Bowen

Rickie and Daphne!

When Rickie laid eyes on Daphne Shipley, he felt two things: intense attraction and déjà-vu. She's his roommate's twin sister but he has this strange feeling they've met before. Well, they have. The thing is (unbeknownst to his friends) he had a brain injury before transferring to Moo U and he has lost 6 months of memories.

As for Daphne, she's never known what to make of Rickie: the first time they met was through a ride-share where he drove her back and forth from Connecticut to Vermont. She thought they had really hit it off and accepted his invitation to dinner and a party (and other things) - but he never showed up and never answered her texts. Now, he seems to pretend he's never seen her before!

Told through dual POV, with a few flash back chapters in 3rd person, the story lets you piece together how they met and what actually happened. Even with the weird misunderstanding, Daphne can't resist the cheeky, sassy and endearing Rickie.

We met Daphne in book 1, she had really turned into a brat by book 3 and now she's finally grown up. Rickie was a very prominent side character in Heartland and I fell in love with him in that book. (This is definitely a standalone, but you have so much more fun if you have read the other books in the series).

There is the obvious mystery of what happened to Rickie during those 6 months and why he has no memory whatsoever of those days and Daphne is also dealing with secrets of her own:no one in the family understands why she's transferring from her dream Ivy League school to a state school back home. So, there is this mystery element to the book that really makes you not want to put it down, especially since, as the small bits and pieces come together, you start to fear that these two were really really hurt.

There's a Shipley engagement and a wedding and a few other people in the Shipley family seem to have found a second chance at love. I hope Sarina keeps writing this series - we're out of Shipley's but there are Rossis! *nudge*

Narration: Callie Dalton brings the snarky, take no prisoners Daphne to life perfectly (as well as the other voices). There would be no better choice for the cocky Rickie than my super favorite Zachary Webber. (I should just have a "copy and paste-ready" paragraph to save me typing. Seriously. He rocks. And not only as Rickie! SO many voices!

Rep and Possible triggers: Rickie identifies as heteroromantic pansexual (but it's a blip in the screen and makes no difference in the story, imho). Amnesia, PTSD, mentions of vi0lent acts and rape (off page), FMC mentions shooting an animal

just gets better

love Daphnes story! love how it pertains to real life of everyday people.. you never know what's gonna happen but there are certain people that are supposed to be in your life!

nice conclusion

nice end to the True North series. Every love story was different and had its hardships but they came out stronger at the end.

Another great addition to the True North series

If you liked the other books in this series, you'll love Waylaid. Daphne and Ricky have a great connection that surprises you with its depth. You get to catch up with other members of the Shipley family. And as always, Bowen weaves in social issues seamlessly without being obvious about it. Really great portrayal of what therapy is like and what healing after trauma looks like. It's exactly what you've come to expect from Sarina Bowen.

Content warning: this story does deal with sexual assault so if that's triggering you might want to skip it.

The End

When I first saw this series I had my doubts about whether I would like it. I had my doubts I would even finish it. Overall I really liked it. I liked some of the books better than others, but I liked the series as a whole more than I anticipated. I may just try another Sarina Bowen series in the future.