Waylaid

By: Sarina Bowen

Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Zachary Webber

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

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

A mystery wrapped in a small town romance. Sarina at her best

Sarina is a auto buy author for me and she has never write a book I do not enjoy. True North is a favorite of mine because the Shipley is the most wholesome American family but everyone has a cross to bear. I love how the mystery of their missed date unravels as the story progresses and the character arc she put them through. The amazing thing about Sarina’s writing is that underneath the wholesome setting of rural Vermont lies the darkness that’s pull you in. As the story builds Zachary really elevates his story arc with his performance. Thank you for giving Daphne such an amazing story. You truly outdid yourself with this.

Another brilliant True North story

Sarina does it again! I was unsure any this book based on the short description but I was completely wrong. I couldn’t have loved Rickey, our hero, any more. And Daphne Shipley too, of course. Both H/h had very interesting back stories. They grew their friendship and let that blossom. To see how’s their past and present come together in the end was crazy and awesome.

Another winner from Sarina Bowen

I love this author so much! I have all her books and know every one of them is a credit well spent. This book will make you laugh, cry, and encourage you to take a nice cold shower. The narrators do a fantastic job. Don't wait. Start listening now!

Good, not great

I am a huge Sarina Bowen fan, and this story was solid, but not as good as many of her previous books. My three biggest reasons for this were 1) the chemistry between the main characters felt oddly lacking in this book, 2) one dimensional villain with no clear motive - not usually a problem in a romance book, but this novel presented itself as more of a mystery so I expected more depth on that front than normal, and 3) this might just be me, (slight spoiler alert! but everyone could see it coming so also not really) but I am really frustrated with books that have the heroine change her life goals in order to stay with a boyfriend or in a small town with her family. Sarina tried to turn it around into a good life decision / a reflection of character maturation and with a plot twist that really wouldn't happen in real life academia, but come onnnnnn. To me, a real happy ending is the heroine going to the best school in the country with her boyfriend following HER, then she can move back home after those two short years to be with her fam again. It's like authors feel that a woman always has to pick her family over her career in these 'happy endings', even when the choice is a temporary one. write an epilogue after she's done with school and back in Vermont with her dream job and hanging with her happy family if you have to. Can we fix this ridiculous trend now?

Rant over. In other news, Zachary Webber and Callie Dalton were good as usual, though perhaps owing to the lack of chemistry I felt with the characters I didn't quite love them in their roles like I typically do. I think this was a fault of the story and not the voice actors though.

A great ending to an amazing series

I’ve slowly made my way through the True North series and I gotta say, it's one of my very favorite small town romance series ever. I love the Shipleys (can I be a part of their family please?). I love the Rossi's and I love the way all the characters grew together and showed so much love and support for one another through the good times and bad.

Now, Waylaid. It's the final (at least for now) book and I was so excited yet sad to finally get Daphne's story. Daphne is Dylan's twin (from the previous book) and she has some secrets she is hiding from her family. She's returning home to complete college, but no one is sure why she left a bigger school to return home. She's always been the one to look for "bigger and better" and that was not going to be in her small town. I wasn't sure of the secret she was hiding or how that was going to be revealed, but I was just curious how her story was going to play out and how the family would come together for her.

Then there's Rickie. Oh my goodness. When I found out this was going to be his story, I was very excited. He appeared in the previous book as Dylan's roommate and I just loved his laissez faire way of life. He obviously loved his friends, but there was something more to him than just partying. He let his friends stay for basically free in a house that he he owned. How many college students own a house and don't need money?? He had something he was keeping from those around him and I had to know what it was. Especially since he was such a good and fun character.

Daphne and Rickie were a great match and I liked seeing this friends to lovers/roommate to lover progress from just some fun to way more than you expect. I had a feeling with clues along the way about the story, but not to the extent that you may originally think. Let's just say that these two were meant to be and I cannot get enough of this whole darn series.

I've loved the Shipleys and getting glimpses of the characters throughout every book. While every book is a different couple, we still get to see our favorites from the past and the way they overlap and the stories connect is something beautiful and special. From contemporary romances to even a little bit of mystery in the romance, this series has it all. The secrets and mystery of Waylaid and the way it worked together with the pasts of Daphne and Rickie was my favorite. I'm glad I took the time to experience this series. And if you love some good older characters, you are going to adore Grandpa Shipley in this one. He's an original bad boy and I would love to see him in his hey day. Get it, old man.

Lastly, if you like audio, Callie Dalton and Zachary Webber nailed their performances for Daphne and Rickie. Fun, sexy, protective and everything in between. They really made these characters their own and brought their story to life. Can I be a part of this world? I'll work their orchard if it means that I get to come to the Shipley weekly dinners. ;)

fell.in

love with this series kept my interest the entire series. Narrators were Great! Thanks

Every book in series is at least a 4 star winner.

After reading this eighth book in the True North Series, I have these thoughts:

1. Every book was well worth the investment. I hope for future listeners/readers they eventually combine them to make two collections with 4 books in each.

2. They shouldn’t market these as stand alones. It’s like saying, “Hey - I’m making brownies, but you can eat this one block of unsweetened chocolate instead and you won’t be missing much.” The most powerful element to these stories is the relationships between the people. You learn things about nearly every character beginning in book one. As the series progresses, the actions and events of characters in previous stories are vital to appreciating subsequent stories where they are featured.

3. In the few books where multiple reviewers complained about a narrator, I was still able to enjoy the audiobooks even when I shared some of these opinions. Even the one where the poor guy sounded like the voice from Dragnet or The Twilight Zone. At worst I laughed out loud, then acclimated to it a short way into the story.

Wonderful edition to the True North series

ALC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of the newest true north book. I have loved the series and this book fit right in. It was so enjoyable to see all the characters in the Shipley family as side characters in this one.

Rickie was an amazing character and one of my new favorite Sarina heroes. He is a flirt and a sweetie but also struggling with past trauma. His connection with Daphne was impossible to ignore. I loved the way the relationship grew the more open and honest they were with each other. They both had secrets that were hard to share but once they allowed themselves to be vulnerable with the other person their relationship flourished and was so passionate and emotional.

I will say this book is a bit heavier than some of the others in the series. Both characters are dealing with serious emotional situations and there is a mystery aspect to it that goes throughout the book but the relationship that forms between Daphne and Rickie as a result of the events is exactly where they were meant to end up.

The beautiful storytelling in all of Sarina’s books just draws me in and I cannot resist them. Combine that with the fun and flirty banter between characters, deeply emotional topics, amazing family dynamics, and sexy relationships thrown in it is a recipe for perfection.

If you haven’t picked up the True North series yet what are you waiting for? However, I would recommend reading them in order.

TW: rape, assault, bullying

excellent

Another fantastic story and narration. Bravo!!
The entire series is fantastic and well worth reading over n over.

Addictive

I have loved the entire True North series! I feel so invested in all the characters and enjoy that each new story explores someone else’s story!

An emotional story with amazing narration

I absolutely loved this audiobook. Callie and Zachary did an amazing job with Daphne and Ricky. I’m not gonna go into the plot, that’s what the blurb is for, what I do want to say is that I was so happy to see Sarina bringing important issues out in their story. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’m not going to name the issue raised but I do want to thank Sarina for tackling it with care and sensitivity while highlighting the gender bias that society has placed on it.

So not only do you get a great love story with a new take on a second chance romance. (He has memory loss so doesn’t remember their first meeting) BUT you get a hidden life lesson and I love love love books that have hidden or shouting in the front style life lessons. I think it always says a lot about an author who is willing to weave a life lesson into their plot. Whether it’s intentional or accidental, I don’t care, this one was done well.

I loved discovering all the little details that came to light with regards to Ricky’s past. It was like being a little detective uncovering the clues and at the end we get the full picture.

Of course this book isn’t all heavy heavy, there is light and laughter too with the raucous Shipley clan on the farm and some homicidal chickens!!! This book is well paced and well balanced. I got all the laughs, feels, steam and life lessons rolled into one very tidy package.

With fantastic narration by both Callie and Zachary, you really can’t go wrong with this audiobook.

fabulous

I am so blown away by this series of books I just want to know more and recaps on couple it's so addictive, this story is fab and Ricky omg I would like to have someone like him around. I'm gonna get withdrawal symptoms and the narration is spot on highly recommend a read

Loved this

I’ve listened to all the audiobooks from this author and they fantastic these stories and the family and friends included are just brilliant

Great book

I really enjoy that book . I think the story was great with few twists. I listen to few other books from the collection and I would highly recommended . I love the whole family concept and you can’t get wrong with Webber as narrator in romance book :)

Fresh, funny & raw

Ricky & Daphne are amazing, Bowen brings the heat again with this fresh new Vermont tale. Current issues and new generation Shipley antics. Zachary Webber is outstanding!!

Surprising and brilliant

This book surprised me. I was expecting a nice romance and was completely thrown by the twists. It covered some extremely delicate topics in a sensitive way and I was in tears a couple of times. However, I also laughed a lot and loved hearing more about the Shipley clan. Great narration and great story, I definitely recommend.

Enjoyable listen

I enjoyed listening to this book. I knocked a star off because it lost its pace around the middle, and Daphne was a bit frustrating at times - but still a good story.