True North

About the True North series

True North follows the Shipley family -- Griffin, May, Daphne, and Dylan -- who run an apple orchard and farm in the small, close-knit town of Tuxbury, Vermont, along with the wider circle of friends, farmhands, and locals who pass through the family's orbit. It opens with Bittersweet, in which farmer Griffin Shipley reconnects with Audrey, a former one-night-stand turned corporate food buyer whose company wants to source produce from his farm, and the two have to reckon with old chemistry and clashing career ambitions. Later books turn to Griffin's siblings and the found family around them -- recovering addict Jude, farmhand Zach, and feisty bartender Zara among them -- as each finds their own small-town romance.

Published between 2016 and 2021, True North is Sarina Bowen's flagship small-town series: slower-burn, character-driven contemporary romance built on found family, rural Vermont life, and characters who recur and grow across the whole eight-book run rather than resetting fully with each new couple (the author's own reading-order notes flag that Bountiful pays off best once you know Zara's arc from Bittersweet, and Speakeasy likewise benefits from having read May's story in Keepsake first). Readers who want Bowen's quieter, more literary end of contemporary romance -- real family stakes, addiction and recovery handled seriously, a genuine sense of place -- should start here.

How to read this series

Publication order, starting with Bittersweet: Bittersweet, Steadfast, Keepsake, Bountiful, Speakeasy, Fireworks, Heartland, Waylaid. Each book can technically be read alone, but the Shipley family and their Vermont circle recur and develop across the whole series, and the author herself notes that Bountiful (#4) lands better once you know what happened to Zara in Bittersweet (#1), and Speakeasy (#5) better once you know what happened to May in Keepsake (#3) -- so publication order is the recommended path.