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new adult romance
Series · romance
True North
The True North series by Sarina Bowen has 7 known books (7 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Bittersweet (2016).
- Books
- 7 known books (7 novels)
- Published
- 7
- First published
- 2016
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Romance
- Last checked
Start here: Bittersweet (2016) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Bittersweet
Bittersweet opens Sarina Bowen's True North series in 2016, introducing farmer Griffin Shipley as he reconnects with Audrey, a former one-night-stand turned corporate food buyer whose company wants to source produce from his family's Vermont apple farm. At 336 pages, it also sets up Zara's arc, which pays off later in Bountiful.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bittersweet - Book 2:
Steadfast
Steadfast followed the same year, 2016, as the second True North entry, at 338 pages -- almost identical in length to Bittersweet -- continuing the Shipley family and their found-family circle of friends, farmhands, and locals in Tuxbury, Vermont.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Steadfast - Book 3:
Keepsake
Keepsake rounded out 2016's releases as the third True North book, slightly shorter at 312 pages, centering on May Shipley's story -- one the author's own reading-order notes flag as worth knowing before Speakeasy pays it off two books later.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Keepsake - Book 4:
Speakeasy
Speakeasy, numbered fifth in the series, followed in 2018, two years after Keepsake, and lands best once you already know what happened to May in Keepsake, per Sarina Bowen's own reading-order notes for the Shipley family's Vermont-set romances.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Speakeasy - Book 5:
Fireworks
Fireworks came out the same year, 2018, as the sixth True North entry, running 332 pages and continuing the found-family thread among the Shipleys' farmhands and friends in Tuxbury, Vermont.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fireworks - Book 6:
Heartland
Heartland followed in 2020, two years after Fireworks, at 347 pages, keeping the recurring Shipley family and their Vermont apple-farm circle moving toward the series' close.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Heartland - Book 7:
Waylaid
Waylaid closed out the True North series in 2021, the year after Heartland, at 385 pages -- the longest book among these seven -- wrapping up the Shipley family's small-town Vermont romances that Sarina Bowen built the series around.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Waylaid
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.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the True North series?
Eight: Bittersweet, Steadfast, Keepsake, Bountiful, Speakeasy, Fireworks, Heartland, and Waylaid, published 2016-2021.
What order should I read True North in?
Publication order: Bittersweet, Steadfast, Keepsake, Bountiful, Speakeasy, Fireworks, Heartland, Waylaid.
What is the True North series about?
The Shipley family, who run an apple farm in the small town of Tuxbury, Vermont, and the friends and locals in their orbit, each finding their own small-town romance.
Do I need to read True North in order?
Each book has its own central couple and can be read alone, but several later books pay off earlier books' side-character arcs, so publication order is recommended.
Is True North a completed series?
Yes, all eight books were published between 2016 and 2021, though Sarina Bowen has written further books set in the same Vermont world under other series titles.
If you like the True North series
Reading order last verified .