True North (Bowen)

The last person Griffin Shipley expects to find stuck in a ditch on his Vermont country road is his ex-hookup. Five years ago they shared a couple of steamy nights together, but that was a lifetime ago. At 27 Griff is now the accidental patriarch of his family farm. Even his enormous shoulders feel the strain of supporting his mother, his three siblings, and a dotty grandfather. He doesn't have time for the sorority girl who has shown up expecting to buy his harvest at half price.

Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there is no way he can ever right that wrong. He would forever steer clear of Colebury, Vermont, if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can't find a job just anywhere. >Sophie Haines is stunned by his reappearance. After a three-year absence, the man who killed her brother and broke her heart is suddenly everywhere she turns. It's hard not to stare at how much he has changed.

Lark Wainright, 23, has nightmares. She used to be fearless. But while overseas for her nonprofit employer, she was kidnapped and held at gunpoint in a dusty shack. Everyone has an opinion about what might have happened to her there, but she's not saying much. She's too consumed by guilt to talk about it.

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.

Did you hear the one about the girl who walks into a bar and catches her live-in lover kissing someone else? No? You’re the only one in town who missed it. Luckily Alec is there to wrap me up in strong arms and carry me out the door before things get too ugly. And that’s not all Alec is good at. Our unexpected chemistry makes him the perfect rebound guy.  

Skye Copeland is on paid leave from her broadcasting job after accidentally drawing a pecker on the traffic map. Like it's her fault the traffic pattern that day created a perfect schlong? Skye isn't laughing. She needs this job. And that's the only reason she's agreed to chase down a story in her least favorite place - that hell on earth known as Vermont. Skye can sneak into the town that once tried to break her, get the story and get back into the good graces of her producer. Easy peasy. Except things go sideways even as she sets foot over the county line. 

Dylan is my best friend, and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn’t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn’t know that I’m hopelessly, desperately in love with him. But I know better than to confess. Now that we’re both in college together, I’m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me. Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra...and he actually says yes. But the cool morning light shows me how badly I’ve endangered our friendship.

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.