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jonetta's review
4.0
Jocelyn Bloom has a thriving business in L. A. as a life coach to the elite of Hollywood. She's now embroiled in a scandal involving the famous husband of one of her clients and she's come home to Barefoot Bay to take cover. Her friends rally around her, including Will Palmer, who once was her lifeline during her miserable childhood. Jocelyn has been estranged from her father since she left Barefoot Bay for college and is stunned when she discovers Will has been seeing to his care because of his senility.
Will and Jocelyn have an extremely complicated past, which unfolds gradually throughout the story. It's pretty clear that Jocelyn's father, Guy, was abusive to her and was the catalyst to her leaving Barefoot Bay. What's not so easy for Jocelyn is Will's new relationship with Guy. It's also tough for Will to accept that Jocelyn may have had an affair with her client's husband. The two of them grapple with their memories of who they were from the past and who they want to be with each other now. Their romance is passionate and troubled but so realistic. It was interesting to see both try to rebuild their fractured trust while continuing to harbor secrets from each other.
Jocelyn's relationship with her girlfriends is also a crucial aspect of the story. I really like how their friendship is portrayed and how they support each other, even when it just means giving Jocelyn space. It's one of the strengths of this series and it plays out nicely in this story, especially when it's clear that one of the other friends, Zoe Tamarin, is also hiding something. It was perfectly set up for the next book and I'm dying to read it.
The conflict in this story involving Jocelyn and Guy was a pretty tough one and the ending was a little puzzling. However, it more than compensated with the romance between Jocelyn and Will and the heartwarming relationships between the girlfriends. I'm still loving this series and am looking forward to Zoe's story.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley)
Will and Jocelyn have an extremely complicated past, which unfolds gradually throughout the story. It's pretty clear that Jocelyn's father, Guy, was abusive to her and was the catalyst to her leaving Barefoot Bay. What's not so easy for Jocelyn is Will's new relationship with Guy. It's also tough for Will to accept that Jocelyn may have had an affair with her client's husband. The two of them grapple with their memories of who they were from the past and who they want to be with each other now. Their romance is passionate and troubled but so realistic. It was interesting to see both try to rebuild their fractured trust while continuing to harbor secrets from each other.
Jocelyn's relationship with her girlfriends is also a crucial aspect of the story. I really like how their friendship is portrayed and how they support each other, even when it just means giving Jocelyn space. It's one of the strengths of this series and it plays out nicely in this story, especially when it's clear that one of the other friends, Zoe Tamarin, is also hiding something. It was perfectly set up for the next book and I'm dying to read it.
The conflict in this story involving Jocelyn and Guy was a pretty tough one and the ending was a little puzzling. However, it more than compensated with the romance between Jocelyn and Will and the heartwarming relationships between the girlfriends. I'm still loving this series and am looking forward to Zoe's story.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley)
mslizalou's review
4.0
I was lucky enough to get a review copy of Barefoot in the Rain from NetGalley. I’m a huge fan of Roxanne St. Claire and couldn’t wait to read her newest Barefoot Bay book.
I knew there was some sort of past for Jocelyn when reading the first book in this series and thought I was prepared for her book. However, I wasn’t prepared for all that had happened to her in the past. Will Palmer was the boy next door when they were growing up. Will know pretty much all of Jocelyn’s secrets from when they were kids, and he still lives in the house next to her dad. While Jocelyn has so many horrible memories of her childhood, her dad is suffering from Alzheimer’s and seems to have no memories of anything from their past. While Will knows most of what happened with Jocelyn while she was growing up, he doesn’t know her biggest secret, since she has stayed away from him for so many years.
I have to say this was a really rough read for me. I really enjoyed reading this book and loved the chemistry between Will and Jocelyn so much. However, seeing Jocelyn’s dad struggle with his memory loss and she with her know memories had me in tears more than once. Luckily for Jocelyn, she has her best friends Zoe, Tessa, and Lacey there to support her. I still have to say the friendship between the four women is one of my favorite parts of this series. Jocelyn also still has Will there to lean on not only as a friend, but as a lover. The chemistry between Will and Jocelyn is stronger now than it was when they were teens. I could feel how much they loved one another the more time they were together. Jocelyn is one of the strongest characters I’ve read about in a long time. She will do anything to protect those she loves and it only made me like her more.
Barefoot in the Rain was another winner in this series. I warn you now, you will need tissues while reading this book. While I love Roxanne St. Claire’s romantic suspense books, I love her contemporary romances just as much. The official release date for Barefoot in the Rain was October 30, 2012. For more information about this series or any other books from Roxanne St. Claire, check out her website.
I knew there was some sort of past for Jocelyn when reading the first book in this series and thought I was prepared for her book. However, I wasn’t prepared for all that had happened to her in the past. Will Palmer was the boy next door when they were growing up. Will know pretty much all of Jocelyn’s secrets from when they were kids, and he still lives in the house next to her dad. While Jocelyn has so many horrible memories of her childhood, her dad is suffering from Alzheimer’s and seems to have no memories of anything from their past. While Will knows most of what happened with Jocelyn while she was growing up, he doesn’t know her biggest secret, since she has stayed away from him for so many years.
I have to say this was a really rough read for me. I really enjoyed reading this book and loved the chemistry between Will and Jocelyn so much. However, seeing Jocelyn’s dad struggle with his memory loss and she with her know memories had me in tears more than once. Luckily for Jocelyn, she has her best friends Zoe, Tessa, and Lacey there to support her. I still have to say the friendship between the four women is one of my favorite parts of this series. Jocelyn also still has Will there to lean on not only as a friend, but as a lover. The chemistry between Will and Jocelyn is stronger now than it was when they were teens. I could feel how much they loved one another the more time they were together. Jocelyn is one of the strongest characters I’ve read about in a long time. She will do anything to protect those she loves and it only made me like her more.
Barefoot in the Rain was another winner in this series. I warn you now, you will need tissues while reading this book. While I love Roxanne St. Claire’s romantic suspense books, I love her contemporary romances just as much. The official release date for Barefoot in the Rain was October 30, 2012. For more information about this series or any other books from Roxanne St. Claire, check out her website.
belinda's review
3.0
I read this book yesterday and I can honestly not remember the name of a single character (maybe Lacey? Laney? I think there was a Tess or an Olivia). That really tells you all you need to know about this book - it's a good genre novel that gets the job done without any surprises, either pleasant or disappointing or (apparently) memorable.
One thing that did get a fairly long side-eye was the depiction in the book of Alzheimer's turning a man from an abusive monster into a lovely loveable old chap. Umm...that's not what Alzheimer's does and anyone who has had to care for someone with late-stage dementia may feel the need to hurl this book at the nearest wall. For me, the ridiculous depiction of Alzheimer's sufferers is just as much of a fantasy as any of the relationships of the book so it didn't really bother me much.
One thing that did get a fairly long side-eye was the depiction in the book of Alzheimer's turning a man from an abusive monster into a lovely loveable old chap. Umm...that's not what Alzheimer's does and anyone who has had to care for someone with late-stage dementia may feel the need to hurl this book at the nearest wall. For me, the ridiculous depiction of Alzheimer's sufferers is just as much of a fantasy as any of the relationships of the book so it didn't really bother me much.
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