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Barefoot at Moonrise by Roxanne St. Claire

romancejunkie1025's review

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5.0

Rating: 4.25 stars
Heat Rating: 4
Review:
Wow the heat of this story is unbelievable. This second story in the trilogy of sexy silver foxes finding love in Barefoot Bay was beyond amazing and filled with angst, fun, sweetness and passion. If you enjoy reading a story about a man who is finally finding love with the woman that he let slip through his fingers or a woman that is finding the true love that she thoughr she’d lost long ago, then this is the story for you. Roxanne St. Claire is the kind of author that can take you from an intense gun battle between secret agents to the sweet and serene love story of a small beach community without a single hitch. One of the greatest skills of this author is that she always makes you feel like you have really gotten to know the characters and seen your friends fall in love. I am loving this trilogy within the great Barefoot Bay series and am beyond glad that Rocki decided to leave behind the norm and just write books that she herself would want to read… because lets be honest that’s what we want to read too! I cannot wait to read the final in the trilogy and see Lawson bite the dust when his heart gets taken over.
Ken Cavanaugh has made a lot of mistakes in his life, but none he regrets more than breaking up with the girl that could have been the love of his life after a tragedy came between them as teenagers. Beth Endicott was the girl he planned to spend the rest of this life with, but when Ken’s father was killed, he blamed her father and in the heat of youthful passion broke her heart. But now they are both older and wiser and he know he owes her an apology and there’s no better time or place than the high school reunion that has brought them both to the Casa Blanca resort in Barefoot Bay. When Ken finally corners Beth to apologize the passion that pulled them together as kids, flairs hot and heavy and soon they are losing themselves in each other’s arms. Beth is determined that being with Ken will be a onetime thing, but when circumstances require that they rely on one another, Beth isn’t sure that she’ll be able to protect her heart again. Ken needs to show Beth that he is a changed man and can actually be the man she needs, even if she doesn’t think she needs any man. Can a love that was severed twenty years earlier be replanted in two hearts that have both been bruised or will their fears keep them from the greatest love they’ve ever had?
Captain Ken Cavanaugh is the kind of man that I hope to have by my side when I am in my middle years. Sexy, sensual, strong and brave, Ken walks into deadly dangerous situations ever day without a thought, but when it comes to matters of the heart he has made enough mistakes that he’s not sure he’s ready to try again, until he sees Beth. I loved his determination to keep her safe and happy without encroaching on her all-important independence. His willingness to deal with her quirks and still offer his love whole-heartedly makes him the perfect mate in my eyes. However, no man is ever perfect; Ken has never fully forgiven or accepted his father’s death or the circumstances to lead to it, leaving a heavy weight on his heart and soul. Even when he is willing to look past the issues between them in order to have the woman he loves, you can see that he isn’t really even ready to try to forgive. I swore more than once that I wanted to beat him senseless for his callousness about Beth’s dad, but luckily, he finally learns that the only path to love is with an unburdened heart. I will also say that I loved his playful side and can see him even now doing a naked cannonball into the pool with a huge grin on his face. :D
Ken’s heroine on the other hand irritated me more than a little. I more than understand a woman standing up for her independence especially with a controlling family that is good at manipulating, but there has to be a line. Cutting off your nose to spite your face has never been a way of life for me. Beth obviously desires Ken more than just about anything, but even when he offers to let their romance bloom slowly and follow nature’s course, she cuts him off at the knees. Her unwillingness to compromise, until circumstances force her to, was hair-pullingly irritating. Interestingly enough, once she has to think about someone else every minute of her life she begins to see that perhaps she doesn’t need to do everything herself. Once she softened and started to fall in love with Ken, allowing him to be the man she needed, I began to like her more. Especially when she called Ken on his crap more than once. I will say that I liked the fact that she was a strong woman and I enjoyed seeing her fall in love and get her HEA with Ken AND with her family.
Barefoot at Moonrise is a story of redemption, love and the miracles that can sometimes come around more than once, but should always be treasured. Ken has decided it is time to give the girl whose heart he broke so long ago that long awaited apology, but he never imagined it would lead to the best night (and future) of his life. Beth has always known that Ken held a special piece of her heart, but she is determined to never depend on a man again, until Ken begins to break down the fortress walls around her heart. Ken and Beth are obviously two people that have lived life and understand that tragedies that can come along, so when a miracle happens there is no way they can deny the need to live that joy together. I enjoyed learning more about Ken and Beth and getting to watch as they re-found their love together and found a way to an HEA. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, Barefoot at Midnight, coming out soon, and cannot wait to see more of these silver foxes and the women that have captured their hearts in future Barefoot Bay stories. Rocki has struck gold again and I promise that the next release she puts out will be on my shelves and ready to read ASAP. Keep up the great work Roxanne.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.

nellesnightstand1's review

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4.0

Roxanne returns to her Timeless trilogy with Ken and Beth's story. High school sweethearts ended in tragedy, they meet again at their joint reunion, two decades later. They reconnect that night but Beth insists on going their separate ways. Circumstances bring them back together and force the fact that he blames her father for the death of his. Sometimes life throws boomerangs at us and it comes back full circle. I love a great second chance story and this one even gives a third chance! Ken and Beth's path to romance is rocky but satisfying!

nellesnightstand's review

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4.0

Roxanne returns to her Timeless trilogy with Ken and Beth's story. High school sweethearts ended in tragedy, they meet again at their joint reunion, two decades later. They reconnect that night but Beth insists on going their separate ways. Circumstances bring them back together and force the fact that he blames her father for the death of his. Sometimes life throws boomerangs at us and it comes back full circle. I love a great second chance story and this one even gives a third chance! Ken and Beth's path to romance is rocky but satisfying!

rockchick's review

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3.0

Barefoot at Moonrise was an entertaining book.

I like well written second chance books, and I especially enjoyed it being about an older couple.

With mature characters the dynamics is different and the possibilities are vast.

Communicate with my partner, believe in yourself and your partner. compromise and give 100% to make the relationship work so there would be no regrets.

jonetta's review

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4.0

Originally posted on The Book Nympho

Firefighter Ken Cavanaugh's sole reason for agreeing to be on the class reunion planning committee was Beth Endicott, who owns her own business flipping houses and is the daughter of a wealthy real estate developer. See, 25-years ago he cruelly walked away from her and their wonderful relationship. Now he wants the chance to apologize and maybe have another chance at romance. Beth learns he's all about want of a family and doesn't think she's the one to fit those goals. After avoiding him for a week, things culminate on the last night of the reunion in a lovely beach cabana on Barefoot Bay.

It's hard not to adore Ken as he's honest, straightforward and wears his heart (Beth) on his sleeve. Beth's a lot tougher to warm up to as she's built a wall of control around herself and can be a little touchy. But there's lots to admire about both of them so it makes it easier to stay with the romance and their developing relationship. Ken never gives up and Beth always offers him a lifeline.

This series is so refreshing. Even when there are tough issues facing these characters, they always showed their maturity by facing them head on and honestly. I loved their complicated story and the strong themes of family. That's 2 for 2 so far with Timeless!

(I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review)

booksuperpower's review

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4.0

Barefoot at Moonrise by Roxanne St. Claire is a 2016 South Street Publishing release. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I must applaud the author for creating a romantic series featuring mature adults, who is given a second chance at love at a stage in their lives I can relate to. Yay! This series proves romance is ageless and timeless!


When Ken’s father died in a work related accident, he blamed Beth’s father. He said some truly horrible things to Beth and broke up with her.

Over the years, Ken married and divorced, as did Beth. Ken is now a firefighter, and Beth flips houses. With Ken’s upcoming high school reunion on tap, he decides to attend hoping to touch base with Beth in order to apologize for the things he said to her all those years ago.

The apology goes much better than he ever could have hoped, as the old chemistry between he and Beth still sizzles and burns, hotter than ever before. But, Beth escaped a controlling father and husband, and has managed to forge her own way, meaning she is not ready to jump back into a relationship, and is fiercely protective of her hard earned independence. But, the main issue between the couple is Ken’s continued resentment and hatred toward Beth’s father. His grudge has festered for twenty-five years, and would most assuredly resurface time and again, if he and Beth got back together.

But, a shocking turn of events will tie the couple together with inescapable bonds, forcing them to deal with the past once and for all. Was Beth’s father responsible or is there more to the story? Can Ken ever find a way to forgive in order to have a future with Beth?

This is a terrific second chance at love story that pits two people together who are at emotional odds with each other. While there is no doubt Ken is ready to take the plunge with Beth, he has many issues to work through before the relationship can ever solidify.

I admired Beth’s ability to step back and view the whole picture, to keep an open mind, and to think through all her options as selflessly as possible. She shows grit and determination, and stood up to the men in her life, while trying to keep the peace between them.

The underlying theme here is the danger of harboring hatred in your heart, because it will only poison every relationship you try to foster. Forgiveness, as difficult as it is at times, is the only way to know inner peace, for yourself and those you love.

I loved the way things worked out for Ken and Beth, and the very special circumstances that brought them back to one another. This couple deserves all the success, hope, and happiness they received, and can now share their lives with true joy and peace between them!

Overall this one gets 4 stars

beckymmoe's review

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4.0

My favorite of the Barefoot Bay universe so far!

I really enjoyed Barefoot at Moonrise. A second-chance romance with a firefighter hero (and his un-firefighterly dog)? Yes, please! I loved "only you can call me" Kenny and "poster child for independent women" Beth. Together or apart, they are a hero and heroine it's easy to root for. They're not perfect--Beth takes the independent bit a little too far at times, and Ken has a tendency to see things as a bit more black-and-white then they actually are--but together they compliment each other nicely.

Plus, did I mention there's a dog involved? And a shirtless firefighter performing a demolition of a kitchen and master bath? Not to mention Ken has a a boat and a dock with a nice big Adirondack chair on it. Waterfront. Property. Really, I'm not sure what more you could want from a hero. Goodness knows he had me from page one.

And Beth owns her own business and typically does her own demolitions, except when she can't because of reasons. How cool is that?

Though it's second in the trilogy, Moonrise worked just fine as a standalone. It gives you enough of a glimpse of the hero of book one (Mike from [b:Barefoot at Sunset|30170232|Barefoot at Sunset (Barefoot Bay Timeless, #1; Barefoot Bay Universe, #15)|Roxanne St. Claire|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1462992873s/30170232.jpg|50609958]) and book three (Lawson from[b:Barefoot at Midnight|30170283|Barefoot at Midnight (Barefoot Bay Timeless, #3; Barefoot Bay Universe #17)|Roxanne St. Claire|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1462993553s/30170283.jpg|50610031]--I cannot wait to see that guy become a one-woman man! I'm pretty sure there will be kicking and screaming involved) that you'll probably find your TBR increasing by two more before you're even finished with this one.

The Barefoot Bay Timeless trilogy almost makes me want to go to my next high school reunion.

But only almost. Because really, let's not get crazy. It is fiction, after all. And I remember high school just a little too well, for all that it was mumble, mumble years ago. ;)

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

shell74's review

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5.0

Loved. It.

I have absolutely no idea how Rocki does it. Every single book she gives us is utter perfection and I can't imagine how she'll do it again with the next...but she does. Not only did we have a firefighter who was a silver fox, a sexy, independent woman who flips houses for a living, and a cute as a button portly dog named Sally, but this was a Second Chance Romance twenty-five years in the making. How good does that sound, right? Full review to come.

mslizalou's review

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5.0

I fell in love with the idea of the Barefoot Bay Timeless series when I first heard Roxanne St. Claire was writing about more mature heroes. I loved Barefoot at Sunset, the first book in the series and was so happy to see Ken and Bethany would be the couple in Barefoot at Moonrise.

Ken and Bethany have a history, as in they dated in high school and broke up after Ken’s dad died on one of Bethany’s dad’s jobsites. After trying to avoid Ken during the entire time at their class reunion, they hooked up on the last night and changed both their lives forever.
I absolutely loved the chemistry between Ken and Beth was every bit as strong 25 years after they dated as it was when they were in high school. Yes there were some issues from their past that made a future a challenge, but I loved that Ken and Beth both seemed to be ready to work to move forward.

I loved that Beth was such an independent woman and had started her own business of renovating homes. Seriously loved how strong she was and honestly believe she could do anything she set her mind to doing. I also loved that when push came to shove, and she knew she needed help, she didn’t hesitate to call Ken. I had mad love for Ken and loved that he has known he wanted to be a firefighter since he was there when his dad died. I loved he has a natural instinct to take care of others, and loved how hard he was willing to work to have a relationship with Beth. I did dislike Beth keeping a pretty big secret from Ken about something from the past. I felt like it really was important she share the information as soon as she saw it. I also didn’t love that Ken still let his anger at Beth’s dad pretty much rule his world. I did see major growth with both characters as their story progressed, but worried these issues could be deal breakers in the end.

I honestly loved Barefoot at Moonrise pretty much from start to finish. I felt like the growth of Beth and Ken as both individuals and as a couple made this story so very strong. I’m absolutely in love with the entire Barefoot Bay Timeless series and can’t wait to read Law’s story in Barefoot at Midnight when it is released later this year.

Review copy provided by publisher
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