Barefoot in the Sand (Barefoot Bay #1)
by Roxanne St. Claire
Blurb:
When all you hold dear is taken away .
. .
When
a hurricane roars through Lacey Armstrong's home on the coast of Barefoot Bay,
she decides all that remains in the rubble is opportunity. A new hotel is just
what Mimosa Key needs, and Lacey and her teenage daughter are due for a fresh
start. And nothing, especially not a hot, younger architect, is going to
distract Lacey from finally making her dreams a reality.
A second chance is the only thing you
have left.
Love
has already cost Clay Walker everything. And if he's going to have any chance
of picking up the pieces of his life, he needs the job as Lacey Armstrong's
architect. What's not in the plans is falling for the headstrong beauty. Her
vision of the future is more appealing than anything he could have ever drafted
for himself. Will Clay's designs on Lacey's heart be more than she can handle,
or will she trust him to build something that will last forever?
Review:
Barefoot in the Sand is the beginning to a beautiful new contemporary romance series by a
favorite author of mine, Roxanne St Claire.
As a first story there is a lot of introducing of characters of course,
along with intros to the new setting of the fictional Mimosa Key, a small
island in the Gulf of Mexico that has just survived a surprisingly strong
hurricane which wiped out the homes on one end of the island, commonly known as
Barefoot Bay. This is a great novel for sure and I’m looking forward to
continuing the series.
Lacy and her daughter, Ashley, survived the
storm by the capricious hand of fate, riding the storm out in a mattress topped
tub while the world around them went to hell.
Once all the rubble settles, Lacey is left with only a foundation for a
new life and a dream to build on it. She
decides that the best use of her land is to fulfill her and her grandmother’s lifelong
dream of opening a small bed and breakfast. With a vision for her future already
in her mind, she contacts the prestigious architecture firm of Clayton
Walker. But sometimes a small mistake
can bring your fate to you in an unexpected way.
Clay Walker the younger son of the Clayton Walker appears instead. Determined to land this new project, Clay has
traveled to Barefoot Bay, ready to show Lacey that taking a chance on him as
her architect is just what she needs.
Dealing with both professional and personal disaster has left Clay a bit
cynical. He wants in on this project and
will put himself out there, even offering to work pro-bono just to make sure
that Lacey doesn't pass him over.
Working together becomes a bit of a problem
though as Lacey is insanely attracted to Clay and scared of that
attraction. She hasn't felt such an
intense desire for a man for fourteen years, ever since her boyfriend, Ashley’s
father, broke her heart. Clay isn't looking for a relationship, just some fun and no-strings sex while he works to
rebuild his reputation and convince Lacey that her modest B&B could be
something so much more. But the town
gossips decide to throw a wrench into all their planning, challenging the
building of their new resort and requiring some quick thinking and planning. Working
together and sharing their bodies turns out to not be as simple as they planned
and soon both Lacey and Clay are in deeper than either of them planned. When
tragedy strikes, Clay pulls away and runs from his growing feelings, deciding that maybe it’s time for him to cut out for good, no matter how much he has
come to love Lacey and enjoy the time they are sharing.
The passion between Lacey and Clay is there
from the very beginning and just burns brighter and brighter until the inferno leaps
right off the pages to singe the reader.
Clay is a sexy beast to be sure, even if he is a bit of a coward when it
comes to his feelings and Lacey’s. He’s
been badly hurt and doesn't want to risk his heart again, but Lacey pulls out
the emotions he most fears with very little effort. Lacey similarly has fears and issues with
trusting men. After her ex David burned
her so badly, she’s never really been able to trust a man. With low self-esteem and uncertainty keeping her
from embracing her dreams, Clay’s love and belief in Lacey shows her that she
can do anything if she just gives it her all.
I enjoyed reading Clay and Lacey’s story very
much. The love between them was easy to
see, even if both of them were hiding their feelings and trying to keep
everything on a superficial level.
Working and playing together the two of them realize that they make
great partners and they maybe a lifelong partnership is just what they both
need to complete their lives. The addition
of David’s return to their lives gives a little extra boost to the story,
making Clay’s challenges and Lacey’s insecurity more pronounced. Ashley was a bit of a brat through most of
the story, scheming to get Clay out of the picture and reunite her parents,
even though its obvious Clay is the one Lacey wants. It was also fun to meet
Lacey’s college friends, who will be the heroine’s in the novels for the rest
of the series.
Seriously looking forward to the rest of the series
and learning more about Barefoot Bay’s new resort. Lacey and Clay were great characters and I’m
hoping that the men Lacey’s friends hook up with are deserving of the greatness
of these women. Another great series
from a wonderful writer seems to be unfolding and I can’t wait for more. Roxanne creates beautiful characters for
certain and can take even the most mundane of circumstances and turn them into
wonderful and conspiracy-filled plots to keep any reader's interest, turning
tragedy into opportunity and making the daily disasters of life into perfect
foils for the lasting love story.
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