Review: Barefoot at Moonrise (Barefoot Bay Timeless #2)

Barefoot at Moonrise (Barefoot Bay Timeless #2)

by Roxanne St. Claire

Blurb:

As a firefighter, Captain Ken Cavanaugh knows his way around dangerous situations—but he'd rather run into a burning building than help plan his 25th high school reunion in Barefoot Bay. Unfortunately, it's his best chance of finally putting things right with Beth Endicott two and a half decades after they ended so badly. But the instant they see each other again, the years blow away like ashes in the heat of their combustible chemistry. For one single night, they let their incendiary passion consume them...but in the morning, they're still left with the smoldering wreckage of a relationship that ended in tragedy.

Raised under the thumb of a rich and controlling man, Beth has spent her adult years craving freedom. Now that she's finally managed to carve out an independent life, is she ready to risk her heart on the first man she ever loved—a man who blames her family for his father's death? With so much painful history between them, Beth can't see a way to have a future with Ken. But one stunning surprise will turn everything they ever believed upside down and send them straight into each other's arms.

Ken is willing to put everything on the line for the family he’s always wanted, but Beth knows the past that ruined them could flare into heartache again. It will take all her newfound courage to prove she would walk through fire for this second chance with the love of her life.

Themes:  Contemporary, second chance romance

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating: 

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.