Laura C’s review of Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire
Contemporary Romance published by Forever 24 Apr 12
I am a huge fan of romantic suspense, so I was devastated to hear that one of my very favorite romantic suspense authors, Roxanne St. Claire, creator of the Bullet Catchers and the Guardian Angelinos, is switching genres. Luckily, I also like contemporary, so the minute I could get my hands on this one, I did. And it doesn’t disappoint.
Lacey Armstrong is the queen of excuses. She wants to build a B&B on her grandparents’ land, but she doesn’t have the money. And why bother looking for investors when they wouldn’t want to partner with her? And why should she date anyone? They’ll only leave as soon as she pins her hopes on them the same way her daughter’s father did fourteen years earlier when she told him she was pregnant.
Which makes Clay Walker — “sorry, I don’t date, I just like sex and I’d like to have it with you, please”—just about perfect for her. Especially since he’s her polar opposite in other ways. He refuses to hear the word “can’t,” and plows his way under, through, around, or over any excuse or blockage she throws at him.
He’s also an architect and builder, which is just what she needs to transform her hurricane-devastated property in to a classy resort.
Of course, Clay has a secret. More than one, in fact, and they’re just bound to blow up in his face. Which, of course, they do. But you never think “why doesn’t he just go ahead and tell her…” St. Claire is very good at drawing you in so you don’t feel like it’s a “big misunderstanding” that’s just being used as a plot device. It’s integral to the way the characters think and act.
Not that all their problems are Clay’s fault. He’s got secrets, but Lacey’s past has returned with a vengeance…her ex, who hasn’t bothered to show up since her daughter was a year old, has had an epiphany about the importance of family and now he wants to come home and make more babies with Lacey.
Just what a girl who’s sworn off relationships needs—one man she wants but doesn’t want to love, another she wants to leave who wants to stay. And a town dead set against her plans to modernize it.
Lacey also has three “best” friends who—obviously—will have their own books as the series continues, which sometimes annoys me, but here it’s fun getting to know them. They’re all very different and they all have romantic pasts as disastrous as Lacey’s own, though she is the only one with a child to show for it.
What can I say? I can’t wait for more, and I’ll be happy to see Clay and Lacey again whenever they appear in future books set in Barefoot Bay.
Grade: A
Summary:
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?
Read an excerpt.
