Sunday, February 1, 2015

Barefoot In Pearls by Roxanne St. Claire

Title:  Barefoot in Pearls
Series:  The Barefoot Bay Brides Trilogy #3
Author:  Roxanne St. Claire
Published:  January 23/15 by South Street Publishing
Length:  365pgs
Format:   ecopy
Genre:  contemporary romance
Shelf:  review
Rating: ★★★★★

Back Cover Blurb:

A brand new full length (365 pages) set in Barefoot Bay! New York Times bestselling author Roxanne St. Claire takes readers back to the beach with more of the “Barefoot Brides” -- destination wedding planners who are experts at dreamy “I do’s” but haven’t yet found their happily ever after.

As her two best friends settle into their happily ever afters, destination wedding designer Arielle Chandler is beginning to wonder if the promise of “The One” – one true love, meant only for her – is merely folklore passed down from her Native American grandmother. But when a mysterious man nearly mows her down on a hill overlooking Barefoot Bay, the legend of destined love suddenly feels very real. That is, until Ari learns of Luke McBain’s plans to demolish a piece of land she believes is sacred.

Luke isn’t proud of the fact that he spent ten years as a mercenary warrior, fighting battles for another country. With those dark days behind him, he’s focused on creating a new life instead of destroying others, so he’s moved to Barefoot Bay to launch a contracting business and build a house for an old friend. But when an enigmatic dark-eyed beauty steals his attention and stops his progress with her announcement that he is about to flatten a native burial ground, Luke has a new battle to fight.

While their immediate and potent attraction grows complicated, Luke and Ari discover the hills of Barefoot Bay could be hiding something far different – and even more valuable – than ancient art or graves. They are determined to discover the truth, but that will come at a cost. Will they risk their chance at once-in-a-lifetime love to uncover secrets that could change the landscape of Barefoot Bay forever?

Excerpt:

“I’m feeling like you might be wasting perfectly good Native American teachings on a sensible, unfaithful, hard-core must-see-it-to-believe-it kind of guy,” Luke admitted.

“No teaching is wasted. Someone always learns something, even if they don’t want to.” Arielle lifted her hand, this time to graze his jaw while studying his face. “And you don’t have to hold back on your skepticism or unbelief, although…”

“Although what?” he prodded.

She sighed slowly. “Although if the things I hold true and dear in my heart are meaningless to you, then…does that mean you are meaningless to me? I’m not sure I want to know that yet.”

“Yet?” Like him being meaningless was inevitable? “Not sure I want to know that yet, either,” he admitted as that possibility crushed his chest a little.

She closed her eyes and puffed out a breath. “I need something sweet,” she sighed.

“Then close your eyes.” He got up enough to reach into his pocket, making her brows lift in surprise.

“You have something sweet in your pants?” she teased.

“Of course I do.” Laughing with her, he pulled out a cardboard package of wax bottles full of sugar juice.

“Nik-L-Nips!” She reached for them. “How did you get them? They’re impossible to find.”

“Nothing’s impossible, Arielle.”

Her shoulders softened as she looked at him. “’Bout time you figured that out, McBain.” She nodded toward the candy. “I’ll share the blue one.”

“You have to teach me how to open it.”

She slipped the little wax bottle from the case and held it to her mouth. “Put it right here, between your teeth.”

Everything, every cell in his body, tightened and squeezed.

“And”—she bit down—“snap it off.” She popped the wax top out of her mouth so it bounced on the blanket. “And spit it out.”

“That was pretty sexy, Arielle. Except for the snapping-it-off part.”

She gave him a slow, sly smile. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

His hormones went wild. Wilder. Wild enough that it took a moment for him to notice the playfulness disappearing from her expression. “What’s wrong, Arielle?”

“Look at you, getting all in tune with the feels again. You spend too much time with me, Luke, and you’ll be the one communing with nature. Would you like me to teach you how to listen to what the wind says?”

“I’d like you to teach me how to read your expression, which changed a second ago while you were looking at me.”

She averted her eyes, as if she’d been caught and couldn’t deny it. “Okay,” she agreed. “I was thinking, right then when you said wax-bottle biting was sexy, that…”

“That what?”

“That I wish sex with you hadn’t taken on all this magnitude because I really want to…” She laughed again, unable to find the word. “I really want to,” she finally said.

Thank God, because he really wanted to, too.

“We could…” With a gentle nudge, he eased her to her back, leaning over her. “Let go of the magnitude.”

“We could,” she agreed on a shudder as his fingers found their way to the bare skin exposed between her T-shirt and jeans.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” he asked, stroking the satin of her stomach.

“It could change everything.”

“Yeah, we could go from being the world’s two horniest people to the most satisfied.” He gave a mocking eyeroll. “That would suck.”

“Or we could go from being new friends with a strong attraction to each other to lovers with thoughts of ‘forever’ dancing in their heads. Would that suck, Luke?”

Every cell—even the ones lining up for a party in his pants—stilled at the unanswered question.

She laughed softly. “And he panics.”

“No, not panic.” Yes, panic. “Is that what would happen? I mean, is that like a definite possibility if two people are…” He couldn’t even say it. But he had to. “Meant for each other?”

She lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know. I’ve never taken on the universe in a full-blown fight. Wouldn’t expect to win, though.”

For a long time, neither of them spoke. They looked into each other’s eyes while Luke’s hand spread flat on her stomach to absorb some of her infallible “gut” instinct.

Barely breathing, he leaned closer, letting their mouths lightly brush, feeling her pulse thrum through her body.

There’s no going back. There’s no going back.

He closed his eyes, not sure if she said that or he heard it or…it was the wind. Either way, right then, he didn’t care about anything except how much he had to have Arielle Chandler’s body become one with his.

There’s no going back.

“I don’t care.” He murmured the words into a kiss, completely lost under her spell.


About the Author:

Roxanne St. Claire is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels of suspense and romance, including three popular series (The Bullet Catchers, The Guardian Angelinos, and Barefoot Bay) and multiple stand alone books.

In addition to being a six-time nominee and one-time winner of the RITA Award, Roxanne’s novels have won the National Reader’s Choice Award for best romantic suspense three times, as well as the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Maggie, Booksellers Best, Book Buyers Best, the Award of Excellence, and many others. Her books have been translated into dozens of languages and are routinely included as a Doubleday/Rhapsody Book Club Selection of the Month.

Roxanne lives in Florida with her family, and can be reached via her website,www.roxannestclaire.com or on her Facebook Reader page,www.facebook.com/roxannestclaire and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/roxannestclaire.
My Review:

This is a romance novel with substance. The basic concept behind this novel was both enchanting and absolutely awe inspiring. The Native American history was fascinating and the romance was both sweet and difficult. It was all so real and palpable. The story was enriching, both emotionally and intellectually. This was more than just your typical romance, but the romance was definitely there in abundance. There are also some emotionally poignant moments that will leave readers breathless. The mystery behind parts of the story was so intriguing that I couldn’t get enough of it. Barefoot in Pearls can easily be read as a standalone novel. There are a few scenes where you’ll be missing a bit of the background, but these are few and far between.

St. Claire tells her story with strong, well developed characters that really enrich the story. The relationship between the main characters is so multifaceted and real. The melding of business and pleasure, beliefs and desires made the entire novel what it is. These key components of the relationship can be felt throughout the story.

As a whole, this was a romance that definitely stands out in the sea of romances. This is definitely an author that has found her way on to my ‘must read’ list.


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