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Fiction. Romance. HTML:"Mallery has set the bar high....The characters...come to life in their small-town setting and will touch readers' hearts and funny bones."�??RT Book Reviews On Blackberry Island, friendship, love and forgiveness are as constant as the ocean waves, if only you can make room in your heart for hope. Michelle Sanderson may appear to be a strong, independent woman, but on the inside, she's still the wounded girl who fled home years ago. A young army vet, Michelle returns to the quaint Blackberry Island Inn to claim her inheritance and recover from the perils of war. Instead, she finds the owner's suite occupied by the last person she wants to see. Carly Williams and Michelle were once inseparable, until a shocking betrayal destroyed their friendship. And now Carly is implicated in the financial disaster lurking behind the inn's cheerful veneer. Single mother Carly has weathered rumors, lies and secrets for a lifetime, and is finally starting to move forward with love and life. But if the Blackberry Island Inn goes under, Carly and her daughter will go with it. To save their livelihoods, Carly and Michelle will undertake a turbulent truce. It'll take more than a successful season to move beyond their devastating past, but with a little luck and a beautiful summer, they may just rediscover the friendship of a lifetime. Don't miss The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery! A heartfelt tale of friendship between three women brought together by chance who open a bookshop together on the boardwalk of the California beaches.… (more)
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Michelle Sanderson returns to her post army service life of running her family owned inn. The Inn is now hers only, but there are a massive number of problems. The problems include a bullet wound that caused a partial hip replacement, the recent death of her mother, and
I loved this book. The characters are so alive, and the situations believable since the fallout of the actions of selfish people affect those around them in a myriad of ways. The story pulls at the reader as Michelle and Carly struggle to work out the repercussions of the actions of their parents, along with Michelle's difficulty in transitioning back to civilian life. I would definitely rate this a top read for the year in contemporary women's novels and recommend it for anyone looking for more depth in a novel without a huge side of depression.
Received Galley from NetGalley.com
Received for Review
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.50
Character Rating: 4.50
First thought when finished: This is definitely at the top of my favorite Women's Fiction stories.
What I Loved: Barefoot Season managed to do so many things to me while reading: I laughed, cried,
What I Liked: I really liked the B&B. It was the perfect setting for this wonderful story of friendships, heartaches, and growth. You could feel the B&B working with the story and almost feeling like a character itself.
Final Thought: This a fantastic story and one that will stick with you long after your finished reading.
Felicia Extra Note: I am not usually a fan of women's fiction---I stop/start (DNF) more books in this genre more than any other. However, this is one that I would read again. In fact, I read the last 3 chapters 3 times because it was just a moving and fulfilling ending. I highly recommend this story to anyone who has had friendships that have been lost, gone through hard times, or is embarking on reconciliation with a friend. It truly left me thinking about miscommunication and things that happen in friendships to drive them apart!
Normally Ms Mallery writes romance. I’ve read many things by her and liked them but was never really blown away by them; at least until today when I finished this novel. While the main characters may end up with their ‘happily ever after’
Michelle is finally coming home after 10 years serving in the army. Wounded and shaken, she is coming back to claim her inheritance, an inn that had been left to her by her father. She is also coming back to some very unpleasant surprises; ones that in her fragile condition she may not be able to handle.
Carly, once Michelle’s best friend and now an enemy of sorts, has always thought that part of the inn was going to be hers. After all, she has worked there for ten years and Brenda, Michelle’s mother, who was running the inn, promised her a percentage of it supposedly in lieu of a larger salary.
Now they find out the inn is in horrible financial trouble and must work together if they want to save it.
Really, what this story is all about is so many different things. It is complex and filled with irony. Small town gossip that will never die is just the tip of the iceberg. Michelle has PTSD and is not coping with it very well. Mostly she is using alcohol to help. Everyone knows she needs help but of course, Michelle is resistant. This was very powerful stuff. The tumble, however briefly into the abyss made me look at the female part of our service people in a whole new way. This book really grabbed me by the throat and would not let me go until I finished it. Ms Mallery did some very fine research (see the acknowledgments) and it shows.
This is a highly recommended book and I think you will enjoy not only what it has to say to us about letting go of the past, but the humor that underlies the horror of what Michelle has gone through and will continue to go through. That bit of humor made this an easy book to get lost in.
Carly, the other main character in the series is also all of the things we normally admire; plucky single mom wronged by her husband and best friend, but she too has sides to her that are not very admirable. Both of these women have pasts that cause them to dislike each other but they also have a long friendship seems to be sorely needed by both of them.
When Michelle returns to run the inn her father left her years ago, she has just been discharged from a military hospital, and nothing is what she expected. Her recently deceased mother has run up the bills, added lots of unneeded parts to the inn and left Michelle’s former best friend in charge. Michelle has every intention of giving Carly the boot, but circumstances force the two women together. There have been betrayals on both sides and neither woman is ready to forgive let alone forget.
Ms. Mallery does a wonderful job of portraying two women in an awkward situation who have to just suck it up and get on with their lives. The reader thinks they know all of the reasons why they hate each other but we really only know the surface issue until halfway through the book. Both women need to find a way to coexist and put the past behind them. Michelle is dealing with PTSD and teetering on the edge of alcoholism. Her relationship with her landlord Jared is perfectly done- no Mr. Right jumping in and solving all of her problems right away. She has to work on getting better before the relationship. Carly also has to look at her priorities when a possible romance comes her way and not make the same bad decisions she has before.
There are some interesting secondary characters who provide a little villainy to the story but primarily the story revolves around Michelle and Carly which works very well. I am not sure if this is the start to a series but I would definitely enjoy another visit to Blackberry Island (Daisies and all) !
4 STARS Barefoot Season is the first Blackberry Island novel. It is a complex storyline with a little romance in it. A couple of love scenes. I like the questions about the book in the back. Michelle has been away from her home on Blackberry Island at the
Michelle is back on Blackberry Island where she's owner of the Inn. She has left others in charge of it while she was in the Army for 10 years. Her mother has passed away now also.
Carly is the one who runs the Inn. She stayed and married Allen after finding him in
They have a daughter called Gabby and Allen is out of the picture. Although his brother Robert has stepped up to the plate by helping with anything Carly and Gabby need.
Michelle is still recuperating from her hip injury and she is still suffering from severe pain.
She doesn't like how the Inn has changed, inside and outside.
She is doing therapy at the VA center and on her way out finds a sign about a rental on the island. She called and will be moving in after she saw the place. It's close to the Inn and will help once she gets the finances for the Inn straightened out. She had to make a deal with the bank on that score.
Carly and Michelle are at least talking and brainstorming about how to save money so the Inn will survive.
Michelle also shares some of the ordeal she went through when she got shot.
She really needs a group to help with the pain of remembering what happened during the war and she's fighting doing that. They handle crisis at the Inn and in their personal lives.
Something has to give or Michelle is just gonna collapse...
They are both forced to confront their parents, water mishaps and getting shut down by the Health Dept.
Recipes are at end make this an exc read!
I really
There are even some delicious sounding recipes at the end (including Helen’s Chicken Salad!) and more on the author’s website which I really want to try out. I can’t wait to see what book two of this series will bring.
I did find a tad bit of difficulty in starting out on the book, however, once I got past the first few chapters, it was smooth sailing and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Michelle and Carly. I thought that it was a great story, not similar to many other romance books. I have seen some complaints about the lack of romance in this story, however, I am just the opposite, and appreciated a real genuine story without all of the romance. I liked being able to hear about the life of Michelle and Carly and how they were trying to get back to their true selves and their true love for Blackberry Island.
I thought that the characters were catty, sarcastic, and unforgettable. I enjoyed reading about characters that are not your ordinary people. I would have liked to learn more of how the relationships evolved at the end but there's more to the series, so we will see what follows.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more Blackberry Island with Three Sisters!
A great read! Enjoyed the setting centered around the inn as in the hotel business. Great characters and hope to see a series and would love to see more of Carly and Sam, and Michelle and Jared. Look forward to reading some of Mallery's past books.