Barefoot Season
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4.2 • 54 Ratings
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- £4.49
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- £4.49
Publisher Description
New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery returns with a poignant new story about finding love and freeing oneself from the past.
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.
"This poignant tale of family dynamics, the jarring impact of change, and eventual acceptance and healing is sure to please Mallery's many, devoted fans." —Booklist on Already Home
Reviews
"Gritty and magical, angst-ridden and sweet." -Publishers Weekly
About the author
New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery has entertained millions of readers with her witty and emotional stories about women. Publishers Weekly calls Susan’s prose “luscious and provocative,” and Booklist says “Novels don’t get much better than Mallery’s expert blend of emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.” Susan lives in Seattle with her husband and her tiny but intrepid toy poodle. Visit her at www.SusanMallery.com.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The first book in Susan Mallery’s Blackberry Island series is a wonderful introduction to the bestselling author’s down-to-earth brand of romance. Set on a fictional island near Seattle, Barefoot Season focuses on two women whose childhood friendship was shattered by betrayal. Army veteran Michelle returns home to recover from a gunshot wound and take charge of the inn she inherited from her father, while single mother Carly—who kept the business afloat during Michelle’s absence—must adjust to her resentful new boss. With crisp prose and authentic emotion, Mallery draws you into the complicated story of her heroines’ difficult pasts and offers satisfying resolutions for their aching hearts.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gritty and magical, angst-ridden and sweet, this coming-home story by bestseller Mallery (Only His) pulls no punches. Veteran Michelle Sanderson has survived multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, but she's never forgotten the little island inn on Puget Sound where three generations of her family have welcomed visitors. After Michelle's mother dies, onetime friend Carly Williams whom Michelle betrayed by sleeping with her fianc is left to manage the inn until Michelle returns. Michelle wants nothing more than to fire Carly and reclaim the family legacy, but with a shotup hip, PTSD, and an unforgiving bank loan, she has no choice but to make their uneasy reunion work. This is only the beginning; Mallery adds layer upon layer to the women's history, while revealing the raw core of each with expert pacing guaranteed to keep a reader up way past bedtime to see how it all works out. There's a touch of romance, too, but it's secondary. This first installment in the Blackberry Island series is about the journey from girlhood to womanhood to sisterhood, and the simple power of an honest apology.
