I give this book 5 stars.
BAREFOOT IN PEARLS by Roxanne St Claire
Released: 23rd January 2015
Publisher: South Street Publishing
Genre: Romance
MY REVIEW
I love Roxanne St Claire's Barefoot Bay series. Barefoot in Pearls is the 3rd book in the Barefoot Brides series and this story is about Arielle and Luke.
Arielle is the wedding designer at Barefoot Brides, a business she co-owns with her best friends Willow and Gussie. Arielle has been brought up to believe by her late grandmother, a Native American Shaman that there is one special person meant for her in the universe and that she would know when she met him. Recently her friends have all found 'their ones' and she is beginning to doubt that she will ever find her true love. On her friend Willow's wedding day Arielle is drawn to Barefoot mountain where she questions things, while there she finds a necklace of pearls and while picking them up she is knocked off her feet by a stranger, who when he touches her she feels that he is 'THE ONE' for her. They part without exchanging details.
Luke can not believe the beautiful woman he knocked off her feet on the hill is his sister Gussie's best friend and business partner and he looks forward to getting to know her some more because he was instantly attracted to her an felt a zing when he touched her. However things are not as easy as he hopes and Luke finds himself learning about Arielle and her intuitions and heritage before they can move forward.
Luke has been hired to build a house on Barefoot mountain for a friend of his but Arielle thinks it is an ancient Native American Burial ground and she wants Luke to succeed with his business but she can not let him build till she has had the land checked out.
This story keeps you in suspense with will they or wont they, and who was the person causing all the problems for them. I read this book in 2 sittings as I could not wait to find out all the answers to the suspense that Rocki kept throwing our way in these pages. Well done on a well wrote Barefoot Bay book. I would definitely recommend this book to all romance lovers out there but I would read them in sequence so you learn all about these fabulous Barefoot Bay Brides in order.
Arielle is the wedding designer at Barefoot Brides, a business she co-owns with her best friends Willow and Gussie. Arielle has been brought up to believe by her late grandmother, a Native American Shaman that there is one special person meant for her in the universe and that she would know when she met him. Recently her friends have all found 'their ones' and she is beginning to doubt that she will ever find her true love. On her friend Willow's wedding day Arielle is drawn to Barefoot mountain where she questions things, while there she finds a necklace of pearls and while picking them up she is knocked off her feet by a stranger, who when he touches her she feels that he is 'THE ONE' for her. They part without exchanging details.
Luke can not believe the beautiful woman he knocked off her feet on the hill is his sister Gussie's best friend and business partner and he looks forward to getting to know her some more because he was instantly attracted to her an felt a zing when he touched her. However things are not as easy as he hopes and Luke finds himself learning about Arielle and her intuitions and heritage before they can move forward.
Luke has been hired to build a house on Barefoot mountain for a friend of his but Arielle thinks it is an ancient Native American Burial ground and she wants Luke to succeed with his business but she can not let him build till she has had the land checked out.
This story keeps you in suspense with will they or wont they, and who was the person causing all the problems for them. I read this book in 2 sittings as I could not wait to find out all the answers to the suspense that Rocki kept throwing our way in these pages. Well done on a well wrote Barefoot Bay book. I would definitely recommend this book to all romance lovers out there but I would read them in sequence so you learn all about these fabulous Barefoot Bay Brides in order.
Excerpt BAREFOOT IN PEARLS by permission.
******
“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.
“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.
AUTHOR BIO
Roxanne St. Claire is a bestselling author of nearly thirty novels of romance and suspense. A six-time nominee and one time winner of the prestigious RITA Award for outstanding romantic fiction, her books have also won the National Reader’s Choice Award for best romantic suspense for two consecutive years, as well as the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Maggie, Booksellers Best, Book Buyers Best, five Awards of Excellence, the Aspen Gold and many others
Prior to launching a full time career as a novelist in 2003, Roxanne spent most of her professional life as a marketing executive and public relations consultant. She is a graduate of UCLA, an active member of several national writing organizations, and a lecturer on a wide range of writing-related topics. She lives in Satellite Beach, Florida with her husband and their two teenagers, and if you know her, you call her Rocki.
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