Barefoot Season

A Blackberry Island Novel, Book 1

By: Susan Mallery

Narrated by: Sarah Grace

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2012 Susan Mallery (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great book

I thought I was ordering a different audio book when I purchased this one. It was a wonderful mistake because I really enjoyed this story.

Love Susan Mallery, not loving Sarah Grace

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I usually love anything that Susan Mallery writes and although I know this is a "Woman's Novel" as opposed to a Romance, I am intriqued by the plot. What I am truly having a hard time with is the narrator's voice. She sounds the same no matter which character is talking; sometimes she talks way too fast, and her voice sounds too young for the characters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Barefoot Season?

Still reading this so not quite sure yet

Would you be willing to try another one of Sarah Grace???s performances?

NO

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

maybe

good

I really enjoyed this book. It would be a good Hallmark movie. All of her books would be.

It was O.K

This was my first book for Susan Mallery. It was an OK book. Sonething simple and sweet to pass time with. No element of excitement. Was a bit bland but not entirely boring. The community that the author created and their dynamics were the strength points of the book. I will get the next books in the series because of this.
The narration needs improvement BIG TIME !

Good Story, not so much for the narrator

The story was good, but the narrator was not so hot. it was hard to tell te characters apart and her reading would speed up and slow down. I will not be buying any more books with her as a narrator.

Believeable

What made the experience of listening to Barefoot Season the most enjoyable?

For once a book that sounded real and did not have any for fetched things.

What did you like best about this story?

The way Michelle and Carly interacted with each other, there was no hidden meanings always honesty.

Which character – as performed by Sarah Grace – was your favorite?

Carly while I loved Michelle too I could identfy more with Carly.

Any additional comments?

I bought this book on a spur of the moment chance.....did not really think that I would care for it at all but ended up loving this book. I normally read to escape the real world not deal with real world things but this book was refreshing at a time I needed to take my head out of the clouds.

Great story - not your everyday romance novel.

If you could sum up Barefoot Season in three words, what would they be?

I would say this book is about love and how it is integral with how you view yourself, your relationship with men, and in this case your best friend. The characters are well developed and you learn to love them especially because we can relate to their flaws (as well as strengths).

Old friends reconnect

What made the experience of listening to Barefoot Season the most enjoyable?

Narrator was great. PTSD, family betrayal, revenge and redemption.

What did you like best about this story?

The twisting tale of Carly & Michelle.

What does Sarah Grace bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brings the characters to life.

Beautiful Story

Any additional comments?

This is a wonderful story about friendship. I would love to visit Blackberry Island. The Inn sounds wonderful. I felt like the narrator struggled with the male voices. The older ladies sounded exactly like the men. After I got used to that it wasn't as distracting because the story was great.

Not a great start...

I really wanted to like this book - it is a great setting with the potential for two strong female lead characters. However, I found that those two characters just weren't fully developed. I found their constant attention to their actions in high school very strange - as if they got stuck in time at 19 and had not developed since then (despite one woman being running the inn and being a great mom and the other a decorated war veteran). Their back stories and experience during the 10 years just didn't seem in line with their immature behaviors. I was hooked enough to want to listen to the entire book but I would struggle to recommend it to a new listener!