It's great to read a book where the hero and heroine are more mature. I can't remember the last time that I read a story where the heroine was an almost 40 year old single woman and still not pitied for her single status. Don't get me wrong - there a lot to pity Emma for - her fiancee broke off their engagement and since he's her boss she had to quit a job she loved, then when she decided to enjoy their honeymoon suite she finds out the reservations had been cancelled between the time she stepped on the plane and arrived at the resort.
On the other had, our hero Mark is to be envied. He married his high school sweetheart and they had a once -in-a-lifetime love until she died of cancer years ago. He sold his company for a fortune and now spends all his time adventuring around the world.
These two totally opposite people find themselves thrown together and while faking an engagement to keep all the women at a class reunion away from Mark - they manage to start a real relationship.
This book is witty and wonderful - the characters are smart and sexy and still manage to have hot sex despite their "old" age. It's good to read a book that shows older people as real people with interesting, real lives. ( )

ARC Review- Barefoot at Sunset by Roxanne St. Claire

Finding love at any age is a gift. Discovering it twice in one life time is a rarity. The timeless series of Barefoot Bay was a wonderful idea. When I originally heard about this series I didn't know what to expect but Ms. St. Claire did what she does best. Wrote a great story. Mark has floundered for years after a devastating loss. His days are spent testing his body in extreme ways and traveling the world trying to forget. A high school reunion proves to be cathartic in more ways then one. It reminds him that he is more than the other half of a power couple and that it is time to move on. Set in a place that is postcard worthy, Barefoot at Sunset exudes a wisdom and maturity that only time can yield. There is no other way to describe this story than that is a welcome asset to this series. ( )

This new series is about 3 men who range from early 40s to late 40s. They all returned to Barefoot Bay for their High School reunion. Barefoot Bay does it a little different – their HS reunions involve all the previous years.

First up is Mark Solomon who never thought he'd set foot in Barefoot Bay again. See he met the love of his life in high school and married her never imagining that he would lose her to cancer when she was just 32. Since then he goes on one dare deviling adventure after another so he doesn't have to think about what he's lost. The last thing he ever wanted was to have to return to the place where everything reminds him of her including all of his old classmates. When he finds a woman crying on the porch of his bungalow he makes her a proposition hoping to solve both their problems.

Emma DeWitt was supposed to be in Barefoot Bay on her honeymoon. But just days before the wedding her fiance dumps her. She is an advertising copywriter who wrote the brochures for the resort and she just wanted to experience paradise even if that meant doing it alone. When the occupant of the bungalow she should have been staying in asks her if she would pretend to be his fiance in return for her getting to share the bungalow with him she decides why not.

It's been a while since I read such a sweet contemporary romance but when I saw this author had written a trilogy about 3 men over the age of 40 I was intrigued as there isn't a whole lot of romances written about older men. Borders on sappy at times but also full of humor and was a great second chance romance for two people who never thought they'd ever fall in love again. ( )

The only thing that sets this apart from many romances is that the characters are older. He's 48 and she's 38. I liked the characters but the story is predictable. I knew exactly what would happen. I knew the ex would appear. I knew she would lose the job. I knew the hero would rescue her by giving the explanation of what happened and that she shouldn't be penalized for it. I liked the writing style but the story's been done so many times before. ( )