Barefoot Season - Susan Mallery

Title & Author :  Barefoot Season - Susan Mallery

Publisher :  Mira Books

Genre :  Romance

Series :  Blackberry Island - Book 1

ISBN :  978-192179542-8

Format :  Paperback

Source :  Borrowed from library

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS :

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 rumours, 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 discover the friendship of a lifetime.

This is book one in a new series by Susan Mallery featuring Blackberry Island.

The story line focuses on Michelle Sanderson's life as she returns to her old home life at Blackberry Island Inn after suffering a hip injury while at war serving time as a young army vet in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Michelle has been away for ten years.  She is returning home injured and suffering from PTSD.  She was looking forward to being able to escape in the old lifestyle she used to know at Blackberry Island Inn.  However this is not going to prove to be as easy as she once thought.

Michelle is having to face some rather confronting issues.  Everything starts unravelling when she first arrives at the Blackberry Island Inn and Michelle starts to notice all the changes that have taken place in her absence.  What used to be her old room that she thought she would be able to escape from the worries of the world in is now occupied so she is left reeling.  How many changes can be be expected to have to take in all at once.  One challenge after another is sent her challenge her.  Michelle tries to cope by taking to drinking vodka to try and calm her and for her to be able to try and get some sleep at night without being invaded from dreams and nightmares she has no desire to relive. 

Will Michelle be able to face issues from her past such as her childhood, her mothers death, what happened with her friendship with Carly at the same time as being able to accept that she needs help to deal with and get on top of her issues with PTSD.  You will have to read the story to find out...

This is a great read from Susan.  You are left wanting to read on and find out just how Michelle deals with the challenges she is made to face.  There is a great mix of characters that are featured throughout the story which leave Michelle wondering at times just how to cope with all that is revealed to her but cope she does and realises that people and situations have a tendency to change over time and some things with work can be changed and repaired like her therapy for her injury and PTSD and her friendship with Carly and other friendships once you lose trust in a person are often best left in the past.  

To find out more about the Blackberry Island books you can check out Susan's website here and chat with her on facebook.