Barefoot Beaches: A Spirited Romance on the South Brunswick Islands

by Jacqueline DeGroot

Madison stood on the tarmac in the earlySeptember sun, waiting as her luggage was loadedfrom the limo into the plane. It was time to climb themetal grid stairs to the opened door of the plane, butshe wasn’t at all sure she could do this. Small planesscared the hell out of her. And even though this was alarge corporate commuter, it was still small comparedto the other planes she’d flown on.She took a deep breath and sighed as she realizedthat now, there was no one here to push her—nogoverness, no headmaster, no Dean of Women, andmost of all, no father. It was still hard to believe thatshe had buried him just last week.Yes, she could run out. She could get back in thelimo and direct the driver to take heranywhere…anywhere in the world. But if she ran out,then what? She would only be running out on herself.Of all the challenges she’d had in her life, why wasthis one turning out to be the hardest?

404 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2003

About the author

Jacqueline DeGroot lives at Sunset Beach, NC with her husband Bill. She has two grown sons, one in New York and one living locally, and her daughter Kimberly lives in Wilmington. She stays active in her small beach community, especially in Sea Trail Plantation where she’s lived for almost 15 years. She loves to ride bikes with her friends, cook elaborate dinners, decorate lavish cakes, do aerobics and take long walks on the beach. Her love for the Brunswick Islands is apparent in all her books and she’s very happy to live in a place where so many wonderful people continue encouraging her to write.

Reviews

[jennifer shank · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars…rounded up a star just because I absolutely love Sunset Beach! I loved the Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle references. I would not have enjoyed this book nearly as much if I hadn’t actually visited the restaurants, inns, and shops that were mentioned. It was a good story but could have used a good editing. Way too descriptive and kept getting off track from the story. Some of it was just weird and not necessary to the plot.

[Marybeth Epperly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm - an erotic romance novel based in Ocean Isle Beach, NC by a native North Carolinian.
Not my usual choice in books, but definitely a summer beach read.

[Lisa Guy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not for me. As a person with a home in the Brunswick Islands I enjoy the local setting. The story was pretty good but the explicit sexual content requires me to remove it from my home.

[Andrea Strickland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to like it, I really did. But, the only appeal is the location.