An incredible second chance story that will tug at your heart long after you finish it. Dealing with the illness of her estranged father and reconnecting with her past love may be more than Jocelyn can handle. With the support of good friends and the magic of Barefoot Bay she may just find her way. Highly recommended read. ( )

Good romance that also deals with a couple tough issues, those of abuse and Alzheimer's. Will and Jocelyn had known each other and been best friends since they were ten years old. Will lived next door and had also been Jocelyn's place of refuge and escape when her father's abuse would get bad. The summer before they were to leave for college, their friendship began to change into something more. Just as they were about to do something about it, they were caught by her father, who threatened to kill Will, or at the very least find a way to end Will's baseball dreams. Wanting to protect Will, Jocelyn left Barefoot Bay, but not before her father nearly beat her to death.

Fifteen years later, Jocelyn is trying to escape a trumped up scandal. The only place she can go is back to Barefoot Bay, where her three college friends can hide her. For the first time in those fifteen years, she sees Will again, and is reminded of all she felt for him. He's working as a carpenter and living in his parents' old house, still next door to her father. She's stunned to find out that Will has been caring for her father, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, for the past year. Even worse, her father has totally forgotten her existence and believes that Will is his son. Jocelyn hasn't been able to forget what her father had done and is determined to put him in a home and forget about him.

Will has come to terms with his relationship with Guy and doesn't want to see him taken from the only place he remembers. He is determined to make Jocelyn see that there is a better way. At the same time, he'd really like to rekindle his relationship with her and see where it might go. In order to do that, he has to find a way to get past the walls she has built up around her heart. I loved his kindness and patience with Guy, even though he was responsible for Will's loss of Jocelyn. He also has to face up to what he sees as his own shortcomings when he discovers the truth of what had happened the night that Jocelyn left Barefoot Bay.

Jocelyn has a hard time reconciling her memories of her father and his cruelties with the man he is today. Instead of the vicious abuser, Guy is nice, spending his time doing needlework and watching television. He mistakes her for the host of a television cleaning show who has come to help him. Though she starts out as coldly determined to have him put away, with Will's help her feelings toward her father start to change. Her feelings for Will also begin to grow. At first it is a rekindling of their friendship, as Will helps her with her father, but the attraction to him is still there. She doesn't see anything coming of it, as their lives are now too different. But being back in Barefoot Bay gives her a chance to reevaluate her life, and the support of her friends shows her she has options. All she has to do is take a chance on her feelings.

I liked seeing Will and Jocelyn getting to know each other again. The chemistry between them is fantastic. I loved the scene at the baseball field and how that moved them closer together. Beyond that, they have to learn to trust themselves. Finding out what had happened to Jocelyn has Will questioning himself and his own self worth, and the guilt he feels affects the way he looks at their relationship. Jocelyn has to find a way to let go of the past so that she can move forward.

I loved the ending and Will's ultimate effort to help Jocelyn with the scandal that has been causing her the problems. What he did showed, not only his love for Jocelyn, but also the basic goodness of who he is.

Jocelyn's father Guy was an interesting character. After the viciousness of the prologue, seeing him as he is now was quite the change. Seeing things through his eyes gave an interesting perspective on the disease. A surprise discovery gave Jocelyn and Will a chance to understand what may have been the trigger for Guy's actions. I also liked seeing Jocelyn's friends and the way they rallied to help her. Their support gives her the courage to face her demons and make a grab for a better future. ( )

A well done story that deals with a very serious and emotional dilemma. I liked how the relationship developed and how they handled multiple life issues such as forgiveness, career choices, friendship and family influence. Life coach Jocelyn hides out in her hometown and encounters her high school love Will.
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I don't even know where to begin. I love all of Roxanne St. Claire's books, but she really did something truly special and unique on this one. I felt heart gripping emotion on every page. This is truly a love story--not just in the traditional sense. Of course we have the love between Jocelyn and Will. But there's so much more than that here.

This book deals with very serious issues. If you had asked me if I wanted to read a romance novel that would include 1) a man struggling with Alzheimer's and 2) domestic violence, I would have probably told you that book wasn't for me. But what Roxanne St. Claire has done with these real life struggles, and how she presented them so masterfully boggles my mind. She created this work of fiction that felt so real to me. I felt Jocelyn's pain. I felt Will's pain. And I felt Guy's pain. And not in a superficial way--but in the most heart-wrenching way you can imagine.

Jocelyn has very hard decisions. How can she forgive and love the man who caused her and her mother so much pain. Does that man even exist anymore? What is the right thing to do? All of these questions are answered in the most beautiful and touching way. I think Roxanne St. Claire really outdid herself this time and created the most moving book I have read in decades.

My words in this review just can't adequately describe how amazing this book is. This book spoke to me and touched my heart. I would highly recommend it. Five stars just isn't enough. Barefoot in the Rain is in a class by itself--just like its author. ( )

The prologue in this novel grabs your attention from the first page and sets the tone for the rest of the book with humor, drama, sex, fear, and a girl hell bent on doing what she thinks is best for the boy she loves even if it means she’ll never see him again. The book contains not only a beautiful love story, but also a story about abuse survival and the strength of forgiveness and friendship.

Both Will and Jocelyn are likable characters which is important for me to really enjoy a romance novel. They are well-developed, but not perfect, each having faults that add interest to the story. I also loved Jocelyn’s gaggle of girlfriends and plan to read their stories as well.

This book set a fast pace from start to finish and there was no part that seemed to drag on. It’s full of drama, humor, and steam! I definitely recommend it to any Contemporary Romance reader. ( )