Barefoot Season by Susan Mallery

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.(Synopsis from B&N.com)

Trade Paperback, MIRA, 368 pages  Rating 5/5

I really enjoyed this book. It seems as though I have read many books recently where the heroine is supporting her wounded or psychologically damaged man but this time the wounded warrior is the heroine! Michelle is an interesting character as she is physically and emotionally damaged and we should instantly like her. But she is also nasty and vindictive and at first not really likable.

Carly, the other main character in the series, is also all of the things we normally admire; plucky single mom wronged by her husband and best friend, but she too has sides to her that are not very admirable. Both of these women have pasts that cause them to dislike each other but they also have a long friendship seems to be sorely needed by both of them.

When Michelle returns to run the inn her father left her years ago, she has just been discharged from a military hospital, and nothing is what she expected. Her recently deceased mother has run up the bills, added lots of unneeded parts to the inn and left Michelle’s former best friend in charge. Michelle has every intention of giving Carly the boot, but circumstances force the two women together. There have been betrayals on both sides and neither woman is ready to forgive let alone forget.

Ms. Mallery does a wonderful job of portraying two women in an awkward situation that have to just suck it up and get on with their lives. The reader thinks they know all of the reasons why they hate each other but we really only know the surface issue until halfway through the book. Both women need to find a way to coexist and put the past behind them. Michelle is dealing with PTSD and teetering on the edge of alcoholism. Her relationship with her landlord Jared is perfectly done- no Mr. Right jumping in and solving all of her problems right away. She has to work on getting better before the relationship. Carly also has to look at her priorities when a possible romance comes her way and not make the same bad decisions she has before.

There are some interesting secondary characters who provide a little villainy to the story but primarily the story revolves around Michelle and Carly which works very well. I am not sure if this is the start to a series but I would definitely enjoy another visit to Blackberry Island (Daisies and all)!

Thanks to Netgalley.com for the egalley.

Already Home by Susan Mallery- Couldn't put it down!

After nearly a decade as a sous-chef in a trendy eatery, Jenna is desperate for a change. She's supported her ex-husband's dreams for so long that she can't even remember her own. Until she sees a for-lease sign near her parents' home and envisions her very own cooking store.
Her crash course in business is aided by a streetwise store manager and Jenna's adoptive mother. But just as she's gaining a foothold in her new life, in walk her birth parents—aging hippies on a quest to reconnect with their firstborn.
Now Jenna must figure out how to reconcile the free-spirited  Serenity and Tom with her traditional parents, deal with her feelings for a new love interest and decide what to do about her ex's latest outrageous request. In the end, Jenna will find that there is no perfect family, only the people we love…. (Synopsis from Barnes & Noble.com)

Susan Mallery has written a wonderful story about families, love and loss. Jenna is a chef who has lost her confidence in herself,  in a large part to her soon to be ex-husband.  He has thrown away their marriage, cheated on her, and bullied her into believing she is a lousy chef. She moves back to her Texas hometown and impulsively decides to open an exclusive cookery store- Grate Expectations.  Fortunately for her, she hires Violet to be her first employee. Violet has had to make some tough choices to survive and she too has a low sense of self esteem. She has the retail skills that Jenna lacks and comes to the rescue when uber structured Jenna's first day goes awry. The two women work together, begin again, and make a success of the business. Jenna, who is adopted, is thrown for a loop when her birth parents make an appearance in her store with no advance warning.

From that point on a large part of the story becomes one about the  issues of adoption from all of the sides- the birth parents, the adoptive parents and the person in the center of it all. Ms. Mallery skillfully lets us into the feelings of all three parts of the triangle, good and bad. Just when you think things are going a little too sweetly, reality bites!  Jenna and Violet have to deal with their  issues about families, relationships and their own self worth.  They move forward and then old patterns of behavior/fears hold them back.

Jenna has too much family to deal with- two sets of  parents and  new siblings, while Violet has her issues with the lack of family in her life. There is joy and sadness in both of their lives but they work through it. I liked the strong friendship that developed between them and how they were able to open themselves up for  new love in their life on many levels.

I can always count on Susan Mallery for a good read and this book does not disappoint.  Have your tissues ready- you will need them. There are some pretty yummy sounding recipes at the end of the book as an added bonus.

Library note: this book will be available at RPL after March 29 and will be shelved in the new paperback section.  We have several other books by Susan Mallery in regular print ,large print, and as audiobooks on CD.