Barefoot Summer - by Denise Hunter

Madison is determined to put her twin brother's death, and the resulting nightmares, behind her, and she thinks that fulfilling Michael's dream of winning the town's annual regatta before their 27th birthday will accomplish both.  Only two things stand in her way: her terror of water, and her fear of Beckett O'Reilly - the man who is going to teach her to sail.  Beckett has his own reasons for being apprehensive about this arrangement, but is determined to see it through.  Can Madison win the race?  Can she find a way to move on?  Will Beckett be the key to helping her heal, or will he only bring more pain?

I found myself really enjoying this book.  I loved Madison's determination to train and win the regatta, even though she froze at the mere sight of water, and didn't even know how to swim.  Although storylines of dead twins are really starting to freak me out, I could feel her grief that she'd refused to release about the loss of her other half.  Her search for healing, and how faith might relate to that, was compelling, and I wanted her to find a way to live her life well without Michael.  Beckett was an intriguing character on his own; his past and how he'd overcome it felt realistic and honest.  He had scars from his past that still affected the way he saw himself, but he was trusting God to see him through his new life.

I was excited to see that this was the first book in a series; I hope that the following books continue to expand on the other characters in Madison's family and that we continue to keep tabs on Madison and Beckett.

I give this book 4 stars for enjoyability.

You can find Barefoot Summer HERE.
You can find Denise Hunter's website HERE and connect with her on Facebook or Twitter from her site.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review.