I love how Katlyn crafts Renee and Luc! I adore childhood crush stories and beach reads. What I didn't love was Renee's sister, Kate. But perhaps that's the point. Nobody lives without family drama, so I love that it was included in the story, as well. I wish that Renee would have stuck up for herself, but overall, this is a fantastic story with a great message at the heart of it-grab happiness when/where you can.

The perfect beach read! Who doesn't love the boy next door romance? This is my first time reading a Kaitlyn Duncan book, I enjoyed the way the stories told and the chemistry between characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting read. Such a true life book. Troubles like the rest of us. The book was good to read. Well written and flowed well.

If you are looking for a book that is light hearted, instantly captivating and full of beautifully chiseled scenes and characters, look no further. Duncan has created that in this story. She is a new to me author and one I will certainly be adding to my must reads list, as her book.....was fantastic! I was swept away to the heart of the story, falling in love with Renee and Luc from the start. This is a page turning, heart gripping 4 star read for sure!

Great, quick read. I read this while on vacation at the beach. I was hooked with the characters Renee and Luc. The journey of Renee life was sweet and well written.

The beach, wedding planning (that’s what I do!) and a story about first loves coming back into your life and trying to restore your faith in love & marriage? That’s a must read in my book, and I cannot believe it took me so long to get to Barefoot on the Beach.

Duncan was a new to me author, and I enjoyed this book even if it took me a bit to really get into it.

Renee’s mother may have been the perfect example how NOT to do it, and this was the one thing I didn’t LOVE about the book - I thought she should have stopped letting her mom’s life dictate how she should feel, and just go for it!

Great read for a sand between your toes, romance novel to take with you to the beach! Thank you to Netgalley & HQ Digital for the chance to read this title in exchange for my personal review, I gave this title 3.5 stars.

Really enjoyed this book. Steady paced, great characters, I was absorbed throughout. Will be reading more books by the author in the future!

I enjoy a second chance romance especially in a lovely beach town setting I can get lost in. Renee is a carefree woman who is enjoying summer flings and living the single and ready to mingle life. All fun until one day Luc her first love reappears into her life and her younger sister Cait needs her help in planning a wedding.

I enjoyed the characters and the underlying message within the story that explores our relationships in our family no matter how dysfunctional. I really enjoyed this fun beach read that took me to West Cove for an afternoon.

I recommend this book for great characterization, excellent location, and amazing dialogue that I enjoyed.

Complementary copy given for honest review and opinion.
The book was a younger, fun romance. The author took her time getting to the plot and finishing it up. I feel this could be a good young adult romance.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publishers for the chance to read and review this book, this has not influenced my views of the book.

This is a nice summer tale of families coming together and old flames being relit.
The story develops nicely as you get to know the characters and learn more about their lives and their sometimes troubled pasts.
For me, it was a little predictable, with the story taking the path so many summery romance books take.
I did enjoy the read, something light hearted and easy to read between heavier books or while chilling in the garden.
Unfortunately it was hard to fall in love with the main characters and the story just lacked something for me, it just didn’t grab me and have that unputdownable vibe that I love in a book.
It seemed to end abruptly, I would have loved a little more to tie up everyone’s stories.

Enjoyed this book and the second chance love story. The setting is great, and I loved following Renee and the chances she takes to be happy. I found this to be a story not only about love but family and relationships as well. Great summer read!

I enjoyed this fast paced summer read. The author was able to capture my attention quickly and kept me entertained till the end. As the story unwound, it was easy to feel what each character felt and feel the sand between your toes! When the story comes to life, you can see yourself there, doing the things the characters are doing. This book made me want to see West Cove for myself. Great job, and thanks for giving me the chance to review this book. Enjoy!

Starts off interesting, she's a loner who likes things a certain way and then she becomes a pushover which made me lose respect for her and not want to cont reading . I tried skipping ahead to see if it would get better but it didn't. DNF.
*********************I received an ARC for my honest opinion for NETGALLEY.***********

I have to admit that it took me a good 25-30% before I could connect with this story. I’m not one to admit defeat and given that I loved Katlyn’s Christmas book, Wrapped Up For Christmas, I was left thinking it was going to be a ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ scenario.

But hallelujah (I’m not apologising for being dramatic as I was getting stressed out, lol), as Renee started to open up (metaphorically speaking) on the page my connection to the story developed.

Families are a funny old thing, aren’t they? Good or bad our upbringings shape us. They can either give us the courage to embrace all that life has to offer or they can inadvertently make us fearful of history repeating itself.

Renee’s past has taught her that love is a fickle thing and not to be trusted. She has her heart firmly shored up, but is that any way to really live? Luc’s return to West Cove may be the just the shake-up Renee needs.

Ugh, I have to admit to having a rant or two. Okay, okay – it was more like double figures *palms face*. All directed at Renee. Every time she bit her tongue rather than express her true feelings on a matter, I was there like an angel (read: devil) on her shoulder giving her what for. My very own version of a ‘Come to Laura’ moment *snorts*.

Coming from someone with vampire-like tendencies, the setting in this story was everything. I could literally feel the sun sinking into my bones and the sand between my toes. Renee’s connection to this special place leapt from the page. It’s where she can leave the stresses of life behind and just be.

I love how the author isn’t afraid to let her characters embrace their flaws and make mistakes in the pursuit of happiness.

Life is full of ups and downs, and BOTB reflected that with my initial struggle but ultimately left me with a smile on my face.

Best of luck, Renee – you got this!

When I started reading this book, I was expecting a summer beach romance story, but I got so much more. This was story about family relationships, dysfunctional ones at that and finding our own place in the world. It was about loving yourself as well as family, learning to say no, and not being afraid to take a chance.

Renee Clarke is living her safe life in West Cove. She is a freelance web designer, living with her father and only getting involved with tourists who will leave at the end of the season. She is a very scheduled person, and please don't mess with her schedule. She loves her father, Marcus and her half-sister, Cait who lives across the country. Renee was like a mother to Cait before she moved back home to West Cove, so when Cait turns up in town asking for Renee's help planning her upcoming wedding, she can't say no. Cait has turned up with emails and lists and her little dog Hunter, and passes it all off on Renee while she relaxes on the beach. Renee, is very anti-marriage due to watching her mother's antics with men over the years, but wants Cait to be happy, so even though this messes with her schedule, she reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, the cottage next door has a new tenant, Luc Hardy, who is there to renovate the cottage to get it ready for his aunt to sell. Luc was Renee's first love, and she has a lot of unresolved feelings about him. Get ready for a very unsettling summer for Renee.

It took awhile to warm up to Renee. She seemed rather serious, yet to a degree, very self-absorbed. She was always martyring herself as she begrudgingly did all the work for Cait that she could have had a wedding planner do. As I got to know more about her and her past, I began to understand where she was coming from and began to feel for her. Cait, was a spoiled brat, but Renee was to blame for some of that. Again, as the story is told, we get more information about Cait and what she is dealing with. The males in this book were all wonderful. Marcus, Luc and Jorden were all very understanding men (I wish there were more like them in real life) and tried to help when they could. Renee's and Cait's mom was a piece of work. Talk about a narcissist. She was a piece of work and I can see why Renee and Cait were both somewhat messed up. Having said all that, the setting of West Cove and the beach were wonderful. I could just imagine being on a private beach, watching fireworks and holding hands with someone you love. There are a lot of serious issues that the characters have to deal with, but suffice it to say that there is a HEA and I did enjoy this story. I recommend it as a summer read, on the beach would be great, but out by the pool would work too.

A charming and addictive summer romance written with plenty of style and heart, Katlyn Duncan’s Barefoot on the Beach is an irresistible tale fans of Jill Shalvis and Holly Martin are going to love.

Renee Clarke is perfectly happy being single. Having witnessed her mother’s car crashes of two marriages, Renee has neither the desire nor the inclination to walk down the aisle. While she is going to put out all the stops for her sister’s wedding, that is as far as her interest in tulle and confetti goes. Renee has no plans to change her single status – until Luc Hardy moves in next door. Luc had been Renee’s first and only love and although their teen romance had come to an end, Renee has never quite managed to put Luc behind her. Coming back to West Cove looking as handsome as ever, Luc soon reawakens feelings she had though long-buried. However, just when Renee was going to dip a tentative toe in the dating world, she gets the shock of her life when her mother returns.

Her mother’s return to West Cove only serves to reaffirm Renee’s lack of belief in love. With her mother boasting about her latest conquests, Renee’s happy ever after with Luc is in jeopardy. The more poison her mother spreads, the more Renee believes that she is better off single. But as her feelings for Luc intensify, will she throw caution to the wind and take a chance on love? Or is Renee going to spend the rest of her life regretting her lack of courage to give Luc and their romance a chance?

It is impossible not to fall in love with Katlyn Duncan’s uplifting summer romance. Sparkling with heart, warmth, emotion and intensity, Barefoot on the Beach ticks all the right boxes with a beguiling blend of humour, pathos, family drama and emotional conflict. A must-read for fans who like their romance breezy, feel-good and brilliantly moving, Barefoot on the Beach is not to be missed.

I chose this book because the setting on the beach is one of my favorites and because it is a second-chance-at-love story that is dear to my heart.

Renee is a pushover for her younger half-sister Cait. So when Cait shows up at West Cove a month before her wedding asking Renee to drop everything and help her plan it, Renee can’t refuse her sister’s own happiness. Renee doesn’t believe in marriage due to her mother’s toxic love and selfishness. But she loves Cait and would do anything for her since their mother wouldn’t. However, Renee’s very structured and orderly life has not only been interrupted by Cait and her loud and obnoxious dog, Hunter but by her first love, Luc, who is renting his aunt’s home next door. Luc is in West Cove for the summer and their attraction is still there after all these years. Should she risk reviving their relationship knowing he is leaving in a few months?

Renee is a well-developed character who changes for the better. Her mother’s selfish behavior and bad choices were a regrettable influence on her views of marriage and relationships which kept Renee’s encounters brief and impassive, and with tourists only. Her mother broke her heart too many times to trust in her feelings for anyone until Luc came along again. His presence in Renee’s teen years and now is a calming influence and when she starts to take charge of her life, she finally makes the right choices. Luc is sweet, thoughtful, and knows what he wants in life making a wonderful companion for Renee. As for Cait, she is an unlikeable selfish manipulator like her mother and I couldn’t warm up to her at all. Her fiance has his hands full there. Renee’s best friend, Sadie, is my favorite who had me laughing out loud several times by her not-so-subtle hints to Renee and Luc.

Overall, this story is about family relationships and second chances at love. It’s about putting yourself first, taking chances, and taking life by the horns. If you like feel-good stories with happy endings, give this one a try.

Thank you to Ms. Duncan for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

Having suffered a bit of a lockdown concentration slump I picked this up as, I was after a light-hearted, uplifting read - and the dog on the lovely cover clinched the deal. However, it wasn’t quite what I expected.
The main character spends 90% of the book being a push over, her mother is horrible, her work colleagues are horrible, her sister is horrible (the explanation at the end didn’t fly for me at all), her sister’s husband is useless at best, given what he knew all along - her dad is fine, but for no reason discernible to me, randomly keeps his new relationship secret and takes forever to tell his daughter to stand up for herself. The only nice thing in her life is her relationship with her former flame, and obviously the dog, who isn’t in as many scenes as I would have liked.
I’m sure genre fans will love the emotional, angsty, up and down of family drama, exploitative sisters and self involved mothers, but it didn’t quite hit the escape spot for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very well written - I just wish the main character had developed a spine much earlier in the story and kicked some ass.

Some stories pull you head first into the action in a breath taking minute, while others simmer gently under the surface to slowly bring the excitement to the surface in a glorious fashion. Which is exactly what I received when I dived into this delightful book. Family and relationships were the beating heart of this narration and it was a joy to get to know Renee and her intricately layered life.

From the opening moments it was extremely clear that Renee was a controlled and organised character who put the needs of everyone else above her own. At times it was difficult to see how easily she was taken for granted by certain members of the family but there's always another side to every situation. Renee was a complex creation and I'm still not 100% sure I fully took to her, but that did not stand in the way of my enjoyment of the book in any way, shape or form, as I don't believe that you have to love every leading lady in order to enjoy the essence of a story.

For me the best part of the story was the dynamics between characters. Renee and her sister Cait had many golden moments along the wedding planning journey which added some light relief to the story. But for me the golden couple creation had to be Luc and Renee. I would have liked a stronger emphasis on the romance over the dysfunctional family in this story, as the blurb strongly sold the romantic dream. But what we were treated to between this pair gave me all the feels I wanted....but being a sucker for all things swoon worthy, I wanted more.

All in all, Barefoot on the Beach is a true and heartfelt look into life and love in all its ugly glory. This is definitely one for the summer tbr piles for sure.

Found it hard to empathize with the heroine, especially when she always down-played herself and shone the perfect light on her sister. The sister character also grated on my nerves - nobody can be this perfect without being so sweet it makes teeth hurt. The story itself, and the romance, were nice but found the POV heavy and dragging and not very enjoyable to follow along