Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter Review

Hello Everyone :)

I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Denise Hunter at the RT Booklovers Convention. She was such a warm and friendly person, and I loved hearing her talk about her beloved books and characters.

She's definitely become one of my all time favorite authors, and yet there's still so many of her titles that I have yet to read. Awhile ago I finally got around to reading the first book in the Chapel Springs series, and I really ended up adoring it.

Today I'm excited to get to share with you all my full review on this beautiful poignant story.

Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter:

Source: Library Libby App

Publisher: June 2013

Publication Date: May 28th, 2013

Genre: Christian Fiction/Women's Fiction

Series: Chapel Springs

Synopsis:

Madison’s heart closed the day her twin brother died.

Since losing her twin, Michael, in a drowning incident, Madison has rejected the faith he lived by. Instead, she’s devoted her life to fulfilling Michael’s dream—winning the River Sail Regatta in their small Indiana town, Chapel Springs.

As she trains for the regatta, Beckett O’Reilly is teaching Madison to swim. But he’s keeping a painful secret from her—and as they grow closer, that secret threatens to upend their lives . . . and the lives of both their families.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

Over the years, Denise Hunter has become one of my all time favorite authors. I adore her heartwarming stories, her character's that come to feel like old friends, and the beloved small town settings that truly come to life on the page. I've read most of her newer releases, but still have quite a few of her older books to work my way through. I finally got around to reading the first installment in the Chapel Springs series, and I truly ended up loving it.

I respect any author that can realistically portray the effects of grief, and the way it doesn't operate on a linear timeline. Healing and moving on come differently to everyone, and Madison Mckenna's story was the perfect example of this. The faith element was interwoven into this discussion effortlessly, and illustrated the notion that we can't truly heal and move on without first asking for and receiving help from our Heavenly Father. Likewise, I loved the fact that faith in God isn't demonstrated as something that's going to make your life perfect, but rather as something that's going to help ease your hurt and give you peace and understanding no matter what trials and struggles end up coming your way. 

Denise Hunter can truly write about any type of romance and have me glued to the page, and Barefoot Summer was no exception. I loved that Beckett and Madison's story first starts as a reluctant friendship based on secrets and misguided information, and quickly grows from there. Both are scared to trust their hearts, but also can't deny the feelings that are beginning to develop. With the background of a sailing regatta, and other beautiful small town events, this one truly gave me all the warm fuzzies. 

Lastly, I have to mention how much I loved the way that the title ends up playing into the story. I don't want to mention how as I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it was lovely and one of my favorite parts of the story. The small town setting was perfection as I've come to expect from this lovely lady's stories, and Chapel Springs is now another small town I'd love to find myself visiting some day. As someone who's a huge fan of stories with a strong family dynamic, I'm quickly becoming addicted to Denise's beautiful heartwarming reads that strongly focus on this, like this one definitely does with the entire McKinley family.

I can't wait to continue on with this series, and will be doing so in the very near future.

Final Rating: 4/5.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.