Entertaining, the characters are so real, you feel like you are part of the Nantucket summer.

Then this book is for you. Or maybe not just for that.

I liked this book a lot. It can be forgettable because it's nothing that special. But I found it cute and cute is good. I love Josh Flynn's character by the way.
Nice book to read when you're incredibly bored, when you're passing time, or when you just want a break from the heavy drama and scary thrillers. Or the seemingly-trying-hard-to-be-HarryPotter-books.

Yup. NIce chick lit, this one.

....this author writes a good story but leaves you dangling at the end. It's not like you want the story to continue, you just want all the main characters to have a conclusion. This is the 2nd book I've read by Elin Hilderbrand, and I feel the same about both books. I think I would try her one more time and then, if it's the same, go on to other authors who satify me more. In "A Summer Affair," she had 3 stories going at one time and focused on the least interesting. She has potential but only if she changes this obvious glare in her writing.

Three women go to Nantucket Island for the summer. Vicki, a mother of two small children, has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and spends the summer receiving chemo treatment. Her sister, Brenda, was recently fired from her job as a college professor for dating a 32-year old student. Vicki's friend Melanie recently found out that her husband has been having an affair, at the same time that she realizes she's pregnant after trying for seven years to conceive. Hilderbrand shows the distinct physical and emotional pain that cancer inflicts upon not only Vicki, but also her husband, friends, acquaintances, ect. in a largely unvisited and much deeper way. I found Brenda's character impossibly frustrating, but that was more my disdain of a woman in her late twenties rationalizing her selfishness. Melanie's storyline proved to be most enjoyable because, while she does not end up with the man I'm assuming most readers wished she would, her storyline is more realistic than romanticized, which is refreshing in a sense.
My only complaint with Hilderbrand's Barefoot is that at points the inner monologues of the characters is repetitive and drawn out. The end of the book is rushed and I would have liked to see a more finished ending. None-the-less, a great book I recommend reading.

I thought the book was ok . the story line was good , but there were a lot of pages that i just skipped right over. there was a lot of background information that kind of dragged on , and if i attempted to read it all i would have never stayed interested enough to finish the book .I felt Nantucket, this is actually the second book about Nantucket that i have read and it has sparked my interest as far as a relaxing summer week . So all in all the book was good , you could picture yourself sitting at their kitchen table or on the beach with them , but the extra stuff was useless. I also felt that although the ending was good , that is where it lacked some extra writing..

Elin Hilderbrand has written a novel of life that still endures even when faced with adversities. Vicki is afflicted with lung cancer but manages to find strength in her love for her two young sons. Her sister Brenda places her future at stake when she succumbs to a night of passion. The two sisters, accompanied by their friend Melanie set off for a summer of forgetful nights in an Nantucket cottage. This truly a book about bonds forming when faced with adverse situations. And though each woman has her own demons to exercise, all three share the same path and walk the road of a new life barefooted. The tale is heart warming and breezy while the three women along with a few side characters manage to navigate their travesties and form lasting relationships that permeate even the darkest times.

Editor of the highly recommended novel: Fates by Georgiou Tino

I became immersed in this summer of these very interesting, complex women and the major man, not to mention the two little children. Reading about Vicki's cancer had me physically going through it with her. It all brought me back to being a young mother in a beautiful place surrounded by love and friendship and, of course, problems. I loved the Brenda character and could identify with her desire to be left reading; that being her "job." And Melanie was a surprise and a bit unsettling I must admit but I understood, too. I've now read 5 of 7 of Elin Hilderbrand's books and am about to start The Love Season. So all I'll have left will be the hardcover Summer Affair. I think this young author is so good at dialogue and so good at the intricacies of our emotions. She keeps you turning pages that's for sure. I find her characters so multi-dimensional that I feel as if I know them or could be them. My friends and daughters pass her books back and forth. Enjoy!

The story of this book starts off a little slow and is a tad bit confusing. It does get better...the story is really sweet.

This is the first Elin Hilderbrand that I have read and I could not put it down. I loved it. No need for me to go into the plot as other reviewers have already clued you in to the basics of the book. I intend to buy all of her other books and hope she writes more and soon.

This is a fabulous book. A "chick" book, but Elin Hilderbrand knows her stuff and brings it once again. I recommend this book to every woman.

This wasn't the best book I've ever ready, but I love every minute of reading it. It made me feel like I was there on Nantucket with the three women. A pleasure to read and I can't wait to read more of her books!

This was a pretty fast read. I, at first, had a hard time getting into it. But after chapter 3 I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Ms. Elin Hilderbrand has a wonderful way of making you feel like you are right in the book. I cried, laughed, and got ticked off, all in one book. If a book can do that for me it is great! I am also reading her book now, Summer Affair, and I highly recommend that one as well.

This is the first Elin Hilderbrand novel I have read. I just grabbed it on my way out of a store attracted by the "summer read" it appeared to be. I had no idea what it was about, I just took a chance. I am very glad I did since I enjoyed it so much I finished it in two days and started reading it over again! I enjoyed the way the author introduced her characters slowly only giving you enough information you needed for just that moment. Later she opened up more of the past while adding in the what was happening there in Nantucket. I just knew from the beginning that Josh would be the spark that help the women come back from the despair they had been in when they arrived on the island. I loved the fact that Vicki had a normal marriage, not one littered in affairs and severe problems. It made her struggle with cancer so true to life, so real. Brenda's situation was very interesting, her career in academia over and a new one trying to blossom. Melanie's handling of her marriage issues may not have turned out the way many women thought it should, but the way the author described the character Melanie was, it made perfect sense that she would make that decision in the end. I ordered three more of her books on amazon because I could not wait to start reading more.

As a two and a half year survivor of breast cancer and mother of two young daughters, I couldn't believe the accuracy and emotional connection I felt with the main character, Vicki. While You feel no one can ever understand what going through cancer is really like, Elin Hilderbrand nailed it. I loved the rest of the characters and twists and turns. Ironically I read this book while recuperating from an elective oopherectomy. I cried when Vicki lived! Praise for cancer survivors! Praise to Elin Hilderbrand! Today I am off to buy her new novel, and to try and book a get-away to Nantucket with my husband!

I really enjoyed the three different personalities of the ladies in the story. Well written. Great easy read.

I love a good novel about women going through hard times, but this certainly isn't one of them. Each of the three main characters have such unattractive flaws that it made the novel difficult to read. One of the women is groveling for her cheating husband to want her again. Another is a self-absorbed professor who spends most of her time thinking only of herself and not of her sister, Vicki, who has lung cancer.

I couldn't identify with the women; even Vicki who seemed the strongest. The consistent references to the less than glamorous sides of motherhood (i.e. a breast feeding baby constantly tugging on Vicki's breasts in public) were unnecessary. Perhaps my discomfort stems from not having children, but it made me lose sight of the story.

If you're looking for a powerful woman's story I would try "How Venus Was Born" or for a fun read I would try Emily Giffin's four novels.

I read this book in two days. I could not put it down. I felt like a member of the family. Sometimes, I would shake my head and wonder what the heck that one of them would be thinking and then other times, I could easily see into their thought processes. It was a well written book that kept you entertained and wanting to know what is going to happen next. Very enjoyable! Great read!

Barefoot is by far one of the best books I've read! Hildebrands style of writing and characters pull you in. A quarter of the way in and I felt like these women were my friends telling me the story of their summer. I couldn't put the book down! I haven't read any of her other books but I'm anxious to pick one up, though I have high expectations now and hope Hildebrand can live up to them!

This is my first book by Elin Hilderbrand and I have to say that I enjoyed it. I was also drawn in by the photo on the cover of the book and the fact that it was about three women who are spending their summer on Nantucket.

The book is about Vicki, who is fighting lung cancer, her sister Brenda a professor who has just been fired from her job for having "relations" with her student and Melanie, Vicki's friend who has to deal with the infidelity of her husband. Josh is the babysitter and native of Nantucket who is a writer in the making and trying to deal with his own demons.

The women are dealing with some major life-altering situations and the tension between them all is evident. Fortunately by the end of the book the bonds of friendship and sisterhood are stronger than ever.

A good summer read.

I was so emotionally involved in this book. I loved the way Josh interacted with the 3 women. I want a cottage in Nantucket!

Elin Hildebrand is a wonderful author and I have enjoyed many of her books. This is readable, but not my favorite. I did not connect with the characters or really care about them. I think the Blue Bistro or Summer People are much better novels with real characterization. If you want a quick beach read this is it. Just not something to savor or remember.

Honestly, I didn't have too many expectations for this book. I bought it because I was supposed be at work for 12 hours on 4th of July. But once I started reading, it was hard for me to put down the book. This is my first review I'm writing, and I want anyone who is questioning whether to buy the book or not, to go ahead and buy it. It's absolutely perfect for summer.

I couldn't wait wait to get home to continue reading. I started to feel like I was there with the characters. I even looked up pictures of Nantucket to better visualize the story. Overall I loved it, and I am passing it on to a friend of mine who I know will love it too. Do yourself a favor, and grab this book.

BAREFOOT ~ A beach house, two sisters, and a girlfriend...Sounds heavenly-relaxing, even with a couple kids in tow...

Now, I can handle a bit of vomit and lost luggage, but Hilderbrand mercilessly tugs at all of my feminine heartstrings; marriage, motherhood, sisterhood, and friendship...oh, and that pesky fear-of-death thing.

Meet the Girls:

Melanie deals with infertility overshadowed by infidelity, and then further complicated with pregnancy -- "POW!"

Brenda's promising academic career hangs in jeopardy due to an entirely separate affair--this one seemingly harmless, except for the minor detail that it was with one of her students -- "ZING!"

And then there's Vicki with two small children to raise and hit with a cancer diagnosis -- "BAM!"

Pan to the dark clouds parting, casting light down upon the crown of an attractive college student, Josh, who ends up being so much more to these conflicted women than a "Guy Friday" (Hence, Self magazine's "Beaches meets The Graduate" review).

And this is all just in the first chapter...

Phew! And here I thought I was in for a relaxing day on Nantucket's shores. I need a vacation, just trying to keep up with these gals.

All facetiousness aside...Barefoot was my first of Hilderbrand's books, but not my last. It's a quick read with a poignant underlying theme and resolution. Her descriptions made me anxious for that coveted time at my family's North Carolina beach house. Thank God, I don't have to deal with all the Barefoot turmoil.

I love what Hilderbrand shares in the "Conversation" at the end of the book. She says, "I had claimed that, after A Summer Affair (her next novel due out July 1st). was complete, I would take a `year off.' My `year off' lasted for about two weeks. Writing is like a genetic disease...and I can't seem to find a cure!"

Now, THAT's good news for us!!

[...]

I love women's fiction and was looking forward to reading Barefoot by Elin Hidenbrand. I usually read the more 'chick lit' type books, but this book sounded great and I am happy to say it did not disappoint.



Vicki, Melanie and Brenda are all bright, intelligent women, but they are also each struggling with some personal demons and when they decide to spend the summer together at the beach in Nantucket, they will find that friendship and love can really help them get through their pain and confusion.



In this charming and heartwarming story, we find our three friends in the midst of cancer treatments, cheating husbands, unplanned pregnancies and illicit love affairs. Through beautiful prose, we experience each of their pain as if it were our own - I loved the emotional descriptions that Elin Hildenbrand brings to her storytelling and I often found myself with tears in my eyes.

Our unlikely hero and ultimate wild card, Josh is well written and although he is at times, a tad "male", he fits right in with these women and together they find the love and support they all so desperately need, although at first, I wondered why he had been introduced to us at all. It all becomes clear quite early on that Josh will become the center these women are looking for and although this could have been intrusive to the storyline, the author manages to introduce it in a perfectly logical and seemless way.

Yes, this book was a tad predictable, but it was also a great read - bring the tissues with you when you do settle in and enjoy this wonderful tale.