Barefoot with a Bodyguard by Roxanne St. Claire- A Book Review

  The Barefoot Bay Undercover Series
Introducing Barefoot Bay Undercover, a romantic adventure series set on the tropical beaches of Barefoot Bay. When former CIA consultant Gabe Rossi creates a secret “privatized witness protection” operation hidden within the security firm at the local resort, things get a little more suspenseful on the island paradise. Gabe’s clients need to keep a low profile and stay safe while he helps them create new identities...and, sometimes, they find love. (To find out how Gabe started the operation, be sure to read the series prequel novella, Barefoot Bound.)

Barefoot with a Bodyguard – book one in the series
About to take the bar exam after ending a five-year marriage that derailed her career plans and her life, Kate Kingston craves independence and a vacation. Somewhere warm with sea breezes, sunshine, sand...and no scary threats against her that have been showing up in her dad’s office. Barefoot Bay is the perfect place for some serenity while she studies and puts her life back together. But when she meets the brooding wall of muscle her father hired to protect her, Kate feels her hard won independence slipping away as fast as her resolve to avoid men who wield power over her.
Mixed martial arts trainer Alec Petrov has been on the run for a long time. Guarding a young attorney-to-be while pretending to be her husband is not a bad way to live off the grid, hidden from the Russian mobster who is hunting Alec with deadly intent. But Kate brings out a tender side Alec doesn't understand, or believe he deserves, and he soon realizes that keeping them both safe is only half the challenge. Keeping his hands off her and his attraction under control will be every bit as difficult in the closed quarters of an exclusive resort.
When their make-believe honeymoon in paradise turns sensual, complicated, and dangerous, Alec and Kate realize it’s not just their lives that are in jeopardy, it’s their hearts. And they’ll have to fight to the end to save each other…and their love.

Don’t Miss a Minute in Barefoot Bay - they can be read and enjoyed in any order and all stand alone!
"Plenty of heat, humor, and heart!" -- USA Today Happily Ever After
"Fun and engaging! A celebration of family and forgiveness!" -- Publishers Weekly
"Lively, light, pure entertainment!" -- Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author
BAREFOOT BAY UNDERCOVER
Barefoot Bound – The Undercover Series Prequel
Barefoot with a Bodyguard (June 2015)
Barefoot with a Stranger (October 2015)
Barefoot with a Bad Boy (Date announced soon – Gabe’s book!)
THE BAREFOOT BAY BILLIONAIRES
Secrets on the Sand (always free!)
Seduction on the Sand
Scandal on the Sand
THE BAREFOOT BAY BRIDES
Barefoot in White (currently free!)
Barefoot in Lace
Barefoot in Pearls

MY REVIEW:
  Barefoot with a Bodyguard by Roxanne St. Claire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Barefoot with a Bodyguard by Roxanne St. Claire is a 2015 publication. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you love the Barefoot Bay series or romantic suspense you don't want to miss this book!
Kate and Alec are polar opposites who find themselves thrust together in a very uncomfortable situation. Kate needs protection from an unknown person making threats against her through her father, who is a judge. Alec is on the run from the Russian mafia, so being Kate's bodyguard provides him with a cover. So, the plan is to have them pretend to be a married couple on their honeymoon. But, sparks fly right from the beginning and not necessarily in a good way, but before long the idea of playing husband and wife for real becomes a huge temptation.
This story has a very unique romantic suspense style to it- it's a crime drama, has a multi-layered plot with several huge bombshell twist along the way. It also has a playfulness about it, and the massage session was absolutely divine!
I thought there were some interesting themes explored in this book. One, is that sometimes, our backgrounds with men, including our own fathers, can play a key role in who we marry and how much power or control we permit them to have over us. Kate is not only stepping out from behind the shadow of her controlling ex-husband, but also standing up to her manipulative father.
Alec's life has been sad and dangerous and it looks as though he may never live a normal life. He is scarred and carries deep, heavy burdens and despite his rough exterior, I just wanted to hug him.
The secondary characters were simply a delight. Nico and Poppy lightened the tone of the book and were an excellent addition to the story.
I enjoyed this fast paced, action packed, sensual and romantic story and highly recommend it to those who enjoy romantic suspense and contemporary romance.
4.5 stars
GET YOUR COPY TODAY!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZM04QRQ/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=
  I don’t know about you, but when I check out an author's bio, it’s usually because I’ve read a book I liked and wondered about the person behind it. Let's skip the formal bio and I'll give you the inside scoop on who Roxanne St. Claire really is.
First of all, call me Rocki. Everyone does. Evidently, when my mother brought me home from the hospital I seemed too scrawny and small to pull off “Roxanne” (she’d read Cyrano de Bergerac while pregnant or I would have been Judy) so they called me Rocki.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, the youngest of five (overachievers, every one), and fell in love with words and stories the summer I read Gone With The Wind. That year, for my twelfth birthday, my parents gave me a typewriter (with italic font – it was the coolest thing) and from that day on, I’ve had my fingers on a keyboard, pounding out love stories for fun. My AP English teacher taught me the two most important lessons an aspiring author ever needs: 1) verbs are the key to life and 2) a writer should get a real job. After attending UCLA and graduating with a degree in communications, I tried acting and television broadcasting. Oh, they aren’t real jobs? I learned that the hard way. I changed my last name from Zink to St. Claire because a news producer told me Roxanne Zink had too many harsh consonants for a TV personality – apparently Katie Couric didn’t get the memo. I got some fun gigs, and even met Tom Hanks when I did a guest appearance on Bosom Buddies. I liked on camera work, but wasn’t too crazy about starvation, so I moved to Boston and got that “real” job. In fact, I placed my foot on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder and didn’t look down until I’d climbed all the way up to the level of Senior Vice President at the world’s largest public relations firm. On the way up, I met the man of my dreams in an elevator. Two years later – in the same elevator! – he asked me to marry him and I wisely said yes.
I stayed in PR, moved to Miami, had a few babies, lost my home in a hurricane, built another one a few hours north and all along, I kept writing my “stories” for fun. One night, I read a particularly fabulous romance novel that changed my life for good. That night, I decided I wanted to make someone else feel as whole and happy as that author made me feel. (Everyone asks! It was Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.) With two small children and one big “real” job, writing my first novel wasn’t easy, but I did finish a manuscript that managed to get the attention of a literary agent. She told me to do one thing and one thing fast: write another book. (The first one is usually a “learner” book, honestly.) That second manuscript sold to Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books and was released in 2003 as Tropical Getaway. Since then, I’ve written almost thirty more, in multiple genres, and long ago replaced the corporate ladder with the rollercoaster of publishing as a full-time novelist. Finally, writing is my real job.
Today, I live in a small beach community in Florida with my husband and our two teenagers, and one spectacular Australian Terrier named Pepper. When I have spare time, I spend it with my family, but also dig in the dirt with my plants, travel for business and fun, hang out with my many writer friends, and, of course, I love to read. I’m still crazy about words and stories and hope to write at least a hundred books in my lifetime. And, yes, verbs are the key to life. My favorites? Love. Work. Play.