Reviews

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

vfigurka's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not my favorite Elin book, but lovely nonetheless. The basics are all here: lovable characters, a moving story, that quintessential beach-y vibe, but I still found it a little harder to get through than most of her others. Maybe it was my someone I love very dearly being diagnosed with a second cancer tumor, getting surgery for it and dying in the middle of me reading Barefoot that slowed me down so much… But also there was the way some characters (I’m looking right at ya Brenda and Melanie) kept making the worst possible decisions that also stressed me out a little.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness

chapita4's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed this snapshot of one summer for siblings and friends on Nantucket. It's an interesting look inside a group of vacationers and their struggles.

tabatha_shipley's review against another edition

4.0

Three women all dealing with different blows life may deal you decide to escape to the beach in Nantucket for the summer.



This is a great beach read. More importantly, I found exceptional life lesson buried within the characters. This is recommended for anyone looking for life balance or needed a reminder of how important family is.



I expected to pick this one up and have a nice, quick summer read about a beach that made me want to go to the beach. It delivered on that AND on so much more.

jess_the_book_junkie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

3.0

cjdawz's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

spclteach's review against another edition

4.0

Attention

I discovered this author’s books this summer and this one stood out. Cancer is so heartbreaking and the way Elin describes it and the way her characters all deal with it is so so true.

sarahkheeter's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

laurenellen's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

caseyreadsalotofbooks's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

blina7341's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Even though Melanie going back to her husband makes sense (character-wise) I still hated it. How do you trust someone after that? Not just the affair, but the reason he went back? Was it for her or the pregnancy? I think I’m more upset because Josh ended up loving their little family and I didn’t like him being cast aside. Peter behaved like an asshole. 

Brenda annoyed me the most and it felt like things were just too easy for her, I’d rather Melanie got the ‘happy ending’ than Brenda. 

Im not sure what the point was of Didi’s storyline, unless it was a way to highlight Josh’s need for affection and love? Everytime it came up it felt random.

All in all, it was my first book by Elin Hilderbrand and I liked it.