EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
The Gull Motel
(Barefoot Book 3)
(Barefoot Book 3)
by Amie Denman
The Gull Motel is the third book in the Barefoot novels by Amie Denman. Also available: Blue Bottle Beach and Will Work For Love.
The Gull Motel is currently on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Savvy Thorpe needs a vacation. Finally finished with college, she heads to her favorite shabby motel on Florida’s Gulf Coast where her aunt and uncle always save her room twenty-four. She quickly finds out, though, that The Gull Motel is not just her home away from home. It’s hers to manage while her aunt and uncle take an extended trip.
Skip McComber, The Gull’s former maintenance man, has been working on Savvy’s nuts and bolts for years. Now the new owner of the bar next door, his mission is to renovate a pirate bar while being a walking temptation for the girl he can’t get off his mind.
For Savvy, keeping her cool running a motel in Florida heat is one thing, but navigating the steamy waters of a former fling takes a whole other kind of savvy. In addition to the motel and the man next door, Savvy stumbles on a plot to swindle land from the residents of Barefoot Key. Devalued properties tumble like dominoes until Savvy musters her colorful crew from The Gull Motel to make the pillagers walk the plank.
Excerpt
I watched a fishing charter leave a wharf several properties farther down the beach. I could see at least half a dozen people and lots of long fishing poles sticking up all over the boat like a case of bed hair. An idea swirled through my head like the sand between my toes.
“Fishing charter,” a voice said behind me.
I jumped. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.”
“Hard to make noise in sand,” Skip said.
“You should try. I might have had a heart attack or something and then you’d have my blood on your hands.”
Skip picked up a long lock of hair brushing my shoulder and twisted it in his fingers. He leaned forward just a little and glanced down my shirt. “You look perfectly healthy to me.”
I stepped back, hoping to restore my heart rate to something close to healthy.
“One of these days we should talk about last spring,” he said. “Maybe over some tequila.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I thought you would have called me if you wanted to talk. You’ve had plenty of time since April.”
Skip put his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts and rocked back on bare heels in the sand. He was shirtless as usual. And he wasn’t taking my bait.
“Saw you staring at the fishing charter boat,” he said.
“I was thinking about something.”
“Thinking of teaming up with a local charter and offering package deals? Could be a great add-on to rooms at The Gull.”
My heart rate steam-trained up the scale again. That was exactly the idea I’d been formulating, and I didn’t appreciate him acting like it was his. The danger of years of slightly-lusty friendship is that you can know a person too well. And they’ve got your thoughts on speed-dial.
Featured Review
The Gull Motel tells the story of Savvy Thorpe’s return to the Gull Motel in Florida. The Gull Motel is a hotel run by her favorite Aunt and Uncle. She returns to find that her Aunt and Uncle have to run off leaving her to take care of the motel. I enjoyed the merry band of characters surrounding the Gull Motel and the town. Although I enjoyed Savvy’s wit and appreciated her struggle with self-confidence, her indecisiveness annoyed me. Though it was obvious to everyone (including the reader) what her final decision regarding her future would be, she still spent a lot of time going back and forth wondering what she would do. I found the romance between Savvy and Skip a bit strange. Although they saw each other all the time, they never discussed their relationship or their past one night stand. I can understand why Savvy was confused about the relationship as I had no clue!
I really enjoyed the bit of mystery that was included in this novel that is labeled as a contemporary romance. Although the mystery wasn’t terribly involved or fraught with clues, it was fun to watch unfold. This combined with Savvy’s witty comments and the other merry band of characters made this a fun story to read on a sunny summer’s day.
I recommend this book to readers looking for an easy book to read while lounging at the pool or beach on a hot day.
About the Author
Amie Denman lives in a small town in her native Ohio with her husband and sons. Her two cats and large yellow labrador are kind enough to share a sunny office where she lets her imagination run wild. Reading books was her favorite escape as a child, and growing up four houses away from the community library encouraged her addiction. When she's not reading or writing, she enjoys walking and running outside. The helpless victim of a lifetime of curiosity, she's been known to chase fire trucks on her bicycle just to see what's going on. Amie believes that everything is fun: especially roller coasters, wedding cake, and falling in love.
Amie is the author of five contemporary romance novels: The Gull Motel, Blue Bottle Beach, Her Lucky Catch, Her Lucky Prize, Will Work For Love, and He’s on Her Trail.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a print set of all three Barefoot novels by Amie Denman (US only).
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