All Summer Long

"Whether the subject of change was partners, possessions, or places, some people had an easy time letting go."

I love capturing the essence of the novel I'm reviewing by its opening sentence and this one launches All Summer Long, the latest novel from best selling author Dorothea Benton Frank. Readers who are looking for something wonderful to read this summer, will definitely want to add this to their beach or lakeside bag as it is sure to provide you with simply all the entertainment and virtual escape you will need.

Olivia Ritchie, an interior designer and owner of her own company, has been living in two worlds. One in New York where she has made a wonderful living working on upscale designs for some of New York's wealthiest clientele. She has a great marriage with her husband Nick Seymour, an English professor and southern gentlemen who has made Olivia promise that one day they will leave the rat race and settle back in his childhood home of Charleston, South Carolina. For Olivia that day has come.

The one thing she has failed to do, is to clue Nick in on their finances. He has retired and while drawing his retirement, small pension and social security, Olivia had always felt confident she could handle all the finances. That is until the market began to dry up and clients could no longer afford those expensive homes that fed her salary requirements to keep the lifestyle she loved afloat. Without telling Nick, she agrees to sell their New York condo in lieu of keeping her promise and downsize to Charleston. It also means that her love of collecting trinkets to decorate their home, will have to go as well. But she vows she will do what is necessary to keep them alive until her next client comes through, which in this case is Bob and Martiza Vasile.

To say they're are rich is a complete understatement and this affords them the luxury of experiencing what it's like to be rich without all the hassle when they are invited on trips to private islands aboard a yacht, last minute trips to Spain for their son's wedding or whenever Maritza need's a good friend to talk to, Olivia is the one to call. But like the saying goes, life isn't always greener on the other side and when Olivia and Nick see what turmoil Maritza and Bob's marriage is, they vow to do all they can to help. I mean if you can't help your very well off friends, who can you help? After all, these trips are all 100% paid for by the Vasile's who don't seem to have a bottom to their bank account.

I received All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank compliments of William Morrow Publishers, a division of Harper Collins Publishers in exchange for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation, aside from a free copy of this novel in exchange for my personal honest unbiased opinion. I absolutely LOVED this novel. From the catty arguments between the rich friends who show up on these excursions, to the far fetched things Bob decides to spend his money on. It's like living vicariously through this novel what it might be like to either have that kind of money or simply be able to enjoy it from those who do. I love the relationship that Nick and Olivia have as well because at the heart of it all, they have what works, and it shows that money can't buy it all. I would rate this one 4 out of 5 based on my rating system as there is some profanity used in this novel that might offend readers. Without that, it would be a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about All Summer Long, Dorothea Benton Frank or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank

You can find Dorothea Benton Frank on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on All Summer Long, please visit William Morrow's website. 

The Hurricane Sisters

"My husband, Clayton and I were at the police station getting my mother, Maisie, out of jail for brushing up against the wrong side of the law. Her actual charges were still unclear. She claims it is not against any law in the state of South Carolina to take a llama for a walk on the open road. He was, after all, on a leash. The local police beg to differ, saying this is a case of animal cruelty, endangerment, and reckless behavior. Legal or not, it wasn't normal. I was glad they brought her in to the police station until I could get there because her behavior surely demonstrates a lack of sound judgement. Or not. Maiise was crazy like a fox and we all knew it. So I sat and waited while Clayton made things right between the Town of Mount Pleasant and Maisie writing a check.

Anyway, the jailhouse may seem like an insensitive place to begin my story, but I think it's best if you know the truth about what my family is like. Too many times we all get introduced to people who seem perfectly nice and later on you find out they're cracked. So, like people used to say, I'm cutting to the chase and telling it like it is. Every single person in this family is highly opinionated. You wouldn't believe how smart and clever they think they are. And even after the hurricane and all we went through with my daughter, Ashley, Maisie still can't be trusted. And maybe it's a good thing." (Excerpt from Prologue).

In the latest novel from best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank, The Hurricane Sisters, the reader is taken on a journey to the South Carolina Lowcountry through three generations of of women who each have their own family secrets that they have been kept hidden. From Maisie Pringle who at eighty years young still has as much spunk as her daughter Liz. Maisie is set in her ways and since she can't drive because she forgets where she has parked her car and at times what she is doing behind the wheel, her family has hired her a driver, Skipper, whom she has fallen in love with, a man twenty years younger than she is. Her daughter Liz and her husband Clayton are struggling within their marriage to remember just what brought them together and trying to decide if it's worth it to stay together. For their daughter Ashley, she is struggling to make it financially on ten dollars and hour while living in her parents beach house that is in a state of disrepair. If only she can live the American dream and marry a rich man, maybe her parents can get off her back and leave her alone.

I received The Hurricane Sisters from Dorothea Benton Frank compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions are strictly my own unless otherwise notated. This is certainly a believable story spanning three generations of women. Maisie is favored by the grandchildren because she understands how difficult it can be being parented by Liz and Clayton who are trying to force their kids to make their own way in the world despite being more wealthy than they can ever spend all their money on. They are dealing with their own identity crisis's when Liz becomes involved in a non profit dealing with helping abused women. Little does she understand how personal the cause will be when it strikes where she least expects is and fails to see the signs. The story behind the story is the realization on just how abuse among women and children are in this country and how little is being done to help the victims. Restraining orders don't help and often times the abused become murder victims of their own spouses and boyfriends. I think the awareness Dorothea brings to this is well worth the time to read the novel. I easily give this one a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about The Hurricane Sisters, Dorothea Benton Frank or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank

You can also find Dorothea Benton Frank on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Hurricane Sisters, please visit William Morrow's website. 

The Last Original Wife

"Wives are so easily gotten over and so easily replaced. We are an expendable breed."

"Do you really believe that?" To his credit, his expression was briefly ever so slightly incredulous.

"Yes, I do. The evidence is all over the place. Men wear us out, either bury us or divorce us, and then they just go get another woman to be their mother."

"Go on..."

"So I looked around at these second wives with their fake boobs and their Jennifer Aniston flat-ironed hair and their Michelle Obama toned upper arms and I felt more like a chaperone than a peer. They were all wearing skintight bandage dresses with spiky platform high heels and they had their spray tans and big chunky jewelry. I was wearing, well, something age appropriate, pearls, pumps,, and a nice dress. I realized over the course of the night that they had plenty of chitchat for each other, but when they talked to me, they deferred as though they were being respectful of their grandmother. That was when I came to the what I thought was a rather startling realization."

"And that was that?"

"That I didn't want to be there. I really didn't want to be there! Worse? I didn't belong there! All of a sudden I didn't care. Wes's friends were married to girls who are young enough to be their daughters. I didn't want to spend every holiday and weekend for the rest of my life with a bunch of Barbies. These men were Wes's oldest friends, and their former wives were mine. These insipid young women would never be my friends. Moreover, I didn't want them to be my friends."

That is about how Leslie Anne Greene Carter sums of how she feels being what she has labeled herself as the 'last original wife' among the people she finds herself sharing her free time with. Now that all of her husbands friends have married new younger wives, she takes a look back at her own life and realizes that she has spent 30 years living with Wesley Carter and they are no longer in love with one another. She suddenly finds herself the last original wife among their set of friends and finds she has literally nothing in common with their new wives or even anything in common with her husband any longer.

What does Wes think of their marriage at this crucial point?

"I don't beat her. I never ran around...well, not too much. She lives in a nice house. She's never had to work for a living. She drives a nice car. I take her to Vegas once a year. Is she crazy?"

"I don't know. Is she?"

"Look, I married her, didn't I" I stayed with her, didn't I? What they hell does she want from me? Why did she walk out on me? Was it her hormones?"

Now the story takes an interesting twist between the chapters in this novel toggling at first to the counseling session that Les and Wes have at the beginning and then a look back at what brought them to that place during the meat of this amazing novel. This is truly one to savor and spend your time enjoying in a wonderful place this summer. The story is unforgettable and I truly hope this one finds its way to the big screen. Women would LOVE it!

I received The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank compliment of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for a favorable review on this novel. Hands down I LOVED this one and feel it is truly worthy of a full 5 out of 5 stars. This is such a fun novel to savor the experiences of summer and of finding out where happiness lies for a women who has spent the last 30 years of her life, forgoing everything she has ever wanted and needed to care for an overly needy and ungrateful husband and their two grown children. I think every woman will find something wonderful in this story and I can't wait for more from Dorothea Benton Frank in the very near future. I think by far my favorite characters in this one besides Leslie is her brother Harlan. Oh how I wish I had a Harlan of my very own! You'll have to read this one to find out why!

For more information about The Last Original Wife, Dorothea Benton Frank, or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today for your summer reading list, please click on the links below:

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

You can find Dorothea Benton Frank on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

ISBN: 9780062132468; ISBN10: 0062132466; Imprint: William Morrow ; On Sale: 6/11/2013; Format: Hardcover; Trimsize: 6 x 9; Pages: 368; $26.99; Ages: 18 and Up; BISAC1:FIC044000; BISAC2:FIC045000; BISAC3:FIC016000

Porch Lights

Porch Lights are a sign of welcome or a symbol that you are waiting for someone to come home and that's exactly what you, the reader, will find when you read the latest novel by Dorothea Benton Frank, Porch Lights!

I guess the hardest thing for someone to deal with in life is to lose someone that they love. Dealing with the loss and finding a way to move forward when it feels like you lack the motivation to do so would be a challenging thing to do. Yet that is exactly what Jackie and Charlie McMullen are trying to do. Finding a way to move forward without Jimmy McMullen, who was killed as a New York fireman when the building he was in collapsed, living Jackie without a husband and young, ten-year-old, Charlie without a dad.

Now Jackie is trying to find a way to pull Charlie out of a lingering depression that is consuming his life. Withdrawing as an Army nurse, Jackie takes a trip back to her childhood home on Sullivan's Island in Charleston to stay the summer with her mom, Annie Britt in hopes of finding a solution. What she learns there is a process of letting go of the pain but retaining the love and memories she has of her life with Jimmy and begin building a new one. Along the way she learns how much she needs to change as well as the beach begins to sooth away the worn and sharp edges of her past. She learns to let Charlie begin to experience his own challenges as a boy growing up, from skateboarding with the friends he meets, sleep overs, baseball games and learning a different way of life from the one he left behind before the summer.

Along the way, Charlie and Jackie have plenty of help from not only Jackie's mom Annie, but her father, Buster who comes and stays with them to help Charlie make the transition much easier doing stuff a father and son might. A neighbor next door to Annie's, is a local doctor, Steven Plofker, who offers Charlie a job walking his dogs and taking care of them for the summer while teaching him the value of a job and responsibility. He is also very interested in Jackie seeing as they both share losing a spouse in common.

The delight the reader finds in Porch Lights by Dorothea Benton Frank is a life that is much more simple. Spending the days walking along the beach in search of the ocean's treasures, sharing homemade ice cream from an old fashioned crank machine, and just memories of grilled bar-b-que meals eaten in the company of close family and friends on porch, calls the reader home in a serene way. Healing begins for all of them and changes how they view life as they work together to move forward in the next chapters of their life. Dorothea paints such a splendid canvas for the reader, you can smell the salty air and feel the cool ocean breezes in her latest novel.



I received Porch Lights compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins publishers for my honest review. If you are truly looking for a memorable summer read, than search no further and pick this one up. It is such a treasure to find a difficult subject like the loss of someone dear is something to be shared with family and friends and in the end changes them all and brings healing no one really expected. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and the cast of supporting characters Dorothea created make this an exceptionally fun read, especially Jackie's mom, Annie who fears aging the most!

For more information on this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this summer treasure today, please click on the links below:

Porch Lights by Dorothea Benton Frank

You can find out more from Dorothea Benton Frank by following her on Facebook, by clicking here.