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An online marketing consultant, an avid reader of 400 + books a year. Professional reader, reviewer, and blogger. Enjoy ARCs and new releases.
All Summer Long
ISBN: 9780062390752
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 5/312016
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 4 Stars
A special thank you to HarperCollins and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Stunning Hardcover!
Dorothea Benton Frank, the "Queen" of Southern Fiction, returns following All the Single Ladies (2015) with her kickoff annual summer beach read—ALL SUMMER LONG. It just wouldn't be complete without our DBF fix!
From glamorous Manhattan, Nantucket, Spain to Sullivan’s Island, SC- a couple from different walks of life. A crazy tumultuous summer; coming to find happiness through life’s storms in unexpected ways: Belonging. A powerful story of renewal and magic in the LowCountry.
Meet Olivia, a New York highly successful top interior designer. Over the years she has had the privilege of observing the private and personal habits of the rich and famous. She has worked hard to rebuild her life after her first philandering financially irresponsible medical student husband, had taken everything and left.
She was determined this would never happen again. She buried herself in her work and built her business, one gnarly client at a time. Single life was lovely; however, she was fortunate to meet another man—a Southern gentleman from the Lowcountry. They remarried and have had a happy life. She still managed her independence at the same time.
Nick was like Olivia in that he also collected things. He loved leather bound books for his study. They loved to travel. He was a professor and the bulk of their money came from her and her business. She handled their finances.
However now, it was time to downsize—(necessary) the economy and her business was slowly shrinking. She has not told her husband their dire situation. She keeps thinking she would attain more clients, but she fears in the minds of her clients- she would be washed up. Moving away from New York would be horrific. Why in the world would a client in Manhattan hire an interior designer from anywhere else?
She had promised Nick, a confirmed bachelor, when they married fourteen years ago, when he moved in with her, they would retire to Sullivan’s Island, SC-- the land of his ancestors and boyhood. He was so excited . . and looked forward to their simpler life. He wanted to share every part of the South with her.
Olivia was not so sure. She has purchased a big old house to keep up her image, which needed a lot of work; however, how would they be able to afford the renovation and lifestyle without the money coming in? She knew the house would be far too grand for Nick’s taste. She hoped to build her business once back in SC, and as usual she was in a panic.
In the meantime, they are globetrotting, cruises and jetting around the world with the rich and famous, hoping for more work from these clients. She liked being younger than Nick, and the only other person she could depend on besides her husband, was her assistant Roni.
With her Manhattan lifestyle behind, can Olivia survive in the LowCountry, with no housekeeper, clients or contacts in Charleston,--places to shop, or get her hair done? She was stripped of her possessions. She had been playing the denial game for far too long. It was either Nick or Charleston---he had always had a desire for beautiful things—the big city. Whereas Nick’s parents lived a modest island life, but they gave him a world of things to feel passionate about and to love—encouragement. Olivia’s parents gave her none of those values.
Now Nick, age sixty-seven, an historian, had come back to the Lowcountry and slipped right back into his boyhood life without missing a beat. Olivia on the other hand was adapting slowly and her heart carried some gloom—she loved him and was determined to rise above the feeling that she was the proverbial fish out of water.
From their billionaire friends, Bob and his wife Maritza. and their differences, a cast of other eccentric characters—the ups and downs, dramas, Nantucket, and Roni---possibly Olivia might get used to the South. From friends, and lots of life’s curve balls—the enchanted waters of Sullivan’s Island might wash the urban demons out to sea.
An opening of heart and mind Believing, Faith, Love. Relationships, bonds, and marriage—trusting and loving. Money does not always buy happiness.
Dorothea Benton Frank once again brings her love and passion of the LowCountry to the pages making her characters come alive. From wit, charm, drama, and local flavor-from fresh fish, dogs, dolphins, music, seagulls, seaside, laughter—and dreams, a powerful place, happiness-home at last.
Not as extreme opposites as Green Acres, the American TV sitcom, starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, couple who move from New York City to a country farm. 1965-1971. However, quite entertaining!
A special thank you to HarperCollins and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Stunning Hardcover!
Dorothea Benton Frank, the "Queen" of Southern Fiction, returns following All the Single Ladies (2015) with her kickoff annual summer beach read—ALL SUMMER LONG. It just wouldn't be complete without our DBF fix!
From glamorous Manhattan, Nantucket, Spain to Sullivan’s Island, SC- a couple from different walks of life. A crazy tumultuous summer; coming to find happiness through life’s storms in unexpected ways: Belonging. A powerful story of renewal and magic in the LowCountry.
Meet Olivia, a New York highly successful top interior designer. Over the years she has had the privilege of observing the private and personal habits of the rich and famous. She has worked hard to rebuild her life after her first philandering financially irresponsible medical student husband, had taken everything and left.
She was determined this would never happen again. She buried herself in her work and built her business, one gnarly client at a time. Single life was lovely; however, she was fortunate to meet another man—a Southern gentleman from the Lowcountry. They remarried and have had a happy life. She still managed her independence at the same time.
Nick was like Olivia in that he also collected things. He loved leather bound books for his study. They loved to travel. He was a professor and the bulk of their money came from her and her business. She handled their finances.
However now, it was time to downsize—(necessary) the economy and her business was slowly shrinking. She has not told her husband their dire situation. She keeps thinking she would attain more clients, but she fears in the minds of her clients- she would be washed up. Moving away from New York would be horrific. Why in the world would a client in Manhattan hire an interior designer from anywhere else?
She had promised Nick, a confirmed bachelor, when they married fourteen years ago, when he moved in with her, they would retire to Sullivan’s Island, SC-- the land of his ancestors and boyhood. He was so excited . . and looked forward to their simpler life. He wanted to share every part of the South with her.
Olivia was not so sure. She has purchased a big old house to keep up her image, which needed a lot of work; however, how would they be able to afford the renovation and lifestyle without the money coming in? She knew the house would be far too grand for Nick’s taste. She hoped to build her business once back in SC, and as usual she was in a panic.
In the meantime, they are globetrotting, cruises and jetting around the world with the rich and famous, hoping for more work from these clients. She liked being younger than Nick, and the only other person she could depend on besides her husband, was her assistant Roni.
With her Manhattan lifestyle behind, can Olivia survive in the LowCountry, with no housekeeper, clients or contacts in Charleston,--places to shop, or get her hair done? She was stripped of her possessions. She had been playing the denial game for far too long. It was either Nick or Charleston---he had always had a desire for beautiful things—the big city. Whereas Nick’s parents lived a modest island life, but they gave him a world of things to feel passionate about and to love—encouragement. Olivia’s parents gave her none of those values.
Now Nick, age sixty-seven, an historian, had come back to the Lowcountry and slipped right back into his boyhood life without missing a beat. Olivia on the other hand was adapting slowly and her heart carried some gloom—she loved him and was determined to rise above the feeling that she was the proverbial fish out of water.
From their billionaire friends, Bob and his wife Maritza. and their differences, a cast of other eccentric characters—the ups and downs, dramas, Nantucket, and Roni---possibly Olivia might get used to the South. From friends, and lots of life’s curve balls—the enchanted waters of Sullivan’s Island might wash the urban demons out to sea.
An opening of heart and mind Believing, Faith, Love. Relationships, bonds, and marriage—trusting and loving. Money does not always buy happiness.
Dorothea Benton Frank once again brings her love and passion of the LowCountry to the pages making her characters come alive. From wit, charm, drama, and local flavor-from fresh fish, dogs, dolphins, music, seagulls, seaside, laughter—and dreams, a powerful place, happiness-home at last.
Not as extreme opposites as Green Acres, the American TV sitcom, starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, couple who move from New York City to a country farm. 1965-1971. However, quite entertaining!
