Blog Tour: All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank

About All Summer Long

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Published: March 2017 by William Morrow (Reprint; originally published May 2016)
• Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours

Goodreads Description: Filled with her trademark wit, poignant themes, and rich characters, the perennial New York Times bestselling author returns with a sensational novel that follows the travels of one couple though a tumultuous summer.

Dorothea Benton Frank’s magical stories take us deep into the heart of her beloved Carolina Lowcountry. In her novels, this lush landscape comes alive in all its vibrancy and color. She ignites all of our senses with her vivid descriptions of landscape and atmosphere. In her novels you hear the ocean washing the shore on different islands so profoundly that you can nearly hear the sea gulls squawking, too.

This is a story of people whose lives are changing—a southern gentleman returning home to lead a more peaceful life and his talented New York wife who is not quite sure she is ready to make the transition. They are moving north to south, fast pace versus slow pace, downsizing. And while they are doing this, they are getting glimpses into other people’s lives over the course of a summer, holidays that will amuse, shock and transform them.

This irresistible story is home to captivating characters as funny, complicated, and real as our best friends—husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, friends and family who wrestle with the complexities, pain, and joys familiar to us all.

Finally, we’ll come to recognize the face of love, the kind that deepens and endures but only because one woman makes a tremendous leap of faith. That leap changes them all.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Dorothea Benton Frank

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She resides in the New York area with her husband.

Find her on the web at www.dotfrank.com, or like her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram

My Thoughts

All Summer Long is the story of Olivia and Nick, and the turns their lives take. Olivia is an interior designer (jealous!), and Nick is her adoring, recently retired university professor husband. They live in New York, but long ago when they first got married, Olivia promised Nick they could retire to Charleston, South Carolina, where Nick grew up. Needless to say, South Carolina is a bit of an adjustment for Olivia, who’s used to living in luxury – and whose clients are too. Olivia is determined to take her business with her, but a series of problematic clients has left her and Nick in a bit of a financial mess. Nick doesn’t know, and Olivia doesn’t have any intention of telling him. (We all know how THAT is going to end.)

Olivia and Nick are madly in love, and while I found a lot of their dialogue borderline campy, I did enjoy reading about two characters clearly devoted to each other. I would have liked more background information on them, but it wasn’t strictly necessary – the book is about moving forward, really.

I also thought Frank did an admirable job describing the setting – both New York and South Carolina. I could feel the hustle and bustle of New York City, I could feel the breeze coming off the coast, and I could practically taste the salt in the air. And, I liked reading about the personality of Sullivan’s Island, where Olivia and Nick end up living.

That said, this book just wasn’t for me. I had a hard time initially getting into it – I took it camping, and just could not make it past 35 pages. I’m going to blame that on my frame of mind, and the fact that I was trying to read a book about a coastal town while huddled under a blanket in the mountains. I gave it another shot when I got home, but I still couldn’t get invested, and eventually abandoned it. I didn’t like Olivia, and while I had nothing against Nick, he struck me as sort of….flighty. I needed more from him to counter Olivia’s snobbishness.

This was my first foray into the world of Dorothea Benton Frank. I’ve always seen rave reviews about her work, so I’ll probably pick up one of her older books some time and give it a go – possibly Sullivan’s Island, the first in her well-regarded Lowcountry Tales series. I’d be interested to know if All Summer Long ties into the series at all – anyone know?