All Summer Long: A Novel Hardcover – May 31, 2016

I discovered Dorothea Benton Frank when someone gave me a gift of Sullivan's Island. I was hooked and every time I saw a book she had written I would pick it up. I was looking forward to reading All Summer Long and felt it was a little less than I expected.The story starts with Olivia Ritchie a well-known interior designer in New York City and her husband Nicholas Seymour an English professor who was born and raised in Charleston, SC.Olivia and Nick are preparing to relocate to Charleston where they can live a more peaceful life. Nick of course is so happy to be moving back to Charleston, Olivia is afraid of the unknown. Add into the story Olivia buying a house on Sullivan’s Island that she is pouring way too much money into to make it the perfect house for her and Nick, all the while not telling Nick how bad their finances are in.Olivia’s assistant Roni Larini blends in to the story with a separate story line about her Mom and then finding love with the contractor at Olivia’s house.The lifestyle that Olivia and Nick have enjoyed in New York because of her business continues after the move to Sullivan’s Island. Living the life the ultra-rich from Nantucket to Southern Spain; one client and her husband stay focused on keeping the friendship they have established.

This book took a while --halfway through before I could get involved. The last third of this book makes the story, but you do need the first two thirds to understand it.

As a fan of DBF I was really let down by this book. I did not hear "her voice" in the first third of this book. I even rechecked the title and author because I actually thought I had ordered.the wrong book. Okay so Olivia and Nick were a match made in heaven how many times does she have to call him " baby boy"? Boring....and what about Roni and Jason? They were more interesting than rich,nasty billionaires. I was so looking forward to this book and so disappointed! And Olivia being rescued by a dolphin as preposperous as it was written (where was Nick? Why would a person not an Olympic swimmer swim so far out in an unfamiliar place?) could have led to an exploration of the local culture and meeting some."locals". I came to envy Nick. He apparently got to actually meet some "locals", Much more interesting than the characters we did meet! Who buys a new house, changes their whole life and drops it all when some insipid billionaire friends crooks their little finger? Not anyone I want to read about. Some of DBF' s loyal reviewers tried to explain the book by their interpretation that the writer was illustrating the shallowness of the life of the rich. Their reviews were more interesting and better written than this book. Sorry Dorothea. P.S. to your editors. There were more typos and errors in both the Kindle edition and the print edition than I have ever heard of in the 21st century. This author deserves better.

By the fourth chapter I had almost decided to abandon this novel. I liked this author's earlier books but except for Nick, most of the characters in this book were shallow and narcissistic and held little appeal for me. The saving grace was my love for the Charleston area and the part of the story set there as well as the descriptions of what makes a good marriage. As a new resident of the area, I can tell you that the house Olivia bought in that setting would have cost upwards of three million dollars. It doesn't fit with the description of their financial situation at all. I'm really disappointed in the direction Ms. Frank's stories are going. We'll see if I give her another chance in the future.

I loved this book and Olivia Ritchie. Her thoughts about moving from New York City to South Caroline and the family financial difficulties were real and ever so emotional. I kept wondering about her, when I wasn't reading the book. I sell real estate and know how a dry streak can almost bankrupt the family literally and emotionally. Her lovely style and details about Olivia, as an interior designer, and her jobs were glamourous and real. The Author's sense of place was amazing. I wanted to see the house, the beach, eat the food, and take a swim. I also wanted to indulge in the very wealthy life style she and Nick, her husband, were able to dabble in when her Clients invited her along for trips and vacations. I love NYC and I loved her details about it. I lived there for 7 years and could see, feel, and smell the City.I am thrilled to have discovered this new writer and her great story lines. All Summer Long is a story of a couple who live on the fringes of the very wealthys' lives as Olivia is an interior designer to the very rich and her husband is a retired professor...they move to South Caroline to retire. The book does have twists and turns, and for a time, in the last few chapters of the book I was sad, but loved the ending. A must read

I have read all of Dorothea Benton Frank's books and although this was not my favorite I enjoyed it. It was fun reading about the lifestyle of the very rich and how basically they are the same as the rest of us with jealousies, insecurities and hopes and dreams. The ending was a little pat and a tad unbelievable that a man like Bob could turn on a dime but he was a very generous, like able guy. What turned me off however was the amount of typos. It's been a long time since I've read a bestseller so poorly edited.

This was for my daughter who loved it

I can't wait for summer and Dorothea Benton Frank's beach read. When I read her first book that was it. I ordered all that I could find. What a great summer and fall. She is the ultimate story teller and this book All Summer Long was waiting a year for!!!!

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