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About the Book
"Dorothea Benton Frank novels are filled with smart and witty fiction that every reader wants on their bookshelf: soulful, edgy stories about realistic characters familiar to us all that explore the most deeply felt moments of life with wry humor and heart. All Summer Long follows one charming New York couple - prominent interior designer Olivia Ritchie and her husband Nicholas Seymour, an English professor and true southern gentleman. They are seemingly polar opposites, yet magnetically drawn together and in love for more than fourteen years. As they prepare to relocate to Charleston, S.C., Olivia, the ultimate New Yorker, has reservations about the promise she made to retire in the Lowcountry, where Nick wants to return home and lead a more peaceful life. They are moving north to south, fast pace versus slow pace and downsizing. Nick is ecstatic. Olivia is not. She can't let Nick know that their finances are not what he thought. Her client list is evaporating, their monetary reserves are dwindling and maybe that house she picked out on Sullivans Island needs too much work. Thank God, for her assistant, Roni Larini, her right (and sometimes left) hand. As they find themselves pondering the next step of their lives, Olivia and Nick travel with her billionaire clients and their friends and are swept up into the world of the ultra-rich and explore the globe with a cast of zany eccentrics over one tumultuous, hot summer. All as Olivia grapples with what lies ahead for her and Nick. This is a story of how plans evolve and lives change in unexpected ways, how even those who have everything are still looking for something more. Even the most successful people can often struggle to keep things together. All Summer Long asks the ultimate question: can money buy happiness? From Sullivans Island to Necker Island to Nantucket to the beaches of Southern Spain, we'll come to recognize the many faces of true love, love that deepens and endures but only because one woman makes a tremendous leap of faith. And that leap changes everything"--Book Synopsis
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.
From the Back Cover
Home--it's where you find yourself.
"I'd go anywhere with you." Interior designer Olivia Ritchie meant every word she said to her husband, Nicholas Seymour, when they married. That was fourteen years ago, and now retired from university teaching, Nick is ecstatic to be returning to his boyhood home of Charleston, South Carolina.
Olivia tries to share his enthusiasm, but for a fourth-generation New Yorker, giving up Manhattan life and moving to the Lowcountry is a daunting prospect. She's heartsick at leaving behind the city's bustle and vibrancy, not to mention losing some of her wealthy New York clients. Nick has no idea how precarious their finances have become thanks to a run of her projects that fell through. Olivia can't bring herself to tell him the truth, especially when the house they've purchased on Sullivans Island needs extensive--and expensive--work.
But in between settling in and adjusting to southern life, there are some dazzling diversions. Olivia's billionaire clients Maritza and Bob invite her and Nick to join their quirky assortment of friends on trips that take them from the exclusive paradise of Necker Island to beautiful Nantucket to sultry Spain. Olivia's perspective changes and expands as she sees what money can buy--and what it can't. And over the course of one eventful summer, Olivia begins to open her mind to Sullivans Island's undeniable magic, and to the surprising ways that a place can suddenly claim a heart.
Against a number of stunning backdrops, but rooted in the distinct charm of her beloved Lowcountry, Dorothea Benton Frank explores the nature of love, marriage, and belonging in a novel that is funny, thought-provoking, and irresistibly uplifting.
Review Quotes
"[A] thought provoking read. [...] Drama, intrigue, and a bit of humor can be found within this well-developed and well-written story. [...] I recommend this new novel to readers everywhere. All Summer Long is a must read for all."--San Francisco Book Review Praise for All Summer Long: "FICTION RECOMMENDS: I'm always willing to go wherever in South Carolina's Lowcountry Dorothea Benton Frank takes me."--Richmond Times-Dispatch