All Summer Long: A Novel

This is an exciting story with many interesting characters that lead different lifestyles. It brings both to life the beauty of the Low country and the experiences of New York City. I didn't want this to end.

I have always loved her writing. This book started a bit slow, and was somewhat boring; but it became a lovely story about aging, true love, and staying adaptable. We all like to read about the extremely rich, and there is plenty of opulence described for our pleasure. But we see that money can't buy happiness and can, often make us miserable.

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 really wanted to give this book two and a half stars. i've read all of Frank's books, most of them on The Isle of Palms where I vacationed for over twenty years.She didn't introduce me to the low country, but she was the reason I fell in love with it. Until the last few books, her writing was something I looked forward to each year. Not only were her books entertaining, thoughtful, and with well developed plots, and characters, but they were a history lesson about one of the many jewels that live in the low country. I learned so much about the history of the area, and made a point of visiting the different places where her books were set. The last three or four books have not been the same, and it makes me so sad, I feel like I lost a dear friend, and I want an explanation. What happened? Are books now being "cranked" out to support a life style like Bob"s, has she lost her touch, and what is up with her editors and her publisher? I know that Frank can still draw a crowd, because I've been in at least one of them, but the reviews have not been as good as they were in the past, and I read the bad reviews and sense the disappoint in other readers. I'm willing to say, that many people want to know...were is the Dorothea Benton Frank that made us fall in love with the Low Country?

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.

I love early Dot Frank books. This was good... not great, not captivating and I either didn't know or didn't like the characters. I'm disappointing. I'm rating two stars because it's one of my favorite authors writing about (sort of) one of my favorite places. Keep the books in the Low Country, that might help...

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.

I have been drawn into the events and felt a kinship with the characters in Dorthea Benton Frank's other novels, but not so in this one. The characters are shallow and unbelievable - Olivia who is worried about finances but can't seem to function without a housekeeper, and her precious "things". And a $4000 grill! REALLY??? Olivia and Nick are the main characters but so much of the drama revolves around others. Bob is a complete jerk - cheating on his wife in front of her, being verbally abusive, not really caring that she has left him until suddenly he seems to wake up and become totally changed - it was a little hard to swallow. Gladdie also seems to do a complete 180, too, going from a selfish brat to an angel - wow. There were too many detailed descriptions about things that didn't really matter to the story and too many sweethearts and darlings for me. If I hadn't spent money on this book I wouldn't have finished 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!!!!

This was for my daughter who loved it

Great & Prompt