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Review: All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank



Blurb from Amazon:
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. 
My Review:
 
I suppose I had high expectations since this was my first from this author and I'd heard nothing but amazing things about her.  But this book . . . really didn't work for me.  Ostensibly, it's about Olivia, an interior designer for Manhattan's elite who is getting ready to retire to her husband's hometown of Charleston except she hasn't told him that she's blown their retirement fund on a few projects that didn't pan out.  So she's forced to pander to her wealthiest client who essentially jets them around the world on several rich people vacations -- private jets, private islands, insane yachts, $26 million dollar homes on Nantucket -- and, really, nothing else happens in this book.  I kept waiting for something to happen -- some sort of progress -- but, nope.  Of course, everything magically works out and I liked Olivia (except for the fact that she calls her 67 year old husband "baby boy" ?!?) and some of the other characters but there was little to no story to this book.

If you're already a fan of this author, maybe you will love this -- I'm not sure if it is like her other books or not.  I would choose something else for a beach read but if you just want to read about rich people and their crazy vacations and "problems," this might just be for you.  All Summer Long came out earlier this week on May 31, 2016, and you can purchase HERE.
I'm a shallow man, he thought.  All I've ever cared about was making money, having a beautiful woman on my arm, and living large on my terms.  Somewhere along the line I forgot about things that were supposed to matter because, because because . . . why? 
Because he refused to be vulnerable. 
Love made you vulnerable.

Comments

  1. I've always wondered if I would enjoy a Dorothea Benton Frank novel, but have never read one. It doesn't sound like she's an author I would enjoy. I would be bothered by the things you mention too. Thank you for your review.

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  2. I have seen this one floating around but wasn't sure. Doesn't sound like anything happens though - weird. Sounds like a skip for me. Great review!!

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  3. I had high hopes for this one. I really love the cover and it's been everywhere. Every time I open a newsletter or go on instagram, there it is.

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  4. Oh I'm sorry this didn't work for you, Eva. That always sucks when you have high expectations for a book and it doesn't live up.
    OMG at her calling the 67 year old husband "baby boy". That's just weird haha!
    Great review, Eva!

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  5. Sorry this didn't work for you. :( Hope your next read is a much better one!

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  6. Yikes! This is the first i'm seeing this book, much less hearing about this author. Sorry it wasn't a great read for you, but after reading your review and learning that the story is mainly about rich people lifestyle, i'm not sure i want to read it. Just not into those things.

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  7. Wow. haha I actually cringed when you said that she was calling an 87 year old man...BABY BOY?? I guess that was their idea of romance?? The fact that this story went absolutely nowhere and that everything just "magically worked itself out..." that is so not relatable.. and annoying. UGH.

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  8. That's disappointing. :( I've liked this author's past work, but if there's little to no story, I can certainly understand. Her early books that were set in the low country are pretty good.

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  9. Rich people and their "problems" isn't usually my kind of read. If I was 67, I'd like to retire to a slower pace where I could enjoy life. I could see having issues with Olivia if I read this. Sorry to hear it didn't pan out for you. Great honest review, Eva!

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  10. Doesn't sound so good. I'm glad to pass on this. Sorry it sucked for you though.

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  11. sorry to hear this wasn't a good one for you!! Sometimes this happens with an author you have already read before.

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  12. The Baby Boy made me pause, I have to admit. But rich people and their eccentricities do not make for good reading, IA/.

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  13. Books with little to no plot frustrate me to no end! I hadn't heard of this one before but it seems like I'm not missing much :/

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  14. Sorry to see this was pretty much a dud for you. I've read two by DBF (about a decade ago). One I loved (Sullivan's Island) and one was meh (Plantation). I haven't picked up anything by her since then and I doubt I'll be reaching for this one. It sounds super light on plot - like it just meanders along and then ends. Ho hum.

    Tanya @ GIRL PLUS BOOKS

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