Title: Lowcountry Summer
Author: Dorothea Benton Frank
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-0062020734
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Follow New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank back to Tall Pines Plantation in the long-awaited sequel to her beloved bestseller Plantation.

When Caroline Wimbley Levine returned to Tall Pines Plantation, she never expected to make peace with long-buried truths about herself and her family. Her late mother, the Queen of Tall Pines, was a force of nature, but now she is gone, leaving Caroline and the rest of the family uncertain of who will take her place.

In the lush South Carolina countryside, old hurts, betrayals, and dark secrets will surface, and a new generation will rise along the banks of the mighty Edisto River.

My Review:

Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank is a fast paced novel filled with southern family drama and follows as the sequel to Frank’s previous novel Plantation.  The book opens with Caroline Wimbley Levine celebrating her birthday with family and friends at Tall Pines Plantation, where everyone appeared to be present except for two of Caroline’s nieces, Caroline’s most recent boyfriend Bobby Mack, and Miss Livinia, the former matriarch of Tall Pines.  Caroline soon finds herself deeply entrenched in family drama, beginning with her brother Trip’s marital problems.  Frank’s writing is vividly descriptive and she has an eclectic ensemble of characters which the reader would enjoy reading about if the reader likes a lot of family drama.  Unfortunately I did not care for the characters at all, making the story increasingly difficult to follow as the drama continued.  This is the first book I have read by Dorothea Benton Frank and I would not hesitate to try another of her books, and while Lowcountry Summer did not work for me, I certainly enjoyed her writing style and her ability to construct an elaborate and interconnected stories of family.  Lowcountry Summer would probably suit readers who enjoy family drama, southern fiction, or are looking for a book to escape into for a few hours.  The newest Lowcountry novel by Frank, Folly Beach, will be released in June 2011.

About the Author:

Dorothea Benton Frank is the New York Times bestselling author of Bulls Island (William Morrow, 2008), The Christmas Pearl (William Morrow 2007), The Land of Mango Sunsets (William Morrow 2007), Full of Grace (William Morrow 2006), Pawleys Island (Berkley 2005), Shem Creek (Berkley 2004), Isle of Palms (Berkley 2003), Plantation (Jove 2001), and Sullivan’s Island (Jove 2000). Her newest book, Return to Sullivans Island, will be released by William Morrow June 30, 2009.

Ms. Frank has appeared on NBC’s Today show, Parker Ladd’s Book Talk, and many local network-affiliated television stations. She is a frequent speaker on creative writing and the creative process for students of all ages and in private venues, such as the National Arts Club, the Junior League of New York, Friends of the Library, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She has also been a guest speaker at the South Carolina Book Festival; Novello, North Carolina’s Festival of Books; and the Book and Author annual event in Charleston, South Carolina, sponsored by the Post & Courier.

Before she began her writing career, Ms. Frank was involved extensively in the arts and education, and in raising awareness and funding for various nonprofits in New Jersey and New York. At the present time she serves on the boards of The South Carolina Historical Society and The South Carolina Coastal Conservation League.

The author, who was born and raised on Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina, currently divides her time between New Jersey and South Carolina.

Further information can be found on Dorothea Benton Frank’s website and her Facebook page.

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I received an ARC copy of Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.