My cousins (thanks Amanda and MaryAnne!) suggested the works of Dorothea Benton Frank
and I am SO very glad they did! Amanda was even kind enough to lend a few of her copies to Brie and me. I started with this one:
I tend to get carried away when I talk about books, so I'm going to do my very best to KISS. (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) ;)
THE PEOPLE: Likable, even LOVABLE, characters. There were people in this book that I wanted to have as my neighbors. A couple who were great 'best friend' material. Some I wanted to hug. All of them I wanted to know. I love it when an author can make me care about her characters!
THE SETTING: What you have is an island of beautiful scenery and Frank's real gift for being descriptive without dragging it out to the point of boredom. Some authors do that, you know. She's so good that this I-prefer-temps-in-the-70s girl would be willing to tolerate the South Carolina heat if I could witness the glorious sunsets and bury my feet in the sand like a true Carolina girl. I love it when an author can make me SEE and FEEL the places in her stories!
THE STORY: This woman can flat out tell a story, and she does it beautifully. Meals needed to be prepared, jeans needed laundered, dust bunnies needed taming, but I found myself constantly wanting more and hardly able to resist the temptation. Yet I hated to come to that last page, knowing that was it...there would be no more time spent with these incredible people. I love it when an author makes me want more and dread the end all at the same time!
My advice? (Yeah, humor me. Pretend you asked.) Go to Books a Million, click on Amazon.com or visit your local library and pick up this book. Or one of her other titles, because I have a feeling they're just as good. :)
Now I'm outta here. Susan's story is unfolding on Sullivan's Island and I don't want to miss a minute of it! ;)
