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Aug 05, 2009

bookczuk rated it:

Read this on the plane to California for my mother's Memorial. She died a month ago frommetastatic breast and colon cancer.

I'd heard this book was a bi different from Dotty Frank's usual books. Yes and no. A woman of a certain age still runs home to mama and finds her own brand of truth and honesty. A little bit of frivolity, too. I liked how Miriam turned into Mellie. Miriam was a bain in the arse; Mellie is a work in progress. But some one should have warned me how close certain as More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Alison rated it:

Thoroughly enjoyed this was a book of relationships, of honesty, of pride, and of knowing oneself. The messages the book sent were forthright (don't neglect to get mammmograms, colonoscopies when due) and subtle: take control and grab all the happiness you can; isn't it amazing what could happen when you "laid down our sword and opened your arms"; don't let anybody or anything come between you and your family. Lessons we can all learn from. Through the characters, we learn how to be More...

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Aug 29, 2011

Suka rated it:

I devour most any book about lowcountry. This one started out rather slowly, but the story became engaging once Miriam/Mellie realized what she really needed in her life and gave up her snooty socialite ways. There were a lot of characters in this book, but Dorothea Benton Frank did a very good job of introducing them one at a time so that one could get to know them before another one appeared. And, once they met their purpose, she dropped them out of the story and moved on. I loved Kevin, a More...

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Feb 05, 2011

Nancy rated it:

A delightful and refreshing story!

Dorothea Frank has created another wonderful story and I just thought Land of Mango Sunsets was just a great read. The characters are clever and appealing especially Miriam Swanson. Actually, I felt that she gave all the variety of splendid characters real feelings that I could relate too. This is a great book to take to the beach and read. It's an easy read and with the wonderful descriptive scenes of South Carolina, that Ms. Frank portrays you fee More...

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Jan 05, 2012

Margaret rated it:

OK, it's a "chick-lit" book, which usually has a number of silly flaws written in to irritate me. But I seriously enjoyed this book.

Miriam, living in NYC, has an interesting life. However, she's roiling in anger and frustration toward her ex-husband for his antics, her mother's comments, her sons' disinterest in her and the behavior of her female tenant. Since her divorce she's been turning herself inside out trying to hang onto her high society friends. A disaster ha More...

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Feb 10, 2011

Susy rated it:

Pretty much as the title implies, this is chick lit about the South Carolina low country & its barrier islands mixed with Manhatten angst. I just needed a little southern fix, and I got it. So if you want a book where a woman of a certain age (read mine!) has an epiphany and turns her life around for the better, combined with a reminder to get annual physicals, mammograms, & colon screenings this is for you. Or if you just need a break from thoughtful but heavy duty reading, this too is a book More...

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Jul 30, 2011

Sandy added it

While this was not my favorite Dorothea Bentron Frank book, it was a good one. The characters are all very likable and easy to relate to. Miriam and Kevin were my favorites, as their friendship was very unique and true. Miss Josie and Harrison Ford were also fun characters to follow. I found some parts of the book to be somewhat repititious and had a had a tough time staying in the story line, which contributed to the length of time taken to finish the book. Overall, I would recommend it t More...

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Feb 14, 2009

Jenness rated it:

MIriam Swanson, wallowing in her divorce and unfaithful husband, spends all of her time trying to be "accepted" in the higher social circles. Life steps in and she realizes what she has been missing and how much time she has wasted feeling sorry for herself. Miriam learns some great lessons which we all need to learn. How refreshing to have a heroine that is not 25, blonde, size 2, and in love with a millionaire. Very interesting characters and yet you feel like they represent peop More...

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Apr 22, 2009

Lanelibrarylady rated it:

3. Ok, my final review...through the first half, I was waiting for the unexpected twist. Hint: DON'T! The is a "what you see is what you get"-chick-lit-type of book. It was ok, but I like something with a bit more substance...if only real life could be wrapped up neatly in 300 or so pages...!

Previously:
1. Reading this for Book Club, which I have not attended for a while. The main character seems middle-aged and opinionated, but who wouldn't after being dumped by her h More...

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Sep 21, 2008

Kellie rated it:

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Jul 20, 2008

Melissa rated it:

This is another book I just added to my TBR pile since it was on the nest. I started reading it and just wasn't feeling it, so I read Lucky instead. Then I went back to TLOMS and was feeling just so so for a while. I am not sure what happened, but all of a sudden I couldn't put it down. One morning, I just read 200+ pages because I wanted to finish it.

The basic premise is that it is about a woman who lives alone (except for her talkative parrot) in a townhouse in NYC. She rents out t More...

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May 22, 2010

Pamela rated it:

Miriam, the New York socialite want-a-be (as uptight as Miriam the Librarian), visits her mother on Sullivan's Island outside Charleston and learns to roll with the punches, even dealing with the exhusband who left her for a sweet young thing, the new tenant involved with a married man, and the son who is marrying a Jamaican woman. On the way she falls in love again, realizes her own fallibility, and learns what really matters. Best character? Harry, the African Gray parrot, of course!

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Feb 15, 2009

Jane rated it:

Oh, please God, make it stop. I just can't finish this book. I only checked it out because the book club in a certain town's public library picked it for this month's read. Today I discovered I can't go to their meeting anyway because of conferences that night. So I have all the excuse I need to chuck this book. I mean, really, just look at the cover! Do I really need to say anything more? How do you spell the sound of sticking your finger down your throat?

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Feb 11, 2010

Mary Anne rated it:

This book started off pretty slow and at first the main character seems pretty shallow. I started reading it & couldn't get into it, so put it down and read something else. The second time I stuck with it and it grew on me as did the main character. Definitely not a heavy thought provoking read, but it was gratifying to see Miriam's transformation into Mellie with a much better value base. Good read to escape from the cold, wintery weather into the beaches of Sullivans Island.

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Dec 16, 2009

Katy rated it:

I've really enjoyed Miriam and how she FINALLY sheds her old life as Charles's ex-wife and society matron, thanks to her pot-smoking mother (one of Sullivan's Island ex-society matron), Mom's friend Harrison, Liz the renter who is beaten by her married lover, Manny who's Harrison's friend, and Miriam's gay friend Kevin. All of these help Miriam reconnect to her sons and to form a life in which she is comfortable and actually likes who she is.

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Aug 19, 2009

Julie rated it:

I had just come off of reading a book I loved, so I had a little rough start with this one ... I was into it about 60-65 pages before it really got a hold of me ... and then I quite enjoyed it. I liked the characters in the story - the end was rushed, but it tied everything up in a nice little package and when I read a "mindless read" that's what I like. This was certainly not a serious read - but a fun one.

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Jul 22, 2009

Danielle rated it:

Started really, really slow - I wasn't sure I actually cared to find the story line. The main character reminded me too much of my mother (in the beginning) and it was difficult to feel a connection/sympathy to her story. About 1/3 of the way in, my feelings started to change as the character developed and I ended up wanting to wrap up the loose ends, but overall, not one I'd read again.

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Sep 24, 2009

Carla rated it:

This book was just full of characters & relationships full of humor, grace, life and meaning. I really enjoyed the writing style & story lines. The "intimate scenes" were general enough that I actually read them and they were either just hilarious or sweet(other than the fact that she wasn't married to either of the 2 men she was intimate with during the course of the book).

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Jan 29, 2009

Peachy~Bebe rated it:

Fast-paced book about the life and transformation of recently-divorced, transplanted New Yorker, Miriam Swanson. I always enjoy Dottie's books and this one was full of quirky characters ~ especially liked the trash-talking parrot, Harry! It didn't spend as much time as I would have liked in South Carolina, so I really didn't get a feel for the people or culture there. Also, had a predictably sad ending for one of the characters.

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Jul 23, 2008

Karen rated it:

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Aug 15, 2010

Candy rated it:

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May 27, 2010

Susan rated it:

As always Ms. Frank knows how to bring southern charm to life. But to bring it to life in New York is great. A little different atomosphere, but you could still feel the southern charm in Ms. Mellie. I absolutely loved Kevin's character and felt that he was just a great friend. Miss Josie's story is great and there are always sadness but it always has happiness!

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May 04, 2011

Judy rated it:

Great book! Dorothea Benton Frank spins a wonderful tale about Miriam Elizabeth Swanson who is trying to put her life back together after being dumped by her philandering husband. Frank writes with wit and humor about the complexities of Miriam's life and how she is drawn back to the Lowcountry of South Carolina to where she grew up.

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Sep 09, 2009

Karynn rated it:

I am tryiing to clear out my summer/beach reads and this was one of them. The book was ok...and I am glad that I am done with it!! Part of the story takes place on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina and it does make one homesick for the beach but the characters were just....really dull!!

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Apr 19, 2009

Vicki rated it:

Interesting story line and characters. A few times I kept thinking, do I really want to keep reading, this is a different lifestyle than I would be interested in, and yet, their is something compelling to finish the book. I was glad I did, many lessons to be learned along the way. Probably not a read over, but smarter for the reading.

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Mar 03, 2009

Jen rated it:

DBF's books are purely guilty-pleasure reading for me. They're not intellectually stimulating, but they're also not smutty or full of language.

This one wasn't particularly my favorite--it wasn't terribly strong on plot, and it was more predictable than most by this author. But it was still decent bathtub reading.

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Feb 02, 2011

Melissa rated it:

Good book, hadn't read her in a while, but this reminded me why I started in the first place. I prefer more of the southern parts in the book, since this took place mostly in New York, but still liked it a lot. Definitely recommend it, great beach read.

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Dec 28, 2010

Leah rated it:

Generally I prefer more of an action-type story, and a bit more heat in my romance. But I like the way Dorothea Benton Frank writes, and I enjoyed the characters in this book. The last 20 to 50 pages felt rushed to me, as if she had too much story to tell in a limited page count, but overall it was enjoyable.

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Nov 01, 2009

Andrea rated it:

Sweet little story of a woman still struggling with a divorce that happened years before. She had a best friend, and her mother in her life, but not much else. The tale tells how she got a new relationship with her grown children and a new love in her life.

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May 31, 2009

Christine rated it:

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