** spoiler alert ** I received a copy of Folly Beach to review. I had never read anything by Dorothea Benton Frank before but was familiar with her Lowcountry Tales series. If I could I would give this 2.5 stars instead of 3.

When the book began I had a difficult time following the story line since it jumps back and forth between scenes from a play set during the Charleston Renaissance and the present. Once I got the hang of that I enjoyed the story. I was totally unfamiliar with the Charleston Renaissance and learned quite a bit about that time which I enjoyed. I will certainly look into the history of the Charleston Renaissance before my next trip there.

The present day story opens at the funeral of Cate’s husband. As details of their relationship are revealed it became apparent this was not a great relationship and her husband had been hiding a lot from his family. I found her total lack of awareness a bit unbelievable but soon grew to like her. The story was decent and overall I enjoyed the book mostly because of the history more than the story itself. I found the relationship between Cate and John unbelievable and way too convenient. I would have liked for Cate to figure out her own issues a bit more instead of having everything wrapped up in a bow for her.