Folly Beach

Lowcountry Tales #8

by Dorothea Benton Frank

Folly Beach

Home is the place that knows us best. . . .

A woman returns to the past to find her future in this enchanting new tale of loss, acceptance, family, and love.

With its sandy beaches and bohemian charms, surfers and suits alike consider Folly Beach to be one of South Carolina's most historic and romantic spots. It is also the land of Cate Cooper's childhood, the place where all the ghosts of her past roam freely. Cate never thought she'd wind up in this tiny cottage named the Porgy House on this breathtakingly lovely strip of coast. But circumstances have changed, thanks to her newly dead husband whose financial—and emotional—bull and mendacity have left Cate homeless, broke, and unmoored.

Yet Folly Beach holds more than just memories. Once upon a time another woman found unexpected bliss and comfort within its welcoming arms. An artist, writer, and colleague of the revered George Gershwin, Dorothy Heyward enjoyed the greatest moments of her life at Folly with her beloved husband, DuBose. And though the Heywards are long gone, their passion and spirit lingers in every mango sunset and gentle ocean breeze.

And for Cate, Folly, too, holds the promise of unexpected fulfillment when she is forced to look at her life and the zany characters that are her family anew. To her surprise, she will discover that you can go home again. Folly Beach doesn't just hold the girl she once was . . . it also holds the promise of the woman she's always wanted—and is finally ready—to become.

Folly Beach, filled with the irresistible charm, saucy wit, and lush atmosphere that have won her the devotion of fans and propelled her books to bestsellerdom, is vintage Dorothea Benton Frank.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Southern, Beach Reads, Womens Fiction, Book Club

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Dorothea Benton Frank was a New York Times best-selling American novelist of Southern fiction. She worked in the apparel industry from 1972 until 1985 and then organized fundraisers as a volunteer, before becoming a novelist.

She is best known as the author of twenty novels placed in and around the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Reviews

[Wendy Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slight spoilers ahead (most of which you can get from the jacket cover): I actually thought this book was stupid. It was totally unrealistic, predictable,and painful to read at times. Big disappointment for me from this author. Her books are always light reads, but this was just ridiculous. Unrealistic: the woman's husband commits suicide, she finds out a bunch of horrible stuff about him, she never grieves him at all, ten days later she finds her dream man and they live happily ever after. No issues, no baggage, nothing to work through, no significant ramifications from the revelations she learned about her husband after his death. Predictable: Not sure if this is the right word to use, as it was predictable from the sense that once you realized how stupid the book was, you could predict what would happen. But it is not predictable from a real-life standpoint because, again, it was not realistic. Painful to read at times: a little after page 220, I thought I was reading a middle school conversation about sex, not two middle-aged adults. I don't read her novels often, but it will be a while before I pick up another of her books.

[Phoebe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cate Cooper is newly widowed, after finding her husband dangling over her piano. She discovers that he has left her penniless, all their acquisitions and wealth repossessed by the bank, and even her diamonds turn out to be fake. Fortunately Cate has family in South Carolina, so she packs up what is left of her life and heads to Folly Beach, where she reconnects with her childhood and meets a gorgeous professor. Her relationship with her grown children provides a little friction, but otherwise the book is a little dull, without much spice. I couldn't get interested in the history the author tries to inject about the Charleston Renaissance and the inserted scenes from Cate's play just didn't do anything for me. And please, a woman who has no writing experience, decides she is going to write a play, which is a smash success right off?

A fluffy too-many-ends-neatly-tied-up type of book, and I couldn't really attach to any of the characters. The best parts of the book were the descriptions of the South Carolina ocean environment.

[Kerry Hennigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't thing Dottie Frank has written a book yet that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, and Folly Beach is no exception.

This one is a little different from most of hers, being the story set in the present that runs side by side with a one-woman play about a woman from the past, specifically Dorothy Heyward, who, along with husband and author DuBose and George Gerswin, was responsible for "Porgy and Bess".

In the present day, Cate Cooper's aunt owns the Porgy House where the three had worked on the ground-breaking musical. Cate flees south after the death of her husband and discovering that he left her so in debt, she no longer has a roof over her head (or any furniture to put under it) to call her own.

So, "Folly Beach" starts out a little like that great British comedy "Saving Grace", you know, late lamented husband dies and turns out to have been a thorough bastard! But, Cate doesn't take up pot growing, instead she looks after her aunt's rental cottages and reconnects with the landscape of her youth... Folly Beach, and wonders why she ever left it.

Full of fascinating tidbits about the Charleston Renaissance of which the Heywards were a part, Folly Beach is also a love story (of course). But this is a mature type of love, one that comes with grown offspring who have their own expectations for their mother following the death of their father.

Dottie Frank's characters are, as always, paramount to the story, although the location always dictates much of the atmosphere of the book - and, in the case of "Folly Beach" that's something to certainly be grateful for.

I loved it.

[Laura • lauralovestoread · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

Still making my way through the late DBF works, and this was the latest in the Lowcountry Tales series for me. Not my favorite, but appreciated nonetheless.

I just love the way Dorothea Benton Frank had a way with words, and will be sad when I’ve caught up on all of her books.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as Southern/low country fiction goes Dorothea Benton Frank is one of my favorites so I was excited to win this from Good Reads. As with her other novels, this is fun and quick and there are some quirky and interesting moments. Some of the people do come across as a little too “quippy” at times (it’s okay to have a real conversation!) and every single character uses some version of the word “humph” at least once per page. But the characters are likeable (Daisy and Ella were my favorites) and the intertwining of Dorothy and DuBose Heyward’s story is a nice departure from the usual “woman loses everything and moves to the simple life on a beach” conceit.

One thing that was interesting is there are people from all cultures in this book, but you don’t really know until pretty far into the book (or at least I didn’t notice). I thought this was unique and well-done and mirrors real life: everyday people doing everyday things and no matter our color/background we’re all just trying to live and love and have a happy life.

If you’re looking for something complex and dark and deep, this is not the book for you. It all ties up way too neatly (in regards to one character so neatly I started laughing) and there isn’t tremendous growth for the main character, Cate. Her feelings about her deceased husband or her life don’t really change at all from beginning to end, despite the dramatic change in her circumstances. Also it was surprising how quickly the romantic interest comes into (and stays) in her life. Alas, this is a nice summer read, just not one you’ll necessarily remember forever. But it is a fun ride. I do prefer some of her other books (e.g. Plantation and Sullivan’s Island) but all her works are well done if you’re in the mood for an engaging beach book with characters you can root for.

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a disappointment. The story of Cate - left homeless and "broke" (well, not totally broke by my standards, but destitute compared to what she had before) after her husband's suicide - starts with a bang, followed by 250 pages of fizzle. In the first few chapters the problems stack like cord-wood , but they are all solved easily and without much effort. It gave me visions of the birds and mice helping Cinderella make her ball-gown while they all whistle a cheerful tune.

Mixed within this fairy tale is a history lesson on DuBose Hayward, author of the novel Porgy; his wife, Dorothy; George Gershwin, and the summer they spent on Folly Island writing the music for Porgy and Bess, the musical adaptation of the novel. Unfortunately, the history lesson turns into a feminist, man-bashing lecture on Dorothy's role as the true genius behind the scenes.

I finished the book because it was the third of my summer reads and I wanted to be able to compare all three, and because of the popularity of the author - I was sure there would be a twist at the end to redeem the plodding middle section. But all I found was a story with no tension, random plot points (what was the whole criminally insane wife thing about?) and dialogue that was, at times, indecipherable. I'm giving this book 3 stars, only because I figure there must be redeeming qualities to Ms. Frank's other works and even New York Times bestselling authors can have an "off" book. And because the premise is good - even if it's poorly delivered.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It was a somewhat interesting story, but:

* The constant trade between the "play" chapters vs. the novel chapters was distracting, and I wasn't nearly as interested in the Dorothy Heyward story as the protagonist's. So...yeah.
* Nothing drives me more nuts than unrealistic dialogue. Two of the characters would be having a completely normal phone conversation, and then suddenly it'd be like, "Oh! We need explication here!" and then we'd get some random paragraph that was bizarre and overdramatic and not in the least like a real conversation. Some of the mother/child conversations in particular were either stilted or way over the top. I just found myself thinking, "Nope."

I used to really enjoy Frank's novels--they've always been escapist beach-reads, but I think she's trying too hard to pump out a book a year and not focusing nearly enough on the quality of the writing anymore. Solid 2 stars.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first -- and last -- book by this author. I saw this in the library and took it home after seeing a positive review from Pat Conroy. Although set in SC, this book is nothing like one he would have written. I had no idea this was primarily a romance novel, not a genre I read. This book was highly unrealistic; the protagonist goes from being the wife of a mega-rich and very arrogant man to his widow after he commits suicide. At the cemetery, she learns he had another family and a string of flings (a.k.a. sexual harassment, since all were with his young secretaries). That same day, she finds out that he had had lost everything when the sheriff and repo trucks start showing up. Just days later, she's off to Charleston where she immediately meets a man with whom she falls in love. He convinces her to become a playwright. Yikes, where did the author find this stuff? Even the dialogue is hokey. I did like the concept of the play within the novel. The merry widow's play makes up every other chapter in the book. She lives in Porgy House, where DuBose and Dorothy Heyward once lived and where they and George Gershwin collaborated on "Porgy and Bess," so the play focuses on their lives and work. That part was interesting.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of the play within the story and the fact that Dorothy and DuBose Heywood were real people. It was fun & interesting to google them and see how close the book followed their lives. I really enjoyed that part of the book. I did think the setting for the move to Charleston was a little over the top; i know she needed a reason to move the main character, but..........really. (that's why only 3 stars)

"Cate never thought she'd wind up in this tiny cottage named the Porgy House on this breathtakingly lovely strip of coast. But circumstances have changed, thanks to her newly dead husband whose financial—and emotional—bull and mendacity have left Cate homeless, broke, and unmoored.

Yet Folly Beach holds more than just memories. Once upon a time another woman found unexpected bliss and comfort within its welcoming arms. An artist, writer, and colleague of the revered George Gershwin, Dorothy Heyward enjoyed the greatest moments of her life at Folly with her beloved husband, DuBose.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kudos to Dorothea Benton Frank for breaking from her usual formula. Girl (read: middle-aged woman) returns to Lowcountry after divorce/widowhood. Wise (and wisecracking) family member gives her sage advice. Enter age-appropriate man with preexisting friendship with wise family member. He becomes new love interest for main character. Much alcohol and chaos ensue. Ok, so all this did happen, but each chapter alternates with one taken from a one-woman show about the life of Dorothy Heyward (wife of DuBose, author of Porgy and Bess). And interesting concept, if only I weren't SO BORED by the execution. In the main storyline, very little actually happens, but in the show subplot, even less happens. Cate's life is just too pat, and her life's turmoil resolves itself with little detriment to her, which is nothing short of unrealistic. Frank's writing might be formulaic, but I guess she should stick with what she's been comfortable with writing in her previous novels.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been looking for this book awhile. I started last year reading Dorothea Benton Frank’s Lowcountry series books in order. This was #8 in the series and was not available at my library or several other places I looked. First know you don’t have to read these books in order. They are not connected. I’m glad I didn’t skip this book because it is a gem! It’s story is based on the couple responsible for The book Porgy and the play Porgy and Bess. It was a very interesting story. Trigger warning: the book has a storyline that starts with a death by suicide. The story of how the widow rebounded from this was worth the read. I highly recommend!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothea Benton Frank is kind of hit and miss with me. I'll like one book, get frustrated with the next couple, promise myself never to pick up another one, weaken, and she then hits one out of the park. To be fair, most of my frustrations come when there are inaccuracies about my beloved lowcountry. I know novels are fiction, but there are some things with which I just can't tolerate liberties being taken. So, when a friend gave me a copy of Folly Beach I almost didn't read it, because the last DBF book I'd read had been one I'd enjoyed. By all rights, then, this one should have made me shriek and throw it across the room (in a very lady-like manner, mind you.)

This story is told in entwining two parts. That drives some folks crazy, but I like parallel stories. And I particularly liked the thread that was presented as the script of a one-woman play about Dorothy Heyward, wife of Debose Heyward (and author, playwrite in her own right). The other segment was pure Frank: a widow coming home to the lowcountry to heal and grow. That the second tale involved not one, but three cameos by people I know, gave me a bit of a chuckle. I was less tolerant about some errors in location, distance, etc, but hey, I got Gershwin, and Porgy and Bess. (I do have to say that I'd always been told the house Gershwin stayed in was washed away in a hurricane sometime before I first hit Folly in the 1970's, not with Hugo in 1989. And the legend I know is that the bells of St Michael's inspired the first notes of "Summertime". But still, there's a lot of history and legend told in this book that I've heard, too.) I'm always a little surprised at the Yiddish that occasionally slips into these books, too. I can see people furiously googling "ungapatched" (which is not how I would have spelled it, but recognize it as the same as "ungepatchke" which I learned meant too much of anything, in an un-pleasing over-the-top way.) I'm still wondering about"fachalata" and if it's a play on farkakt aka fakakta. (Look it up.)

I think that the information I learned about Dorothy and Dubois Heyward is what carried the book for me, and what bumped it to a 4 star in my enjoyment. That, and the mention of my dear friend Harriet MacDougal Rigney in the acknowledgements.

[Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel! After finishing it late last night, I dreamt of glistening beaches, sand dollar ornaments, mango sunsets, collards and grits. Yes, Dorthea Benton Frank’s descriptions are that good. Not only did she weave a marvelous tale, she brings Folly Beach to life with all its sights, smells, tastes, storms, and traditions so alive. I was there with Cate, Daisy, Ella, Dorothy and DuBose. Perhaps too, is the fact that I really miss THE South? There is some kind of magic in the TRUE South and I didn’t know how much I loved and missed it. Guys, Florida ain’t the South; trust me on this one.

I loved the writing technique that Bento Frank used to tell Dorothy Heyward and Cate Cooper’s stories. One told in a play while the other is told in the first person is fitting since one was a celebrated playwright and the other is newly widowed facing an uncertain future after learning she is completely bankrupt, both financially and emotionally. That sumbich was truly a low down dawg (as we say in the South). With nothing but some clothes, Cate Cooper leaves Alpine, NJ to go back home to start over. The Low Country to her is what Tara is to Scarlett O’Hara. But in middle age, can Cate really start living the life that her Aunts Daisy and Ella envision for her as they ensconce Cate into the Porgy House? Can she truly make her on way back to the young woman she use to be? With the help of her elderly aunts, her new friend Rilsley, and the late Dorothy Heyward, Cate Cooper may prove Thomas Wolff wrong: you really can go home again, finding her own voice and pure love.

[Linda Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cheesy dialogue combined with the "woman-loses-everything, moves back home to a simple-life-on-the-beach" story is totally rescued by an alternate storyline which makes this book worth reading. Said story is about playwrights Dorothy and DuBose Heyward, wrote the play "Porgy," & years later collaborated with George Gershwin on the musical production "Porgy and Bess." Gershwin, who usually gets all the kudos for the musical was merely the composer. DuBose, a poet, wrote the lyrics, while Dorothy was the unacknowledged real author and playwright. I enjoyed the easy-going South Carolina setting, was annoyed by the corny romance-novel type story, and fascinated by the history.

[Kate Hertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun beach read, and I always enjoy Dot's voice as I hear so much of my own mother in her writing. As a fan of musicals and history this was a lark of a read, but I don't think this would resonate with a wider audience. I enjoyed it for nostalgic and personal connections, and I really like Dottie Benton Frank's rich story telling and lively characters. And this was a classic hallmark of her style...exactly what I hoped it would be!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this book over the past three weeks while driving around town. Set on Folly Beach, South Carolina, the story goes back and forth between the famous playwrights Dorothy and DuBose Heyward and the current story of a woman whose husband has just committed suicide to avoid the repercussions of massive financial fraud and personal scandal. Both stories are about love, loyalty, family and how to face life's challenges.


I love visiting the Low Country. The book begins with DuBose's poem, Dusk, written to describe his beloved city of Charleston. After I first read Folly Beach, I purchased a first edition of Carolina Chansons (1922) by he and Hervey Allen, in which Dusk is contained.

[Sue Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I noticed that this author generally has two story lines going on in her books. In one, it’s a play about the screen writers of porgy and Bess. In the other the main character is back in folly beach with her aunt that raised her Daisy and her partner Ella. This was a nice story of starting over and that you can fulfill your dreams later in life

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Dorothea Benton Frank book and I am hooked!! As a long-time lover of Charleston (and as a CofC alumna), I loved the setting as much as the story. Next summer will include a lot of DBF books!

[Ellen Spes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story within a story. Close family. Southern women. Lonely widow meets wonderful professor married to mentally ill woman. Lady writes story of musical couple working with Gershwin and lives in the cottage where they composed.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way Frank wove the history of Dorothy and Dubose Heyward and the Charleston Literary Renaissance into the story.

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 I picked this up because I had visited Folly Beach last fall. It was just OK for me. Pretty simplistic love story and characters IMO.

[Elaine Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the origin of Porgy and Bess/ Gershwin/Heywards/ and the Lowcountry. I'd like to read more from this author.

[Pam Buie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying to read these books in order. This was not one of my favorite of Dorothea Benton Frank’s books. It was slower than I wanted. I like to read about the low country as I visit the area a few times a year. I did put it down while reading a few others in between, but pushed myself to finish it. Now onto the next one.

[Poiema · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, I think, my first "beach read." I picked it up only because of the title; I will be visiting Folly Beach soon, along with five of my dear highschool friends. I thought this would be a fun way to preview the scene.

There were things I liked about this book, and other things I didn't. First, the things I liked:

*A good sense of place. The author made me feel the peace, smell the smells, hear the sounds of the beach.

* I enjoyed the backstory that was woven in, about Gershwin's visit to the beach and his writing of "Porgy and Bess," along with DuBose Heyword and his wife.

What I didn't like:

*The main character talked like a teenager, though she was supposedly middle aged.

*I don't need to know how long the soup goes into the microwave, or when the coffeepot is switched off.

*Sex scenes. Not explicit, but felt cheap.

There you have it. It's what I expected from a beach read, no more and no less.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

Her husband is dead
Penniless, she moves to aunt's
Meets man, does research

Fascinating tale
History mixed with romance
Loved the characters

[Sheila DeChantal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cate Cooper has had quite the year. She had built up quite a life with her husband of twenty-six years, Addison Cooper. And what a whirlwind it had been, an insane love for each other in the beginning... and then it all began to unravel.

As Cate stood over Addison's casket, she had to wonder where it all went wrong...

Life can be funny that way, as Cate soon finds out that Addison's death is only the beginning of surprises for her. Quickly (really minutes) after the funeral Cate discovers that Addison was not at all who she thought he was. Within 48 hours... she is out of the home she had grown to love, and finds herself heading back to Folly Beach, the place of her childhood, looking for scraps she can accumulate into a new life.

But Folly Beach is not only the place where Cate grew up... it is also the memories of another woman from another life time... memories of a marriage that was like a symphony, the Heywards spirit lives on within the breezes of Folly Beach.

Can Cate go home again and start anew?

Folly Beach took me a bit by surprise. I was expecting it to be a good story, I wasn't expecting some of the great humor!
"Everything was a sheet of ice, the temperature around 20. It was only by God's holy grace that we had all managed to make it to the cemetery without flying off the highway and into a ditch. I was pretty sure the ditches were filled with mangled bodies."

And that's just in the early pages, as Cate's story unfolds it is not only one of a backdrop of historical (?) fiction, a little romance in the mix and a lot of family drama too... it is also one of finding your own fit in this world. I enjoyed going along with Cate as she did just that.

The reason I question the historical fiction above is that while the scenes in the book referring to the Heywards may be fiction, the Heyward's were not. Dorothy Kuhns Heyward and her husband Dubose Heyward were real people and real playrights. Dorothy was also a novelist and assisted her husband in turning his novel Porgy, based on Negro life on the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, into a play.

Truly fascinating to see them woven into this book.

[Hallie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book for two reasons, ok 3 - (1) It was called "Folly Beach". (2) The bookflap mentioned learning some history of the authors of Porgy and Bess. (3) It was 40% off. A cursory search through the text with its plainspeak didn't dissuade me - I have been wanting to try a more mundane book lately to see if the appeal would catch me anyway.

The story started off okay, with a quirky chain of events stemming from the protagonist's husband's suicide. When the protagonist then had a fender bender with the dashing love interest 3 seconds after she entered the town of Folly Beach, it seemed like the sort of thing that could still charmingly fit into the irreverent style we'd encountered so far. Instead, after that, the story brought nothing redeeming. An earlier review complained of mundane dialog - man that's all that this book had to offer, bland, bland, bland. I've never skimmed so fast as I skimmed the last ten pages of this book, desperate to get through it. The last half of the book was horrifyingly pedantic, in fact. Gee, I wonder if there are going to be any "surprises" about that piano. Oh, look, marriage proposal, just at the right number of pages from the end of the book. (I hardly think that qualifies as a spoiler, but...) I was surprised about the emotional standing ovational reception of her play simply because we had the chance to read the play and it was quite a bad play - and I was beginning to realize that this author was really going to "go there." As for the event that took place in the last sentence of the book - well, it just about threw me over the edge and I wanted to vomit.

I'm sure Ms. Frank is very nice. I was interested in the story of the Heywards and her theories and wished maybe she had just written that story instead of this watered-down self-congratulatory story.

There's another book out right now also called "Folly Beach" - I wonder if it's any better.

[Lydia Presley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I enjoy most about being on book tours is discovering authors I might not have been exposed to otherwise. I've seen Dorothea Benton Frank's name before, but never considered that these books might be something I'm interested in. A series of steps led up to me asking to be on this tour - most of those steps involving an introduction of some sort to southern literature, and the final culmination being that I am, hands down, a fan of it. Beth Hoffman, Rebecca Rasmussen, Sarah Addison Allen, Kathryn Magendie - all names of authors who have thrilled me, taught me to love this easy-going, sweet, magical style and now I'll be adding Dorothea Benton Frank to the list.

Folly Beach is book number #8 in the Lowcountry Tales series. I haven't read books 1-7 (and have already started to request them from Paperback Swap) but it didn't make a lick of difference, because this book had me hook, line and sinker with the opening act of the play involving the Heywards, Gershwin, and The Porgy House. Frank did a beautiful job of weaving the story around each act of the play, and kept me completely mesmerized and in love with both sets of characters - that of Dorothy Heyward and Cate Cooper.

Now, in the interest of full honesty, there were a few parts that were so obvious, and worked out so conveniently well that I did roll my eyes a little bit - but just a little bit, because I was too happy at the progression of the story and loved the characters so much that I wanted the best for them, even if it was predictable.

This is the perfect beach-time, summer read. The only thing that was missing while I read Folly Beach was the sound of the ocean, the warmth of the sun on my legs and a drink at my side, complete with little umbrella.

[The Readers Cafe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank is the story of Cate, who once had it all and through a hailstorm of tragedies, finds herself single, homeless and broke. She makes the trip from New Jersey to South Carolina and is taken in by her aunts who raised her. It is here that she starts over, builds and new life, and is deeply inspired by the playwrights Dorothy and DuBose Heyward (of Porgy and Bess fame).


Let me break this all down for you. First of all, the story starts off with Cate living in the lap of luxury in Jersey. She is richer than rich -- mansion and private jet rich -- because of her husband's work. She does not work, and instead complains about how unfulfilled her life is. Herumph. As someone living at the other end of the wealth spectrum, I found the complaining less-than-adorable. Then, when she lost it all and had to adapt to a life where -- GASP -- there was no one to cook and clean for her and she couldn't get her hair blown out three times a week in the salon? Yeah, I still wasn't feeling too sorry for the lady.

BUT, at this point, the story was already moving along nicely, and I barely noticed it took more than 70 pages for her to get to the "starting life over" point, which was actually the beginning of the real story.

To see the rest of the review visit The Readers Cafe.

[Sara Strand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me tell you right off that I loved this book. Dorothea Benton Frank has such a great wit and sense of humor and it completely comes across through her writing. I love how this book reads as if you were having a phone conversation with your best friend. The also interesting thing is that it's two stories in one, specifically, it's a play within a story. Which I didn't think I would care for but actually enjoyed it a lot.

The *best* part of this book is seriously, the aftermath of Cate's husband's suicide. Seriously- you could just imagine one really bad thing after another coming down and you want to feel bad but find yourself laughing. Mostly because it's all so very bad and most people would be at a loss for what to do, but Cate is spunky and just gets on with it. Which I can relate to because I've had a really bad summer with my husband where literally, one thing after another, kept coming at me and I just kept going. You don't have a choice when others depend on you.

I have lots of comments on this book I really want to share.. but it would kill the story for you I think. But I do suggest this as a good read because the writing is superb, the play within a story is different but interesting, and overall- it's a good lesson in life. Oh! I will say- the play within a story? Well I liked it because she completely changes her writing voice. You wouldn't get that it was written by the same person and I was really impressed with her ability to change like that.