Filled with her trademark wit, poignant themes, and rich characters, the perennial New York Times bestselling author returns with a sensational novel that follows the travels of one couple though a tumultuous summer. Dorothea Benton Frank s magical stories take us deep into the heart of her beloved Carolina Lowcountry. In her novels, this lush landscape comes alive in all its vibrancy and color. She ignites all of our senses with her vivid descriptions of landscape and atmosphere.

This is a story of people whose lives are changing a southern gentleman returning home to lead a more peaceful life and his talented New York wife who is not quite sure she is ready to make the transition. They are moving north to south, fast pace versus slow pace, downsizing. And while they are doing this, they are getting glimpses into other people s lives over the course of a summer, holidays that will amuse, shock and transform them. This irresistible story is home to captivating characters as funny, complicated, and real as our best friends husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, friends and family who wrestle with the complexities, pain, and joys familiar to us all. Finally, we ll come to recognize the face of love, the kind that deepens and endures but only because one woman makes a tremendous leap of faith. That leap changes them all.

I picked up this book for a reading challenge. I didn’t know anything about the author or her style, and I honestly didn’t read the book blurb, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Now that I’m done with the book, I’m still working the story through my head.

The story sort of rambles around a bit. There’s a lot of bouncing around in the characters’ heads. For a while, I wasn’t sure what the plot was about: the designer or her client. Despite all of that, I kept going (I listened to the audiobook). It was kind of all over the place, but I ended up enjoying it (though I did NOT like the last chapter — I’m not sure why that was necessary).

I usually say, “if you like this author, you’ll like this book,” but I really don’t know who to compare this too. It’s a bit Susan Mallery, a bit Jan Karon, a bit Jill Mansell.

*Rated PG-13 for language and some implied (but not shown) situations.