Blog Tour and Book Review: Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank

About the Book:

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.

About the Author:

Dorothea Benton Frank is the New York Times bestselling author of Bulls Island (William Morrow, 2008), The Christmas Pearl (William Morrow 2007), The Land of Mango Sunsets(William Morrow 2007), Full of Grace (William Morrow 2006),Pawleys Island (Berkley 2005), Shem Creek (Berkley 2004),Isle of Palms (Berkley 2003), Plantation (Jove 2001),Sullivan’s Island (Jove 2000), and Return to Sullivan’s Island(William Morrow 2009).

Ms. Frank has appeared on NBC’s Today show, Parker Ladd’sBook Talk, and many local network-affiliated television stations. She is a frequent speaker on creative writing and the creative process for students of all ages and in private venues, such as the National Arts Club, the Junior League of New York, Friends of the Library, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She has also been a guest speaker at the South Carolina Book Festival; Novello, North Carolina’s Festival of Books; and the Book and Author annual event in Charleston, South Carolina, sponsored by the Post & Courier.

Before she began her writing career, Ms. Frank was involved extensively in the arts and education, and in raising awareness and funding for various nonprofits in New Jersey and New York. At the present time she serves on the boards of The South Carolina Historical Society and The South Carolina Coastal Conservation League.

The author, who was born and raised on Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina, currently divides her time between New Jersey and South Carolina.

Find out more about Ms. Frank at her website, and follow her on Facebook.

My Opinion:

Cate Cooper thought she had it all; money, status, husband. While her relationship with her husband hadn't been perfect lately she was utterly shocked when he killed himself. Addison had been a man who wanted the biggest and the best of everything and he worked hard for it.

Cate had no blessed idea what drove him to suicide.

And then she did.

I'm not going to spoil the main drivers of the plot in this very engaging tale of a woman coming into herself in the space of this review.  Beaten down with the knowledge Cate returns to the comforts of her childhood - the aunt who reared her and Folly Beach, South Carolina. With little more than than the love and support of her sister and children Cate hops in her used car and drives into the warm and welcoming arms of Aunt Daisy and her partner Ella. There she moves into the "Porgy House." The house where DuBose and Dorothy Heyward lived, loved and worked with George Gershwin on turning DuBose's book Porgy into the operetta, Porgy and Bess.

As Cate leaves the past behind and moves forward into her future she meets the love of her life John, who encourages her to write Dorothy Heyward's story. To dredge up her long dormant dreams of being a playwright. Dreams Cate had suppressed under the weight of Addison's need to hog the spotlight.

The book alternates chapters between Cate's story and Cate's play about Dorothy. It was interesting to learn about the real DuBose and Dorothy within the invented love story of Cate and John. The two love stories counterbalance each other and keep the book moving along. It's almost as if the first chapter of Cate's life was unnecessary to the tale she left it behind so easily and it had such minimal impact on the overall story. Yes it was the impetus to get her to Folly Beach but she could have gotten there in many other ways. Her love story with John read true and felt real but her having that love story so quickly after the  devastation dropped on her in the first chapters seemed unreal. 

I really did enjoy the book, though and found it hard to put down. I found myself forgetting all about Addison and his evil deeds just as quickly as Cate did. The relationship she had with her children was interesting; I felt their characters were slightly underdeveloped. 


Folly Beach is available on Amazon.com















You can see the rest of the tour stops HERE

Disclosure:  I received a copy of Folly Beach gratis from TLC Book Tours. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.