Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank Book Club Discussion Questions & Review
I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours for review consideration, opinions expressed are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links as indicated by an asterisk. Purchases from these links provides a small commission to me at no extra cost to you.
Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton FrankPublished by William Morrow
Publication Date: May 16, 2017
Setting: South Carolina, Greece
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: TLC Book Tours
Goodreads
Blurb:
4* I really liked it! – Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank explores whether people really get over their first loves and can men and women really ever just be friends? Set in the beautiful Isle of Palms, South Carolina and Corfu, Greece, Same Beach, Next Year is a fun and entertaining addition to your summer reading list.
Synopsis:
“New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank returns to her magical Lowcountry of South Carolina in this bewitching story of marriage, love, family, and friendship that is infused with her warm and engaging earthy humor and generous heart.
One enchanted summer, two couples begin a friendship that will last more than twenty years and transform their lives.
A chance meeting on the Isle of Palms, one of Charleston’s most stunning barrier islands, brings former sweethearts, Adam Stanley and Eve Landers together again. Their respective spouses, Eliza and Carl, fight sparks of jealousy flaring from their imagined rekindling of old flames. As Adam and Eve get caught up on their lives, their partners strike up a deep friendship—and flirt with an unexpected attraction—of their own.
Year after year, Adam, Eliza, Eve, and Carl eagerly await their reunion at Wild Dunes, a condominium complex at the island’s tip end, where they grow closer with each passing day, building a friendship that will withstand financial catastrophe, family tragedy, and devastating heartbreak. The devotion and love they share will help them weather the vagaries of time and enrich their lives as circumstances change, their children grow up and leave home, and their twilight years approach.
Bursting with the intoxicating richness of Dorothea Benton Frank’s beloved Lowcountry—the sultry sunshine, cool ocean breezes, icy cocktails, and starry velvet skies—Same Beach, Next Year is a dazzling celebration of the infrangible power of friendship, the enduring promise of summer, and the indelible bonds of love.”
My Thoughts:
Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank is a fun and entertaining book to add to your summer reading list. It centers around the friendship between two successful, attractive, seemingly happy married couples, Adam and Eliza Stanley and Carl and Eve Landers.
Now parents of young kids, Adam and Eve meet on the beach decades after their high school romance was abruptly ended by circumstances outside of their control. But Eliza can tell from her husband Adam’s not so subtle moves that he’s still gaga over his ex. Why wouldn’t he be? Eve is a gorgeous woman who looks better now than she did in high school. And Eve’s husband Carl? He’s a handsome physician who flirts outright with Eliza from the moment they meet.
The couples’ friendship develops on the beach that summer and they consequently meet up at the beach every summer after. Though they try to deny it, the attraction is still there between Adam and Eve and Carl and Eliza. Everything is fine they think, until one incident changes everything. Suddenly, two marriages are on the verge of being torn apart. The way the couples handle it might just end up throwing Adam and Eve together for good once and for all.
Initially, each of the characters is set in their ways about what happens. There isn’t much room to give. Two claim they haven’t done anything wrong and two claim they are the victims and that what their partners did was inexcusable. They were at a stalemate for a long time and that’s when I wasn’t sure the characters could get past their own egos.
However, some distance, a trip to exotic Corfu, Greece and a terrible tragedy forces the couples to band together and deal with their feelings for their spouses and their friends once and for all. Up till then, the book was a typical beach read but when the drama hits, this book got really good. Finally, the characters put aside their jealousies, insecurities and what others expect of them and learn empathy, compassion and who they really are as people. Only then, can they figure out if they can make their marriages work or whether they were destined to be with someone else.
I was completely mesmerized by the pages that took place in Corfu, Greece. It’s one of my bucket list destinations and a pleasant surprise that this book helped me on my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge too. I thought I would jump through the pages or book a plane ticket right then and there. The amazing food, the Greek hospitality and the magnificent views were captivating and I felt like I was there.
This is the first book I’ve read by Dorothea Benton Frank. Overall, I really enjoyed Same Beach, Next Year and how she created mesmerizing settings, likable characters that you sometimes wanted to shake some sense into and put relationships to the ultimate tests. A fun and entertaining addition to your summer reading list.
Buy Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank from HarperCollins or on Amazon*.
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Blog Tour Schedule
Tuesday, May 16th: Girl Who Reads
Wednesday, May 17th: bookchickdi
Thursday, May 18th: Kritters Ramblings
Monday, May 22nd: Stranded in Chaos
Tuesday, May 23rd: A Chick Who Reads
Wednesday, May 24th: Into the Hall of Books
Thursday, May 25th: Tina Says…
Friday, May 26th: The Book Bag
Monday, May 29th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Tuesday, May 30th: A Bookish Way of Life
Wednesday, May 31st: Girls Just Reading
Thursday, June 1st: Jathan & Heather
Friday, June 2nd: 5 Minutes For Books
Monday, June 12th: Mom’s Small Victories, you’re already here!
GIVEAWAY!
I think this was a fun book and I want you to win a copy! TLC Book Tours is letting me give away one copy of this book! Thank you TLC Book Tours!
Rules: Open to US residents only ages 18 and older, giveaway ends 6/26/17 at 12:00am EST. Mom’s Small Victories will notify the winner via email. The winner must respond with mailing address within 48 hours. If a response is not received within 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Mom’s Small Victories will send the winner’s address to TLC Book Tours who forwards it to the publisher. The publisher is responsible for mailing the book to the winner.
Good luck!
What books are on your summer reading list? What books have you enjoyed this summer and in summers past?
I have never read a Dorothea Benton Frank novel, though I have certainly heard a lot about them! This one sounds good – thanks for the review!
Sue
2018 Big Book Summer Challenge
I have been reading the Tradd Street Series by Karen White. I’m reading the newest one, The guests on South Battery right now.
I have read the book 26 Miles to Boston. About the Boston Marathon. Next read might be Legacy a romantic thriller.
I shared your giveaway with our book club. Isle of Palms is a beach my family and I LOVE to visit, and we live about thirty minutes away, so it’s easy to visit for us. Thanks for the giveaway, Tanya!
I am currently reading Beach Blues by Joanne Demaio. I really love her books. I tend to go for books written at or about beaches and waterfront properties. Not sure what I’m reading next. I have several books to choose from in my tbr pile. Dottie Frank is one of my favorite authors and can’t wait to read Same Beach Next Year.
I am currently reading The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand. My favorite beach read authors are Mary Kay Andrews, Nancy Thayer, and Elin Hiderbrand. You cannot go wrong reading any of their books.
Thanks for the giveaway. I like DBF’s books and look forward to reading this. Lately I’ve enjoyed a few books, most notably The Summer House by Hannah McKinnon.
The last book I read was give up the ghost by Megan Crewe. I enjoy reading all different genres. I’m not exactly sure what I will be reading g next!
I really love reading books where characters grow and learn and stretch their humanity. One of my ‘must haves’ for a beach read. 🙂
Thank you for being on this tour!
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m headed to the beach in July and that’s when I tend to do most of my reading. Visiting from Saturday Sharefest.
Reading on the beach is the best. Enjoy! I hope you entered to win this one!