I always read Dorothea Benton Frank’s books, even though honestly, I’m never too excited about the plots. I have a thing for the Low Country, where all of her books take place. This is also why I read Anne Rivers Siddons’ books. And I read Elin Hildebrand’s books because they take place on Nantucket and Randy Wayne White’s books about Southwest Florida. If I could just find a good author that writes about Hawaii, Seattle’s islands, or  Maine, I would be all set (suggestions welcome).

Porch Lights is about an army nurse whose firefighter husband is killed on the job, leaving her and her 10 year son in Brooklyn. They pack up and head to her mom’s house on Sullivan’s Island, North Carolina for the summer to heal and put their lives back together. There is, of course, a burgeoning romance. And then there is the matter of her separated parents who may not be done with each other. And a neighbor with a tragedy.

None of that matters much to me because I mostly read the book to read about the ocean, the sand, the dunes, the sea grass, the Low Country humidity, the southern way of life, and of course, glass after glass of sweet tea served with crabs, peaches, tomatoes, and flounder. This one has the added bonus of a pimiento cheese ball being made in the book (super exciting!).  I fall into the book and suddenly I’m staying in a cottage on the beach with the sea air blowing the white eyelet curtains on my window. I’m sitting on a porch watching the waves or I’m walking the beach, finding driftwood. Frank’s books are like a mini-vacation for me. I usually end up skimming when I get to the predictable happy endings but I can’t put them down. And I anxiously await the next one.

What I’m reading next: Wife22 by Melanie Gideon.

I always read Dorothea Benton Frank’s books, even though honestly, I’m never too excited about the plots. I have a thing for the Low Country, where all of her books take place. This is also why I read Anne Rivers Siddons’ books. And I read Elin Hildebrand’s books because they take place on Nantucket and … Read more →