Same Beach, Next Year

Written by Dorothea Benton Frank

Narrated by Bernadette Dunne

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9780062671783

Dorothea Benton Frank

New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. Until her passing in 2019, Dorothea and her husband split their time between New Jersey and South Carolina. A contemporary voice of the South, Dorothea Benton Frank was beloved by fans and friends alike since her debut novel Sullivans Island. Readers from coast to coast fell for the quick wit and the signature humor that permeated her many bestselling novels.

Reviews for Same Beach, Next Year

[zmagic69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining, although very predictable. It is often nice to get a female perspective regarding relationships. I have noticed the authors main characters are often quite bitchy and judgmental. Definitely true with many of the characters in this book.
Still the descriptions are always enjoyable.

[brokenteepee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a tale of two couples who end up being life long friends but not without some complications along the way. Adam and Eliza have twin boys and vacation each year on the Isle of Palms. One year as Adam is swimming he comes out of the water and finds Eve, his high school sweetheart. Yes, Adam and Eve. Seeing her Adam is reminded of his youth and all that could have been. He impulsively invites Eve and her husband Carl to join he and his wife that night – Eliza is not sure about this as Eve is (of course) stunningly beautiful.The two couples end up meeting every year at the condo building – after a rough second year – and are joined by Eve’s obnoxious mother and Adam’s father. The years pass, the children grow up and Adam still sees Eve as some kind of ideal. Life goes on, the children go off to college and still almost every year the families meet up at the beach.Adam is a man that looks at Eve and sees his past. He also is quite wrapped up in himself. This attitude almost costs him all he holds dear. Eliza buried herself in her marriage and family and practically lost all that she was. Eve just lost herself in a bottle and I am not sure Carl ever knew who he was other than a doctor. It takes two big crises for these couples to find themselves and the strength in their marriages and their friendships.This was a book full of rich characters and a satisfying series of plot lines. I have to admit to not liking Adam much – but I suppose that was to be expected. All of the characters barring the children of the two main couples are well rounded and defined. Perhaps these children will be starring in their own books in the Dorothea Benton Frank canon. Same Beach Next Year was a welcome diversion for me from the heavier, darker books I had been reading.

[cherybear · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Two couples become friends at a Charleston beach community, and the friendship lasts for decades. Although, two members of the couples already knew and loved each other long ago. . . Of course, complications ensue. Fun, easy read.

[nwieme-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

More like 2.5
DISAPPOINTING. I COULDN'T wait for this book... I LOVE her lowcountry descriptions and her characters are so well defined, but this was NOT about the lowcountry at all... it was more about spoiled men and women who eventually get their heads on straight- with a few gratuitous ya'lls included to make it be southern. UGH.

Oh well.. maybe the next one.

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank is a funny and sometimes poignant novel about the close friendship of two couples who vacation together every summer.

Adam  Stanley could not be more surprised when he runs into his old flame Eve Landers while on vacation with his wife Eliza and their twin sons,Luke and Max.  Eve is also on vacation with her family, husband Carl and daughter Daphne and she issues an impromptu invitation for all of them to meet up later for drinks. Eliza is quite intuitive and she immediately realizes the Adam feels more than friendship for Eve, but she implicitly trusts her husband so she is not too overly worried. As the years go by and the families spend their summer vacations together, Eliza and Eve become close friends while Adam and Carl are friendly rivals at golf and tennis.  Several years into their friendship, Eliza and Carl discover Eve and Adam in a somewhat compromising situation which leads to an uncertain future for both of the marriages.

Adam and Eliza are quite happy with their lives when they first begin vacationing with the Landers. However, by the time the Eliza learns the truth about her husband's long ago relationship with Eve, she finally decides to it is high time she puts her needs first. She impulsively arranges to fly to Corfu to reconnect with her extended family. Her marriage becomes more tenuous as days past without contact from Adam but she does not hesitate to return home for a family emergency. Quickly realizing Adam does not feel like he did anything wrong, Eliza returns to Corfu where she hopes to find much needed clarity about what she wants out of life and what comes next for her and Adam.

Eve has long believed her pediatrician husband has not been faithful to her. Her discovery of a co-worker's sexy texts to Carl are the final straw and she is considering her options when she and Adam unexpectedly run into each other.  Both are stunned when Eliza and Carl jump to conclusions about their relationship and neither of them is willing to admit they have done anything wrong. The situation goes from bad to worse when Eve's unpleasant mom gleefully fills Eliza in on Adam's complete history with Eve.  After Carl makes an unexpected decision in the aftermath of these revelations, Eve is ready to throw caution to the wind with Adam but will he go along with her suggestion?

Same Beach, Next Year is a mostly light-hearted novel but Dorothea Benton Frank skillfully incorporates a few serious elements into the storyline. Although her marriage is on very shaky ground, the situation is the catalyst Eliza needs to finally step out from underneath Adam's control and figure out what she wants for herself. The shake-up is also a turning point for Eve as she, too, makes a decision to stop using alcohol to deal with her problems. Although the marital discord for both couples is glossed over following an unexpected emergency, the novel's conclusion is quite heartwarming. 

[jayurgal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story, some parts seemed unrealistic but then again people do things for specific reasons. When all is said and done family and friends are important. It was entertaining for the most part but not a book that I would highly recommend to my friends.

[etxgardener · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes you just want to read something that doesn't require a lot of thought, and picking a novel in the "beach stories" genre would seem to fill the bill in this case. However, the writing here is so bad and the characters so unlikeable that it was hard to finish.We have a wife who seems waits on her husband and family hand and foot and has apparently mostly cut herself off from her own family because her husband doesn't really like them and accepts his explanation that her Greek relatives couldn't speak English and live in primitive conditions. Why she never tries to find out for herself is a mysteryThe husband is the archetypal male chauvinist who ogles his old high school girlfriend and manages to get her and her husband to spend years of summers at the same beach community, all the while communicating with her surreptitiously. Then he's shocked, SHOCKED when his wife discovers all of this and takes off for Greece to find her own self. Then husband decides that his old high school girlfriend is shallow and why won't anyone believe how innocent he is? Conveniently the husband then comes down with a near fatal disease so everything can get worked out for a "happy ending." What really should have happened is that the wife should have kicked him to the curb and gotten on with her life.

[bookscookslooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a tale of two couples who end up being life long friends but not without some complications along the way. Adam and Eliza have twin boys and vacation each year on the Isle of Palms. One year as Adam is swimming he comes out of the water and finds Eve, his high school sweetheart. Yes, Adam and Eve. Seeing her Adam is reminded of his youth and all that could have been. He impulsively invites Eve and her husband Carl to join he and his wife that night – Eliza is not sure about this as Eve is (of course) stunningly beautiful.The two couples end up meeting every year at the condo building – after a rough second year – and are joined by Eve’s obnoxious mother and Adam’s father. The years pass, the children grow up and Adam still sees Eve as some kind of ideal. Life goes on, the children go off to college and still almost every year the families meet up at the beach.Adam is a man that looks at Eve and sees his past. He also is quite wrapped up in himself. This attitude almost costs him all he holds dear. Eliza buried herself in her marriage and family and practically lost all that she was. Eve just lost herself in a bottle and I am not sure Carl ever knew who he was other than a doctor. It takes two big crises for these couples to find themselves and the strength in their marriages and their friendships.This was a book full of rich characters and a satisfying series of plot lines. I have to admit to not liking Adam much – but I suppose that was to be expected. All of the characters barring the children of the two main couples are well rounded and defined. Perhaps these children will be starring in their own books in the Dorothea Benton Frank canon. Same Beach Next Year was a welcome diversion for me from the heavier, darker books I had been reading.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A fast "beach" read. For the past twenty years Adam, Eliza, Eve, and Carl have vacationed together on the beautiful Isle of Palms. What happens next was rather far-fetched as the two couples come to grips with the jealousy and insecurities with their mates.

[bookchickdi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's almost a shame that Dorothea Benton Frank's books always have such gorgeous covers because every year when I buy the newest one, I inevitably mess up the pretty covers with sunscreen. I guess she shares some of the blame, after all, her books are a summer right of passage. Summer has not officially arrived until I have the latest Dorothea Benton Frank book in my beach bag.This summer's book is Same Beach, Next Year set in her beloved Lowcountry of South Carolina. Each year Adam and Eliza and their young twin boys Luke and Max spend a few weeks at a vacation condo not far from home. Adam is a hardworking successful construction business owner and Eliza is a fabulous cook, who yearns to write a cookbook.One year, a new couple takes the condo next door and it turns out the woman is Eve, Adam's first love. Eve is married to Carl, a hardworking, successful pediatrician and they have a young daughter, Daphne, about the twins' age, and they are joined by with Eve's mother Cookie.The two couples get along famously, and although Eliza has her antenna up a bit about Adam and Eve, the fact that Carl is extremely handsome and shamelessly flirts with her distracts her somewhat.The four become fast friends, and along with Ted, Adam's father, and Ted's girlfriend Clarabeth, it's one big happy family as they meet every year for two weeks and swim together, golf together and eat together.Cookie likes to stir trouble, and she is hyper-critical of her daughter, which literally drives Eve to drink. Time flies by and Eve turns to Adam when she fears that Carl has been cheating on her. That sets in motion an incident that threatens two marriages and their friendship.One of the things I love best about Frank's book is that she makes her characters relatable. Eliza has two sons (so do I), her dog Rufus is her best friend (mine was Malcolm, my late beloved basset hound) and Eliza loves to cook, as do I (well, most of the time).This book is written from the perspectives of both Eliza and Adam, and I found it intriguing how Frank got into Adam's mindset. I have to say, though, I found his behavior and rationalizations puzzling, although I think each character makes some head-shaking choices here.Since Eliza is a cook, we get some wonderfully descriptive foodie scenes, from Eliza's trip to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store to Eliza's family Christmas breakfast (I could almost smell the cinnamon on the page) to the feast that Eliza has with her Greek family in Corfu.Same Beach, Next Year is another Dorothea Benton Frank winner, it's got everything you want in a summer beach read- great characters, sassy dialogue, interesting family and friend dynamics and a road trip to Greece. Maybe I should try covering my book in plastic so the sunscreen doesn't ruin the beautiful cover.You may recognize the book's title- an homage to the Alan Alda-Ellen Burstyn movie, Same Time, Next Year, which if you haven't seen, you should. The IMDB link is here. (It was a pl

[susan0316 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am a real fan of Dot Frank and know that when her new book comes out every spring, it's time for summer and the beach! I have enjoyed all of her books but this is one of my favorites -- but I think that I say that every time I read one of her books.Eliza and Adam had been happily married for several years and were spending their vacation on the Isle of Palms with their toddler twin sons when Adam sees Eve - his first love from high school. Eve is at the same vacation complex with her husband Carl and their young daughter. They make plans for the two families to meet for drinks and even though they both tell their spouses that they were friends from high school, neither goes into detail about how deep their love for each other was. Sparks fly between Adam and Eve, even though they are both happily married, and it's apparent to Eliza and Carl that they were more than friends years ago. They manage to build a friendship between the four of them and they meet at the same complex at Isle of Palms every year until something happens years later to ruin the friendship and possibly the marriages. Will they be able to overcome the transgression that appeared to happen and become friends again?This is a lovely novel about love and friendship and keeping marriages happy as people head into their later years. I enjoyed all four of the characters but thought that Eliza was the most real and the best of the four. She grew more as a character and was able to learn to be herself and love who she was as a person and not just as a wife and mother. I also, as always, loved the setting. I love books about the SC Lowcountry - the beach and the sand and the feeling of being there with the characters always makes me enjoy a book even more.