Same Beach, Next Year: A Novel

Eliza and Adam are in their 30's and vacationing with their toddlers when they realize Adam's old girlfriend Eve is staying at the same hotel with her husband and child.
Adam is happily married and hasn't seen Eve since they were teenagers. But their chance meeting that day chances the course of everyone's lives in a very surprising way. They actually all become friends and take their vacations at the same beach each year.

But somewhere in the back of everyone's mind, despite the friendship they've formed, is the question of whether Eve and Adam still have feelings for each other.

Sometimes it's hard to believe Eliza could be friends with Eve while still having her doubts about Adam's feelings.
The chapters alternate, so that Eliza show more narrates part of the story and Adam another.
When it's Adam's turn to talk, he tends to come off like a pretty insensitive jerk.
I wasn't really sure I cared about whether Adam wound up happy. But I was definitely rooting for Eliza.

I do like the way the story wrapped up. show less

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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 show less

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. show more 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. show less

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.

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 show more 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. show less

I was excited to receive this Hardcover copy from the publisher in the mail. I opened the package and started reading it and did not stop! Nothing says summer is coming and makes me want to sit by the beach that a book by Dorothea Benton Frank.

 

Review:

I thought the format of the book really worked, we heard both sides of this sometimes hilarious , other times serious tale. Adam and his wife Eliza are the narrators of this story that spans about two decades. The formula for the book is typical Dorothea Benton Frank but that is all. The story is a departure from her usual books. I found this to be a very deep and moving story. Adam and Eve are first loves and they both seem to be caught in the past. I felt that Adam wanted to recapture show more his youth and Eve was just plain shallow and seemed unsure of her marriage to Stanley who is a successful Doctor and a huge flirt. I found myself wanting to smack Adam most of the book for not truly appreciating Eliza. Adam kept manipulating ways to see Eve every summer and Eliza seemed to realize this but at the same time put up with it but kept an eagle eye on the situation. I found Cookie, Eve's mom, both mean and hilarious at the same time. Some of the things that Cookie came out with had me laughing out loud!

Eliza was of course the voice of reason in this story and my favorite character as well as an amazing cook. What more could Adam want? His youth that's what! Their was lots of side drama involving Cookie, Adams Father and his girlfriend, a larger than life character.

I also liked how the story follows the relationships of the two couples through their ups and downs. I really had no idea how it would all come to end but I thoroughly enjoyed going along on the ride and I absolutely hated for this book to end.

This book is more than just the authors' usual "beach read" , it was a moving story about marriage and friendship.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge show less