Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank ISBN 9780061438431, 9780061727566, 0061727563, 006143843X instant download

Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank ISBN 9780061438431, 9780061727566, 0061727563, 006143843X instant download

Elizabeth "Betts" McGee loved those lazy afternoons on pristine Bulls Island in the Carolina Lowcountry. But everything came crashing down when tragic fate—coupled with nasty rumor and innuendo—ended her engagement to Charleston golden boy J.D. Langley of the fabulously wealthy (and fabulously snooty) Langley clan. Betts left soon after, and she hasn't been back in nearly twenty years.

Successfully reinventing herself in New York City, Betts is now a top banking executive and heading up the most important project of her career, but it'll transform the untouched island she loved in her youth into something unrecognizable. And it's forcing her to return to the bosom of her estranged family, where she may not be welcomed with open arms. Worse still, it's uniting her with ex-flame J.D., who's changed . . . but perhaps not enough.

And then there's that crazy alligator . . .

Will romance triumph over the feud between the aristocratic Langleys and the slightly lower-in-social-pecking-order McGees in Frank's latest Southern charm–filled romp? Though the answer is obvious from the get-go, the author fills this spirited tale with well-drawn characters, not the least of whom is formidable Charleston doyenne Louisa Langley. Betts McGee and J.D. Langley are uneasily headed to the altar—Louisa has a hard time with her son dating down. When Betts's mother dies in a car wreck, a generations-old grudge—abetted by Louisa—flares up, and Betts flees to Manhattan. There, she raises her son (J.D. didn't know she was pregnant when she left) solo and thrives in the distressed property turn-around business for a good 20 years until an assignment sends her back to Charleston to help develop a former wildlife refuge. The local partner in the venture is none other than J.D., who is now unhappily married and childless. Frank steers through several terrains with great aplomb as the story unfolds from both Betts's and J.D.'s points of view. Frank shines as Betts finds out if there's really no place like home. (May)
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“A warming female-empowerment tale with a side order of southern magic.” (Kirkus Reviews on The Christmas Pearl )