By Invitation Only
by Dorothea Benton Frank
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (April 23, 2019)
The Lowcountry of South Carolina is where By Invitation Only begins at a barbecue engagement party thrown by Diane English Stiftel, her brother Floyd, and her parents to celebrate her son’s engagement. On this gorgeous, magical night, the bride’s father, Alejandro Cambria, a wealthy power broker whose unbelievably successful career in private equity made him one of Chicago’s celebrated elite, discovers the limits and possibilities of cell phone range. While the mother of the bride, Susan Kennedy Cambria, who dabbles in the world of public relations and believes herself deserving of every square inch of her multimillion-dollar penthouse and imaginary Carrara marble pedestal, learns about moonshine and dangerous liaisons.
Soon By Invitation Only zooms to Chicago, where the unraveling accelerates. Nearly a thousand miles away from her comfortable, familiar world, Diane is the antithesis of the bright lights and super-sophisticated guests attending her son Fred’s second engagement party. Why a second party? Maybe it had been assumed that the first one wouldn’t be up to snuff? Fred is marrying Shelby Cambria, also an only child. The Cambrias’ dearest wish is for their daughter to be happy. If Shelby wants to marry Frederick, aka Fred, they will not stand in her way—although Susan does hope her friends won’t think her daughter is marrying more than a few degrees beneath her socially. At the same time, Diane worries that her son will be lost to her forever.
By Invitation Only is a tale of two families, one struggling to do well, one well to do, and one young couple—the privileged daughter of Chicago’s crème de la crème and the son of hard-working Southern peach farmers.
Dorothea Benton Frank offers a funny, sharp, and deeply empathetic novel of two very different worlds—of limousines and pickup trucks, caviars and pigs, skyscrapers and ocean spray—filled with a delightful cast of characters who all have something to hide and a lot to learn. A difference in legal opinions, a headlong dive from grace, and an abrupt twist will reveal the truth of who they are and demonstrate, when it truly counts, what kind of grit they have. Are they living the life they want, what regrets do they hold, and how would they remake their lives if they were given the invitation to do so?
By Invitation Only is classic Dorothea Benton Frank—a mesmerizing Lowcountry Tale that roars with spirit, humor, and truth, and forces us to reconsider our notions of what it means to be a Have or a Have Not.
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My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Family mythology says that even in its youth, the house was so unappealing that Sherman’s troops let it stand. The officers said it wasn’t worth the flick of the flint it would’ve taken to torch it, and the Yankees had slept in the barn by choice. I heard somewhere that the real reason they took to the barn was that my great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother was especially frisky, but I’d never repeat that.
“That ought to make ‘em happy… And if it doesn’t, they can all go home and scratch their mad place.”… No one ever really defined what one’s mad place might be, but it was assumed to be in the area of one’s personal Lowcountry.
When we were growing up, Floyd and I used to say our dishes were Chinese – Ding Dynasty.
My Review:
Dorothea Benton Frank imbues her entertaining stories with a special blend of humor, which appears to be equal parts keen wry wit and a unique yet indefinable form of Lowcountry magic. I have been completely enamored with clever arrangements of words since my first exposure with The Hurricane Sisters. I was an instant fangirl and have delighted in each of her thoughtfully observant and witty written tales that I’ve been lucky enough to snag. Her quirky characters come alive on the page and become so familiar I feel I could recognize them on the street.
By Invitation Only was a smartly paced and pleasantly entertaining tale of contrasts that began with a young newly engaged couple announcing their intentions and plans to introduce their divergently different sets of relatives for the first time were instituted. It was the in-laws vs. the outlaws; midwestern urbanites meet the Southern country bumpkins; wealthy snobs meet salt-of-the-earth rednecks. It didn’t help that Uncle Floyd was a Doomsday planner who appeared besotted with camo. He primarily wore camo pants, had camo covered furniture, and even toted a camo themed flask for his spirits. He was also a chick magnet. Go figure…
Dueling engagement parties were planned across the country every upscale extravagance was expended by the Chicago contingent, who thought their worst fears would be finding taxidermy, picnic tables, and gun racks upon arrival at the farm for the Southern version – only to discover moonshine, pig trophies, and the impossibility of removing manure from Chanel ~ snort. I savored every word and eagerly consumed the amusing tag lines that set the tone for each new chapter.
New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She resides in the New York area with her husband.
Find her on the web at www.dotfrank.com, or like her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
