I was saddened by the passing of Dorothea Frank so I was excited to see a new novel by her daughter. Set in the Low Country of South Carolina, the first chapter immediately drew me in with descriptions of the area; the smell of plough mud, the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, etc. However as I read further in the book, the story seemed to take a familiar theme. Home town girl leaves the south to pursue her love of cooking in a famous NYC restaurant
A tragedy brings her home where she finds out how important family is and what it means to be part of a community. That said, I did enjoy the book and look forward to reading more from this new author.

The first paragraph of this book is written beautifully, evoking the feel and smells of the low country. There is one sentence in particular I find incredible, “ If you were to cut me open, you’d find the water of the Atlantic instead of blood, driftwood instead of bones, and seashells in place of everything else.” Pure poetry.
That’s why I found it disappointing when the characters were so over the top, creating a southern caricature in my mind. The plot was nothing new, woman leaves the south for New York City, something happens so she must return, realizing this is where she really belongs.
The inevitable comparison to her mother has to be mentioned as I find the style of this book very similar to hers, but all through this novel I found little gems, like the first paragraph, reminding me of Anne Rivers Siddon and this makes me interested in reading her next book to see how Victoria comes into her own as a writer.