My Magnolia Summer by Victoria Benton Frank (2023 fiction)

For many years, one of my favorite authors has been Dorothea Benton Frank. When she passed away a few years ago, I was bereft. Lo and behold, though, I recently discovered that her daughter Victoria had come out with a novel in 2023. While her writing style is not exactly the same (nor would you want it to be), My Magnolia Summer takes place in the South Carolina Lowcountry on Sullivan’s Island, and it is a delightful family-oriented story. Magnolia Adams, a professional chef, has been living in New York and working at a Michelin star restaurant when her beloved grandmother is injured in an accident. Magnolia returns to her home on Sullivan’s Island to find many changes have taken place, including that the family’s restaurant, The Magic Lantern, has been taken over by her alcoholic mother and her mother’s boyfriend Buster and changed into a seafood shack which has lost all of the local customers. While the family is waiting for Grandmother Rose to regain consciousness, Buster dies of a heart attack, making the bad situation worse. Magnolia had fully intended to return to New York, but she and her sister Violet take back the restaurant and try to change the menu and regain the customers. This is a heartwarming story with many subplots and endearing characters, totally predictable, but enjoyable all the same. Victoria Benton Frank is a graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute, sharing many cooking techniques and tips in the course of the novel. Her second book will appear later in 2025.

Reviewed by Ginger Russell