Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank

From Goodreads: When Caroline Wimbley Levine returned to Tall Pines Plantation, she never expected to make peace with long-buried truths about herself and her family. The Queen of Tall Pines, her late mother, was a force of nature, but now she is gone, leaving Caroline and the rest of the family uncertain of who will take her place. In the lush South Carolina countryside, old hurts, betrayals, and dark secrets will surface, and a new generation will rise along the banks of the mighty Edisto River.

Years ago I read Plantation and while I don't remember details, I do rememer that I liked it. I read this one just a few months ago (back in 2010) and I can say the exact same thing - I don't remember details but I liked it. Because I didn't have real sharp memories of the first book, I wasn't holding any of the characters up to any specific expectations so I didn't have that set-up for dissapointment and I could just enjoy the story for a summer beach read and be happy. My problem with her last book I read, Isle of Palms, was her over blown caracters that felt like a parody of Southern women. The characters in this book were tamer, more realistic for me and had that vaguely familiar feeling throughout the book which was a combination of could have been someone from the previous book I was remembering or they were just like folks I know I around here and she captured them well!  This wasn't a great book like I remember her first ones being (Plantation and Sullivan's Island)  but it felt closer to that than Isle of Palms and that was enough!