A GREAT MARRIAGE by Frances Mayes

5 stars

Dara Wilcox comes from a tight knit family in Hillston, North Carolina, an only child and beloved granddaughter, who is on her way to law school in D.C. She meets and falls for Austin Clarke at a NYC art gallery – he’s a rising star architect, charismatic and from an intellectual British family. They’re all set to get marred at the family home in North Carolina, when Austin gets totally unexpected news that leaves him reeling and moving back to London. Dara cancels the wedding scheduled in just a few days and refuses to let her family or best friends in on why. Dara first flies off to visit old college friends in California, then heads to South Carolina to become part of a large artistic group restoring a historic but run down inn.

As Dara considers her mom and dad’s close marriage and her grandmother’s great marriage to a former Senator, she measures her strong ambitions along with her strong love for Austin. This romance is tempered in the novel with philosophical underpinning on what truly makes for a great marriage, and the tremendous obstacles that must be overcome to make a marriage work.

By the end you’re wildly cheering for Dara and Austin on to find some way to make their relationship work and enter into marriage despite all that has transpired!

Thanks to Random House, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.