
By Invitation Only
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Susan Bennett
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Courtney Patterson
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Sarah Naughton
About this listen
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 hardworking Southern peach farmers.
Dorothea Benton Frank offers a funny, sharp, and deeply empathetic novel of two very different worlds - of limousines and pickup trucks, caviar 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 lives 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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Bulls Island
- By: Dorothea Benton Frank
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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A satisfying tale of honor, chance, and star-crossed love infused with Southern wit, grace, and charm - the story of two old Southern families. The Langleys have more money than the Morgan Stanley Bank. And they think they have more class. The Barrett family made their 19th-century fortune in a less distinguished manner: corner grocery stores and liquor stores.
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Loved Betts McGhee!
- By Patricia on 05-21-12
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Full of Grace
- By: Dorothea Benton Frank
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Hilton Head, a South Carolina retirement heaven - at least it's supposed to be, but for Big Al and Connie Russo, the move from New Jersey to this Southern paradise has been fraught with just a few complications. Especially for their daughter, Grace. Well, that's what she likes to be called. Her family insists on Maria Graziella. Seriously, enough with the Neapolitan. That might have been okay in New Jersey, but now it's just plain silly, and Grace, at 32 is - horror of horrors - still unmarried.
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A little too Religious
- By Jill Campbell on 01-07-19
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Flamingo Diner
- By: Sherryl Woods
- Narrated by: Christina Traister
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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As a teenager, Emma Killian didn’t recognize what a remarkable business her family had created, and so she moved away. Now, her father’s tragic death has brought her home to face a mountain of secrets, debts, and questions about why and how her beloved father died. As Emma grapples with her out-of-control family, the responsibility of keeping Flamingo Diner afloat, and a pair of well-meaning senior-citizen sleuths, she finds support from an unlikely source.
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Very Real
- By kbrown on 03-13-19
By: Sherryl Woods
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The You I Never Knew
- A Novel
- By: Susan Wiggs
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Michelle Turner thought she lost everything at 17. Her father, a Hollywood legend, had finally summoned her to his Montana ranch. But when he learned of her affair with Sam McPhee, a hired hand, he had Sam fired and destroyed his family. Michelle, pregnant and alone, fled to Seattle. Now a successful advertising exec, Michelle is safe-safe from love, safe from hurt. But her son is lost to her, a troubled teen on the verge of self-destruction, a boy who blames her for the absence of his father and grandfather.
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I hate the narration on this book
- By MPSMuller on 09-13-21
By: Susan Wiggs
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Lost and Found Sisters
- By: Jill Shalvis
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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After losing her sister in a devastating car accident, chef Quinn Weller is finally getting her life back on track. She appears to have it all: a loving family, a dream job in one of LA's hottest eateries, and a gorgeous boyfriend dying to slip an engagement ring on her finger. So why does she feel so empty, like she's looking for a missing piece she can't find?
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Outstanding!
- By Terri C. on 08-06-17
By: Jill Shalvis
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Sullivan's Island
- A Lowcountry Tale
- By: Dorothea Benton Frank
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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Born and raised in idyllic Sullivan's Island, Susan Hayes navigated through her turbulent childhood with humor, spunk, and characteristic Southern sass. But years later, she is a conflicted woman with an unfaithful husband, a sometimes resentful teenage daughter, and a heart that aches with painful, poignant memories. And as Susan faces her uncertain future, she realizes that she must go back to her past. To the beachfront house where her sister welcomes her with open arms.
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Wish there were more
- By Amy on 05-19-16
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The Golden Hour
- A Novel
- By: Beatriz Williams
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The Bahamas, 1941. Newly widowed Leonora “Lulu” Randolph arrives in Nassau to investigate the governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. After all, American readers have an insatiable appetite for news of the duke and duchess of Windsor, that glamorous couple whose love affair nearly brought the British monarchy to its knees five years earlier. What more intriguing backdrop for their romance than a wartime Caribbean paradise, a colonial playground for kingpins of ill-gotten empires? Or so Lulu imagines.
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Stick with it!
- By Colleen on 07-17-19
By: Beatriz Williams
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Another Woman's Husband
- A Novel
- By: Gill Paul
- Narrated by: Laura Aikman
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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1911: When 15-year-old Mary Kirk meets Wallis Warfield at summer camp, she’s immediately captivated by her fearless, brazen, and self-assured personality. Though Mary’s family isn’t crazy about Wallis, Mary stands by her side - even years later when rumors swirl about Wallis and her reckless behavior with the Prince of Wales. But when Mary’s loyalty to Wallis comes into question, their friendship will be put to the test. 1997: After a romantic proposal in Paris, Rachel and her fiancé Alex are in a cab when the car ahead crashes.
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Binge worthy
- By Amanda on 12-24-19
By: Gill Paul
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Porch Lights
- By: Dorothea Benton Frank
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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When Jimmy McMullen, a fireman, is killed in the line of duty, his wife, Jackie, and ten-year-old son, Charlie, are devastated. Charlie idolized his dad, and now the outgoing boy has become quiet and reserved. Trusting in the healing power of family, Jackie decides to return to her childhood home on Sullivan's Island. Awaiting them is Annie Britt, the matriarch who has kept the porch lights on to welcome them. Thrilled to have her family back again, Annie promises to make their visit perfect - even though relations between mother and daughter have never been smooth.
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Liked this book - held my attention - nice story.
- By Barrel Racer on 09-01-12
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Plantation
- A Lowcountry Tale
- By: Dorothea Benton Frank
- Narrated by: Susie Breck
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
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When Caroline Wimbley Levine learns that her mother, Miss Lavinia, has supposedly gone mad, she leaves the big city bustle of Manhattan and returns to Tall Pines Plantation. Caroline originally left Tall Pines to escape her feisty, eccentric mother and her drunken brother, Trip. When Miss Lavinia dies, Caroline is forced to come to terms with her family's troubled history as well as her failing relationship with her husband.
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Abridged!!
- By Teresa on 04-18-16
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Fast Girls
- A Novel of the 1936 Women’s Olympic Team.
- By: Elise Hooper
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Kristyl Dawn Tift, Reba Buhr, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed author Elise Hooper explores the gripping, real-life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated women’s Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany. In the 1928 Olympics, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s golden girl until a nearly fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything.
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Don't skip epilog
- By Zona Trahan on 03-23-21
By: Elise Hooper
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The Moonflowers
- A Novel
- By: Abigail Rose-Marie
- Narrated by: Abigail Reno
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Tig Costello has arrived in Darren, Kentucky, commissioned to paint a portrait honoring her grandfather Benjamin. His contributions to the rural Appalachian town and his unimpeachable war service have made him a local hero. But to Tig, he’s a relative stranger. To find out more about him, Tig wants to talk to the person who knew her grandfather best: Eloise Price, the woman who murdered him fifty years ago.
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Excellent
- By Jen Novak on 12-28-24
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Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch
- By: Carolyn Brown
- Narrated by: Chelsea Hatfield
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Retired combat medic Jesse Ryan hasn’t been home much since he enlisted twenty years ago. Now he’s headed back to Texas to help take care of his aging foster parents and run Sunflower ranch. But when he gets there, he finds his parents’ live-in nurse is Addison Hall, his high school best friend and the woman he always regretted leaving behind after their one steamy night together before he shipped out.
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Cowboy Fluff
- By 2duckornot2duck on 11-15-21
By: Carolyn Brown
Some was predictable, but not in an annoying way.
I would recommend it!
Loved it!
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Mysteries and crime novels are my preferred genr, but this book was like pancakes for dinner: a pleasant respite from the norm.
I enjoyed the company of the protagonists and looked forward to listening.
The narration was great. The story was pleasant, with a golden rule winning out in the end. Not at all boring.
Not my type but LOVED it
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my beloved South Carolina
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What a great book! I laughed and teared up. The development of the characters throughout the book was enjoyable too!
Loved it!
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Outstanding
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Wonderful book
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Totally Enjoyable!!
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Feel good story
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Stick with it!
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Great Book & Cover!
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