Savannah Breeze

In a predictable story of BeBe Loudermilk's efforts to recover her personal fortune from a con man, Mary Kay Andrews offers up some entertaining mind candy. Savannah businesswoman and Southern belle BeBe moves into a decrepit motel, which she inadvertently comes to own, and works with the current manager and a cast of other lovable but forgettable characters to turn her life around. Isabel Keating reads the story with aplomb, adjusting her voice appropriately for each character. The result is perfect, with the humorous dialogue remaining lively, dynamic, and enjoyable. While the story itself is amusing enough, Keating's interpretation makes it much more fun. H.L.S. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

January 30, 2006
In this spirited sequel to 2001's Savannah Blues
, Southern belle BeBe Loudermilk continues to attract the wrong kind of man. Thrice married and divorced, her latest romantic debacle involves Ryan Edward "Reddy" Millbanks, an unscrupulous financial consultant who takes her for nearly everything she owns. All BeBe has left is the Breeze Inn, a run-down motor hotel on Tybee Island, a quirky beach town. With the help of best friend Weezie, an antiques expert with a talent for turning garbage into gold, BeBe is determined to make the property a success. She soon butts heads with Harry, the Breeze Inn's ornery caretaker, but her efforts pay off: seemingly overnight, the Breeze Inn is fully booked and bustling. But when Reddy surfaces via yacht down in Lauderdale, BeBe hits the road with Weezie, Harry and her grandfather (who manages to tear himself away from the Weather Channel) to find the reprobate and make him pay. A former journalist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, Edgar nominee Andrews writes with tongue firmly in cheek, presenting a cast of eccentric characters and a plot that's decidedly over-the-top. It's light, pastel fun.

June 5, 2006
Keating is simply delightful in the first-person role of BeBe Loudermilk, a thrice-divorced Southern belle and restaurant owner who falls for a gorgeous, smooth-talking con man who tricks her out of all her money and possessions. Putting on a lively Southern accent, Keating embodies BeBe perfectly, evoking her theatrical personality (wailing melodramatically over her loss), her self-deprecating humor and her never-give-up determination as she tries to pick up the pieces by getting a dilapidated motel up and running. Keating also creates distinct, believable voices for the other characters: a lazy drawl for BeBe's grandfather, whose absent-mindedness hides a shrewd mind; a gritty tone for Harry Sorrentino, the cantankerous hotel caretaker who alternately exasperates and attracts BeBe; and even voices of minor characters, including a Valley Girl–sounding young woman named Emma and a Spanish-accented bank teller. The audiobook is abridged, but you'd never know it: it flows seamlessly. It's a rollicking, entertaining story from beginning to end. This audiobook production makes an already enjoyable book even more fun, perfect for beach listening. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 30).

Listeners should fetch a tall glass of sweetened iced tea, engage their imaginations, and come along for a delightful ride. Moira Driscoll gives an impressive performance of this fun novel in which a zany cast of characters helps wronged BeBe Loudermilk set things right. From BeBe's grandparents to the slick con man who steals her blind, Driscoll's vocal characterizations are right on target. Her depictions are equally convincing when fisherman Harry and junk dealer Weezy take on the roles of a rock star and his wife to save the Loudermilk fortune. Driscoll's treatment elevates this book from a fun listen to top-notch entertainment. J.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

September 15, 2006
A great businesswoman but a ditz in the romance department, BeBe Loudermilk, whom we met in Andrews's "Savannah Blues", returns having just signed over her real estate holdings, home, and successful restaurant to a con man who sweeps her off her feet. Poor BeBe is nearly broke and completely humiliated; she does have a wreck of a 1950s motel down by the beach though, inhabited by a wreck of a caretaker trying to get his fishing boat out of hock. BeBe and her friend Weezie, helped out by Harry the caretaker (who turns out to be a lot more appealing that BeBe first thought), get the motel back in shape for guests, and BeBe is starting to make money again when she hears that the con man has been sighted in Florida. The weasel doesn't stand a chance! Reader Isabel Keating does a great job with all the voices and accents, bringing the characters alive. Her pacing keeps the story moving right along. Recommended for public libraries where light summer fiction is popular." -Barbara Valle, El Paso P.L., TX"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2006
BeBe Loudermilk always picks the worst men, and Reddy Millbanks III is no exception. They meet at a ball and she falls for his charm and good looks. Unfortunately, he steals her money, her business, her home, and her dignity, effectively ending her upscale life in Savannah and saddling her with a rundown motel, the Breeze Inn, on Tybee Island. The motel seems hopeless and the manager-cum-handyman even worse. Harry Sorrentino is working at the motel until he can buy his boat back and return to his life as a fisherman, and he is not prepared for the high-strung new owner and her friend, Weezie, who transform the drab inn into shabby chic. BeBe then concocts a plan to fleece Reddy with the help of Weezie, Harry, and BeBe's grandfather. This motley crew gets in and out of hilarious jams, while BeBe discovers what is really important to her. This truly enjoyable sequel to " Savannah Blues" (2002) is packed with Andrews' trademark wit and humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)