Betsy and Ty Franklin run a dairy farm in southern Alabama. Ty is busy with the cows, while Betsy works constantly to manage the farm’s operations. They have a good life, although their inability to have children is tearing them apart. When Betsy’s younger sister, Jenna, drops her two daughters off at the farm so she can attend a two-week art retreat, their quiet life at the dairy is turned upside down.

Jenna’s free-spirited days are over. Instead, she spends her days managing a coffee shop and caring for her daughters. She yearns for the days when she pursued photography, but that dream took a back seat when she got pregnant and her boyfriend split. Now, she’s offered a two-week stay at the Halcyon artist retreat, and a chance to pursue her dreams and change her life.

With the most active hurricane season on record underway, Betsy and Ty try to save their marriage, while caring for the girls and working to keep the dairy safe from approaching storms. Their lives are in turmoil, and they must wait on Jenna to decide her course before they can move past the storms that fill the hot summer air.

I loved this book! These two sisters are so different, but they both struggle against the truth of their lives—and what they will do about those truths. Betsy and Ty’s relationship is troubled now, but their love for each other shines strong even in the darkness. I related to Jenna and her dreams—and her struggle to decide between chasing those dreams, and the life she has now.

(Galley provided by Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.)

4 “the storm is coming” stars to Hurricane Season!

Lauren Denton’s sophomore novel, Hurricane Season, is told in three alternating voices: Jenna, the younger, flighty sister and single mother; Ty, the rugged dairy farmer and husband; and Betsy, the older, responsible sister to Jenna and wife to Ty.

Jenna is a budding artist-slash-coffee barista manager, and the opportunity of a lifetime comes her way one summer. The problem is, who will take care of her kids while she pursues it?

Betsy and her husband Ty have been struggling with infertility while also enjoying a quiet life on their farm. Of course Betsy agrees to take care of Jenna’s girls for the summer, and all the while, a hurricane is brewing.

Jenna and Betsy’s relationship is explored as each sister struggles to accomplish something different, something that feels far out-of-reach to each of them. Will these sisters find true happiness?

Hurricane Season is a character-driven novel with three true-to-life, relatable, loving main characters, flawless writing, and a quaint and engaging southern farm setting.

Thank you to Lauren Denton, Thomas Nelson, and Netgalley for the ARC. Hurricane Season is available now!

Hurricane Season is really a beautiful book and that's not just the cover, I'm talking about. Its a book about two sisters that are very different. Jenna was a wild child, now a single mom and Betsy is a farmer's wife, and the more stable of the two.



Each are in very different parts of their lives.



The sister scenario is something I'm seeing a lot of lately in books, especially with sisters that are polar opposites. Neither are exceptionally likable. They are both very human and the reader should feel a certain amount of pity for each of them. Jenna, because her life is not very put together, but she is trying, while having two small daughters to take care of and it seems her dreams of being a photographer are slipping away.



Betsy is the stable one, trying desperately to have a child with her husband, Ty. Because of a photography camp, she finds herself with her sister's kids for the summer. This is both a joy and a trial for her.



I loved experiencing both women as they grow through those months, whether that growth be for career or family. By the end of the book, you will find yourself really caring for both women and their families. I especially loved Ty, Betsy's husband, but its the children in this book that steal the show and are the reason the adults all become better people. Addie and Walsh were perfectly quirky kids. (I would have loved to have a story behind that child's name).



The ending was bittersweet. It wraps things up but leaves things open at the same time. Part of me wants Ms. Denton to revisit these characters somewhere down the line, because I want to know what happens to them. Will Jenna and Sam finally try a relationship? Will she succeed with her photography? Will Betsy and Ty become blessed with a child of their own?



I adored this book.

Betsy and Ty Franklin own and run a dairy farm in southern Alabama. College sweethearts, they married early and settled easily into their life together. The only thing missing is children. After multiple fertility treatments failed, Betsy and Ty gave up the dream of having a full house. They’re trying to move on, but while Ty seems to be unfazed, Betsy has carefully constructed walls around her heart to keep it from breaking apart - walls that are also keeping Ty out.

Those walls start to crumble at the beginning of summer when Betsy’s wild child sister, Jenna, calls to ask a favor: Can her two young daughters stay at the farm for a couple of weeks while Jenna attends an artist’s retreat? Betsy never could say no to Jenna, and soon her house is filled with the stampeding of feet and childish laughter. Each day it hurts a little more, as Betsy’s heart pulls the children in past her defenses and give her a tantalizing glimpse of what she can never have.

Meanwhile, Jenna’s two-week stay at Halcyon art retreat has turned into a chance to reclaim part of herself she thought lost. When her first daughter was born, and the father split, Jenna put her camera away and settled into single motherhood. Now she has the chance to learn from an award-winning professional photographer who thinks she has a talent, and can help launch her career. She knows she’s imposing on her sister, but she can’t give up this chance. As two weeks stretch into four, then six, Jenna wonders if she’ll truly be able to merge her artistic side with her old life.

Hurricane Season is told by Betsy, Ty, and Jenna in alternating chapters. Rather than causing confusion, this creates a sense of intimacy between the reader and the characters. We know that Ty is consumed by worry and concern that he is afraid to express. We understand why Betsy isn’t the same person she was before her fertility issues became the focus of her life. We find out, well before Betsy does, that Jenna isn’t the wild, carefree girl she used to be, and maybe she’s smarter - and stronger - than anyone realizes.

The plot of Hurricane Season is motivated more by the characters themselves than by outside forces acting on them. The story, therefore, is deceptively slow moving. Readers with a little patience will find that they’ve been inexorably pulled into the novel and don’t want to leave, which has as much to do with Denton’s descriptive, straightforward prose as it does with the characters she’s created.

There are several side plots interwoven into Hurricane Season, one of them being the worse than usual weather predicted for the area, another the glimpses of a farm worker’s romance. These give the reader relief from the sometimes heavy emotional content while adding dimension - and a true Southern feel - to the novel.

Like Hideaway, Hurricane Season is a multilayered novel that unfolds slowly and hooks readers with it’s well written plot, fully developed characters, and truly Southern feel. There’s no racing through it, though, and readers who are used to fast-paced, plot driven novels might be tempted to give up on this one. Those who have more patience will be rewarded with a story that touches the heart and stays with them long after they've turned the last page.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for the free review copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

This book was so real. It was sweet and hard. I felt like I experienced Betsy’s loss with her. Denton was able to beautifully portray what it is like to be sisters, married, and grieving for something that isn’t possible.

I loved the character of Jenna. Her struggle of finding herself again while still maintaining her identity as a mother felt relatable, even though I don’t have children. I think that these sisters contrasted so well that you couldn’t pick a ‘side.’ I rooted for Betsy and Jenna during the entire book.

The character of Ty, Betsy’s husband, was also the perfect balance between the two sisters. I enjoyed seeing an ‘outsiders’ perspective when it came to how these sisters interacted. He showed what it was like to be a great husband and standing for what he thought was right.

This book deals with so much family stuff: independence, motherhood, marriage, loss, desire. Coupled with the hurricanes raging outside, this novel perfectly shows what it is like to be part of a difficult family.

3 pleasant stars

Sometimes you just have to read a book where there is no murder, no lying, no mayhem, and no death and this was just such a book.

A storm is approaching and it looks to be a bad one, a hurricane in fact. Things will be lost, possessions, homes, and maybe even lives. It is surely the time to remember what is important and what one can bring forward in their lives.

Betsy Franklin and her sister, Jenna have had a bit of a distant relationship. Jenna is a single mother of two young girls and when she gets an opportunity to attend a camp for artists, she takes up the challenge. She decides to drop her girls into the hands of her sister, Betsy, and her husband, Ty, at their farm. Betsy and her husband, have been trying unsuccessfully to have a child. Their relationship is strained and the addition of these two girls might add fuel to a fire that is slowly burning.

This novel does a very nice job of exploring the concept of following your dreams. Does that mean though that one can forget about what awaits them especially where children are involved? I enjoyed this novel that focused on caring, that of a mother for her child, a sister for another sister, a husband for a wife, and the goal of always remembering there are second chances out there for those who are willing to go find them.

Thank you to Lauren Denton, Thomas Nelson Publishers, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel.

Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton is a fabulous read. The story is about relationships, family, sibling misunderstandings, marital stressors. farming, hope and love. Ms. Denton has wonderful character development. These are characters that you will want as friends. It is a poignant story of family ties and the messiness of life. The story is told from the three main characters perspectives.

As we all know Hurricanes can bring great destruction. If one waxes poetic it can also be a time to see what can survive such strong winds and rain. Lauren K. Denton entwines a story of healing and discovery with a wonderfully written setting. The scenery is so wonderful that it actually becomes an additional character.

As a reader you feel the growth of the characters and their journey of acceptance and reconciliation. You feel involved in their losses, their worries and their joys. C I loved that this story was hopeful and shows you that sometimes in life your dreams change. This would be a terrific beach read. This is my first Lauren K. Denton novel and she will definitely be on my list of writers to will follow.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Lauren K Denton and the publisher ThomasNelson for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this beauty of a book without knowing what it was about nor had I read the authors previous book! This story of 2 sister s who aren’t as different as they think!
I loved Betsy and her husband Ty ( a man who doesn’t say much but when he does it’s right on point )
Betsy gets a call from her sister Jenna asking to watch her kids while she attends a photographer workshop, Betsy immediately says yes and would do anything for Jenna even though they haven’t spoken in awhile!
I loved the writing and these 2 sisters very much. I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hurricane Season is the journey of Betsy and Jenna, two sisters with different lifestyles but similar in many ways.

Some may find the pacing of this book slow and there is not a lot of action but sometimes you just need a quiet book with a good story highlighting internal struggles that are all too common these days. Yes I will admit to skimming over a few repetitive parts but all in all I enjoyed reading this book. With each chapter alternating between the characters (also Ty's voice is thrown in a few times) it was easy to get to know these women with their struggles, confusion and feelings - of the past, present and future.

Hurricane Season is a story of self discovery, forgiveness and the bond between two sisters. The ending might have felt a little bit rushed but it’s a story I would love to visit again in five or 10 years to see what happens.

Thank you to the publisher via net galley for an advance copy and TLC tours for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour.

Two sisters reconnect in this sweet fiction about family relationships. It’s about managing your dreams with your reality and mending strained relationships.

The cover is gorgeous but I feel like the title is somewhat misleading. I was expecting the hurricane to dip the novel into thriller territory with some threat to their lives. That didn’t happen which surprised me.

This book is interesting enough and finishes in a gentle way. The changes are small. I think it is better to know this before reading it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Emotional, well-written, with a little suspense mixed in for good measure.

Ty and Betsy Franklin are owners of the Franklin Dairy in Alabama. Ty knew he wanted to take over his grandfather’s farm since he was fifteen, but it took a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Betsy sacrificed a lot too, including her promising career in marketing to be with the man she fell in love with. Together they’ve brought the farm into the modern era, but still have problems that come and go. One problem they never planned on was being unsuccessful at having children, which tears at Betsy’s heart through their whole marriage. That all changes when Betsy’s sister Jenna calls out of the blue asking Betsy to watch her two girls for two weeks while she goes on a writing retreat in Florida. Jenna is a free spirit to say the least. She never measured up to her parent’s expectations and once she was in college, she jumped from one adventure to the next, leaving her a single mom who currently manages a coffee shop. Jenna who never wanted kids has two and Betsy who yearns for kids has none. As the days with the girls continue, things begin to get strained in her and Ty’s marriage. As hurricane season approaches, they must prepare the farm for the storm but may face one even greater in their relationship.

This book really stirred up my emotions. My heart yearned for Betsy as she went through her life often defeated because she couldn’t have kids. The things she felt and some of her actions really hit home hard because we all struggle and do things that don’t make sense to anyone but ourselves. Then in retrospect, we can look back and question why we even did those things in the first place. It was this attribute that really brought Betsy to life for me. Ty came alive quickly as well. His loving heart towards his wife was wonderful, but he still got frustrated with her and would just shut down at times because he didn’t know what to do or what to say. It was like this was based on a real life marriage. In many instances, I understood how each character felt thinking through my own marriage. Jenna reminds me of a few women in my life. Doing what she did seems completely abnormal to me, but I know a few people that wouldn’t think otherwise. It was easy to put faces to the characters and see the whole book acted out in front of me.

This book could easily be a case study for groups to read about and reflect on the behavior. I recommend it to all who love a good story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of "Hurricane Season." I haven't ready anything by Laura Denton previously and I wasn't sure what to expect. The story seemed interesting. The story begins with single mom, Jenna, and her two young daughters. Jenna is working as a coffee shop manager while juggling the responsibilities of raising two children in Nashville. Her sister, Betsy, is married to Ty and is struggling with infertility problems and working on their own dairy farm. Jenna has the opportunity to join an artist retreat in Florida for two weeks to pursue her life-long dream of being a photographer. She asks Betsy to watch her girls for her. Ty isn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of two young girls on the busy farm, but agrees. The story follows the weeks, which extend into almost two months, while Jenna is gone at the retreat, weighing decisions about her future. Betsy starts to begin to think Jenna may never return. Laura Denton writes a very gentle, sweet story of two sisters and the joys and disappointments in their adult lives. I'd recommend this book for anyone seeking a slower read - the story takes a while to get started, but I was truly interested in finding out the fate of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the honor of reading such a good book.

This is one of the very best books ever. Set in AL on a dairy farm.
Ty and Betsy have been in love since they both went to Auburn University in AL. Her parents had different plans for her but love won. He is a dairy farmer who takes over his grandfathers farm even though his dad wanted him to follow in his footsteps. They have a very nice farm and home but no children. There is no medical reason for them not having a child. They both want children, it’s just not in the stars for them. Ty finally makes Betsy understand that although having a child would be great, he loves her and always will.

Jenna is Betsy’s younger sister. She has two adorable girls, Walsh who is 3 and Addie who is 5. Jenna works hard as a barista and spends all of her free time with her girls. She has coffee each day that she works, except weekends, with Sam. Sam is just a guy who’s coffee pot stopped working and decided to stop in for coffee. He was attracted to Jenna so started coming for coffee each morning. They spend all of 10 minutes together each day. Her girls are her reason for everything good in her life. She loves them unconditionally and is a very good mother. She gets a chance to go to a retreat in FL called Halcyon to be mentored by another photographer. He’s done lots of work for big time magazines and helps her more than she thought possible.

Jenna calls Betsy to see if she will keep the girls for 2 weeks, which turns into 2 months. Ty is upset at first that Betsy didn’t consult him first but he also loves the girls and will do anything for Betsy. He’s only trying to protect her from being hurt.

This is a book about self discovery, hope, love, understanding, patience, photography, farming, children, neighbors and family. One that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. It’s about a hurricane that comes through and how family and neighbors stick together. Help each other. I hated so bad for it to end. It was one that sure will make you stop and think about life. Appreciate the life you have. It’s a love story but not one that is just about a couple, it’s about lots of people who work together for the sake of friendship. It will touch your heart in ways you won’t see coming. I wish there would be a sequel in a way. I’d love to read more about Jenna and also Betsy and Ty. I believe Jenna and Sam end up together. I also believed Betsy and Ty have that child they both deserve and want to bad. This book will make you believe in life. The good parts of life.

I loved it and highly recommend it. I had to give it a 5 star rating and will read more books by this author.

In theory, this is a solid book and something I would love, but in reality I struggled a bit. It's well-written, but ultimately I found it a little predictable and didn't connect with the characters.

Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton was a bit of a difficult read for me.

I found the pacing to be extremely slow and I felt like there wasn't much happening throughout the majority of the novel. I was left with wanting more from our two main characters and it just fell pretty flat for me.

The writing is beautiful and complex but I found myself skimming through a lot of the story because it just felt pretty boring to me. I was waiting for that big change or transformation between our sisters Betsy and Jenna.. and it never came. I found myself unable to connect well with the characters and it was hard for me to get overall invested in this one.

Overall, this one was just ok.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced arc in exchange for my honest review.
Published to GR: 3/31/18
Publication date: 4/3/18

Hurricane Sisters is about two sisters Betsy and Jenna who are as different as night and day. Betsy is married and lives on a dairy farm and she and her husband are having a tough time trying to have children. Jenna is a single free-spirited mom who is feeling the pressure of being a single mom and kind of longs for a break.

Jenna is offered a spot at an artist retreat to explore her photography so she decides to call up Betsy out of the blue and ask if she could take care of her two girls. Betsy always being the pleasing one agrees and soon she and Ty have a house full of children and no idea what to do.

I honestly enjoyed this story. I loved how opposite each sister is and how each one kind of envy what the other one has even though they don’t know it. To be honest I enjoyed Betsy’s story more than Jenna’s for some reason. I think maybe I connected with her more and really felt everything she was going through. I know this story was named hurricane and there is a hurricane that plays a huge part of the storyline but I just thought there would be a bigger climax when it came to it, but I just didn’t get that payoff that I was expecting, otherwise, I was fully happy with the read.

Hurricane Sisters is a great story and beautifully written, the author gave us a story of love, forgiving and accepting plus I love any story that showcases the South. This is one story that was a quick and easy read one that will satisfy the pickiest of readers.

I was introduced to Lauren K. Denton’s writing last year, with The Hideaway. With Hurricane Season, as with her first book, I was drawn in to by the lovely cover art and title. I enjoy reading about family relationships, and the premise of closing the distance between sisters intrigued me.

This isn’t a fast-paced page-turner, yet it still held my interest. I love the alternating points of view between Jenna, Betsy, and Ty (Betsy’s husband.) Their strained relationships are revealed in a soft and gentle way, but the depth of their pain and struggles are visible and believable. I sympathized with all three of them, and wanted them to find a way to bridge the gaps in their relationships.

I wasn’t as closely attached to any of the characters as I wanted to be, but like I stated before, I still longed to see the outcomes revealed. Each character deals with their individual storms and shows satisfying growth by the story’s end. Ty is probably my favorite character, even though the principal story is between the sisters. He is a hardworking, dedicated, and admirable beta male and, in my opinion, the ideal glue that binds this story together.

Even though The Hideaway kept me more entwined within the characters and story, the Hurricane Season holds it’s own style of charm. I will be watching for new work written by this author!


4 Stars


Cover: Love
Title: Love
Pages: 400
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
First Line: She usually stayed in bed until at least six, but this morning she was restless, like animals get when the barometric pressure drops before a storm.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and BookLook Bloggers.

this was a book I finished in multiple sittings because I couldn't put it down! Once again, Lauren brngs us a story that grabs the reader from the first page and keeps you hoked. I admit, I had a feeling where the ending was going, and had hopes for a different take, off the normal path, but that wasn't to be. Lauren's books are like modern fairy tales for adults, and as such require a traditional type ending. In my head I had another one I could see unfold, and that is part of the magic of books- you get so hooke don the characters, that you can see different paths for them! This is the perfect book for Spring break, or to take on vacation, so make sure you grab a copy and read it! It will restore your faith in sisterhood and love!

My review for this book can be found on my GoodReads account. The link to that account is https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly.

Sisters Jenna and Betsy are all grown up and their lives have taken starkly opposite paths. Where Betsy is older, a planner, married to a dairy farmer, and has no children, Jenna is unmarried, an artist who works in a coffee shop, and has two daughters. Their paths once again intertwine when Jenna gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hone her photography skills at an artist camp in Florida. She quickly accepts and hands off six-year-old Addie and her younger sister Walsh to her sister. Betsy has struggled to have kids and doesn't know what to think of her seemingly wreckless and selfish sister "abandoning" her children. It's a delightful, charming book that will keep you intrigued until the end -- especially if your have a similar relationship with your siblings!