Cover Image: Hurricane Season

Hurricane Season

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Member Reviews

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!

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Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. A truly wonderful read about family, sisters, and hopes and dreams! Sisters and their families looking for happiness as they struggle with what is possible, what to fight for and what to let go of. A great family drama plays out all while Hurricane Ingrid aims to possibly cause great destruction.

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For me, this book was a bit of a struggle. The writing is well done and the plot is solid. I just didn't feel much of a connection to the characters and the pace was slow. I kept anticipating a big reveal or tragedy or transformation... There was growth within our main characters: two sisters who had grown apart through their adult years. The emotional distance between them was only compounded by the literal physical distance in miles as they lead extremely different lives.

So if you are looking for genuine and realistic fiction, this is a commendable novel. I tend to gravitate towards energetic action stories, even if the story is more rational and less fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for an advance reader's copy in exchange for this honest review.

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An endearing read , perfect for a peaceful weekend !!. The basis of this story is 2 sisters Betsy and Jenna who mean everything to each other growing up and the sisters couldn't be closer but life steps in and without realising they grow distant and by not talking about the unspoken hurts they feel it pushes them even further apart. Betsy's husband Ty and Jenna.s adorable children Addie and Walsh only add to make this book more even more enchanting. 100% recommend !!

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I truly enjoyed Hurricane Season. The writer pulls you into the story so fast. And I love that when I am reading. The characters are real.

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Sweet novel about the love between two very different sisters--one a traditional wife and the other a free-spirited rebel. Their relationship and the relationships the women had with others makes for a light-hearted read.

This novel would be great for a summer book club choice.

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Hurricane Season by Lauren Denton.  I struggIed to finish this book but only made it half way. I found it to be surface reading. No depth to characters. You may get a tidbit but then no follow up information.  There should have been more interaction description with the kids and their Aunt and Uncle. Miscommunication with the phones wasn't believable to me. The landline was always available just not used by character. Thanks Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

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


This is the second book I have read by Ms Denton and I must say I like her writing style. Some of it may be that she sets her books in Alabama and I recognize places which makes it a little more enjoyable. In her latest novel she introduces us to two sisters, Jenna and Besty, who could not be more different. Jenna is a single parent to two little girls, Addie and Walsh. She works as a manager of a coffee shop and struggles to make ends meet. She has given up on her dreams. Betsy is married to Ty and they own a dairy farm that has been in Ty's family for years. The work is hard but they both enjoy it. Betsy has developed a program to introduce children to a working dairy farm. Then Jenna gets an opportunity of a lifetime, study photography at an art retreat for the summer. So she does the only thing she can think of and leaves her daughters with their aunt. During this time the three main characters struggle with their own internal hurricane and a real cat 4 hurricane is bearing down on the coast. Read this book to see how well they weather their storms.

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Hurricane Season is an emotional and thought provoking read...one about choices and the consequences of those decisions. Betsy Franklin and her younger sister, Jenna Sawyer, had parents who were very devoted to their careers and sometimes it didn't leave time for the children. They grew up in Birmingham, Alabama where their mother was a doctor working with a cancer center and the father was a composer and conductor of the symphony. The girls coped with the situation in different ways. Betsy was an overachiever trying to gain attention and Jenna rebelled and was the trouble maker. Betsy is the oldest and always took care of Jenna. Now as adults, Jenna is living in Nashville, the single mother of two little girls. She struggles to make ends meet but loves her girls dearly. She ran off to chase her dreams before she finished college so she works in a coffee shop. Her lifelong love has always been photography. When she gets an opportunity to go to a photography retreat in Florida, she calls on Betsy to keep the girls. Betsy ditched her marketing dreams to marry a dairy farmer in south Alabama. She and Ty have not been able to make one dream come true--that of having a child. But she can't say no to Jenna. This time of having the girls on the farm is trying but rewarding to Betsy and Ty. It is a time for Jenna to pursue a dream that she feels is something that she has to do for herself and the girls. Both sisters are carrying around unresolved issues that they need to address for themselves, each other and their families. This book evoked different emotions in me. I felt sadness for the sisters, the girls and even Ty. I also wanted to fuss at Betsy and Jenna at times. Overall, I recommend this book for a satisfying and sweet read. I live on the Gulf Coast of Florida so I could relate to what they went through with hurricane season.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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This is a mesmerizing story of Betsy and Ty Franklin who own Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama. It’s twenty miles north of the beautiful white sandy beaches of Orange Beach, Alabama. Because they live so close to the Gulf of Mexico, they are no strangers to hurricane season. This book is filled with seasons of hurricanes of different types. It deals with a hurricane season of infertility and all the disappointment, hurt, doubts and anxiety that accompany it. There’s a hurricane season of suddenly gaining two very young children as family members when you had very little notice and feel as though you don’t have a clue what to do with them. There’s another hurricane season of being torn wishing the two children would leave as soon as possible and then discovering your heart may be ripped out when they do leave. There’s the hurricane season of deciding to try to have a baby again - can you even let your heart go there? The biggest Hurricane Season of all is the real hurricane that is bearing down on the Franklin Dairy Farm in the midst of all these emotional hurricanes! Betsy and Ty learn about their love for each other as well as the strength of their love. I was provided an ARC of this book by Thomas Nelson and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.

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This book is incredibly well written! I thought that it did a good job of portraying both of the sisters and their different lives and struggles. I loved getting to know the characters and seeing how the story unfolded.

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This is the first novel that I have read by Lauren K Denton and I really enjoyed it. It’s centred around two sisters at a crossroads in their lives. Betsy is very happily married to Ty Franklin, a dairy farmer in South Alabama. They have a comfortable life both working in their different ways to improve their farmstead. Although they would like a family of their own, heartbreakingly they have no children. Betsy’s sister is a single parent of two young daughters, struggling to keep within her budget as a coffee shop manager. She loves her children dearly but yearns to provide a better life for her girls.
One day Jenna learns that she has been accepted at The Halcyon art retreat, miles away in Florida. Before her family came along Jenna was a photographer and now here she is with an opportunity to further develop her photographic skills. She asks Betsy if she can babysit her children so that she can accept the placement, starting the very next day. Betsy agrees but with reservations, but then again she can never deny her sister anything. The heart of this gorgeous novel is the story of how the two sisters deal with their unexpected lifestyle swaps and how they both change because of what happens when the girls are away from their Jenna.
As the hurricane season approaches Jenna decides to extend her placement at the retreat to build a comprehensive portfolio with the help of her mentor. She is delighted by what may lay ahead of her, although she misses her daughters. Stormy weather, stormy relationships and indecision wracks both sisters as survival and personal growth become an issue between them, until at last they talk about the situation and are surprised to learn that they were both under misapprehensions about each other. Soon to be reunited with her family, Jenna drives through Hurricane Ingrid, set to cause havoc in Alabama but with a chance it may veer off east towards Florida.
The storytelling in ‘Hurricane Season’ is vivid and beautiful. I could just imagine the picture perfect setting of both the farm and the artist’s retreat. I loved reading about the girls enjoying the freedom and wonder of farm life while they stayed with their aunt and uncle. I also liked the setting of the artist’s retreat and of reading about their journeys of self discovery. Both sisters’ lives were enhanced by their changing roles and through looking at each other from a different point of view. Most of all I loved the satisfying conclusion to this heart-warming story. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. It’s a 4.5* review from me and a recommendation that this is an uplifting and enjoyable read.

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I wanted to keep readibg! What a warm, Home oriented, family driven novel. It's a hard call to determine what I liked best. I think I enjoyed how warm and open each character were to each other. Book of the year.

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Another great book, I loved Hideaway. And have recommended it to numerous people who have also loved it and are anxiously waiting for the release of this book. I was very happy that this book did not disappoint. Lauren K. Denton writes in a way that the characters come alive and you feel like you are in the pages with the characters.

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Hurricane Season is a story that centers around two sisters and their struggles from motherhood, marriage and a sisters bond.

Betsy is the oldest of the sisters, she is married to a great man named Ty, and they spend their days working together on their dairy farm. Even through all their business, they have wanted children, but with all the tests and treatments, hasn’t brought them a baby. Over time, it has put a strain on their marriage, and they just walk through each day in a fog. Jenna is the free spirited sister, the mother of two little girls who she is raising by herself, and she gave up her dreams of being a professional photographer. An opportunity comes open for her try again at her dream, and she takes, leaving her kids with Betsy and Ty for a couple of weeks.

The story is told in alternating POV’s from Betsy, Ty and Jenna. I enjoyed getting to more more about them, their feelings and fears. I myself was a teenage mother, so at first I would be able to relate to Jenna, but I had a hard time understanding some of her feelings and actions when it came to her girls. Betsy on the other hand, ended up being the one I most related to. Her struggle to conceive, caring for her nieces while her sister is away in spite of her own sorrow of infertility. Ty her husband, was a good man, and he clearly loved her and he is dealing with infertility just the same. Betsy and Ty needed to learn to communicate better, but sometimes life gets in the way of what we know we should do, and it is sad when it does. So much heartache. Each of these sisters have to work thought their own issues, to be able to find some happiness and there is a strength in each of them, they just had to find it.

The pace of this was fairly slow, but when the hurricane is set to make landfall, the story does pick up the pace, but is a little bit of a rush to get to the end. But, even with that I was alright, a lot happened, and quickly. And this wasn’t necessarily about the hurricane, as much of it was about the family itself, and the character growth in each of them was wonderful and something I thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn’t an easy journey for any of them though, there was plenty of heart ache, tears and heart warming moments along the way too.

Hurricane Season might have been a slow burn, but is packed an inspirational story of family and love, and being a country girl myself, how I could not adore the Southern Alabama setting. Just beautiful.

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I loved this story so much. It was beautifully written, and all of the story lines kept me interested. This is a story of finding love again.

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This was an interesting read; it had a good pace and I like how it followed the hurricanes, building up to the big one. The story follows two sisters, each who thinks the grass it a bit greener on the other side of the fence. They come to learn that it isn't, but more than that, they come to understand and respect each other, and learn from each other.

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HURRICANE SEASON by LAUREN K. DENTON Is the story of two sisters, Betsy Franklin and Jenna Sawyer. Betsy lives on a dairy farm in South Alabama with her husband Ty, and Jenna lives in Nashville with her daughters, Addie and Walsh.
Since they were little, Betsy has always tried to look after the free-spirited Jenna, and we see this being played out in Addie and Walsh's lives as well.
Betsy longs for children of her own, and when Jenna drops her little girls off to go to Halcyon Artist Retreat to pursue her passion for photography, Betsy finds her old struggles returning and her relationship with Ty takes strain.
There is a build up to the hurricane that eventually hits the area. While Ty is preparing for the hurricane, Betsy is trying to make plans for the girls as though they are her own children. It is an emotional story and very well told.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.

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This is a cute story and I wanted to love it but it was so superficial. All of the relationships in the book seem sterile. Betsy, Jenna, the kids and Ty are sweet characters but have no real emotional depth. The story is best when describing the relationship between the mother of the sisters. The positive aspects of the book are that it is easy to read and the descriptions of the farm and the Florida wild lands are delightful.

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