USA TODAY bestseller Hurricane Season is the story of one family’s unconventional journey to healing–and the relationships that must be mended along the way. Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, have long since buried their desire for children of their own. While Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, Betsy busies herself with the farm’s day-to-day operations … day-to-day operations and tries to forget her dream of motherhood. But when her free-spirited sister, Jenna, drops off her two young daughters for “just two weeks,” Betsy’s carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.
As the two weeks stretch deeper into the Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their world–and revel in the laughter that now fills their home. Meanwhile, record temperatures promise to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.
Attending an art retreat four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She finally has time and energy to focus on her photography, a lifelong ambition. But she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life she’s made back home as a single mom.
When Hurricane Ingrid aims a steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that will change her family’s future, even as Betsy and Ty try to protect their beloved farm and their hearts. From the author of the USA TODAY bestseller The Hideaway comes a new story about families and mending the past.
“A poignant and heartfelt tale of sisterhood, motherhood, and marriage, Hurricane Season deftly examines the role that coming to terms with the past plays in creating a hopeful future. Readers will devour this story of the hurricanes–both literal and figurative–that shape our lives.” –Kristy Woodson Harvey, national bestselling author of Slightly South of Simple
- A full-length Southern Women’s Fiction Novel
- Includes Discussion Questions for Book Clubs
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Ms. Denton is a new author to me, and I’m glad to have found her. The characters in this book are vivid and the dilemmas both real and touching. I’ll gladly look for another by her.
A heartwarming story of two sisters, totally opposite in their adult lives. It’s the story of how their past has shaped them & how they live out their lives. Everyone experiences storms in life and these two sisters struggle to understand each other. Will the bonds of sisterhood carry them through their current situations? I love books that take place in the south so I was pleased in every way.
This is the second book by this author that I have read and I am becoming a fan. This is a story of two sisters, each appear as different as night and day. Betsy, a farmers wife has a follow the rules persona and Jenna is the free spirit following her dream. But deep down, they each wish they could be more like the other. They come to understand each other and realize they have more in common than originally thought. The realization brings them closer to each other and in turn brings clarity to their own aspirations of what they truly want out of life. Exceptionally crafted.
I enjoyed this book.
A tale of two sisters and how each in her own way dealt with a mother and father who were too absorbed in their own work to really understand their daughters. I very much enjoyed this, my first book by this author. the characters were appealing and well-rounded, and the exploration of the sisters’ relationship felt realistic . At various times, I wanted to root for each of them or give each of them a stern talking to.
I think anyone who enjoys women’s fiction dealing with relationships will enjoy reading this book.
Great book
Great quick read!
Sweet story. Good writing
Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, have long since buried their desire for children of their own. While Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, Betsy busies herself with the farm’s day-to-day operations and tries to forget her dream of motherhood. But when her free-spirited sister, Jenna, drops off her two young daughters for “just two weeks,” Betsy’s carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.
As the two weeks stretch deeper into the Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their world—and revel in the laughter that now fills their home. Meanwhile, record temperatures promise to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.
Attending an art retreat four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She finally has time and energy to focus on her photography, a lifelong ambition. But she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life she’s made back home as a single mom.
When Hurricane Ingrid aims a steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that will change her family’s future, even as Betsy and Ty try to protect their beloved farm and their hearts. Hurricane Season is the story of one family’s unconventional journey to healing—and the relationships that must be mended along the way.
Enjoyable women’s fiction. I finished it some time ago but since the story line has stayed woth me it was more than an empty summer read. Certainly demonstrates the problem strong women have opening themselves to others or acknowledging needs.
I really enjoyed this book.. It held my interest from page one.
I just finished it. The title looked intriguing so I thought I would give it a shot. Glad I did.
I enjoyed this book so much that I ordered the other book written by this author.
Enjoyed it
A wonderful read. I really loved this book.
Hurricane Season speaks to me not just of the storm approaching but of the internal hurricanes in the lives of the characters. This story is written from the perspectives of Betsy, Ty, and Jeanna and each chapter is labeled so you aren’t in doubt of whom is speaking. Each character is struggling and hiding feelings that need to be dealt with in order to heal and move on. This is a powerful story of family relationships and internal struggles that will leave you emotionally involved with their lives when the last page is turned. Finding Hope in the midst of the storm is the best description I can find for this story that tugs your heartstrings.
I received a complimentary copy from the Thomas Nelson & Zondervan Fiction Guild. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.
I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild, I was not required to give a favorable review. This was a great story about how the interaction of 2 sisters and the need for finding what makes them happy. The older sister Betsy is married and has had a hard time getting pregnant, her husband Ty and she run his family dairy/farm. She uses her degree to help educate the children in the area & also help with 4-H. Her younger sister Jenna is a mom of 2 little girls in and lives in Nashville. When Jenna has the chance to go to a photography/artist retreat for 2 weeks she calls her sister to take care of her girls at the farm. But it goes to how they were always looked at as children, Betsy was the golden child and Jenna was the one who did everything wrong. This time in their lives make such a difference to these two women and how they see themselves.
What a wonderful story that takes takes readers on a journey of discovery. Betsy is my favorite character because of her giving heart. She is a character that many can relate to due to her desire to have a child. Her husband Ty is a hard working man who makes a living by running the Franklin Dairy Farm. The farm reminds me of my granddad’s farm I visited every summer. It was a lot of work for him but he was the happiest when he was outdoors.
Jenna who is Betsy’s sister made me a bit annoyed. She is a single mom with two adorable girls barely making ends meet. When she gets a chance to maybe change her life, she jumps at the oportuity. She leaves her two girls with Betsy and Ty saying she would be back in two weeks. The story centers around the sisters and the emotional struggles they face. I loved how the author used Ty as a strong husband and continually supported his wife. It’s hard to say what someone would do if given an opportunity to change their life, but at what expense will it do to the children?
The longer Jenna stays away, the closer the children become to their aunt and uncle. Ty could sense the emotional state Betsy was starting to fall in to. Could you leave your children for a period of time in hopes of a better future? There is no guarantee in life, so maybe Jenna had to risk everything to find happiness. I loved the tension the author built as a hurricane threatens Betsy and Ty’s place. I have been through several; the last one being Hurricane Harvey. It did major damage to our land and we lost many things. It also made us realize how precious life is. I liked how the tension started rearing its ugly head between Betsy and Ty. When Ty say “I’m never going to be enough for you, am I?” , I cried. The aching in Betsy’s heart for a child is consuming her. Is she starting to push her husband away?
Jenna is complicated at times. I questioned her decision but in a way I understood. Sometimes we have to take a leap of faith and pray that things will work out. The more I got to know Jenna, the more I could identify with her. Is it so wrong to want a better life for yourself? Will Jenna make the correct choice for her and her girls? The book is skillfully written with a beautiful and touching ending. The author has written a story that reflects on faith and family. I loved the characters and how easily the story flowed. I look forward to the next book from this author who writes with beauty and grace.
I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild. The review is my own opinion.
This story touched me a little more than most books. As someone who suffered with infertility, Betsy’s struggles were very real to me. And then to have a sister who had two children without trying to was another nail in the coffin of my emotions. My sister had three children…getting pregnant with two of them while I was trying to get pregnant the first time.
The author does a wonderful job of exploring the emotions both sisters experience, factoring in life growing up with parents who weren’t really involved in their lives (very self centered), as well as their present day lives.
This story was a storm of epic proportions…having you ache for Betsy and Ty, wondering where Jenna would end up, falling in love with the two precious children Jenna leaves with her sister for what turns into longer than a two-week retreat. There are so many analogies from the intensity of the storm related to raging emotions, growth of the garden Betsy plants related to how she and Ty grow in their relationship, etc. This book is a wonderful example of relationships and enduring the storms of life.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I love Laura Denton’s books and this one was another moving tale I have enjoyed.
” ‘I see children, he said. I hear laughter. I see a childhood spent outside in the heat and air and light. I see our future.’ ”
The future that Betsy and Ty Franklin had imagined as newlyweds has grown strangely dim. Managing the large Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama is rewarding, in spite of the relentless pace, but there is no laughter of children ringing in their ears. There is barely optimism, in Betsy’s mind, of extending the Franklin name for the next generation, for now it seems that prayer might be their only option.
One summer morning a phone call from Betsy’s sister Jenna interrupts her rather predictable routine; can Betsy and Ty keep her young daughters while she attends a prestigious art retreat in Florida? Two weeks. Two children. “She’d do anything for Jenna.”
As the days become weeks, and Jenna’s retreat extends her original estimation, both sisters struggle to find freedom from who they think they ought to be and who they truly are. It might take a hurricane to illuminate a ray of “hope shining like a beacon in the dark places”.
Such a lovely story!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, under no obligations. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.