Hurricane Season

A really good story about two sisters and their very different lives. Book began a bit slow but I stuck with it and it improved as the book went on. Really enjoyed the descriptions of life on the farm and the sense of community. A story about storms not only weather related but within the human spirit and the lives they lived. An enjoyable read.

"Hurricane Season" is a well-written story involving two sisters and their starkly different lives. It covers a summer of reflection and pursuing dreams.The story itself is good, but as an enthusiastic reader of mysteries I found it to be a bit boring. This is not the fault of the author. It simply isn't my typical genre.I do commend the author for refraining from using foul language and strong sexual content. It's refreshing to read a "clean" book. They are so few and far between.

A pleasant, easy to read book of love on many levels. Two sisters experiencing very different emotional strife and conflict, both with each other and internally. Between them and the forces of the plot,are two little girls who are filled with love. They discover their lives are still and forever intertwined.

Always a sucker for Lauren Denton. A feel good book about family drama and finding yourself- I just wish there was more!

Enjoyable, easy read. Not as predictable as I initially thought. Denton’s writing flows to enhance the pleasure of reading it. Good summer choice.

“Hurricane Season” is Lauren K. Denton’s second book. It is a Southern Romance novel. Like “The Hideaway” and “Glory Road” it is a standalone read.The story is told from three POVs – Jenna, Betsy, and Ty (Betsy’s husband).Betsy and Ty Franklin are the owners of Franklin Dairy. Ty tends the cows and Betsy handles the day to day operations. Approaching 30, Betsy has given up having her own children due to repeated issues in conception.Betsy’s younger sister Jenna; is a single mom to two daughters – Addie (5) and Walsh (3). Jenna is working at a coffee shop to support herself and her children.Jenna gets an opportunity to pursue her lifelong ambition (photography) at a retreat – but she has to find someone to care for her daughters for two weeks. That’s where Betsy comes in. Reluctantly, Betsy says yes – it is only two weeks.Jenna is having her own crisis at the retreat. After being given a rare opportunity to stay longer than the original two (2) weeks and work on her photography, she wonders if she should stay or rush home. She wants to have something to show for her life and feels she won’t get another chance to do something like this again. Jenna misses her children who seem to be adjusting well with Betsy and Ty. But, she isn’t being told the entire story either. Betsy is having issues in dealing with “two little reminders of what my body can’t do”. A very powerful line in this novel. And, that puts a strain on Betsy and Ty’s marriage.As weeks drag out, and a hurricane makes its way towards the farm – Ty, Betsy, and Jenna have to sort out what they want in life and what their choices will mean.“Hurricane Season” not only refers to the storm season and the approaching storm, but the storms in our personal lives – choices to make, lives affected, and the consequences of such.Jenna undoubtedly wants to do more with her life than “serve coffee”, but she also has two small children who rely on her. She leaves her children with her sister without advance notice or discussing the impact it would have on her sister as well as Ty. True Jenna didn’t have much notice – but it should’ve been discussed more thoroughly with her sister. I also feel that Betsy should’ve been more honest with her sister throughout the story.Betsy isn’t quite 30 when the story begins and has been trying to have children since she was 25. Seeing and caring for Jenna’s children, brings out some resentment which is understandable to a point, considering Jenna didn’t want kids. If I can be honest, 30 isn’t that old. Some women have kids in their late 30’s to mid 40’s.Ty’s frustration was understandable. He knew the infertility issues his wife was having. His primary goal was to protect Betsy. He wasn’t good at communicating what he wanted either. He was wonderful in interacting with the kids though.I felt sorry for Addie and Walsh. They adored their mother and didn’t understand what was going on.Max and Gregory …I felt that while Max was looking out for Jenna and her talent, he was failing to understand that she was the kids’ only caregiver. What did he expect her to do with her kids while she spent even two weeks at Halcyon? What if her sister decided to say no?Gregory was another problem – like Max, he was only focused on Jenna’s talent – not her responsibilities. The two guys saw nothing wrong with pawning the kids off on Jenna’s sister, and by extension Jenna saw nothing wrong with it either.Denton did a wonderful job with creating family strife as well as the impact of indecisions on our lives, and how it affects those around us. She definitely drove home the point about it appears selfish when we follow dreams/goals, but also about how we should think about more in life than “just making ends meet”.Can we fit what we want into what we need? Is pursuing a “dream job” with “the potential” to earn more money worth sacrificing family, and a job that does pay the bills? At one point is it alright to make decisions with others in mind? Or should we only consider ourselves.As a fan of Denton’s “Glory Road”, I wanted to read her previous work. This is admittedly the weakest of the three books she has released. It wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t as enjoyable as the other two.

Never having read this author before, I was excited write a summary of the story. It started out slow, not sure I was going to go on and finish. When the little girls were left with Aunt Betsy, I was elated for Betsy and thankful Betsy helped Jenna. What a crazy relationship Betsy and Jenna had. Jenna seems so immature, irresponsible, and with her head in the clouds. She thought she could just drop those kids off at her sisters, and everything would be fine and no one's feelings would be hurt and no one would ever suffer from her decision open up till the very end it seemed like she was ready to pack her bags and go to California. I was upset. I was upset that Betsy had taken those girls for over two months and they had grown in their hearts to look at Betsy as their surrogate mother, and now they weren't even sure their mother was coming back. Everything moved along and some people might be happy with the way the ending turned out. I'm one of those who was not happy. The author went into such detail about all the other characters and what turmoil they were going through, and then turn the page and poof it's done. When I read a book with so much emotion involved, dropping the last paragraph like she did was very upsetting. I believe that considering the number of characters and the paths of Life they were all going on, a very short concise epilogue would have been appropriate and as far as I'm concerned necessary. Not sure I want to invest my emotions in reading another book of this type.

Two sisters. Two children. One with. One without. One man solid and knowing his wife was enough.Denton’s rich use of imagery, unforced dialogue and setting make me eager for every book. Hurricane Season offers all of that and more.Her books are fabulous.

It's a theme that resonates with me these days. How well do you really know your nearest and dearest? An enjoyable read. I always enjoy stories about photographers.

A great author and a great story about the complexity of family ties, with relatable characters and fine writing as some paragraphs are worth writing down for later reflexion..

Another brilliant book. Such a good story about two sisters. You feel for both of them.