Author: Lauren K. Denton
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads:  Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, have decided to put life’s disappointments behind them. At least in theory. Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, while Betsy busies herself with the farm’s day-to-day operations and tries to forget the longing for motherhood set deep in her heart. But when Betsy’s free-spirited younger sister Jenna drops her young daughters off at the farm to attend a two-week art retreat in Florida, Betsy’s carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.

As those two weeks stretch much farther into the hot Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their world and revel in a home that’s suddenly filled with the sound of laughter and life. Meanwhile, record heat promises to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.

Four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She’d once been free to travel and pursue a career in photography, but all that changed with the appearance of two pink lines on a plastic stick and a boyfriend who hit the road. At Halcyon art retreat, she finally has the time and energy to focus on her photography. As the summer continues, she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life she’s made back home with her two children.

When Hurricane Ingrid aims her steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that could affect both her and her children’s futures, and Betsy and Ty find themselves protecting their beloved farm as well as their own hearts.

Ope’s Opinion:  The story is told from three perspectives.  Betsy – the older, stable sister; Ty – Betsy’s husband and Jenna – the artistic sister with two children.  The chapters are clearly marked and the voices are distinct.

The characters are well developed, likeable and realistic.  In a small way, I felt like the hurricane was another character in the book.

The story was a constant build to the very end.  All the questions weren’t answered, things were not all wrapped up in a nice bow, but it was a satisfying ending.