Story centered spousal abuse.The Hurricane Sistersby Dorothea Benton Frank (Goodreads Author) 3.49   Rating Details   12,243 Ratings   1,475 ReviewsHurricane season begins early and rumbles all summer long, well into September. Often people's lives reflect the weather and The Hurricane Sisters is just such a story.Once again Dorothea Benton Frank takes us deep into the heart of her magical South Carolina Lowcountry on a tumultuous journey filled with longings, disappointments, and, finally, a road toward happiness that is hard earned. There we meet three generations of women buried in secrets. The determined matriarch, Maisie Pringle, at eighty, is a force to be reckoned with because she will have the final word on everything, especially when she's dead wrong. Her daughter, Liz, is caught up in the classic maelstrom of being middle-age and in an emotionally demanding career that will eventually open all their eyes to a terrible truth. And Liz's beautiful twenty-something daughter, Ashley, whose dreamy ambitions of her unlikely future keeps them all at odds.Luckily for Ashley, her wonderful older brother, Ivy, is her fierce champion but he can only do so much from San Francisco where he resides with his partner. And Mary Beth, her dearest friend, tries to have her back but even she can't talk headstrong Ashley out of a relationship with an ambitious politician who seems slightly too old for her.Actually, Ashley and Mary Beth have yet to launch themselves into solvency. Their prospects seem bleak. So while they wait for the world to discover them and deliver them from a ramen-based existence, they placate themselves with a hare-brained scheme to make money but one that threatens to land them in huge trouble with the authorities.So where is Clayton, Liz's husband? He seems more distracted than usual. Ashley desperately needs her father's love and attention but what kind of a parent can he be to Ashley with one foot in Manhattan and the other one planted in indiscretion? And Liz, who's an expert in the field of troubled domestic life, refuses to acknowledge Ashley's precarious situation. Who's in charge of this family? The wake-up call is about to arrive.The Lowcountry has endured its share of war and bloodshed like the rest of the South, but this storm season we watch Maisie, Liz, Ashley, and Mary Beth deal with challenges that demand they face the truth about themselves. After a terrible confrontation they are forced to rise to forgiveness, but can they establish a new order for the future of them all?Frank, with her hallmark scintillating wit and crisp insight, captures how a complex family of disparate characters and their close friends can overcome anything through the power of love and reconciliation. This is the often hilarious, sometimes sobering, but always entertaining story of how these unforgettable women became The Hurricane Sisters.

I am so glad I got to see Dottie and have her sign a copy of this book for me! I love everything she writes! The only problem I have is that as soon as a new book is released I rush through it. I loved this one and made a list of restaurants that I want to eat at when I go to Charleston. Lol ( )

This was an easy, breezy family tale of three generations of women in a South Carolina family, happily feuding their way through life.

Maisie, the 80-year-old matriarch, is a feisty, outspoken character who frequently clashes with her straitlaced daughter, Liz, often over Liz' daughter Ashley, a wannabe artist. Ashley falls hard for a womanizing politician at the same time Liz' marriage drifts into turbulent waters. Frank uses Ashley's romance to launch a subplot about domestic violence, and the ultimate happy-ever-after conclusion seems to come out of left field.

No brain cells were harmed in the making of this book, but it was a welcome diversion. ( )

Grandma who is an active 80 years old, mom who is married, and 23 year old daughter who is finding herself, all set in the contemporary low country of coastal South Carolina. Entertaining and a good light summer read. Love the character development. Touches on some contemporary social issues in a very real way. ( )

I like when they include chapters from different characters’ perspectives but this one bounced between four and it left me wanting more from just one or two. ( )