The Happiness In Between
The Happiness In Between by Grace Greene
Print and ebook, 302 pages
Published January 31st 2017 by Lake Union Publishing
A woman returns home to hide from her past mistakes and discovers one more chance at happiness.
Sandra Hurst has left her husband. Again. After dropping out of college to marry Trent, divorcing him, then remarrying him, she’s shown up on her parents’ doorstep nursing her wounds. But her parents refuse to help this time—emotionally or financially.
Desperate to earn money and determined to start over, she accepts an offer from her aunt to house-sit at the old family home, Cub Creek, in ruggedly beautiful rural Virginia. But when Sandra arrives, she finds the house has grown shabby, her aunt’s dog is missing, and the garden is woefully overgrown. And she suspects her almost-ex-husband is on her trail.
As she begins to settle into the familiar homestead, powerful secrets and hurtful memories are unearthed. But Sandra discovers that to move on from the pain of her past, she must embrace the beauty of her future. Getting back to her roots—with a little help from her handsome new neighbor Colton and his son; her aunt’s devoted dog, Honey; and a lush garden on the brink of either failing or flourishing—may be just what Sandra needs. And this final chance could lead to regaining her self-respect, making peace with her family, discovering what she’s truly made of…and becoming the woman she was always meant to be. And along the way, she just might find a bit of happiness in each day.
My thoughts about The Happiness In Between ~~
First line—"Sandra Hurst didn't call ahead. She drove through the night across Virginia, from Martinsville to Richmond, with her music turned up load to shut out unhappy thoughts."
Sandra just wants to go home, to escape her controlling husband, and to be wrapped in the support of her parents. Well, when she arrives home, she gets no help from her mother who is dealing with a husband with dementia. They are getting ready to sell their house and move to Florida. Sandra finds out pretty quickly that she has to figure it out all by herself.
She sinks pretty low before she lands at her aunt's house where she has been asked to take care of the property and the dog. She can't even do that very well. And then there is always that crazy husband to worry about. Will he find her or not? She can't let her guard down for even a minute.
I enjoyed The Happiness in Between and loved the complexity of the characters as they tried to figure out their lives. I especially loved the young neighbor boy, Aaron. He is such a wise, responsible little man.
I loved getting lost in Sandra's world for a bit and I look forward to reading more books by Grace Greene. She is a new-to-me author but she's one I will be watching now.
About the author
Grace Greene writes women's fiction and contemporary romance with suspense. A Virginia native, Grace has family ties to North Carolina. She writes books set in both locations.
The Emerald Isle books, Beach Rental and Beach Winds, are set in North Carolina where "It's always a good time for a love story and a trip to the beach."
Or travel down Virginia Country Roads in Kincaid's Hope, A Stranger in Wynnedower, and Cub Creek and "Take a trip to love, mystery and suspense." Her newest release, Leaving Cub Creek, is the sequel to Cub Creek.
Beach Rental, her debut novel, won the Booksellers Best contest in both the Traditional and Best First Book categories. Beach Rental and Beach Winds were each awarded 4.5 stars, Top Pick by RT Book Reviews magazine. Kincaid's Hope received a 4 star review from that same magazine.
2017 will be an amazing year for Grace in the book department. The Happiness in Between (Women's Fiction with Lake Union) will release January 31st and the second Lake Union Women's Fiction novel, The Memory of Butterflies, will release in July. I'm also participating in novella anthology throughout the summer. In the Spring, she's planning to release another Emerald Isle, NC novel ~ the third in the Emerald Isle, NC series ~ this will be Maia's story.
Grace lives in central Virginia. Stay current with Grace's releases and appearances at her website and sign up for her newsletter. Grace loves to hear from readers.
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