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The Happiness In Between: A Novel
Unavailable
The Happiness In Between: A Novel
Unavailable
The Happiness In Between: A Novel
Audiobook9 hours

The Happiness In Between: A Novel

Written by Grace Greene

Narrated by Shannon McManus

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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.




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LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 31, 2017
ISBN9781536615272
Unavailable
The Happiness In Between: A Novel
Author

Grace Greene

Grace Greene is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of women’s fiction and contemporary romance set in the bucolic reaches of her native Virginia (Kincaid’s Hope, Cub Creek, The Happiness In Between, The Memory of Butterflies) and the breezy beaches of Emerald Isle, North Carolina (Beach Rental, Beach Winds). Her debut novel, Beach Rental, and the sequel, Beach Winds, were both Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. For more about the author and her books, visit www.gracegreene.com or connect with her on Twitter @Grace_Greene and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GraceGreeneBooks.

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Reviews for The Happiness In Between

Rating: 3.8823528941176475 out of 5 stars
4/5

17 ratings6 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Sandra leaves her husband (for the second time) and shows up at her parents' house in the middle of the night expecting open arms and a place to stay. Unfortunately, she does not get the warm welcoming from her mom that she expected. Her parents are selling their house and moving to Florida and Sandra is not invited to live with them. Her father is suffering from dementia. Sandra does not understand why she can't move to Florida with her parents. Did I mention Sandra is thirty? The problem I had with this book was not the story line, but the main character Sandra. I really hated her. She blamed all her problems on everyone else and never took any responsibility for her choices. Sandra even told her mom it was her fault. Her mom had to be the reason Sandra dropped out of college, married Trent twice and couldn't hold a job. Her parents paid for college, her wedding and her first divorce. Sandra went back to Trent because she needed to feel wanted and wasn't getting that while living at her parents' house. When Sandra had the option to live at her aunt's house and save the little money she had she naturally turned it down. Instead she used up the little money she had at hotels and of course loses her money envelope. So she sleeps in her car and doesn't go to her aunt's until the day she is actually need to watch her dog. I just couldn't feel bad for Sandra, I know Trent was a horrible husband, but Sandra drove me crazy. At the end, even though Sandra (who now goes by Cassandra) doesn't have a job, her mom will sign over the family house once the divorce comes through, which her parents are paying for again.I didn't hate the book, but it just wasn't for me. I liked the writing style and the story. Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author, Grace Greene, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of "The Happiness in Between" by Grace Greene. The genre of this novel is women's fiction. I like that the author addresses issues such as adult dementia (alzheimers), spousal verbal abuse, animal abuse, animal shelters, bullying, and special needs in education. One of the main characters, Sandra(Cassandra) is running away from an abusive marriage(married twice to the same man, Trent), and relocates in her aunt's home in rural VIrginia. In exchange for room and board, Sandra takes care of the house and Honey,her aunt's elder dog. Her parents have moved to Florida, where it will be easier to take care of her father who has dementia. Her aunt goes to help her parents settle in. Sandra does meet her neighbors, Colton and his son Aaron, and through their kindness and help, manages to fix her aunt's messy property. Unfortunately, Trent has been looking for Sandra. Sandra is insecure and has problems asserting herself and being independent. I found that the author shows us strengths and weaknesses in her characters, friendship, love, choices, self worth and hope. I enjoyed and would recommend this novel.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Well written story. Sandra annoyed me though. I just wanted her to get on with her life and stop blaming her mother for mistakes Sandra herself had made. Psychological cruelty is much more difficult to explain than physical cruelty because there are no visible bruises. This Sandra discovered after leaving her husband for the second time and no one understood why.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a wonderful novel by Grace Greene about learning to love yourself and make the best of your situation no matter how old you are. It's really a 'coming of age' novel for a 30 year old woman.Sandra has left her controlling husband for the second time and returned to her parents home in Virginia where she finds little sympathy from her mother who is packing up and selling the house to move to Florida with Sandra's dad who has Alzheimers. With no money and few opportunities, Sandra moves to Cub Creek in rural Va to house sit and take care of her aunt's dog. What she finds when she gets there is a totally messy house and a missing dog. She also has a strong feeling that her husband is following her. At the beginning of the novel, Sandra is a 'good girl' who has never learned to stand up for herself or make decisions based on her happiness - her decisions were always based on what either her parents or her husband wanted her to do. Will her time alone in her aunt's house and her fear of her abusive husband cause her to continue her life as it had been or will she learn to stand up for herself and find her own happiness?This is a wonderful novel about Sandra learning to grow up and take charge of her life and look for happiness in small ways. Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    After the second time around, Sandra Hurst flees in the night from an emotionally abusive husband, Trent! She returns to her parents house in Virginia, and learns they are moving to Florida! After weeks on her own without finding a job, she is offered to house-sit and dog-sit for her aunt at her grandparents homestead. Her aunt has a dog named Honey, who is missing when Sandra arrives at the home. What ensues in looking for Honey builds the storyline and begins a new life for Sandra. She has to decide what she wants and how to find happiness in her life. Her husband finds her and she has to decide how to deal with him. This storyline kept me interested in what happens next to Sandra as she lets go of her past and decides about her future life. A very heartwarming saga about small town country life with caring neighbors.and new beginnings. I enjoy reading Grace Greene's books and The Happiness In Between was an outstanding read!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Although The Happiness in Between was originally published in 2017, I had never read it so this re-release was new to me. I have, however, read many of this author’s other books set in Cub Creek and other locales, so my expectation was that it would be another well-written, satisfying book. And as always, my expectation was more than met. Grace Green never disappoints. Characters with many layers and strong personalities, events that you may not see coming, and lush surroundings that make you feel you are there or want to visit soon.When the story opens Sandra Hurst has left her husband Trent. Left while he wasn’t home. Just threw some things in her car and drove off. Sandra was an obedient child and grew into an obedient woman. She thought if she did what was expected of her, what she thought others wanted, then she would be happy and safe and satisfied. But life doesn’t work like that. And when it doesn’t she’s lost and hurt and confused, and maybe just a little bit resentful. She did what was expected, she was a good girl, a good wife, why can’t everybody see that? Well, maybe because while obedient girl might be a good thing, obedient woman sometimes just looks insecure, unsuccessful, unable to take care of herself, unwilling to take responsibility.Sandra leaves Trent for the second time and goes home, where she gets a very cold and unwelcome greeting from her mother. She tries to explain how things are with Trent, how he really is, how she just needs a little help – again – but the thing is, the first time you leave you may or may not get sympathy and support from friends and family, but when you go back and then leave again you kind of become the boy who cried wolf. Sandra’s relationship with her mother was never that warm and fuzzy, her father has dementia, and her mother must deal with that as well as selling the family home and moving out of state, so the open-arm welcome home sure we’ll help stay as long as you like doesn’t happen.Turns out that Sandra does have valid reasons for leaving Trent. Think gaslight. He’s controlling, cruel, manipulative, vindictive. He’s never been physically abusive but you have an unpleasant feeling it wouldn’t be impossible. But she’s angry and hurt at her mother’s response and advice, and stubbornly makes bad decisions, bad choices. Until she realizes that she may not be as well hidden from Trent as she thought she was and acknowledges to herself that maybe housesitting for her aunt may be her best – and only – option for now. So off to Cub Creek she goes.She remembers it vaguely from her childhood. Nice place to visit, but . . . she meets people who know some of her family’s history, makes some almost kind of friendships and searches desperately for her aunt’s lost dog.With The Happiness in Between we get the Grace Greene good things we always do: well-developed multi-layered characters, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous word pictures, some mystery and suspense, and the reminder that everything isn’t always just about us. Other people’s lives, memories, experiences have shaped them and affected their feelings and behavior, too, and while you can run away from your problems for a while you can’t really escape them; you have to face them even if it might be terrifying.The Happiness in Between is a delightful read with a very satisfying ending. Greene doesn’t have the fairy godmother swoop in, instant happy ever after, sweep all your troubles away. Her characters have to face life, to make decisions, to think. But you are left feeling that happy forever might right around the corner after all. Thanks to Grace Green for providing a copy of this book for my reading pleasure. All opinions are my own.