A nice read about rediscovering yourself and learning what is important. Well written, lovely characters and a good story. Thank you for letting me review this book.

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 and netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review.

I started reading this book and sat until I had finished it. It was so good and I became so involved in the characters story I had to finish to see where her life went. The heroine's journey was very emotional and she doesn't always make the right choices but you can't help but feel she is a friend. This is my first book by Grace Greene but it won't be my last. Thank you for giving me an enjoyable afternoon

This was a good story that made me thinking a lot.
I'm sure the non physical violence makes so much more damages and it's even more difficult to understand and fight.

I've appreciated Sandra self growth throughout the book.At the beginning we meet a scared girl,at moments almost childish in her actions, but at the end we leave a full grown woman who has found the courage to do something to save herself and finally be happy.

I read this while on vacation and I could not put it down. Loved it. Shows warmth, healing and hope. You will not regret reading this book.

This is a story about learning how to be you and finding your happiness and your strength in yourself. Our heroine, Cassandra-Sandra has left her marriage for the second time. She divorced her husband, married him again thinking things could be fixed, but now she has found the relationship irretrievably broken due to her husband's controlling, manipulative, mentally abusive ways. Her parents always have bailed her out from her bad choices...but this time, not so much. This is the story of how she comes into her own, learns to believe in herself, and gets her strength back. There is a bit of a love story here, but it is very minor (yet charming) part.

I read this book a while back and delayed writing a review because I wanted to do so without too much emotion involved, and that right there, is an attestation to the skill of the author. My problem with this book lies in the characters,the asinine, juvenile behavior of the female lead Cassandra and her equally ridiculous ex Trent. Her actions throughout the story were that of a teenager with little to no insight or forethought. Her one redeeming action occurred during an exchange with her ex, and led to her overcoming the issue with Trent.I tried but honestly could not detect any sparks between her and the neighbor Colton, but suddenly they are in love. The little boy I found endearing,although I did not comprehend the emphasis placed on his injury.Also sweet was the relationship between her parents, though her mother comes across as cold and distant, but that was later clarified in the book.The secrecy behind her uncle's demise turned out not to be such a secret after all, as I guessed early on in the book, that chain of events.The sinister plot of the ex was a good premise but the story fell flat for me because of the clueless, exasperating heroine.I had no problems putting down this book and delaying reading it because I had to find a frame of open-mindedness to proceed, otherwise I would have chucked the book in disgust.The author was clever in the way she wrote this to evoke such intensity from the reading, but I can't truly say I would be looking out for any other books in the near future, have to recover from this one first.Thank you to the author and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege to critique the book, honestly and as non brutally as I could.

Sandra Hurst has left her husband for the second time. She heads home expecting to find a place to figure out her next move but instead finds that her parents are moving to Florida and she is not invited. Sandra used to her parents fixing things for her and is shocked when her mother decides to let Sandra figure out what she wants to do. Once she is able to convince her mother that her husband isn't what he seems, her mother gives her a start, and a place to heal.
Once she makes it to her Aunt's home, she slowly works to find herself and find the confidence she never had. Dealing with memories, Sandra has to work through more than her emotionally abusive marriage, dealing with how the way she grew up led her to her marriage and where she is now.
With the help of a neighbor, her aunt's dog, and the family home, Sandra has to find the strength to stand up to her ex and find her place in life to have a future.
This was my first encounter with Grace Greene's writing. She created a character in Sandra that was initially very tough to like, and evoked very complex emotions from me. As the story went along, and we found out more about her, the more I understood and admired her and how she was able to move forward and start her life over.
This was an intense and emotional read that I am happy I took the chance and picked it up.

Happiness in Between was a nice break from all the mystery/thrillers I've been reading lately. It's a sweet story about a woman named Sandra looking to find her way. She has forever been trying to be what everyone else wants her to be and to make everyone else happy. It isn't until she leaves her manipulative, mentally abusive husband for the second time that she can begin to think about what she wants. However, her husband Trent isn't ready to let her go so easily.

Sandra is given the opportunity to house/dog sit for her mother's sister, Aunt Barbara, in Cub Creek. The home has been in the family for generations and holds a lot of memories, good and bad. When she gets there she find a seriously neglected backyard, and her Aunt's dog Honey is missing. She befriends her aunt's neighbor Colton, and his son Aaron, and together they set out to find Honey and fix up the backyard to make it a safer place for her.

While taking on the backyard project and reorganizing her aunt's home, she has an opportunity to see her life in a different light. It's through this process that that she reflects on who she is, what she wants to do, and why she continues to let herself be a victim.

My favorite Sandra quote: "Be smart. Be yourself. Don't change who you are to suit anyone".

was able to get an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Very enjoyable read set in beautiful Virginia. I loved that there was a dog that was a huge part of the story. The author weaves a beautiful message about being bullied and being ourselves and not changing to suit others and following our dreams. Just enough mystery and romance tossed in.

I received this book from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

I admit to never having read a book by Grace Greene. I think I have missed some good books judging from "The Happiness In Between." This book made me cry, in many ways due to my own past that parallels Sandra's. But, it also made me laugh and that is a good book. It made me feel emotions that I had to dust off after many years and then it came back to make me happy! This may not make sense to some readers, but others will relate.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Ms. Greene's works in the future.

This is a well written quick read. This deals with some serious issues- Sandra, in addition to lots of other things, clearly would benefit from counseling. Her time in the park and some of her other behavior show problems beyond the fact that she's dealing with an abusive stalking husband. That's not addressed. It was very convenient for her to have a handsome single neighbor who helped her. As much as I am unhappy with certain aspects of the story, I did read the whole thing and thank Netgalley for the ARC. I'll look for Greene again. I was very struck by her comment in the afterword about her friend; I think she is overly optimistic about the outcome of that situation.

I really enjoyed this book, as well as the author's other writings. It is lighthearted, sad, funny and realistic all at the same time. A good book to curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee to lose yourself in another's life. I found myself rooting for Sandra to open her eyes and see what was real, to be able to break the connection to her husband and really move on and find her place in the world on her own. As a reader, it is easy to see the abuse that is going on in Sandra's life, and as a reader I was able to see Sandra's struggle to rise above it, fight for herself and break free.

** spoiler alert ** It was an okay story... Girl comes home in the middle of the night leaving her abusive husband. She sadly made the mistake of remarking him. She leaves with the bare minimum she can stuff in garbage bags in the trunk of her car. I feel the storyline could've used more work. Who would be crazy enough on a limited income chose to stay in a hotel and squander away money....the other thing that bothered me was how her parents treated her... seriously...an verbally abusive spouse is still abuse and you take off to Florida without assisting your child until almost the end of the story.. I really hate putting out semi-negative reviews...I feel this story was missing a lot.

A story of success and accomplishing the discovery of one's self worth with challenges and obstacles along the way. The reader will silently cheer for Sandra as she pushes forth to realize she can and will be the person she was always meant to be. The empathy felt by the reader illustrates the beautiful writing style of the author. Thank you for allowing me to read this title prior to publication....I simply loved it!

I love this novel. The characters are believable and well-written. I highly recommend the book.

Greene's book was an enjoyable read but somewhat lacking. Greene tells the story of Sandra Hurts, who is leaving her emotionally abusive husband for the second time. It follow the "abused wife pursued by abusive husband" trope but with some interesting twists. None of the abuse is physical and her parents are resolute in their stance that this is a problem she must solve on her own. While the book was enjoyable and Sandra is a likeable protagonist, it would have benefited from more backstory. We know that Sandra's mother exercises "tough love," but we don't know enough about the mother to understand why. While we learn that Sandra has always felt like an outsider, even though she was a "good girl," there is nothing about her that allows us insight into why she feels like an outsider or why she would remarry a man who was emotionally abusive during their first marriage. We are told that she did these things but there is insufficient information to determine why she would do so. With the fleshing-out of more of Sandra's and her mother's background, I think it would have been a more satisfying read.

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.

I really enjoyed The Happiness in Between. The main character is a 30 year old 'little girl', blaming others for her unhappiness. I didn't like her much at first, but through the course of the book she grows up and finds herself.
This is a book that I want to share with friends and family.

The Happiness in Between is a super book. The story of Sandra who suffers mental abuse at the hands of her husband. I found myself cheering her along during her struggles when she leaves. The book has a tremendous plot and ver well developed and believable characters.