She never should have walked down the aisle. She should have listened to her mother, instead of marrying that pompous…arrogant…selfish….Ginny’s inner struggles are real – at least for her, they are. She wants to live the lives her neighbors are living, but are they really what they seem?Ginny Mitchell doesn’t see her marriage the way everyone else does, not even her husband. All she does is … husband. All she does is clean the house, but her dreams want so much more. Ian wants her to experience life, but she only sees the negative. What will it take for her to know her lawn isn’t full of weeds?
Green is the Grass is a short novelette stand alone story.
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GREEN IS THE GRASS is the first book in the Life’s Moments series. I believe that each book in this series will stand alone.
I’m not sure I like Ginny. She’s whiny! Instead of being happy with a faithful husband, a beautiful home, and wonderful children, she’s focusing on the housework that she allows to consume her. Ultimately, she was focusing on taking care of house, children, husband (in that order) and always putting herself last. The question is: who is putting that pressure on her?
I would call this a “slice of life” story since the characters and their thoughts, feelings, reactions are so true to life. This is the first in the series and I would like to take another slice of this life story.
Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC, my opinions are my own and are given freely.
Title: GREEN IS THE GRASS
Series: Life’s Moments #1
Category /Genre: Contemporary Romance
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Grammar/editing: received as an unedited ARC / errors excused
Received from: Robbie Cox (as an ARC gifted copy)
I’ve read several books written by Robbie Cox; he has done a great job at writing a good book; I will definitely be reading more of his books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I loved the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved this book. This author is fast becoming one of my go to authors. She writes with creativity, heart and soul. This is a well developed story that I was pulled into right from the beginning. Her characters made the story feel real for me and I easily found myself connecting with them. I don’t regret picking up this book and neither will you. It brings everything you could want in a story. I highly recommend this book and this author.
This is a married adults coming of age story. The kids are grown and away to colllege. Ginny is at a point in her marriage where she is both bored and set in her routines. Her husband Ian does not know how to break through to her. He thinks she should relax and start taking time for herself. But both are not communicating feelings and desires well to the other.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ginny Mitchell starts out like many others who think “the grass is greener on the other side”. They don’t see all the good in their own lives and the opportunity to find even more. Instead they look at others who seem happy, successful, wealthy, or whatever other standard they use for comparison, and they fill up with anger and despair that life is not giving them these things they think they value. At first the story seems to focus on this perhaps familiar scenario where a person is so wrapped up in the mundane life holding them back that they sink into despair, wanting so much more and yet frozen in place, filled with negativity and irritation. And yet Ginny’s story goes even further with how she is losing touch with reality, seeing compliments as traps to make her fail. My favorite blurb quote in the beginning was, “What will it take for her to know her lawn isn’t full of weeds?” By the time I finished reading, that question meant an entirely different thing to me.
Ginny was furious that she was stuck with an old toaster when it should be replaced with something new and efficient. Ian was showering, probably using up all the hot water while she was stuck making his breakfast, the toast still too white for his liking as she shoved it in for the second time! She blamed Ian for her miserable life. She should have listened to her mother and never gotten married.
Ian came to the table, smiling, and told her breakfast looked great! How could it be great? It was the same thing every day! It was monotonous! She would have preferred pancakes or waffles, sausage instead of bacon, but no… same old boring breakfast. He picked up a slice of bacon – always bacon first! Why couldn’t he start with the eggs, or the toast? He asked what was on her agenda for today and she told him about the housework, laundry, and then dinner to be made. He suggested a bookstore close by that was having a poetry reading, because he knew how she loved poetry. Instead, anger flared in her mind as she thought: When did he think she had time to attend a poetry reading? Who did he think would do everything around the house if she went and enjoyed herself? Because he certainly never helped! Was he trying to take her away from her chores to make her fail as a wife? Ian saw her getting upset and tried to engage her in conversation to bring her out of the mood she seemed to live in, but she perceived it as the “daily interrogation” as he asked how well she slept and other mundane questions.
When Ian stood up with his plate and coffee mug, Ginny almost tackled him. She said it was her job to take care of him. She would put his plate in the sink; and he needed to tell her when he wanted more coffee. He kissed her goodbye and said he would check in with her later. She knew he must not trust her, having to know at all times that she was at home or where else she might be. She felt trapped. She scrubbed the floor with a tiny brush, knowing Ian would point out her shortcomings if she missed a spot. She knew it was a wife’s duty to maintain a clean home. After all, that’s how her mother lived. Day in. Day out. When he called her at lunchtime, she heard him rip open a bag of chips and she knew he would wipe his hands on his pants for her to clean the grease out of his clothes. He never thought about the mess he made or the extra work he created for her, and how a simple napkin could save her so much time during her day. And the more he tried to get her to leave the housework and do something fun for herself, the more insecure she became, feeling it was only a trap.
Because Ginny’s deterioration was kept in her own thoughts, Ian didn’t see that she needed help to get out of this pattern. She was isolated. And despite words being exchanged, they were definitely not communicating. Ian loved her, but she didn’t see any of that. She needed professional help at this point because she couldn’t interpret the world around her correctly. The story will make many uncomfortable. But it is something that can very well happen in any family, and it can sneak in quietly without alerting anyone of the danger. Never stop the communication with others – and even more important, listen to them.