The House Plant by Jeremy Ray {Short Story Review}
{Disclaimer: I received an ARC copy of this story in exchange for an honest from the author, Jeremy Ray.}
Hello Friends,
When Indie Author, Jeremy Ray, reached out to me on Instagram sharing the synopsis of a couple his stories and asking if I’d be interested in an ARC of one of them ~ of course I said yes because firstly, I’m always happy to support Indie Authors in any way I can and secondly the synopsis of The Houseplant just piqued my interest so much that I knew I had to read it.
So here’s the synopsis for you:
“Brenda just wanted a houseplant to care for. The fern had other ideas.
George, a fern, doesn’t appreciate being bought by Brenda at Home Depot. And he doesn’t appreciate being trapped in her house of humans. He yearns to be with the plants outside in the garden. With time, George learns to trust Brenda and think of her as his human. The one day, tragedy strikes and George’s life will never be the same.
What happens when a houseplant loses the thing he never knew he wanted?
You’ll never look at houseplants the same way again.”
While I often struggle to read books in electronic form, I was able to read it in one sitting. Jeremy’s writing style is so lovely and easy to read as it felt very conversational and flowed nicely. Despite it being a short story, it didn’t feel that the plot was rushed in any way and I got to know the characters well enough that I cared what happened to them, especially Brenda and George, the fern. Also, there’s so much emotion within this story, which surprised me ~ I went from smiling to crying to smiling again within the space of a few minutes. I turned the last page and felt so happy and comforted; it was just so lovely.
The Houseplant also highlights the importance of being kind, whether to fellow humans or your plants. At first, George is very sceptical and nervous about Brenda and what her motives are. But as he begins to see and feel how much she cares, George observes that “her kindness had no ulterior motive” and when she names him, George realises that he is important to her and begins to think of her as his human.
“The fern wasn’t opposed to the name. It would have been happy with any name. What mattered most to the plant was the underlying intent beneath the name: it wasn’t just a houseplant anymore; it was something to someone.”
Although, there are some sad moments in this story, overall I found it really heartwarming and honestly, if my Cats didn’t like to eat plants, I’d have immediately gone out and bought a Fern and called it George!
But seriously, I’d highly recommend this short story if you’re wanting a shorter read and are looking for something a little different but also cosy and comforting. The Houseplant is available to purchase on Amazon and is free on Kindle Unlimited! Also, if you’d like to find out more about the author, Jeremy Ray, you can find him on Instagram ~ @jeremyraystories and he has links in his bio to purchase any of his stories.
Finally, I’d just like to say a big thank you to Jeremy for reaching out and giving me the opportunity to read one of your wonderful stories. I truly appreciate it.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
