New Beginnings Series – Book One
By Rachel Hanna
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ASIN: B008SNXQ1G
Number of pages: 105 pages
Word Count: 27,700
Amazon
Book Description:
When Shannon Harris's husband of 18 years dies, she is left a widow. But, she is glad he is dead after he emotionally abused her for all of those years. Now, she worries that she will never be able to open up her heart to any man again. With her daughter leaving for college, the 39 year old widow is forced to move to the Georgia mountains due to her deceased husband's legal antics.
There she meets Tanner and her world is turned upside down. Can she trust him? Should she? When her worst nightmare happens, she has to make a decision - move forward on blind faith or run away.
Filled with suspense, twists and turns, you will adore this modern love story!
Author Bio:
Rachel Hanna is a wife and mother of three kids living outside of Atlanta. Her lifelong love of writing brought her to the world of romance novels, and hasn't looked back since. She loves to create deep characters who have real feelings and situations that come up in their lives. Her favorite thing to do is hang with her family, read tons of great fiction and create new experiences for her readers.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Hanna/387099511345648
Twitter @RachelHannaBook
Second Chance Excerpt
After I hung up the phone, I realized
that I hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner, and my stomach was growling
like a bear. I walked into the kitchen to see if there was anything
in there that might suit my fancy. When you’re hungry, just about
anything edible will work.
Thankfully, there was some food in the fridge which was weird since no one had been living there for awhile. I found a frozen TV dinner with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans in it. The date was still good, so I figured the former owner may have been there recently and stayed overnight or something.
I fired up the microwave and started cooking the meal. Then, I noticed a radio hanging on the wall. I also saw a bottle of red wine sitting in a wine rack on the counter. I found a wine glass in one of my boxes and poured myself a glass.
I decided a little music was in order, so I turned it on my favorite station but it was full of static because I was so far outside of the range.
I found another station that was playing Southern classic rock and Sweet Home Alabama was on. I love that song, so I turned up the volume in an effort to wake myself up.
As the food cooked, I started swaying and singing to the music. I felt a sense of freedom wash over me for the first time in almost two decades. Sweet Home Alabama had never sounded so good!
I closed my eyes and started dancing around on the hardwood floors. Without thinking, I bumped into the counter and spilled the red wine all over my white lace sundress.
“Dang it!” I said as I pulled the sundress over my head. Realizing I was standing there in just my bra and panties, I had a momentary freak out wondering who could see me through the kitchen windows. Then, I realized that I was so far outside of the city, I could run naked through the front yard if I wanted. Freedom washed over me again.
The song changed to one of my favorites of all time - Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison. My newfound freedom kicked into high gear as my exhaustion wore away and my feet began dancing again. Here I was, in my bra and panties wearing nothing but a pair of designer cowboy boots, dancing around this large country farmhouse.
My, how life had suddenly changed…
I danced and danced, eyes closed, singing at the top of my lungs. I never even heard the microwave bell “ding” when my food was done cooking. Instead, I swigged a little wine and kept dancing.
Suddenly, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. You know that feeling you get when someone is watching you? I opened my eyes and turned around to see a man standing in the arched doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
Without missing a beat, I grabbed a butcher knife from one of the kitchen boxes, held it up and said “I’ve got a knife!”
“Well, ma’m, you might have a knife but the blade seems to be missing… And your clothes are missing too, I might add,” he said with a smirk that made me want to smack him.
“Crap,” I muttered as I dropped the knife handle which had broken away from the blade. I quickly grabbed my wine stained dress from the floor and held it in front of me to cover what I could.
“It’s okay, I am not here to hurt you. I live here,” he said walking toward me.
Thankfully, there was some food in the fridge which was weird since no one had been living there for awhile. I found a frozen TV dinner with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans in it. The date was still good, so I figured the former owner may have been there recently and stayed overnight or something.
I fired up the microwave and started cooking the meal. Then, I noticed a radio hanging on the wall. I also saw a bottle of red wine sitting in a wine rack on the counter. I found a wine glass in one of my boxes and poured myself a glass.
I decided a little music was in order, so I turned it on my favorite station but it was full of static because I was so far outside of the range.
I found another station that was playing Southern classic rock and Sweet Home Alabama was on. I love that song, so I turned up the volume in an effort to wake myself up.
As the food cooked, I started swaying and singing to the music. I felt a sense of freedom wash over me for the first time in almost two decades. Sweet Home Alabama had never sounded so good!
I closed my eyes and started dancing around on the hardwood floors. Without thinking, I bumped into the counter and spilled the red wine all over my white lace sundress.
“Dang it!” I said as I pulled the sundress over my head. Realizing I was standing there in just my bra and panties, I had a momentary freak out wondering who could see me through the kitchen windows. Then, I realized that I was so far outside of the city, I could run naked through the front yard if I wanted. Freedom washed over me again.
The song changed to one of my favorites of all time - Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison. My newfound freedom kicked into high gear as my exhaustion wore away and my feet began dancing again. Here I was, in my bra and panties wearing nothing but a pair of designer cowboy boots, dancing around this large country farmhouse.
My, how life had suddenly changed…
I danced and danced, eyes closed, singing at the top of my lungs. I never even heard the microwave bell “ding” when my food was done cooking. Instead, I swigged a little wine and kept dancing.
Suddenly, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. You know that feeling you get when someone is watching you? I opened my eyes and turned around to see a man standing in the arched doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
Without missing a beat, I grabbed a butcher knife from one of the kitchen boxes, held it up and said “I’ve got a knife!”
“Well, ma’m, you might have a knife but the blade seems to be missing… And your clothes are missing too, I might add,” he said with a smirk that made me want to smack him.
“Crap,” I muttered as I dropped the knife handle which had broken away from the blade. I quickly grabbed my wine stained dress from the floor and held it in front of me to cover what I could.
“It’s okay, I am not here to hurt you. I live here,” he said walking toward me.
My Thoughts and Review:
I started this book with the hope of
finding a quick nice contemporary romance. What I got instead was a
heartfelt read that left me reeling.
From the start of the story I truly
felt for Shannon. I was horrified at the abuse her husband put her
through throughout the course of their marriage and the ugly antics
he had the gall to do afterward. As if having to live with him for
eighteen years wasn't bad enough, he wanted to hurt and haunt her in
his death as well.
My heart really went out to her. It was
a horrible situation and I wanted to hug her and tell her that she
was worth something. That she was a beautiful, good person and she
should never left some jerkoff determine her self worth.
Unfortunately for Shannon, her troubles
didn't end when her husband dies, far from it.
I was so glad she met someone like
Tanner. Someone nice and sweet and loving.
This was a great quick read. I do wish
it hadn't felt so rushed at times and of course didn't have the whole
insta love thing going for it.
It would have been nice to have gotten
a more in depth look into the characters, their background before
they met and even more time on their story after they met. I would
have loved for the author to have to made this a little longer so we
got more of those details and emotions to truly make this a fabulous
romance read.
Overall I give this one 3 Solid Stars!
That was a great choice for a teased cause it definitely has me curious now! Its not really a genre I read much and I think the instant love would bother me but I gotta say that its on my radar and there's a chance I might read it one of these days!
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