Saving Sarah by Nan Reinhardt is a Celebrate Weddings Event pick #romance #seasoned #giveaway
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  • N. N. Light
    • Jun 8, 2023
    • 5 min read

Saving Sarah by Nan Reinhardt is a Celebrate Weddings Event pick #romance #seasoned #giveaway



Title: Saving Sarah, book 4 in the Women of Willow Bay series


Author: Nan Reinhardt


Genre: Contemporary, seasoned romance


Book Blurb:


She thought she’d never feel safe again. She was wrong.


When Sarah Bennett’s abusive ex hunts her down in Chicago, her friends spirit her away to Willow Bay, where she hopes to begin again with a different identity. But terror keeps her holed up, unable to start her new life.


Deputy sheriff Tony Reynard never expected to be staring down the barrel of a gun when he enters Sarah’s apartment to finish up some handyman work, but that’s how the fiery little redhead greets him, and he’s beyond intrigued.


After an intervention by her loving friends, Sarah becomes involved in a project to turn an old mansion into a battered women’s shelter. The women work together to renovate the house, along with the help of the townspeople and the delectably handsome Tony, who is a true renaissance man. Tony vows to bring Sarah back to life and love, but knows he needs to move slowly to win her heart.


When her ex tracks her down once more, Sarah must find the courage to protect her friends and her new love from his wrath.


Excerpt:


“So what’s going on? Did something else happen?” Julie led Sarah to a bar stool and practically shoved her onto it. “It’s obvious you’re frightened out of your wits, and now, you’re scaring us, too. Jesus, Sarah! Tony said you pulled a gun on him last week when he came to finish up the closet.” She peered into Sarah’s face and enunciated firmly, “Paul’s not here. He doesn’t know where you are. You’re safe.”


Sarah folded her hands on the bar, opened her mouth to speak, and shut it again. She was a mess, Julie was absolutely right, but the terror was real and she had no idea how to express it without sounding like she’d completely slipped a cog. Perhaps she had. Maybe Paul had finally sent her ’round the bend. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate in irony? She finally fought back, but lost her mind in the aftermath. She glanced around at the four women, who were all staring at her with various levels of sympathy and curiosity. “I-I…” The words clogged up in her throat.


How could she confess she’d spent the past few days curled up in the armchair in the bedroom because it was in the corner that faced the door so she would see anyone coming up the stairs? How did she admit that hourly she’d made the rounds of the windows and doors, assuring herself each one was securely locked? That she’d finally turned off the ringer on her cell phone because every time it rang, she nearly jumped out of her skin? That the sound of gravel crunching under car tires in the parking lot at the top of the hill sent her flying to the window to peer out between the slats of the shutters to make certain it wasn’t a black Town Car with dark-tinted windows?


Libby held up a bottle she’d pulled from a six-bottle cloth carrier. “I think we need wine. I mean it’s almost two. The sun is definitely over the yardarm somewhere.” She yanked open a drawer and took out a corkscrew. “Soph, grab some glasses.” She stopped for a moment to give Sarah a concerned smile. “Unless… I mean, unless you need Sophie and me to leave.”


Sarah gazed around for a moment before closing her eyes and pressing her fist to her mouth—the only way she could hold back a wail of anguish. These women had no idea. Just looking at them, she knew. They were clueless. They’d never known the cold brick of fear that she’d carried in her belly for so many years. Not a single one of them had ever hidden in a closet from a ranting maniac or been kicked in the ribs as she cleaned up an entire pot of hot spaghetti sauce that had been swept from the stove because it didn’t have enough basil in it; or re-ironed a shirt nine times while a monster stood behind her tightening an extension cord he’d wrapped around her neck.


No, they lived in this quiet, safe little place, married to gentle, kind men who wouldn’t dream of yanking them upstairs by the hair and tying them to a bedpost. When she opened her eyes, Libby and Sophie were gathering up their purses and heading for the door. Oh shit, she’d offended them and probably pissed off Julie and Carrie.


“No, stay. It… it’s okay.” She managed to get the words out around the huge lump in her throat. She really didn’t mind them being here. Surely, these women were the Posse that Julie always referred to when she spoke so lovingly of her friends in Willow Bay, and they probably already knew Sarah’s circumstances. Besides, how many broken moments had she been privy to in the shelter? Experience had taught her that women were stronger together; it was simply a fact. And how she’d longed for the camaraderie of other women during her marriage—something Paul had never allowed. He’d even fired Della, her first housekeeper, when he’d walked in on them giggling in the kitchen over a sagging soufflé. No, she didn’t have friends in Ames—he’d managed to make everyone there believe she was a little off, which of course made them cautious. Julie and Carrie trusted Libby and Sophie. She should trust them too. She should… but how could she trust anyone?


She tried again to speak, but nothing came out. They didn’t know. They could never truly know. But their expressions told her that they wanted to understand. A tear trickled down her cheek and then the sounds came gushing out—raw, tormented sobs that she could no longer control. Through a veil of tears she saw Libby’s and Sophie’s eyes grow rounder as they tossed their belongings on the sofa and came rushing back.


“Sarah?” Two arms came from behind to gently embrace her and she caught the familiar scent of Carrie’s lavender and musk perfume.


“Let it out,” Carrie whispered, her breath soft in Sarah’s ear. “You just let it go.”


Sarah turned, dropped her head on Carrie’s shoulder, and sobbed. Her entire body shook as hot tears poured down her face. Amid the storm, it occurred to her that she needed this—this surrender. If her friends thought they were scared by what they saw in her, they should’ve been inside her head. Even now as she wept copious tears, her logical mind continued to process her raw emotions. That ability to compartmentalize and watch herself from afar was the result of years of physical and emotional abuse. It was how she coped. How she survived.


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What makes your featured book a must-read?


Saving Sarah is a seasoned romance about a woman who escapes an abusive relationship and rebuilds her life with good friends and a new love in Willow Bay, Michigan. The book is full of hope and heart.


Giveaway –


Enter to win a $15 Amazon gift card:



Open Internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to win.


Runs June 6 – June 12, 2023.


Winner will be drawn on June 13, 2023.



Author Biography:


Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet, small-town romantic fiction for Tule Publishing. Her day job is working as a freelance copy editor and proofreader, however, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten and is still writing, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, woman in her prime. Nan lives in the Midwest with her husband of nearly 50 years, where they split their time between a house in the city and a cottage on a lake.


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