WHAT HAPPENED TO HANNAH: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

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WHAT HAPPENED TO HANNAH
BY MARY KAY McCOMAS

ABOUT THE BOOK:

As a teenager, Hannah Benson ran away from home in order to save herself. Now, twenty years later, the past comes calling and delivers life-changing news: her mother and sister have passed away, leaving Hannah the guardian of her fifteen-year-old niece.

Returning home to bitter memories and devastating secrets, Hannah must overcome her painful past to pave a future with her niece, the last best chance at a family for both of them. She begins to create a new, happier life with her niece and rekindles a relationship with Grady Steadman, one of the few people she’s ever called a friend.

But she can’t forget what she cannot forgive, or lay to rest those ghosts that will not die. Will love and trust—and the truth—give her the strength to stand her ground and fight for what she deserves? 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary Kay McComas started her writing career twenty-five years ago. To date she’s written twenty-one short contemporary romances and five novellas; What Happened to Hannah is her second novel. She was born in Spokane, Washington, and now lives in a small town in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband, three dogs, a cat, and her four children nearby. 

PRAISE FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO HANNAH:

“Blending poignancy with humor, crafting characters as real and recognizable as your next-door neighbor, Mary Kay McComas weaves stories that brighten the heart.”

— Nora Roberts

“I love Mary Kay McComas. Her books are honest and real, and transport you to a place that feels like home.”

— Patricia Gaffney

“It is hard not to be moved by the tender love story that emerges from the depths of violence in this haunting and touching novel. You will never forget What Happened To Hannah.”

— Jessica Anya Blau

“a touching tale of trauma, healing, and family...McComas builds the relationship between Hannah and Anna deftly, showing how hard it can be for strangers who happen to be family to know each other.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Hannah Benson is a memorable character of uncommon strength. From the unthinkable horror of the past to the glimmering possibility of love in the present, What Happened to Hannah is a stirring novel of family and redemption.”

— Kristina Riggle, author of Keepsake

“[an] inventive contribution…that steals the show. McComas focuses on the most important relationship of all—the relationship one has with oneself—and spins an introspective and irresistible story that, for some readers, may make this collection worthwhile.”

— Publishers Weekly on "Melon Lemon Yellow" in Bump in the Night

“McComas...writes a bittersweet tale of homecoming.

— Booklist

“...a vibrant, haunting tale of a woman trying to discard the past once and for all in order to begin again. A powerful story with a beautiful plot that will have readers routing for peace, romance, and second chances.”

— Feathered Quill

“Mary Kay McComas has written a poignant tale of the prolonged effects of domestic abuse.”

— Iron Mountain Daily News 

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

WHAT HAPPENED TO HANNAH is based on a tragic situation many young people sadly find themselves in when growing up in an abusive home. Told so well by Mary Kay McComas, this is the story of Hannah Benson who as a teenager decided one night to run away from her abusive home life and father. Hannah left her sister and mother behind, but took a secret with her in order to try and find some semblance of peace and normalcy in her life.

All of Hannah’s hard work to rid herself of that past comes racing back years later with one phone call from her hometown’s Sheriff, Grady Steadman. Grady, Hannah’s high school beau, has to steel himself to tell Hannah that her mother has died. With her sister dying a while back, that leaves Hannah’s niece, Anna, alone and now to be in Hannah’s care. Hannah is forced to return to the place she fled from all those years ago in order to go “rescue” Anna. Facing the ghosts of her painful past, Hannah finds a few good things awaiting her as she remembers how she felt about Grady. She also connects with Anna and there is a glimpse of what might be a chance at a normal family for Hannah ahead.

With the responsibility of caring for her niece, Hannah has to draw on all her strength to face, and let go of, the past while in turn she keeps some of the good moments from those times. These moments include Grady. How Hannah exorcises her demons from the past and faces the deeply hidden secret (that you will guess early on, I think) makes for a story that shows this woman’s strength. Her relationship with Grady is one good part of her return and how she connects with Anna to build a new life gives hope to any who have had something horrible in their past that they have to get over.

McComas does a wonderful job letting readers get to know Hannah, as well as the other characters, with her use of in-depth character development. I enjoyed the use of the flashbacks that filled in the details to Hannah’s past, both the enjoyable as well as, sadly, the appalling parts. WHAT HAPPENED TO HANNAH becomes a story of personal victory over one’s atrocious past and how life can change, often for the better, in a strange and sudden way.

 

GIVEAWAY
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