I Want to Hold Your Hand (Green Mountain, #2) (Green Mountain Romance, #2)

by Marie Force

For the Abbott siblings, the Green Mountain state has always been an idyllic place to call home. But it isn’t until they open themselves up to love that they’ll truly discover how fulfilling life can be…

Almost seven years after losing her husband in Iraq, Hannah Abbott Guthrie isn’t sure she’s ready—or able—to move on, but the attentions of a lifelong friend are making her think about it for the first time. The memory of the sweet kiss she shared with Nolan Roberts hasn’t strayed far from her thoughts, but she also fears that pursuing something with him would mean betraying her husband’s memory.

Nolan has loved Hannah for years, but he’d been giving her the space she needed to heal from her devastating loss. Now, when an opportunity arises to show her how he feels, Nolan can’t resist, but he knows earning her love will take more than a kiss. Somehow he has to prove to Hannah that finding love twice in a lifetime is possible—and well worth risking her heart.

Bonus: Exclusive to this edition—a never-before-in-print Green Mountain story

• ISBN10: 042526677X
• ISBN13: 9780425266779
• Publish Date: 3 June 2014 (first published 1 June 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425266779

Reviews

[leelu92]

5 stars....easy. I laughed and I cried and I think Marie Force just claimed her spot in my top 3 favorite authors. I adored Hannah and Nolan and I really loved how she handled Hannah's moving on with her life after losing the love of her life, Caleb. Everyone in the whole town loved him and they only wanted the best for Hannah. Clearly Nolan was it.
Hannah's father, Lincoln and her grandfather totally cracked me up, I LOVE their brand of meddling.

Goes without saying, I cannot wait for the next one.

Straight Shootin' Book Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

The close knit Abbott family will always work together to solve any problem, but there is one thing that hurt them all so deeply, and there is nothing they can do about it. Caleb Guthrie was a long-time friend of Will and Hunter Abbott and the husband of Hannah Abbot Guthrie. His death was a shock to the family, but there is nothing they can do for Hannah while she grieves the loss of her husband. Until she is ready to move on, they have to sit and wait as the years pass.

The Abbotts aren’t the only ones waiting to see if Hannah will move on. Nolan Roberts has been waiting in the wings for the last few years hoping against hope that Hannah will agree to go out with him. Nolan is a long time friend of both Hannah and Caleb and he understands how Caleb’s loss has effected Hannah and he is willing to go as slow as she needs in order to be a part of her life.

The dance at the Grange a few weeks ago and Nolan’s kiss at the door, changed something for Hannah. She forgot the simple pleasure and excitement of being with someone. Hannah is wracked with guilt over the thought of kissing someone else, since she is Caleb’s wife, and Nolan is such a kind, sweet man she doesn’t want to lead him on. Yet if she was going to find love again, she couldn’t ask for a better man than Nolan.

Just when she is ready to take a step forward with Nolan, Caleb’s dog, Homer, passes away and it once again brings a finality to Caleb’s life, and Hannah’s emotions are in turmoil. Except this time, she has Nolan’s support as well as that of her family. It is Nolan who suggests a big send off for Homer, just like Caleb would have done, and Hannah feels her guilt lighten since Nolan understands her so well and what she needs in order to move forward with her life.

Nolan Roberts might just be Hannah’s second chance at love, but not everyone is ready to let Caleb go and let Hannah move on with her life.

THOUGHTS:
We spent more time getting to know the Abbott Family in Book #1, All You Need is Love, but they weren’t far away in Book 2. They are there to support Hannah but they would like to see her move on with her life and stop being alone. Caleb has been a part of Hannah’s life since she was 13, first as the annoying friend of her brothers, and they slowing into a first love. Caleb is portrayed as someone large than life, always the center of a crowd a friends who love him and Hannah. But we also get to see that not everything was perfect between Hannah and Caleb. His larger than life personality also included excessive party drinking, and Hannah refused to start a family with Caleb until he was ready to “grow up.” This also causes Hannah some pain since she believes that her chance to have a family died with Caleb.

We see Hannah moving forward with her plans, suggested by Cameron, to turn Caleb’s home into a retreat for war widows which bridges her need to hold onto Caleb’s memory and a moving on with her life.

She couldn’t have chosen a better man to move on with than Nolan. He is so understanding of the pain she is suffering and how hard it is for her to move on. Trying to move on, causes Hannah to swing on an emotional pendulum and whenever she pulls away, Nolan is afraid he is losing her, but he is willing to give her the time she needs to work through her feelings, as long as she doesn’t just walk away. We feel his frustration but he is already in love with Hannah that he won’t give up entirely on their future.

It is a sweet story of moving on from the pain of loss, and we see how the further loss of Caleb’s dog brings another finality to Caleb’s loss which rocks Hannah just as she tries go reclaim her life.

We also get a glimpse of future stories which would involve Mountain man Colton and Hannah’s twin, Hunter. I am not sure who’s story is next, but I am enjoying spending time with the Abbotts.

Received ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Cocktails and Books]

Now this is how contemporary romance is done. Marie Force has gifted us with an incredibly beautiful story of love, loss and finding the courage to love again.

I was immediately drawn into the story; it’s excruciatingly raw and completely relatable. I found myself laughing and grieving with Hannah and I wanted mostly to comfort her. What I found both equally beautiful and heart-wrenching was at the start of every chapter there was a snippet of an entry in Hannah’s diary starting when she first meets Caleb (her husband) at the age of twelve and continues on until the age of thirty-five. The bittersweet flashbacks give the story so much more depth and understanding into Hannah’s grief and reluctance to move on.

I love how human the characters are. I admire Hannah’s courage and her huge, caring heart. Seven years after her husband’s death, Hannah finally decides to take the first step and start dating but she is more worried about what people will think and more importantly what her husband’s parents will think. Thankfully all her fears are misplaced and she has a wonderful support system in her family and her husband’s family as well as the entire town.

Nolan is my total dream man. He is patient and kind and honest and I just can’t tell you how many times I dreamy sighed while reading the story. I really appreciate that the author created such a standup guy. There are a lot of books in the romance genre today about bad boys and womanizers but I gotta tell you, there is nothing sexier than a faithful man. Hannah and Nolan were paired together beautifully. Their love story is one of patience, understanding, and a love so pure and true, it makes you desperately hope for a love like this to truly exist.

I absolutely love the Abbott family and I especially love the father, Lincoln Abbott and his father-in-law, Elmer Stillman who are the self-appointed matchmakers in the family. These guys are quickly becoming my favorite characters. The duo are devising plans to help Lincoln’s kids (Elmer’s grandkids) find their happily ever afters. While the ultimate end goal is to see all the kids married off and happy, it has become somewhat of a competition between the two to see who can bring the most couples together. They are completely unrepentant and have easily worked their way into my heart.

We are also treated to a bonus short story at the end of the book featuring Nolan and Hannah called A Hard Day’s Night. Oh, and did I mention I LOVE the names of the books! The Beatles are my favorite band of all time and all The Beatles’ references are totally awesome!

I want to thank Cait Needham, Dee Baily, and Army Lt. Col. Rebecca Eggers who shared intimate details about their own losses with the author. I also want to thank Marie Tillman, Mary Tillman, Matthew Logelin, Jennifer Gardner Trulson, Jackie Hance and Janice Kaplan who authored books that have influenced Marie Force in the creation of this beautiful story (more details in the acknowledgements segement of the book). Thank you all for your bravery in telling your story and your courage to move forward. Your husbands, wives, sons, and daughters are heroes and will never be forgotten. Thank you for allowing your stories to be told through Hannah and Nolan.

This book is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I invite all readers to experience this incredible story of courage, family and most of all, love.

Reviewed by Elizabeth for Cocktails and Books