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A Handful of Heaven
Yukon Territory was a gold miner's heaven, and Devon O'Shea had come to claim her share. But instead of a thriving store in a boom town, Devon discovered she was part owner of a filthy, disorganized tent with a bunch of gold diggers and a mountainous slap of animosity for a partner: Stone Man McKenna. Gathering mop, pail and sheer determination, Devon vowed to make this post the best in the Yukon Territory. Stone Man didn't scare her. But his kiss -- a gruff attempt to convince her that the Yukon was no place for a lady -- left her feeling, for the first time in her life, feminine and alive . . .
448 pages, Hardcover
First published July 30, 1991
14 people are currently reading
13472 people want to read
About the author
Kristin Hannah
147 books299k followersKristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, which was named Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People's Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week. In 2018,
The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.
The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore's bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.
Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and Season Two is currently set to conclude the series on April 27, 2023.
Her new novel, The Women, about a young woman coming of age during the turbulent 1960's in America, who joins the Army Nurse Corps and serves in Vietnam will be published February 6th, 2024.
A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.
The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore's bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.
Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and Season Two is currently set to conclude the series on April 27, 2023.
Her new novel, The Women, about a young woman coming of age during the turbulent 1960's in America, who joins the Army Nurse Corps and serves in Vietnam will be published February 6th, 2024.
A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
April 12, 2025
Current 2025 rating: 4-stars
Original 2014 rating: 5-stars and a keeper.
📸 Stone Man MacKenna - 39 yrs old, runs a trading post in a tiny, muddy Yukon Territory mining town in the year of 1896. He is a big, surly, foul-mouthed loner of a mountain man that loves silence and to just be left alone and read books quietly in the evening. His only enjoyment in life is to photograph the Yukon wilderness. To find more time to be able to partake in his hobby, he places an advertisement in a variety of newspapers looking for a partner to help run his trading post. He was thrilled to receive a letter in the mail from a ‘Devon O’Shea’ that was replying to his ad. Stone couldn’t wait for him to arrive.
🧼 Devon O’Shea - 29 yrs old, answered the ad in hopes of going somewhere new and starting life over now that she’s finished helping to raise her younger sister. She’s prim and proper, needs things clean and organized, she’s perky and tries to always stay positive, not afraid of big burly Stone Man at all, constantly outwits him in a charming grumpy-sunshine way and tries desperately to win him over to let her stay until at least spring.
⛏️ Upon arriving to the trading post, they have a fun meet-cute. Well, I don’t think Stone Man had fun. He was furious to realize the name Devon was a unisex name. And then Devon herself was realizing that Stone Man (and his mining friends) was a complete stranger to soap, spittoons, and basic social manners. She got to work right away cleaning the 10x10 pigsty tent that she needed to share with Stone Man. A good portion of the story was their battle of him wanting her to immediately leave and return to St Louis and her wanting to stay and help until Spring time when the next return boat would arrive.
“She offered him a bright smile. He smiled back, and she felt an almost blinding sense of joy”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Underneath his gruff dirty exterior, beat a heart lonely and aching.”
💰 Of course, during the long winter they fall in love. But due to their individual backstories and sad life experiences, they each refused to set thems up to be hurt by letting the other turn them down first. They have long periods of silence that got frustrating for me. Especially the last 20% of the story. One simple sit down talk with a “please don’t leave me in the Spring, I love you, stay with me!” would have resolved everything so much quicker.
Despite my 3rd act silent treatment frustrations, it was still a great grumpy x sunshine western read with a good amount of grumpy grumbling and steamy and/or sensual scenes. I enjoyed rereading this, and will look into other books by this author.
Random Thoughts:
💅 I hate reading of MCs gnawing at their fingernails, gives me the shivers.
🛌 They shared a bed for the longest time before actually becoming romantic, but nothing was ever mentioned about it. It would have been awkward to share a bed with a stranger of the opposite sex, and talking about it would have helped build of sexual tension in the story.
🥶 I have respect for the early inhabitants that could survive -40’F winter temps while living inside a non-sealed canvas tent. Blows my mind that it was possible.
Bingo Reading Challenge 2025
Square #13 - a book with a meet-cute
Progress - 39/100
__________________________________
original 2014 review:
I loved this book. I love when the hero and heroine do not like each in the beginning, or at least when the hero does not want a relationship... but they slowly fall in love anyways. This book had a great story of just that happening. This author, Kristin Hannah, took her time telling the story so that you got to thoroughly know each character and could actually see and feel their individual emotions as they slowly fell in love. She is a great story teller! I loved how the heroine was a strong, independent woman, yet not bitchy at all. She was very likeable, as was the hero (even though he was a very rough and gruff mountain man). The ending was super sweet, my eyes did tear up a little. But... I would have thrown the gold overboard!
Original 2014 rating: 5-stars and a keeper.
📸 Stone Man MacKenna - 39 yrs old, runs a trading post in a tiny, muddy Yukon Territory mining town in the year of 1896. He is a big, surly, foul-mouthed loner of a mountain man that loves silence and to just be left alone and read books quietly in the evening. His only enjoyment in life is to photograph the Yukon wilderness. To find more time to be able to partake in his hobby, he places an advertisement in a variety of newspapers looking for a partner to help run his trading post. He was thrilled to receive a letter in the mail from a ‘Devon O’Shea’ that was replying to his ad. Stone couldn’t wait for him to arrive.
🧼 Devon O’Shea - 29 yrs old, answered the ad in hopes of going somewhere new and starting life over now that she’s finished helping to raise her younger sister. She’s prim and proper, needs things clean and organized, she’s perky and tries to always stay positive, not afraid of big burly Stone Man at all, constantly outwits him in a charming grumpy-sunshine way and tries desperately to win him over to let her stay until at least spring.
⛏️ Upon arriving to the trading post, they have a fun meet-cute. Well, I don’t think Stone Man had fun. He was furious to realize the name Devon was a unisex name. And then Devon herself was realizing that Stone Man (and his mining friends) was a complete stranger to soap, spittoons, and basic social manners. She got to work right away cleaning the 10x10 pigsty tent that she needed to share with Stone Man. A good portion of the story was their battle of him wanting her to immediately leave and return to St Louis and her wanting to stay and help until Spring time when the next return boat would arrive.
“She offered him a bright smile. He smiled back, and she felt an almost blinding sense of joy”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Underneath his gruff dirty exterior, beat a heart lonely and aching.”
💰 Of course, during the long winter they fall in love. But due to their individual backstories and sad life experiences, they each refused to set thems up to be hurt by letting the other turn them down first. They have long periods of silence that got frustrating for me. Especially the last 20% of the story. One simple sit down talk with a “please don’t leave me in the Spring, I love you, stay with me!” would have resolved everything so much quicker.
Despite my 3rd act silent treatment frustrations, it was still a great grumpy x sunshine western read with a good amount of grumpy grumbling and steamy and/or sensual scenes. I enjoyed rereading this, and will look into other books by this author.
Random Thoughts:
💅 I hate reading of MCs gnawing at their fingernails, gives me the shivers.
🛌 They shared a bed for the longest time before actually becoming romantic, but nothing was ever mentioned about it. It would have been awkward to share a bed with a stranger of the opposite sex, and talking about it would have helped build of sexual tension in the story.
🥶 I have respect for the early inhabitants that could survive -40’F winter temps while living inside a non-sealed canvas tent. Blows my mind that it was possible.
Bingo Reading Challenge 2025
Square #13 - a book with a meet-cute
Progress - 39/100
__________________________________
original 2014 review:
I loved this book. I love when the hero and heroine do not like each in the beginning, or at least when the hero does not want a relationship... but they slowly fall in love anyways. This book had a great story of just that happening. This author, Kristin Hannah, took her time telling the story so that you got to thoroughly know each character and could actually see and feel their individual emotions as they slowly fell in love. She is a great story teller! I loved how the heroine was a strong, independent woman, yet not bitchy at all. She was very likeable, as was the hero (even though he was a very rough and gruff mountain man). The ending was super sweet, my eyes did tear up a little. But... I would have thrown the gold overboard!
May 5, 2025
This is a good book by an author I've enjoyed reading in the past. Kristin Hannah's "Firefly" series and a few others like "The Nightingale" were great stories. This book is one of her earliest publications and it reminded me a bit of something Maggie Osborne would write.
The MMC is Cornelius or "Stone Man" MacKenna. At 39 years old, he owns and operates a mining post in the Yukon Territory in 1896. He's surly, hairy, and filthy. Loves to read, enjoys silence and above all else, photographing nature and people in this remote area. Wanting to spend more time on his photography, he advertises for a partner offering "room and board" in addition to other things.
Enter Devon O'Shea, the 29 year old FMC. After enduring her own rough childhood, raising her younger sister and marrying Colleen off, Devon responds to MacKenna's ad and eventually finds herself in muddy Dawson City. Except it's not really a city and it's definitely not the kind of town she expected. Devon is also NOT the partner Stone Man expected. She's female with a misleading first name. They get off to a very rough start. (It's important to note that she's the only proper "lady" in the mining community.)
First of all, her "room and board" is a tent she has to share with MacKenna. With only one bed. He tells her it's the norm with other miners in the "tent" town. This doesn't scare her and she's more determined than ever to prove herself while he's more determined to get rid of her. Also, unlike Stone Man, Devon enjoys talking and humming. He just wants peaceful quiet and solitude.
Throughout the story, they engage in tactics to further their own agendas. An example of this is a bet Stone Man makes with her. She asks, and MacKenna agrees to allow her four days to offer a plan that will increase traffic and sales in the post. It's a bet he believes he will win. But Devon has her strategy set and wheels already in motion before Stone Man realizes it. The result is a fun part of the story that readers hopefully will enjoy.
Over time and through many push/pulls between the main characters, they learn about and develop a fondness for each other. She turns his scraggly, nasty tent (think hovel) into a clean and well organized dwelling place. He eventually stands up for her in front of a surly miner named Midas. Other important characters that make the story interesting, enjoyable, and exciting are Bear, Cornstalk, Digger, Joe LaDue, and Father Michaels.
Due to their respective dysfunctional family histories, both main characters have issues that keep them from communicating what they truly want from each other. With good reason, they both strongly fear rejection.
"How could he be so stupid? A man like him didn't find happiness, and certainly not in the arms of a woman like Devon. A lady."
"For once in her life all that mattered were feelings - the feelings she had for Stone Man. She wanted, just once, to be loved as a woman should be loved, and Stone Man was her last and only chance." ... "It would take a miracle to bring them together."
This is a book that's both happy and sad. I ran the gamut in the emotions department. By the end of the book, I wanted to slap both main characters on the back of their heads and shout "Don't be stupid! Take the risk and just say something to each other already!"
🪁 - 4 star rating out of 5.
🪁 - Well written intimacy scenes.
🪁 - Square #66 - An author you haven't read in a long time.
🪁 - 29/100
The MMC is Cornelius or "Stone Man" MacKenna. At 39 years old, he owns and operates a mining post in the Yukon Territory in 1896. He's surly, hairy, and filthy. Loves to read, enjoys silence and above all else, photographing nature and people in this remote area. Wanting to spend more time on his photography, he advertises for a partner offering "room and board" in addition to other things.
Enter Devon O'Shea, the 29 year old FMC. After enduring her own rough childhood, raising her younger sister and marrying Colleen off, Devon responds to MacKenna's ad and eventually finds herself in muddy Dawson City. Except it's not really a city and it's definitely not the kind of town she expected. Devon is also NOT the partner Stone Man expected. She's female with a misleading first name. They get off to a very rough start. (It's important to note that she's the only proper "lady" in the mining community.)
First of all, her "room and board" is a tent she has to share with MacKenna. With only one bed. He tells her it's the norm with other miners in the "tent" town. This doesn't scare her and she's more determined than ever to prove herself while he's more determined to get rid of her. Also, unlike Stone Man, Devon enjoys talking and humming. He just wants peaceful quiet and solitude.
Throughout the story, they engage in tactics to further their own agendas. An example of this is a bet Stone Man makes with her. She asks, and MacKenna agrees to allow her four days to offer a plan that will increase traffic and sales in the post. It's a bet he believes he will win. But Devon has her strategy set and wheels already in motion before Stone Man realizes it. The result is a fun part of the story that readers hopefully will enjoy.
Over time and through many push/pulls between the main characters, they learn about and develop a fondness for each other. She turns his scraggly, nasty tent (think hovel) into a clean and well organized dwelling place. He eventually stands up for her in front of a surly miner named Midas. Other important characters that make the story interesting, enjoyable, and exciting are Bear, Cornstalk, Digger, Joe LaDue, and Father Michaels.
Due to their respective dysfunctional family histories, both main characters have issues that keep them from communicating what they truly want from each other. With good reason, they both strongly fear rejection.
"How could he be so stupid? A man like him didn't find happiness, and certainly not in the arms of a woman like Devon. A lady."
"For once in her life all that mattered were feelings - the feelings she had for Stone Man. She wanted, just once, to be loved as a woman should be loved, and Stone Man was her last and only chance." ... "It would take a miracle to bring them together."
This is a book that's both happy and sad. I ran the gamut in the emotions department. By the end of the book, I wanted to slap both main characters on the back of their heads and shout "Don't be stupid! Take the risk and just say something to each other already!"
🪁 - 4 star rating out of 5.
🪁 - Well written intimacy scenes.
🪁 - Square #66 - An author you haven't read in a long time.
🪁 - 29/100
March 28, 2019
My book club is discussing the works of Kristin Hannah, so I was interested to read her first novel. Since this is classified as a romance novel, I was not certain that I would like it, as that is not a genre that I prefer. Even though it is apparent that Kristin Hannah has grown as a writer, I was surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did. The author’s rich depictions of settings and characters in their historical context has always been a strength in her writing.
March 13, 2025
I read this many many years ago. Grumpy hero, forced proximity, roughing it. All favorite tropes of mine. I'm happy this author found a new lane that has led her to success, but I'm still sad she doesn't write historical romances anymore.
April 30, 2025
Doorzettingsvermogen om het uit te lezen was nodig
November 24, 2023
This was such a fun unique romance! Set in the Yukon Territory on the verge of the gold rush, it was a sweet and satisfying story. Wish Kristin Hannah had written more romance novels!
July 8, 2025
⭐⭐⭐➕
Kristin Hannah's first book. My quest has been to go back to her earlier works and read forward. I haven't been able to read them in exact order because of availability.
This was a quick, cute read. I would have like a map of the area. I had a hard time envisioning the surroundings/ distances between things.
So many good quotes.
Kristin Hannah's first book. My quest has been to go back to her earlier works and read forward. I haven't been able to read them in exact order because of availability.
This was a quick, cute read. I would have like a map of the area. I had a hard time envisioning the surroundings/ distances between things.
So many good quotes.
January 1, 2020
Un livre que je relis chaque année et que j'adore toujours autant !
February 12, 2025
DNF at 23%
I have been struggling a long time with this book but life's too short to read boring books. It has been over 80 pages of the same annoying bickering and nagging. I like how the book is written but it's sooo unbelievably slow and repetitive. For almost 100 pages nothing has happened! I give up waiting for it to pick up.
I have been struggling a long time with this book but life's too short to read boring books. It has been over 80 pages of the same annoying bickering and nagging. I like how the book is written but it's sooo unbelievably slow and repetitive. For almost 100 pages nothing has happened! I give up waiting for it to pick up.
May 29, 2023
This was a fun change for me. I was happy to see that my library still had their copy. I don’t typically read romance books but this was pretty good. The back and forth of some of the content got to be a little tiresome, but all in all I enjoyed the book.
July 31, 2021
I usually love her historical fiction books but this was a romance book which is why just 4 stars. It was a good book though.
February 15, 2025
A very cute enemies to lovers, rom-com book. It was slow at times but it wrapped up perfectly.
March 5, 2020
This had me crying at the end!
March 17, 2023
Just when I thought I would never find Kristin Hannah's first book, I found it. A Handful of Heaven is a remarkable first book for a now accomplished and beloved author. As a writer, it's great to see her evolution (she's much better) and yet discover that she always had the magical quality of being a great, emotional storyteller.
Sure it's easy for me to say she wasn't as slick in her writing as she is today. Still, she knew the importance of getting under her characters' skins and keep us wondering (and turning pages) about how they would work out their issues, if they would get together both emotionally and intellectually, and if they would even survive. How can a reader stop reading when it's all on the line for Devon, the gutsy protagonist, and the big obstruction in her life, Stone Man MacKenna?
And what a great nickname. Stone Man! It says it all. A man forced to harden his heart to keep going in life. It's only fair he should run smack dab into Devon, whose life has taught her to never, never give up.
Hannah returns to the frozen north in another book, The Great Alone where we learn more about how to survive in that harsh environment. Still, we definitely get the picture in this book too. Devon has to wait months for the river to thaw to have a way to leave Dawson City, Alaska. By then, she's become a Yukonite, not something most women from St. Louis, MO achieve.
A fun romp of a read if you can get your hands on a copy. No, you can't borrow mine.
Sure it's easy for me to say she wasn't as slick in her writing as she is today. Still, she knew the importance of getting under her characters' skins and keep us wondering (and turning pages) about how they would work out their issues, if they would get together both emotionally and intellectually, and if they would even survive. How can a reader stop reading when it's all on the line for Devon, the gutsy protagonist, and the big obstruction in her life, Stone Man MacKenna?
And what a great nickname. Stone Man! It says it all. A man forced to harden his heart to keep going in life. It's only fair he should run smack dab into Devon, whose life has taught her to never, never give up.
Hannah returns to the frozen north in another book, The Great Alone where we learn more about how to survive in that harsh environment. Still, we definitely get the picture in this book too. Devon has to wait months for the river to thaw to have a way to leave Dawson City, Alaska. By then, she's become a Yukonite, not something most women from St. Louis, MO achieve.
A fun romp of a read if you can get your hands on a copy. No, you can't borrow mine.
January 9, 2013
A Handful of Heaven is Kristin Hannah's debut novel, and after reading a few of her newer books, it was obvious to me. She has come a long way! Set in the winter/spring of 1896 in the Yukon Territory of Alaskan wilderness, Devon applies to become a partner at a trading post for Stone Man. Except Devon was picturing a city, and ends up in a tent city out in the sticks! Stone Man wants nothing to do with Devon, because he was expecting a HE and got a SHE instead, and everyone knows, Alaskan gold mining towns are no place for ladies (unless you're a whore, of course) and Devon is surely a lady. The two bicker and fight and obviously fall in love, but both are too stubborn to tell the other how they feel. Made me want to reach thru the pages and shake them to be perfectly honest. Of course, it wouldn't be a great romance without the trials and tribulations, so no surprise we got a happy ending. Not bad, but not her best by far. Solid 3 stars.
February 21, 2018
I adore Kristin Hannah’s recent work and wanted to see how she has developed as a writer - so I picked up this, her first book.
Stone Man MacKenna places an ad for a partner to share his outpost in 1890’s Yukon. In exchange for room, board, and work for a year the partner will own half his store. He wants free time to pursue his passion of photography. A response from Devon O’Shea seems like a godsend - until SHE steps off the boat. Devon - a 29-year-old “spinster Aunt” was looking for adventure, but not a tent village with ill-manner miners and a “partner” who is angry she’s not the man he expected. But, they’re both stuck until spring ... so their story develops...
This was a fun read - I read it in an evening and that is rare. It’s not as deep or touching or thought-provoking as her more recent work, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it - I even laughed out loud more than once. I can see why it was an award winner.
Stone Man MacKenna places an ad for a partner to share his outpost in 1890’s Yukon. In exchange for room, board, and work for a year the partner will own half his store. He wants free time to pursue his passion of photography. A response from Devon O’Shea seems like a godsend - until SHE steps off the boat. Devon - a 29-year-old “spinster Aunt” was looking for adventure, but not a tent village with ill-manner miners and a “partner” who is angry she’s not the man he expected. But, they’re both stuck until spring ... so their story develops...
This was a fun read - I read it in an evening and that is rare. It’s not as deep or touching or thought-provoking as her more recent work, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it - I even laughed out loud more than once. I can see why it was an award winner.
July 16, 2014
I enjoyed the story very much. The heroine is named Devon and she is 29 years old and lives back East in 1900. Devon is a spinster and wants to control her own future so she answers ad for half owner of a supply store in Alaska. This is my type of story because hero evolves and changes inside and out. We are watching him change as well as the heroine. Yukon Territory was depicted with vivid detail and really captured my imagination. The only tiny problem I had was I thought the Hero was sold a little short in his back story. I was expecting something a little more with his reasons for being a recluse. The overall story makes up for that though. I loved Devon's reaction to the northern lights and the landscape and weather and that made it worth reading.
April 15, 2025
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book since although I love Kristin Hannah, I knew that this being her first novel and being a lot shorter than her usual books, was probably going to be very different from the well searched novels she writes these days.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was an excellent quick novel. I finished it in two days. I kept smiling the whole time I was reading this book.
It's obvious that she grew tremendously as an author after she wrote this book, but it was very apparent, even then, that she was an excellent storyteller.
This is the type of love story that makes you feel giddy. This book was so much fun to read. I should have never doubted Kristin Hannah. She never disappoints.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was an excellent quick novel. I finished it in two days. I kept smiling the whole time I was reading this book.
It's obvious that she grew tremendously as an author after she wrote this book, but it was very apparent, even then, that she was an excellent storyteller.
This is the type of love story that makes you feel giddy. This book was so much fun to read. I should have never doubted Kristin Hannah. She never disappoints.
August 7, 2017
This was Kristin Hannah's first book. I loved it. It was pure chic lit but a fun story. The story was also predictable but I still enjoyed it a lot. The characters were fun and made the story more interesting. Take a beautiful young woman and add in a town that is barely a town and all men, rough men, gold miners and it was a fun combination.
This book was hard to find and not available in any of the libraries. It is dated 1991 and I got a first edition used. So, if you want to read the book, good luck finding a copy.
This book was hard to find and not available in any of the libraries. It is dated 1991 and I got a first edition used. So, if you want to read the book, good luck finding a copy.
November 29, 2021
This year I decided to read as many of Kristin Hannah's books that I could find. Our local library has been great at finding many of the ones they don't have in our small one which has been great. I found A Handful of Heaven was very good once I got into it. I probably read 50-60 pages before it caught me. Once I reached that point I enjoyed the story very much. Don't want to give anything away so will conclude with "why not try it?"
September 13, 2018
This was one of Kristin Hannah's very early novels and it wasn't a patch on her recent ones.
It was a romance novel, set in the Yukon at the time of the gold rush. I found it a fun and easy read albeit very silly. The ending could be seen from 20 pages in. A diversion from the kind of books I typically read.
It was a romance novel, set in the Yukon at the time of the gold rush. I found it a fun and easy read albeit very silly. The ending could be seen from 20 pages in. A diversion from the kind of books I typically read.
January 21, 2023
Kristin Hannah’s A Handful of Heaven–aka “The Neanderthal and the lady”--is Beauty and the Beast reimagined in 1800s Yukon goldmine territory.
“Devon…didn’t spend her time, wishing for a handful of heaven to call her own. Daydreaming, wishing, pretending, whatever one called it was a silly waste of time.” She “just traveled thousands of miles to be part owner in a thriving store in a boom town.” Imagine her surprise to find that she was “the proud owner of a filthy, disheveled, disorganized, plank-floor tent, stuck, smack in the middle of nowhere… Broke, stuck in the middle of a godforsaken frozen moose pasture with a store that looks like it burned to the ground yesterday and a partner who looks like he crawled from the rubble this morning.”
But “There’s more to Stone Man than meets the eye. He’s angry all the time…But I think it’s because he feels things deeper than most folks, and because he’s afraid…to need anyone. Such a feelin’ makes for a lonely existence…Somewhere under all that hairiness and filth lurked a very special soul…She'd seen past Stone Man’s unkempt facade to the soul that lay within. In his eyes there had been pain…And understanding of what it meant to be left out… Underneath Stone Man’s gruff, dirty exterior beat a lonely heart and aching. A heart like her own.”
Although he may not be “exactly hero material…what we wanted doesn’t matter a bit. What matters is what we got, and what we’ve got is each other…Whether he knew it or not, Stone Man was about to make friends with his partner. Even if it killed both of them.”
“For one, brief, glorious winter, God had given her when she’d never even dreamed of having. A piece of heaven. True, it was only a handful; and true, she didn’t get to keep it; but she’d had it, and that was more than most people could ever say. And more than that, she had a piece of it to take home with her; a living, breathing memory of her love…he’d given her the two greatest gifts of her life.” But in pursuit of self-protection, will they miss the gold of true love?
“Devon…didn’t spend her time, wishing for a handful of heaven to call her own. Daydreaming, wishing, pretending, whatever one called it was a silly waste of time.” She “just traveled thousands of miles to be part owner in a thriving store in a boom town.” Imagine her surprise to find that she was “the proud owner of a filthy, disheveled, disorganized, plank-floor tent, stuck, smack in the middle of nowhere… Broke, stuck in the middle of a godforsaken frozen moose pasture with a store that looks like it burned to the ground yesterday and a partner who looks like he crawled from the rubble this morning.”
But “There’s more to Stone Man than meets the eye. He’s angry all the time…But I think it’s because he feels things deeper than most folks, and because he’s afraid…to need anyone. Such a feelin’ makes for a lonely existence…Somewhere under all that hairiness and filth lurked a very special soul…She'd seen past Stone Man’s unkempt facade to the soul that lay within. In his eyes there had been pain…And understanding of what it meant to be left out… Underneath Stone Man’s gruff, dirty exterior beat a lonely heart and aching. A heart like her own.”
Although he may not be “exactly hero material…what we wanted doesn’t matter a bit. What matters is what we got, and what we’ve got is each other…Whether he knew it or not, Stone Man was about to make friends with his partner. Even if it killed both of them.”
“For one, brief, glorious winter, God had given her when she’d never even dreamed of having. A piece of heaven. True, it was only a handful; and true, she didn’t get to keep it; but she’d had it, and that was more than most people could ever say. And more than that, she had a piece of it to take home with her; a living, breathing memory of her love…he’d given her the two greatest gifts of her life.” But in pursuit of self-protection, will they miss the gold of true love?
May 7, 2024
I read Firefly Lane and loved it. My first novel of Kristin Hannah’s and one that rocked me to my core. True to myself, when I find an author that hits me that hard with a first read, I want to know their “origin story”. So I searched and found this, A Handful of Heaven, her debut novel. And I read it in an afternoon.
Set in Alaska during the gold rush era of the 1800s, Stone Man McKenna revels in his solitude that is interrupted only by miners who have the audacity to run their mouths for too long when they stop at his trading post for supplies. He doesn’t like people. He wants to explore the distant wild and take his photographs and forget the past. Hoping for time away from the trading post, he places an ad for a partner in all the newspapers of major cities.
Devon O’Shea is a 29 yr old woman who is tired of being alone with nothing but the prospect of spinsterhood. She answers an ad for a partnership in the Yukon Territory to have stake in a trading post. She sets on her way to stake a new claim to life and avoid the inevitable loneliness that is all St. Louis has to offer her.
Welcome to the two strong willed and ornery characters that Hannah brings together in her debut novel. Stone Man is angry that a woman has arrived. Devin has never backed down from a challenge. With no option to return home with winter setting in, she must make things work with Strong Man and he is not going to make it easy.
This was a fast read and I loved the stubborness of the characters and the way the story leaves you frustrated with both of them for not softening when you want them to or saying what you need them to. Firefly Lane was my debut to Hannah and I searched her beginnings to writing and found that she is an author of whom I know I will be a fan for life. Excellent book that I highly recommend. 4.5 stars for me only because I wanted resolution to one thing at the end that left me wanting.
Set in Alaska during the gold rush era of the 1800s, Stone Man McKenna revels in his solitude that is interrupted only by miners who have the audacity to run their mouths for too long when they stop at his trading post for supplies. He doesn’t like people. He wants to explore the distant wild and take his photographs and forget the past. Hoping for time away from the trading post, he places an ad for a partner in all the newspapers of major cities.
Devon O’Shea is a 29 yr old woman who is tired of being alone with nothing but the prospect of spinsterhood. She answers an ad for a partnership in the Yukon Territory to have stake in a trading post. She sets on her way to stake a new claim to life and avoid the inevitable loneliness that is all St. Louis has to offer her.
Welcome to the two strong willed and ornery characters that Hannah brings together in her debut novel. Stone Man is angry that a woman has arrived. Devin has never backed down from a challenge. With no option to return home with winter setting in, she must make things work with Strong Man and he is not going to make it easy.
This was a fast read and I loved the stubborness of the characters and the way the story leaves you frustrated with both of them for not softening when you want them to or saying what you need them to. Firefly Lane was my debut to Hannah and I searched her beginnings to writing and found that she is an author of whom I know I will be a fan for life. Excellent book that I highly recommend. 4.5 stars for me only because I wanted resolution to one thing at the end that left me wanting.
April 17, 2025
I really enjoyed reading this. It gave me LaVyrle Spencer feels in the BEST way. It was interesting reading Kirstin Hannah's first published book ever. She has apparently always been a great writer! (If you haven't read The Women, you need to read that assap...)
Devon is a 29 yo intelligent and spunky woman from St. Louis who answers an ad to help manage a Post at a Mining Town in the Yukon Territory. Stone-Man is a 39 yo loner who thrives off of being alone and needing no one and is a total grump. He thinks Devon is a man, until she arrives. It is pretty much hate on sight.
Both Devon and Stone-man (who's real name is Cornelius) have a pretty heavy history (especially Cornelius). But seeing the two characters both grow and heal and become stronger from knowing each other was beautiful.
This was SO close to being a 5 star review for me. I took away a star because I did find Devon to be a bit annoying--she talked a LOT, and didn't seem to have any issues being purposefully annoying. I also wish they touched upon a bit more on both of Devon's and Cornelius's past and how it shaped them. But I LOVE angst--so that could simply be my ridiculous love for angst talking.
Devon is a 29 yo intelligent and spunky woman from St. Louis who answers an ad to help manage a Post at a Mining Town in the Yukon Territory. Stone-Man is a 39 yo loner who thrives off of being alone and needing no one and is a total grump. He thinks Devon is a man, until she arrives. It is pretty much hate on sight.
Both Devon and Stone-man (who's real name is Cornelius) have a pretty heavy history (especially Cornelius). But seeing the two characters both grow and heal and become stronger from knowing each other was beautiful.
This was SO close to being a 5 star review for me. I took away a star because I did find Devon to be a bit annoying--she talked a LOT, and didn't seem to have any issues being purposefully annoying. I also wish they touched upon a bit more on both of Devon's and Cornelius's past and how it shaped them. But I LOVE angst--so that could simply be my ridiculous love for angst talking.
May 15, 2024
2.5 stars. Kirsten Hannah’s first ever book. It won an award so at the time it must have been considered good, but for me it was a very cheesy predictable romance and I could see the ending coming a mile off. So different from her more recent nuanced books that delve much deeper into human emotion and complexity both the main characters in this were a paint by numbers job. There’s the feisty and determined female (Devon) and the aloof, crotchety alpha male with a heart of gold underneath (Stoneman). Both have troubled pasts that have led them on their current path and they clash when Devon comes to Alaska having bought a stake in Stonemans business (thinking Devon was a man). They fight and argue and as it’s a romance in time they fall in love but can they truly open up to each other? Set in Alaska (where afaik Hannah spent time growing up there), she loves the place and I always love her descriptions of Alaska so that saved the book for me. I did quite like the characters as well for all their cheesiness. I preferred this to her second book but I may have to rethink my plan to read all her books if the next one is also like this as well!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2023
“Home was a place where you belonged. A place you missed.”
This past week I read the first book Kristin Hannah’s wrote back in 1991. It is a romance, an Enemies to Lovers Trope. I could not find this book on audio, I had to read the actual book. Even funnier, I ordered the book from the library without paying attention and it came in LARGE PRINT. Well that made it convenient to read without my glasses.😂. Well, that brings my total up to 19/24 Kristin Hannah books read. Thanks to @thebookclubmom for starting me on this mission. I’m still slowly working on it. I think I’ll read The Enchantment next, whenever I get the book from the library.
What I liked about A Handful of Heaven was Devon, the main character. Despite all the nasty men around her in the mining town, she stood up for herself and for what was promised to her.
Also, I liked that she won everyone over with patience, understanding and kindness. A Handful of Heaven is a predictable yet cute and fun ⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read.
This past week I read the first book Kristin Hannah’s wrote back in 1991. It is a romance, an Enemies to Lovers Trope. I could not find this book on audio, I had to read the actual book. Even funnier, I ordered the book from the library without paying attention and it came in LARGE PRINT. Well that made it convenient to read without my glasses.😂. Well, that brings my total up to 19/24 Kristin Hannah books read. Thanks to @thebookclubmom for starting me on this mission. I’m still slowly working on it. I think I’ll read The Enchantment next, whenever I get the book from the library.
What I liked about A Handful of Heaven was Devon, the main character. Despite all the nasty men around her in the mining town, she stood up for herself and for what was promised to her.
Also, I liked that she won everyone over with patience, understanding and kindness. A Handful of Heaven is a predictable yet cute and fun ⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read.
May 8, 2022
Yukon Territory was a gold miner's heaven, and Devon O'Shea had come to claim her share. But instead of a thriving store in a boom town, Devon discovered she was part owner of a filthy, disorganized tent with a bunch of gold diggers and a mountainous slap of animosity for a partner: Stone Man McKenna. Gathering mop, pail and sheer determination, Devon vowed to make this post the best in the Yukon Territory. Stone Man didn't scare her. But his kiss -- a gruff attempt to convince her that the Yukon was no place for a lady -- left her feeling, for the first time in her life, feminine and alive . . .
This was an interesting story. It was more of a romance than a mystery. It had a good feeling about it and changed the way I saw the Yukon Territory. It was a good Kristin Hannah story and left me a bit surprised at the ending. It was one of the first books that Kristin Hannah wrote and I would have to say that I loved it a lot.
This was an interesting story. It was more of a romance than a mystery. It had a good feeling about it and changed the way I saw the Yukon Territory. It was a good Kristin Hannah story and left me a bit surprised at the ending. It was one of the first books that Kristin Hannah wrote and I would have to say that I loved it a lot.
January 23, 2021
I've enjoyed several of Kristin Hannah's novels over the years (my favorite has to be The Great Alone), and I've been on an Alaska romance kick of late, so I thought I'd give her debut novel a try. It was a fun read, great character development and solid sense of place. It had a bit of an 'inspirational' feel to it, yet when the main characters finally get it on, the scene has a fair amount of steam. I wish it hadn't ended as abruptly as it did. I felt there could have been another page or two, maybe a brief epilogue, to help wrap things up. Had this been the first in a series, it might not have bothered me as much, but I don't see any links (at least not on GR) indicating sequels.
January 23, 2021
This was Kristin Hannah's first book, given to me as a Christmas gift from a friend in my book club. Our club loves Hannah's later work, The Nightingale and The Great Alone, so we were shocked to discover that she got her start writing romance novels. This was my first romance novel and definitely demonstrated Hannah's ability to write a good story. She won an award for it, so I guess it's good for its genre, too. I enjoyed it for what it was, but can't help wondering what Hannah would do with the characters as she writes now, less tropey/smutty, more realistic and honest, with some of the other characters fleshed out.
July 2, 2023
Not my type. Too much romance. You know the ending from page 1
Yukon Territory was a gold miner's heaven, and Devon O'Shea had come to claim her share. But instead of a thriving store in a boom town, Devon discovered she was part owner of a filthy, disorganized tent with a bunch of gold diggers and a mountainous slap of animosity for a partner: Stone Man McKenna. Gathering mop, pail and sheer determination, Devon vowed to make this post the best in the Yukon Territory. Stone Man didn't scare her. But his kiss -- a gruff attempt to convince her that the Yukon was no place for a lady -- left her feeling, for the first time in her life, feminine and alive . . .
Yukon Territory was a gold miner's heaven, and Devon O'Shea had come to claim her share. But instead of a thriving store in a boom town, Devon discovered she was part owner of a filthy, disorganized tent with a bunch of gold diggers and a mountainous slap of animosity for a partner: Stone Man McKenna. Gathering mop, pail and sheer determination, Devon vowed to make this post the best in the Yukon Territory. Stone Man didn't scare her. But his kiss -- a gruff attempt to convince her that the Yukon was no place for a lady -- left her feeling, for the first time in her life, feminine and alive . . .
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