Bitter Sweet

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Lavyrle Spencer book - and that's saying a lot
Review: This book has to do with moving on from catastrophes in life (Maggie's husband died the year before) and doing what is right for you, not those around you. Maggie is a strong, yet gentle woman who goes back to her hometown after a lot of convincing from some old friends that she just got re-acquainted with. Maggie buys a fabulous old house and begins repairs on it so that she can open a B&B. Along the way she runs into Eric, her high school beau, who is in a loveless marriage but committed to staying. The story is Maggie's and it includes growing after 40, falling in love the second time and dealing with all that life has to throw at you. The connection between Maggie and Eric is electric and deep and so real that everyone can relate to that special someone that they have or have had in their life that makes them feel this alive. It is a great book that has such detailed descriptions that I can still picture the house and the driveway, the town, Eric walking across the street, Maggie in her pink jacket and rosy cheeks--it's great. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Lavyrle Spencer book - and that's saying a lot
Review: This book has to do with moving on from catastrophes in life (Maggie's husband died the year before) and doing what is right for you, not those around you. Maggie is a strong, yet gentle woman who goes back to her hometown after a lot of convincing from some old friends that she just got re-acquainted with. Maggie buys a fabulous old house and begins repairs on it so that she can open a B&B. Along the way she runs into Eric, her high school beau, who is in a loveless marriage but committed to staying. The story is Maggie's and it includes growing after 40, falling in love the second time and dealing with all that life has to throw at you. The connection between Maggie and Eric is electric and deep and so real that everyone can relate to that special someone that they have or have had in their life that makes them feel this alive. It is a great book that has such detailed descriptions that I can still picture the house and the driveway, the town, Eric walking across the street, Maggie in her pink jacket and rosy cheeks--it's great. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Disliked it intensely
Review: This book is an insult to women everywhere. First of all, why on earth did Eric stay married for eighteen years, waiting for Nancy to change, instead of finding out what her views on child care and giving up her career were BEFORE he married her? Second, I find it interesting that he automatically assumes that he has the right to stay in the town he loves doing the work he loves, yet assumes that Nancy should be willing to give up both? Third, having Nancy be unfaithful is an insult to career women who love their jobs and their children - in fact, her whole character was. I can't believe that a classy woman like Maggie would be dumb enough to fall for a jerk like Eric, nor does Maggie's lack of sympathy with Katy really resonate. Here's a young woman who loses her father, yet she's expected to put a happy face on it when her mother sells the house the minute she leaves for school, has an affair with a married man AND gets pregnant? The whole book did not resonate with me at all - the only characters I like were Roy, Anna, and Mike. This book almost put me off LaVyrle Spencer for life. A real disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet
Review: This is just an awesome Book! Lavryle Spenser has such a way with words that she makes you feel like your there! Very good reading! Just pick up this book, grab a cup a tea and sit by the fire and indulge with this book or any of her novels! You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: BitterSweet
Review: This is my all time favorite book and I don't generally read romance novels - it should be made into a movie (who would play Eric, Maggie, Nancy?) The reason I read the book was because it was about Door County. I enjoy my yearly visit to the Door and my goal is to someday own a B&B or a retail store there so enjoyed that aspect of the storyline. Door County is truly a beautiful place. I loved the grief counseler's idea of contacting old friends - they do remind us of simpler times. I do wish a little follow up would have been given to the grief group friends in Seattle such as what happened to all of them after a few months. I loved all of the characters, but especially liked Anna, Brookie, and Roy. I wish LaVyrle Spencer would write a follow up to this book - what happens to Katy, Roy, Vera? Definitely a good read for a snowy, winter, weekend!

Rating:
Summary: Some loves last forever
Review: This novel explores the interesting scenario of being reunited with a lost love. I think many people wonder what happened to individuals they've known earlier in their life. The idea of reuniting with an old flame is particularly intriguing. It took a lot of guts for Maggie to initially contact Eric. I think the story would have been much better if Eric hadn't been married when he received Maggie's phone call. Single, widowed, divorced, it wouldn't have mattered, just as long as he was available to love Maggie. Even though Eric's wife didn't love him, it didn't excuse his behavior. The author did an excellent job in the beginning of the story when she related what it felt like to lose a spouse. If Eric had been widowed too, it would have been a much more interesting dynamic. Overall, the book was a good read, and one I'd recommend.

Rating:
Summary: Great plot!
Review: This story was SO rich in action and factors that it was like reading a soap opera! It always installs hope in many hearts when high school romances are rekindled because they can be the ones to last a lifetime!

Rating:
Summary: This is a must read kind of book!!!!!!.....Excellent!!!
Review: This was a really great book!! I love everything I have read by LaVyrle Spencer!!! She has the ability to take you into the characters' lives so much so that you feel as if you really know these people....makes you really sad to have to say goodbye to them when the book is done. This is a book I really hated to see end!

Rating:
Summary: just plain wonderful
Review: Thris was the first book I read of LaVyrle Spencer, and the first one to be published in Sweden. I couldn't help but crying when I read it and honestly i still do. LaVyrle has an abbility to write about ordinary people that fall in love. It's realistic and I guess that's why I love it so. Every time I read it and comed to the part where they are charing lunch on a bench I get lost picturing him, how he looks in that exact moment. And another favorite part is when she describes the feelings that they are having. I have yet not read another author's book where the felling are so real and... Well I just don't know how to say it. Just plain wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: One that will stay in your mind and heart :-)
Review: When I decided to read romance novels, I wanted some that didn't have violence, gore, etc. Then I saw the series by LaVyrle on an endcap at Wal-Mart (wal-mart---yech! they're a monopoly ;-( K-Mart and Target are better)...Anyhow, the description of each of her books fit what I was looking for. I have always thorougly enjoyed ALL of her books!!! I bought all Wal-Mart had then turned to Amazon. What I like about her characters is that they are HUMAN...REAL. Yes, Maggie and Eric made a mistake in judgment when they selfishly had their affair, but they learned from that. Nancy was two-faced. She was very self-absorbed, only wanting a man so that she wouldn't have to carry heavy stuff or take care of the yard. She was so vain that I wondered if Carly Simon's song "You're so Vain" could also have been written about her. Nancy LIED to Eric about being faithful when she was confronted by Eric who asked for a divorce. She said, "I've been faithful to you; I don't deserve this." So she made herself out to be a victim, when all along she had had several tete-a-tetes (a.k.a. one-night stands) when she was out on the road. Eric thought that his life wouldn't be worth anything unless he had some progeny, which is not true. However, wanting children is a basic desire for all of us at some point in our lives, unless we are called to the religious life. I think that Nancy was sadly pathetic and ironic that she would proclaim herself an independent woman, but underneath that exterior, she was really insecure. I would like a sequel to this novel that would follow Nancy in her self improvement and finding true love. I felt a little bit sorry for her...only a little bit though because of her lies.

Maggie is a very strong woman who endured the judgment of others for her mistakes. We have been taught that judging others is wrong and this book makes a good argument about that. Maggie's mom is so focused on having the perfect-looking family and in having the esteem of her peers, such an uppity outlook. So many people who grace church pews every week think themselves to be the police of God and that they have the right to judge others and to condemn them. Vera saw the truth about herself too late; it's sad that her husband didn't tell her this stuff before, when she could work on herself and possibly save her marriage. I really think Maggie's dad will never come back to her. Seeing how he and Eric's mom got along in the hospital, I'd bet that they would hook up in a sequel. HINT HINT, MS. SPENCER!!!! ;-)

Bottom line: riveting, thought-provoking, heart-warming and definitely a book that will stay in your mind long after you've finished it. I have a whole shelf filled with her books and I go back and read them again from time to time.