Rating: 
Summary: Morning Glory
Review: I won't go into the plot since someone else has already done so but it is very seductive. What a well written romantic. My sister sent it to me. You want to cry at the love these two people feel for each other. When he has to leave her to go to war it is wretching. Be sure and read it if you are a romance person. It is very moving. I give few few books five starrs.
Rating: 
Summary: Where have you gone Mrs. Spencer........
Review: I am currently trying to read all of my TBR (to be read) of Lavryle Spencer, since this lady has went into retirement I have to savor her books slowly. Morning Glory was like most of her books vivid in detail of that time period, it takes place in Georgia. The Heroine "Elly" was raised by grandparents that were religious zealots and kept her locked up in a house without any sunlight allowed in (mainly to keep people out) but "Elly" did manage to go to school (thanks to local law enforcement) so she did have some exposure to the outside world. Unfortunatly because of the way she lived the kids at school teased her and she got the name "Crazy Elly". She has 2 little boys and another child on the way and doesn't go into town because of her childhood ridicule. The Hero "Will" is a ex-convict, a drifter and doesn't know who his parents were/are. They come together after "Will" loses his job at the local sawmill. "Elly" is moving along in her pregnancy and realizes that she can not continue without help, so she places a ad in the local paper looking for a "Husband" really she needs someone to help around the Farm and with raising her sons. "Will" answers the ad after losing the Job and thinking he doesn't have anything more to loose. Of course in Spencer fashion these two develop a Love that touches your heart and you see "Will" become a better man because of "Elly". I don't want to give to much of the story away but this story is during the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor and "Will" ends up serving in the War there are some circumstance which arise that forces "Elly" to come out of her shell and become more involved in the community. Overall I liked the book, I only gave it 4 Stars because there are others of Ms. Spencer that I would definately recommend over this one. If you like this particular type of storyline I would also recommend "The Outsider" by Penelope Williamson or "A Pocketful of Paradise" by Kathleen Kane Happy Reading
Rating:
Summary: Superb...
Review: Two lonely people, abused and cast aside by society, meet at a time in their lives where both have become desperate in different ways and for different reasons. Elly, recently widowed with two boys and another baby on the way, needs a husband to help with the chores and orchards and heavy work around the farm; Will is tired of drifting and being fired from one job after another because he's an ex-con. Their tentative agreement to have a sort of platonic trial marriage to see if things will work out soon sees them married for real and learning to trust in people, namely each other, again. Though proximity alone often causes two people to gravitate to one another, there is more to the pull between Elly and Will. He sees, and is moved by, her genuine kindness, honesty and compassion. The affection she displays toward her sons makes Will's heart ache with longing for the kind of home and love he's never had. Elly finds in Will steadfastness, dependability, patience and thoughtfulness. Time and mutual admiration for the goodness in each other bring forth a deep and loving bond between them. While neither has had much formal education, as is shown in their grammar and writing skills, it is obvious that they are both extremely intelligent and determined to not only survive, but better themselves, their lives, and the lives of the children. The other characters in the book were entertaining, disturbing, amusing, and thought-provoking. But it is the relationship between the main characters, Elly and Will, which is the driving force in the story and truly moving to watch unfold. Spencer has an extraordinary gift for dialogue -- I can't help but wonder if she ever spent time in the South because, having lived in Georgia all my life, I can usually spot a "fake" right off the bat. Her dialogue is dead on for rural Georgia, especially during the mid-1900's. Her descriptions of the kids, Thomas and Donald Wade, were amazingly visual and had me in stitches. It's rare while reading a romance novel to forget that it's a romance novel. Reading MORNING GLORY was reading great literature. I look forward to reading all Ms. Spencer's work. A passage from one of Elly's letters to Will as he is overseas fighting in World War II: "I went back and read what I wrote and it still don't seem to say it like I feel but telling what love is like is a lot like telling what the call of a bird is like. You hear it and you reckoniz it and its in yourself so strong you think for sure you can repeat it for someone else. But you can't. I just wanted you to know though that I love you different from what I loved Glendon. They say everybody goes through life searching for the other half of hisself and I know now you're the other half of me cause when I'm with you I feel hoel..."
Rating:
Summary: a true sweet love story set in a time gone by
Review: I loved this story because of two lost souls who found each other through a mutual need..........the time for them to love each other was a beautiful read and i enjoyed it i was on a cruise around South America and couldn't put the book down By the way i never have found out what a steel jennie is
Rating:
Summary: Human
Review: This is my first LaVyrle Spencer's novel and i love it. Will and Elly are so human, unlike the usual novel characters where the man and woman are model-like. This is a very good romance novel because you see how the love develops between the main characters and not "lust-at-first-sight." I cried when I read the letters they wrote to each other especially the one where Elly wrote something like she feels "hoel" with Will. The letter comes from the heart and it is very touching.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable
Review: Morning Glory is a touching, well-written book that will leave you feeling good. It involves characters who are different than the usual romance novel in that they are not gorgeous, smart and confident, but you come to love them. I enjoyed reading a story outside the usual formula.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL - 5 STARS PLUS
Review: Wow! What a story. The author takes you right into the hearts of Will and Ellie. I loved them. They were so vivid that I can't get them out of my mind. I find myself thinking about the children and the grandchildren that have surely been added to this wonderful family. Every minute of reading every page was a pleasure. I worried right along with Ellie about Will in the Marines. What a superior writer Ms. Spencer is. This is the first book I remember reading by her, but will keep going until I have read them all. Thank you for such wonderful characters, the boys, Gladys, the old brothers who kept watch over the town from their bench in the town square.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, Story!
Review: I listened to the audio cassette version for Morning Glory which I think is Lavyrle Spencer's greatest book. It's about the beautiful, down to earth story of Will and Ellie. This audio cassette version for Morning Glory read by Deborah Raffin is out of print and since I loved it so much I'm so satisfied that I kept it and I will treasure it! I just wish Lavryle Spencer would put out an unabridged audio recording for Morning Glory, that would be really nice!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful real life love story
Review: I absolutely loved this book! Being an incurable romantic this story made me smile a lot, laugh quite often and even cry. This is a love story with real life people and problems and adjustments. It is the story of Will Parker, an ex-con who had a difficult life growing up. He was abandoned by his mother, spent many years going from foster home to foster home when he finally ran away at the age of 14 to become a loner drifting here and there doing what he needed to survive. He comes to a small town in Georgia to try to start over when his past comes back to haunt him. He answers an ad "for a husband" trying to find some way to start over. The woman who placed the ad is Elly Dinsmore - a woman the town believes is crazy, she is simply trying to keep her farm and raise her 2 sons with a baby on the way after her husband dies. At the beginning their relationship is strictly practical, Will is able to do the heavy work on the farm while Elly provides him with meals and a place to sleep - the barn. They soon begin to like each other as they go along their ways and realize how special each are as people as to each other. I really liked this book because they are real people, each with a past that keeps coming up to hinder their progress and taint their futures. They get to know each other and realize how special the other is and how much the other can do to fill a void in their lives. The book also doesn't end with them falling in love but continues to show how they grow together to love each other, to overcome the continuous obtacles in life that seem to want to keep them apart. It is definitely a love story but also a story about second chances and how important it is to give people a chance, not to believe what is said or to judge simply on their past but to judge a person by themselves and what they are today. A wonderful book, you won't be sorry you've read it.
Rating:
Summary: Read it!
Review: This is a great read. If you are a Lavyrle Spencer fan like I am, then this is one book you will want for your collection. Morning Glory is without a doubt the best romance novel I have read. This is one novel I read twice a year: during the holiday season and Easter. Each time I read it I learn something new about each of the characters. I usually don't show a lot of emotion when I'm reading. But this novel, this wonderful novel, has me teary eyed; angry that I want to scream at some one; then so emotional I want to hug someone. Buy it, you'll love it.
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