Family Blessings

by LaVyrle Spencer

Out of the deepest grief comes the greatest love ... Lee Reston, a widow in her mid-forties, had a full and rewarding life with her three incredible children and a thriving florist business. And like most of us, Lee never imagined how she would cope if that which was most precious was taken from her ...

Then came the shattering news that turned her life upside down: Lee's oldest son, Greg, is killed in a motorcycle accident. In her anguish and grief, she turns to police officer Christopher Lallek, Greg's best friend; together they grieve for Greg and begin to heal their pain. As their friendship blossoms, Chris becomes part of the family, helping with odd jobs around the house and joining in family dinners and backyard barbecues. Soon, Lee realizes she's experiencing feelings she never thought she'd feel again--she's falling in love with this serious, gentle young man--and wonders what the world will think of their unexpected love affair. She finds her answer close to home, for Lee's daughter has feelings of her own for Chris. Now the family that was once the core of her existence becomes a mixed blessing, as Lee must confront her own children to understand where family ties end -- and a woman's need for love begins ...


A widow is torn between her family and a new, young love...

"A moving tale." (Publishers Weekly)

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Family, Drama

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

LaVyrle Spencer is an American best-selling author of contemporary and historical romance novels. She has successfully published a number of books, with several of them made into movies. Twelve of her books have been New York Times bestsellers, and Spencer was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame in 1988.

Spencer is known for creating realistic characters and stories that focus on families rather than only the relationship between a man and woman. These "ordinary" men and women are warm and vulnerable and are always portrayed sympathetically.[1] Her heroines tend to be a mix of fire and warmth, strength, savvy and soft–heartedness who must overcome some sort of adversity, such as pregnancy, divorce, a lengthy separation, the loss of a loved one, and then undergo a catharsis. The stories center on themes of abiding love, family ties and strength in difficult times.

In the 1980s and 1990s Spencer wrote 12 New York Times Bestsellers. Her books have been sold to book clubs worldwide, and have been published around the world. Condensed versions of many of her novels have appeared in Reader's Digest and Good Housekeeping.

She retired from writing in 1997.

Reviews

[Birjis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lavyryle Spencer stories gives me warm nostalgic feelings. Always I think the plot is of hardship which is different from the digital world, the hype of her books make me feel of longing and wistfulness of something I don't know.
Once again the characters here are memorable and complex. 45-year-old Lex is in a relationship with her dead son's 30-year-old best friend, Christopher. Both of them turn to each other in grief, there is friendliness and eventually love. There isn't much difficulties or situations for this forbidden couple. Lee brings out her relationship with Chris with her two other children by considering the issues of society.
It's a clean read for a taboo theme. 

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sort of know what to expect when I pick up a LaVyrle Spencer book - not too much drama, hometown tale ... this one was no different. Liked the characters, apart from the judgemental mother and sister... jealousy will take over every time, with some folks.


When a man starts dating a younger woman, all is fine... but if it is the other way around, there is some criticism. She is seen as robbing the cradle, so to speak.



Everyone deserves happiness and you sometimes have to buck the trend ... married a younger man myself! LOL. Only 6 months difference but they way he tells it sometimes, you would think he was tied to an ancient old bag!!!


A nice story with a happy ending. Of course I would have loved an Epilogue ...

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall rating: 5 stars!

Triggers:
Cheating: No
Love triangle: No
Sex with om/ow: No, but there is a kissing scene that I was explain later
Intimate pasts: Chris hasn't had sex in over two years. He is a relationship type of guy. He has never loved before in his life. He is not a "ladies' man" per his own words and refers to himself as a loner.

Lee hasn't had sex in 9 years since her husband died of a brain aneurysm. She did go on a few dates after a few years, but even those kisses left her "wanting to brush her teeth."
Push/pull: Yes. First of all, let me just say that Chris' past is tragic. Absolutely heartbreaking. That's why he has never loved anyone, he didn't know how. He is a loner and has always been that way so he valued his friendship with Greg, Lee's son very much and even the time he spent with Greg's family before his death. After Greg's death, he and Lee grow very close and develop a very sweet friendship that Chris quickly realizes is turning into more. He tip toes around it at first because he fears rejection and at the same time, he doesn't want to ruin his relationship with Lee. He mentions to her one day that he has a blind double date with some friends and one of their friend or sisters or something. He isn't happy about going and he is hoping that Lee will say something. She says nothing, but is jealous on the inside. This book is dual POV so you get both sides. So he goes on this double date and the whole time he is thinking and comparing this woman to Lee. He doesn't like this woman at all - he finds her pathetic. She is a divorcee that has children and CONSTANTLY mentions her husband. He didn't like her even before she opened her mouth because he doesn't WANT anyone but Lee, but he just wants to get the night over with. He ends up bringing the girl home because she didn't have a vehicle with her. After he walks her to her door, he turns away and then she calls out to him, pleading with him to just kiss her. She tells him a lot of things that she knows the date was horrible and she isn't over her ex husband and she knows she will never see him again after tonight, but she is so lonely. So he does - he french kisses her pretending that she is Lee to actually get through it. He has a soft spot for lonely because that's exactly his life. Once the woman starts moving her arms towards groping, he immediately steps back (even saying in his mind, that he isn't THAT nice) and never sees her again. He DOES tell Lee about this, including the fact that he kissed her while imagining it was her. I didn't bother me at all because of how it was presented and how much of a backstory we had at that point from both Lee and Chris. I totally understood where Chris was coming from. So after this point starts Lee pushing him away. They do eventually start dating in secret and when the truth comes out, people turn away from her so she pushes him away again. He chases her up until that point because he doesn't want to ruin her life. So she IS the one to go after him, but it made sense and of course, he waited for her. He wasn't even remotely a manwhore at all
OM/OW drama: None as far as significant others go - but Lee's family does cause issues. Especially her daughter, Janice, who has had a major crush on Chris for years. Janice is currently 23 years old and her brother Greg was 25. Chris is 30 - so he is a little older with an even older heart and that's why he and Lee connected so well even though she was 45 years old. Janice is slightly flirty and drops hints to Chris just about every time she sees him at her mother's house when she is home from school. Chris never looks twice at her, but does notice her crush on him. He never entertains it and at the very least ignores any comments she makes. Like he is obvious, even though he isn't. So naturally, when she finds out about her mother's relationship with him, she is absolutely devastated. Lee's mother, father and sister cause some trouble for her too. Her son, though and her ex father-in-law were wonderful to her about everything.

I adored ADORED Chris so at times I felt myself being bias and wanting to knock Lee in the head, but i Loved her too. She was a great mother and a wonderful lady entirely. And the truth is, I UNDERSTOOD where she was coming from and why she pushed him away like she did.

HEA: Yes, very sweet :D

My review:

Gosh, I have to say - it has been SO freaking REFRESHING to read two books back to back where the hero's were not MANWHORES. OMG, I can't even tell you how refreshing.

This is a very emotional book. Chris is a 30 year old police officer of a small town, who at the beginning of the book is happy about to celebrate picking up his first brand new vehicle and going out to the lake for the weekend with his best friend, who is also a cop. This day is shattered when he comes to find out that his friend Greg has died, not even on duty, while driving to his mom's house to fix a hose for her. He is absolutely devastated, especially because he knows Greg's wonderful family and with all the bad things that have happened throughout Chris' life and all the bad things he sees on the streets, he doesn't understand why Greg. Why? From there, he feels like Greg's mom, Lee, whom Greg absolutely adored, would want to hear the news better from him then anyone else. So there begins the start of a beautiful friendship between Chris and Lee that soon turns into more.

I loved reading Chris and Lee's progression from friends to lovers. I freaking ADORED Chris so very much. He was just such an amazing guy and hero. I loved Lee as well - she was a wonderful mother and leading lady as well.

This is another slow burn type of book, but I seriously enjoyed every minute of it.

I am so spoiled now, I don't know why to read next!!!

[Sera · Rating 5 out of 5]

How refreshing this book was, but what else would I expect from LaVyrle Spencer. She just has a way of weaving a truly memorable story with such relatable characters. It was an honest story about grief and finding love in the unexpected. I loved both Lee and Christopher so much. They were very genuine and the build up was gradual and believeable. It was sweet without being cheesy. Just the right amount of everything.

[Pikolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preciosa historia, con su toque agridulce.
Muy romantica, con protagonistas inmejorables.
Recomendable sin ninguna duda.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful relationship - much more than lust. A full story, a good story.

This is romance with a womens fiction feel. There is a lot of grief in the first third of the book. A mother Lee loses her 25 year old son Greg in a motorcycle accident. Chris is Greg’s roommate and coworker. Chris mourns the loss with Lee and her family. I don’t want to read books about grief and depressing topics. But this was less troubling than I expected. The author wasn’t focused on making me cry or feel bad. Instead the funeral and death was more of a vehicle for Chris’ and Lee’s paths to cross, repeatedly. Their actions, interactions, and help for each other and compassion for each other was so sensitive and loving to watch. It was wonderful watching them fall in love, even though Lee resisted - for good reasons. She was 45 Chris was 30. Yet it was a wonderful love. It made me want to fall in love like that.

There were interesting side stories about their families. Lee’s 23 year old daughter wanted to date Chris. She had no idea that Chris only had eyes for her mother. Lee’s 14 year old son had unexpected and fun reactions. There is a touching side story about Chris helping a troubled teen.

NARRATOR:
Sadly the narrator was a bad fit. Barbara Rush has a quivering deep elderly lady voice. It did not fit a sensual sexy woman falling in love. It did not fit the sex scenes - think 70 year old lady having sex. Also she overly sweetened her voice for Lee’s dialogue - like a Snow-White-Disney-princess type. It didn’t feel right for Lee or her children.

The recording sounded odd. It had a muffled sound like talking through a blanket. I got used to it after a while, or it got better.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 15 hrs and 17 mins. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 4 to 5. Setting: 1992 mostly Anoka, Minnesota. Book copyright: 1993. Genre: grief with contemporary romance, older woman younger man.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 STARS

How refreshing to have a squared-away, good guy hero who knows exactly what he wants. Christopher is the heart and soul of this book. Obviously, the beginning is heartbreaking, but it turns into a beautiful love story. I commend Spencer for writing a touching, realistic storyline for a heroine over 40; we don't have enough of them in romance.

Spencer continues to astound me with her writing. I can't thank my sweet friend, Beth enough for introducing this author to me.

[BG · Rating 5 out of 5]

"And studied each other with mayonnaise in the corners of their mouths. With their hair imperfect and wet around the edges. And their complexions ruddy and unsmooth from exertion. Wearing some of the oldest clothes they owned. Experiencing a comfort level they found with few others."

[BJ Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This story was so emotionally draining through the first part that I had to put it down and do something physical to recharge. As this story opens, the heroine is a widow who loses her oldest child in a motorcycle accident, and we soon learn that two decades earlier she lost a baby to SIDS. This sounds like a bad soap opera, but in this author's hands, it becomes an uplifting story of dealing with loss.

Unfortunately, IMO, this is marketed as a romance, and the focus in readers' minds is on the older woman/younger man relationship - but this is so much more; it's about how people deal with loss, and how that loss can come forward "out of the blue" and seem as fresh as the day it happened.

I don't know that I'll ever be able to read this again - I used so many tissues my husband was sure I must have a cold - but I'll never be sorry I read it. It is definitely a count-your-blessings story, and a tribute to the strength and resilience of family.

[BWT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nostalgic favorite.

LaVryle Spencer is one of my go-to romance writers for when I'm in a nostalgic MF romance mood. In 'Family Blessings' the plot still mostly holds up, and I'm reminded how ridiculously few romances there are that have a 40+ year old female MC who actually gets her HEA without a surprise pregnancy involved.

[Ivonne. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una bonita historia, sencilla, y muy realista, narrada de manera magistral que logra aflorar muchos emociones y sentimientos, empieza con mucho dolor, una madre pierde a su hijo joven y un policía a su mejor amigo se apoyan y consuelan mutuamente, sin imaginar que dichos sentimientos dan paso a otros más profundos, teniendo en contra no solo la diferencia de edad, si no también la oposición de los padres e hija, lo cual nos enseña que el respeto así sea a los padres merecen ganárselos, me han encantado Christopher y Lee, ambos son maravillosos seres humanos y ame a los secundarios LLoyd el suegro y Joey el hijo menor, muestra más madurez que los adultos. Una historia más del #RetoRita3.

[Dagmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredibly moving. What a beautiful story...another LaVyrle Spencer gem

[La comunidad del libro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leer la crítica en:
http://www.lacomunidaddellibro.com/pe...

[Laura L · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well this was like torture.

[Elisabeth Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Family Blessings" was an awesome book and what I would consider a true "older woman, younger man" scenario. Lee is a 45 year old woman whose son, Greg, is killed in an accident. She ends up relying on Greg's 30 year old friend, roommate and coworker Christopher, for help and guidance. They start out as acquaintances who are in mourning, slowing become friends and eventually fall in love. The pace of this story was perfect - nothing felt "insta" and it was completely believable. There were quite a few times I felt teary-eyed because of the circumstances surrounding Greg. It was told mostly from Lee's POV with Christopher's thrown in every now and then. My only complaint is that this book was written in 1994 and that was obvious throughout the whole story. Most of the time Lee sounded like someone's grandmother because of the phrases she used. Clothing was described frequently and some of it was pretty bad - Christopher would mow the lawn in cut-off jean shorts? Lee thought he looked pretty hot but the image I came up with just made me cringe! The archaic attitudes of those around Lee when it came to her and Christopher being together seemed way out of line to me but maybe 20+ years ago their relationship would have been more shocking. Too bad an editor couldn't go back and bring this book into the 21st century!

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I cried at the death of the son which happens on the first page and occupies about half of the book. The relationship between the older woman and the younger man was good but sometimes I get tired of the woman always being so upset about falling in love with a younger man. I married a younger man (granted just 7 years not 15 but even books with a 5 to 7 years difference make a big deal out of it) and it just didn't matter to either of us. The romance was good and well written. I generally prefer that any crying I do be over the troubles in the love aspect of a novel and not over a death. Thank goodness the son was grown. I don't think I'd have read it if he had been a little boy.

[Kristen Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago, and decided to search for it for Kindle. It was more expensive than the books I usually buy for my Kindle, and filled with typos, but I don't regret my choice for a second. This book was even better than I remembered it being, and is one of my favorites by this author. The characters are vividly drawn, and the changing of the POV between characters is done very well. Lee and Christopher are thrown together when Lee's son, and Christopher's roommate, dies suddenly. As they lean on each other for support during the initial grieving, their relationship develops into a deeper, romantic relationship, which throws their lives into upheaval as they deal with the censure and judgement of Lee's family.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

"Widowed at an early age, 44-year-old Lee Reston has overcome many obstacles to raise three children and build a successful business. When her eldest son is killed in a motorcycle accident, Lee turns to his 30-year-old best friend for comfort--and falls in love with him." (From Amazon)

I enjoyed this contemporary family fiction.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Spencer is able to take a sensitive subject and handle it with grace. I really liked this book till the end when I thought the main character became selfish, immature and overly mushy and it kind of ruined the whole premise of the story for me. Otherwise, it was easy to read, down to earth and relatable.

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for me actually. Gosh, it took me longer than usual to read a book... It started off really slow and there were some details that should have been better left unwritten, but overall it was a refreshing, unconventional read.

[Min · Rating 3 out of 5]

The heroine's boring and doesn't seem to respect the hero enough. I wish she grovelled for how she threw their relationship aside to please her family. I get that being people-pleasing is a thing. But for a woman in her mid-forties, I was hoping she had more of a backbone.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first chapters are overly dramatic.
I have loved Spencer's books from the 1980's, but this one I couldn't stand.
Not my cup of tea anymore.

[begemot · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this was one BOOOOORING book. A complete waste of paper, in my opinion - 534 pages (in large print) about essentially nothing. And the thing is, I can’t even tell why this was written. There is no moral to this story and there is almost no plot. Certainly no character development. From around the 30% mark, I’ve been hate-reading it. At 60% mark I wanted to throw it out of the window, and it’s not even a purchased copy I was reading. I should’ve stopped really, but I wanted to see the family’s reaction to the liaison - I figured that that would be the “meat” of the story, since nothing else was living up to that. Nope, that part fell as flatly as everything else. I skimmed over several chapters in the second half of the book, because I couldn’t take the snail pace anymore.

So, in no particular order, random thoughts on and impressions of the book (since I can’t be arsed to format them into a coherent review):

- Now, admittedly I didn’t grow up in the West, and have been exposed to the American culture mostly through the Hollywood movies, and later, the Internet. But this is the first time that I went through the whole piece of work with the impression that I was reading about some completely alien society. On the one hand, I learned more about things such as funeral events - I had no idea the “wake” and the burial could be held on separate days and have a completely separate set of attendees. And on the other hand, I was baffled by how a real human could have a certain way of thinking (examples below), and was questioning whether my whole understanding of how the society works had been so flawed. And I couldn’t tell if this latter perception was due to an actual cultural gap or due to the author’s personal distorted worldview.

- For instance, when Lee Reston finds out that her 25-year-old son, Greg, died, one of the thoughts that she has as part of her inner monologue is how all the effort, energy, love, etc. she put into him has been wasted, because his life was cut short, and all the hopes and plans she had for him are never going to come to fruition. And how that is unfair. I mean, sure, all of that is objectively true. But does a parent really view their child as a sum of investments that they want to see returns on? Some parents might, but to think it immediately on the death of that child? There is no humanity to this, that’s my problem. And I can’t imagine a loving mother thinking of their child’s death in such terms.

- Or how they are talking about what to do with the deceased’s possessions, such as his leased car or apartment rental, literally on the day of his death. I understand the need for practicality and these things will indeed have to be sorted, but you’re talking about the sister taking over his car within less than 24 hours from his death? That’s not enough time for most people to comprehend the fact of someone’s death, but apparently not for this mother and sister.

- Anyway, many instances like that. But what irked me the most was how this woman, the mother, was lauded as strong, capable, self-sacrificing, loving, and an all around exemplary mother and woman, but showed none of those traits during the whole book:

- She lost a baby years ago? Well, a lot of women have. Her solution to that tragedy apparently was to get pregnant again, immediately. And the dead infant was already her second child in two years. Yes, a very sensible attitude.

- She put herself through school and started a successful business to support her three children after her husband’s death. That is indeed very impressive. What is not impressive? Spending the previous 18 years being a housewife with no work experience and no higher education, letting the husband be the sole earner. And I don’t mean to say that taking care of three kids (or even one kid) isn’t a full time job. It absolutely is. But she was letting both herself and those children down by NOT considering what would happen to all of them if something happened to the husband’s earning ability or if the marriage were to dissolve.

- When her son dies, his best friend, Christopher, keeps observing how brave and strong she is. But what she’s actually doing during that time is letting this stranger take care of everything, including the dialing of the phone numbers. Yes, she’s very upset and is entitled to seek support. But there is a house full of people who are offering that to her, including her sister, yet she leans on this strapping young man, whose good looks she doesn’t fail to notice despite supposedly being occupied by her son’s sudden death. Why him? Oh, because it feels good to let a man do things for her. Again.

- In the weeks and months after her son’s death, she feels lonely and “abandoned” by her children and family. Apparently, she doesn’t have any close friends, despite being described as well-connected in her community, outgoing and gregarious. So she reaches out to Christopher to fill the “void”. My question though is - why did this void suddenly come into being? The son that died had been living separately for years now. Her daughter had been away at Uni for several years. The teenager son had been a teenager with his extracurricular activities for a couple years. So, in her day-to-day life, nothing has changed. And for emotional support, I’d expect her to reach out to whoever she used to reach out to before - presumably, her sister Sylvia. But no, she wants to talk to a guy she barely knows, who is 15 years her junior, because he “understands her so well”. Why is that the case? Well, her dead son was his best friend, and he is as traumatized by his death as she is. The problem with this? Christopher met her son only 2 years ago.

- Between her and Christopher, he is always the more mature one. She acts like a hormonal teenager. She doesn’t want to talk about what’s happening between them, choosing to ignore it, even though it’s clearly getting out of hand. Then she decides she can’t date him, because of what people and her family would say. Then she dates him, but doesn’t explicitly state it to anyone in her family (including the daughter who told her she had a crush on Christopher and is still trying to get his attention). When the family find out, she tells them all to go to hell, but then still breaks up with Christopher. But still starts cutting off the family members, that she didn’t want to lose. All the while moping over it like it’s the end of the world. Then she gets back with him and immediately marries him - in secret of course. And so on, and so forth. At no point does she take control of the situation, try to preempt things she knows will happen, or just calmly discuss and address any of the issues with anyone. All she does is react, and react badly, because she craves other people’s approval so much. That’s not how a self-sufficient adult woman of 45 is supposed to behave. She is a wreck.

- My best description of Lee would be a teenager in an adult woman’s body. Which makes sense, considering she must have gotten married around 18-19 and started popping out babies immediately. She is horny for Christopher. That’s all there is to it. They don’t have any special connection or even basic chemistry. Even the sex scenes read as purely mechanical. Which is fine. She’s entitled to a sex life, as she will let everyone willing to listen know by the end. But to be able to live with herself, she still needs to wrap it up in something profound.

- Her teenager son still has the childish innocence and is actually adorably supportive of her. In her thoughts she is constantly annoyed by him, treating him as a nuisance.

- When the time comes to deal with the family finding out about Lee and Christopher, she starts to lament how her daughter is reacting badly to it all. As if she had no part in forming that daughter’s personality or compounding her humiliation in this situation.

- When considering the rift between herself and her daughter, she always thinks of it as her “upstaging” her daughter. What a mother…

- The author goes to some lengths to drive it home that both Lee and Christopher have considered their feelings in the context of stuff like Oedipus complex, grief, proxy/substitution for a dead son, etc. Except, she still is unable to get rid of the creepy aspects of it all:

- Lee has a uniform fetish, based on how she is salivating over Christopher every time she sees him in his cop uniform. Her son wore the same uniform.

- When fantasizing over Christopher, she thinks about how he looks like her dead son (“Mercy, he even has the same coloring”). This, after it had been established that they have similar height and build and worked out at the same gym.

- Later on, when they are taking each others’ clothes off, before having “make-up” sex, she muses over whether her dead son is watching his mother and his best friend from heaven at that moment and smiling to himself at how happy they are together… “WTF” is the only appropriate response here, I think.

- What Christopher wants from Lee and the Reston family is basically the sense of belonging - something he didn’t get from his own parents. Somehow, he translates that into being attracted to Lee. But it’s never clear what it is that he is attracted to. She isn’t described as a beauty or even someone who is attentive to her appearance (although she does like high heels for some reason). While she gushes over his looks, maturity, and uniform, he gushes over what a splendid mother she is and what a wholesome, all-American family she has.

- Speaking about that wholesome family. There is absolutely nothing special or admirable about this family. In fact, they are as dysfunctional as an average family out there. They get together for holidays and family events. That’s pretty much what their “wholesomeness” amounts to. They don’t reach out to each other for serious discussions, emotional support, or even just for enjoyable company. They don’t actually like each other as people. The one time when something puts a strain on these superficial family ties, everyone starts judging each other, criticizing each other, and cutting each other off from their lives.

- Some more of the “cultural gaps” I experienced in this book (a very “educational” read in this regard, I have to admit):

- The woman, Lee, keeps lamenting how her son was supposed to fix her garden hose. Christopher is the one who eventually does it. As a woman, she is apparently incapable of going to the store, showing them the spout, and asking for a replacement, then attaching it to the hose. Or asking someone to show her how to do it herself in the future.

- Telling someone “you look tired, go get some sleep” is a very “husbandly” thing to say. FFS.

- She missed cooking for a “man”, because it’s a completely different, special experience. Cool. Isn’t it just that men consume much more food? What’s so special about it? (Admittedly I don’t cook, never found any appeal in feeding others, so maybe I am totally missing out on a magical experience here. Still not worth it.)

- You need a man to level a washing machine for you in the house. Help of a teenaged boy won’t do. It has to be a man. Figuring out how to use some kind of a leverage system isn’t an option - you have to find a MAN.

- No one will believe you’ve been to a church service on a Sunday in blue jeans. What does JC have against blue jeans? - no idea.

- Women still used the expression “to go to bed with someone” in the 90s even as they discussed the possibility with the prospective sexual partner. They would switch to talking about “having sex” only after the fact. LOL.

- Everyone is apparently on the same page about NOT having sex when woman is on her period. You may not know that a period normally lasts around 5 days, but you WILL know that you aren’t going to have sex in that time. It’s not even up for a discussion with your new sex partner, to compare their and your preferences.

- A woman will put on fancy underwear “just in case” sex is happening tonight, but she will NOT ensure she has birth control and protection with her. Because that would mean that she is expecting things to happen. Which is unladylike. What about the fancy underwear and shaved legs and other parts? Well, that’s “just in case”… It would be funny, if it wasn’t so freaking dumb.

- Women can “make space” between(?) their hips for the man while standing completely upright, without anything to lean on. I have no idea what that means nor why it needs doing.

- It’s okay to press a couch cushion on your partner’s face to stifle her screams during an orgasm, so as not to bother your neighbors. To be fair, the book just said “he used a cushion”, but the first image that came to my mind from that description was him trying to suffocate her with it.

- Women don’t normally orgasm during their first time with a male partner. Weird (why do they keep having sex with them then?), but okay. So, the fact that Lee had an orgasm with Christopher during their first time is unusual. Except, there is no mention of her orgasming during the intercourse. She did earlier, during the foreplay. Apparently, that also goes under the “unusual” rule, which is… sad, I guess.

- The teenaged (14) son catches his mother making out with a guy, and instead of getting out of there as soon as he can, he watches them for a while, getting “pointers” on what he would like to try with his own girlfriend. How that’s not icky, I don’t know.

- You had to take medical tests to get a marriage license in US in the 90s. They would test for syphilis, but not HIV/AIDS. In some cases, you would be allowed to marry if both partners were notified of a positive result, which implies that in other cases, they wouldn’t be allowed to marry if they had an STD - even if both partners were aware? Sounds bizarre, whichever way you look at it.

- Everyone wants to have their own (biological) kids. Full stop. If they don’t, that’s just unnatural.

- Choosing not to have sex with anyone for 9 years, because you don’t feel the need, is also unnatural.

- At the same time, we are expected to believe that an allegedly good-looking 30-year-old American man goes without a sexual partner for two years. Just because.

- White people associate the American South with some sort of refinement and things “having a glow”, even as they are going through properties of the “antebellum South”. Not once has a thought of slavery passed through their minds during their stay at a carriage house from “before the Civil War”.

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Venía con pocas ganas de leer y recurrí al género que siempre me salva: el romance. Y a mi autora favorita de la vida: Lavyrle Spencer. Tenía pendiente hace mucho este libro. Lo empecé a leer y no pude parar. En tres días me lo devoré. Anteriormente leí otro de Spencer que me decepcionó y tenía miedo con qué me iba a encontrar acá pero puedo decir que me enamoró por completo ♥ y es una novela SPENCER con todas las letras (repleta de sentimientos, dura, tierna, romántica en todos los sentidos). Amé a sus personajes, amé el modo en que desarrolla a cada uno y la relación entre los protagonistas. Chris pasa a ser uno de mis protas masculinos favoritos y Lee me pareció una mujer maravillosa. Solo le vi cosas buenas a este libro y me alegro mucho de haberlo leído.

[Consuelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

No ha estado mal, pero muy lejos de otras obras de la autora que tanto me gustaron, un duelo inicial excesivo, un cortejo tan correcto como lento y un empalago final de más.
Ella es una heroína, pero el es tan correcto que no he llegado a sentir ese amor que proclama una y otra vez, falta pasión, que no sexo, sino ese tic que te hace sentir la historia...quizás ni llegue al 3, pero escribe muy muy bien

[Cathy Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy LaVerle Spencer’s books. This one was no different. I cried from page 2 to page 30.
She draws you in with no unnecessary drama just true feelings. I could have done without all of the time spent describing their many intimacies.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story. It started off with tears and ended in tears. There was a similar story in my family so I truly loved this.

[Donna K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, keeps you reading to see what happens next!!!!

[Umi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee Reston adalah seorang janda berusia 45 tahun dengan 3 orang anak. Selain kehilangan suami di usia 36 tahun, dia juga pernah kehilangan putranya yang baru berusia 3 bulan. Dia adalah seorang single mother yang mendedikasikan dirinya untuk anak-anaknya. Lalu putra sulungnya, Greg yang berprofesi sebagai polisi tiba-tiba tewas dalam kecelakaan. Dunia Lee pun runtuh. Dia tidak bisa menanggung lagi kehilangan keluarga. Untungnya datang Christopher. Teman sekamar Greg yang juga berprofesi sebagai polisi yang mendampinginya menghadapi cobaan buruk. Awalnya Lee melihat Chris sebagai pengganti Greg yang selalu pengertian. Begitu juga Chris melihat Lee sebagai ibu perhatian yang tak pernah dia miliki. Mereka menjalin persahabatan yang hangat dan saling menghibur dalam menghadapi kematian Greg. Dari persahabatan timbul perasaan cinta di antara keduanya. Sayangnya Chris berusia 15 tahun lebih muda dari Lee dan putri sulung Lee, Janice juga menyukai Chris. Lee sebagai ibu dan wanita harus memilih antara perasaannya atau perasaan keluarganya.
Novel ini adalah novel lama. Terbitan tahun 1993. Perceritaannya mengingatkan saya pada novel-novel awal Maria A Sardjono. Yang hangat, penuh dengan penggambaran kekeluargaan, dan masih menjunjung adat kesopanan. Berbeda dengan novel cinta sekarang yang lebih mengedepankan nafsu birahi. Para karakter di dalamnya relatable. Kedua karakter utamanya juga gampang disukai dan bikin simpati. Lee, wanita sederhana yang memiliki keluarga sempurna meski berkali-kali mengalami cobaan. Pilihan dan pemikirannya ketika dia jatuh cinta setelah sekian lama dengan pemuda 15 tahun di bawahnya bisa dimengerti dan masuk akal. Lalu Christopher yang dewasa dan pengertian tapi juga mendambakan keluarga yang sempurna sangat mudah untuk disukai.
Novel cinta yang diceritakan secara santun dengan penggambaran tentang kesedihan akan kehilangan orang yang dikasihi, bagaimana menerima cobaan atas kehilangan itu, Kegalauan seorang wanita yang harus memilih kebahagiaannya atau penerimaan keluarganya. Novel cinta yang indah yang membuat saya ingin membaca karya lain dari penulisnya.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great descriptive writing,

This is the 2nd book I've read by this author and have enjoyed them both. Though she is billed as a 'romance' author, she is really a 'relationship' author, because her character definitely develop relationships. This author does a great job with character development, and with descriptions of people and places.

I did feel the book dragged at one point, shortly after the relationship became physical. I guess the point was to let us know how passionate they were for each other, but truly, I got the message early on, and all the extra did nothing to further the story. The book probably could have been shortened by about 50 pages.

I know some had a problem with the 'mother of best friend' thing, but really, I think they had a problem with the 'age' thing. Once you are a mature adult, friends come in all ages, so those people need to ask themselves...if Chris had been 45 and Greg's best friend, woud the 'mother of best friend' thing still come into play.

Anyway, I really DID enjoy this book and will read more by this author. I recommend her to anyone who wants to take there time 'savoring' the descriptive writing.