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Forsaking All Others
A rising photographer finds his life forever changed when he encounters a beautiful model who teaches him how to love again, in a story that previously appeared in A Heart Speaks. Original.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2003
About the author
LaVyrle Spencer
143 books1,659 followersLaVyrle 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
April 19, 2011
I didn’t expect to be quite so disappointed in a LaVyrle Spencer book. So far I’ve truly enjoyed this talented and dependable romance author. Alternating genres is vital to me; so I go from fiction to thriller to romance, and back again, and when I think of a solid romance author, LaVyrle is in the top 5. But here, with Forsaking All Others, she really missed the ball. Everything about this read felt so shallow, almost hollow – well, it felt sort of like Spencer didn’t write this herself. In all honesty this was such a lame story and the characterization fell very flat as well; for me there was no room for empathy. The male character, Rick Lang was barely passable and the lead female, Allison Scott, was terribly bland and immature. All the time I was wishing "Give me real people!". Oh, well, any author can have a bad day. A horribly bad day it this case. Let’s just leave it at that.
January 12, 2015
1.5 stars
Allison Scott had all she could do trying to establish her name as a photographer in the greater Minneapolis area. Jason, her previous boyfriend and one-time model, left her high and dry after stealing her portfolio of his photos. Not to mention her heart. She was determined to get on with her life sans handsome men. That was, until Rick Lang entered the picture (no pun intended!).
Allison had to complete the cover art for an upcoming book and she was on a deadline with very little money. Her friend and business-owner of North Star Agency, Mattie, recommended Rick along with several others. The moment Allison saw his black and white photo, she knew he would be perfect for this job.
As different from Jason as night was to day, Rick was down-to-earth, unpretentious and just plain nice. He didn't put on any airs; what you see was what you got. Allison, on the other hand, was insecure and came across as childish. I found her unlikable.
I read some of LaVyrle Spencer's historical romances years ago and I enjoyed them. FORSAKING ALL OTHERS was her first contemporary romance and was initially issued in 1982 as a Second Chance At Love publication. It was her fourth book and you could tell that she was very much still working on her craft. While I thought this story had some good ideas the execution was marred. There might have been an enjoyable story in there trying to get out, but there was little character development and the heroine's continued vacillation turned me off.
Allison Scott had all she could do trying to establish her name as a photographer in the greater Minneapolis area. Jason, her previous boyfriend and one-time model, left her high and dry after stealing her portfolio of his photos. Not to mention her heart. She was determined to get on with her life sans handsome men. That was, until Rick Lang entered the picture (no pun intended!).
Allison had to complete the cover art for an upcoming book and she was on a deadline with very little money. Her friend and business-owner of North Star Agency, Mattie, recommended Rick along with several others. The moment Allison saw his black and white photo, she knew he would be perfect for this job.
As different from Jason as night was to day, Rick was down-to-earth, unpretentious and just plain nice. He didn't put on any airs; what you see was what you got. Allison, on the other hand, was insecure and came across as childish. I found her unlikable.
I read some of LaVyrle Spencer's historical romances years ago and I enjoyed them. FORSAKING ALL OTHERS was her first contemporary romance and was initially issued in 1982 as a Second Chance At Love publication. It was her fourth book and you could tell that she was very much still working on her craft. While I thought this story had some good ideas the execution was marred. There might have been an enjoyable story in there trying to get out, but there was little character development and the heroine's continued vacillation turned me off.
June 14, 2014
I did not like the plot, but I enjoyed the book because the writing was so good. It’s full writing.
I liked the happy ending. There were some touching scenes. It’s half the length of a regular novel.
STORY:
Allison is a gifted photographer. She needs a male model for a current photography job and gets Rick through an agency. He is physical perfection. He models to support his passion painting wildlife. He falls for Allison immediately. She won’t allow herself to love Rick because she can’t get over her former boyfriend who used her, stole from her, and left her.
ABOUT THE BIG SEPARATION:
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 164 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: none to mild. Number of sex scenes: 2. Setting: around 1982 Minneapolis, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Copyright: 1982. Genre: contemporary romance.
I liked the happy ending. There were some touching scenes. It’s half the length of a regular novel.
STORY:
Allison is a gifted photographer. She needs a male model for a current photography job and gets Rick through an agency. He is physical perfection. He models to support his passion painting wildlife. He falls for Allison immediately. She won’t allow herself to love Rick because she can’t get over her former boyfriend who used her, stole from her, and left her.
ABOUT THE BIG SEPARATION:
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 164 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: none to mild. Number of sex scenes: 2. Setting: around 1982 Minneapolis, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Copyright: 1982. Genre: contemporary romance.
January 5, 2015
Hey Forsaking All Others
May be we started on the wrong foot since the beginning and it was downhill from there. You're all shiny & a great book I'm sure of it. You've a perfect "bod" (body...pls don't ask why I did that), you have curves just at the right places, you are lovely, sweet and sexy too sometime but the thing is babe I don't want to come to civilization just yet.
I need to live in those times where, though, everything was complex, the living, the judging ppl, the scarcity of population but love was simple. Yes, I admit there were headstrong women that time too but don't you see they loved everyone in their extended family. You say judging ppl but I see that those ppl helped each other out too. No offense to your sexy storyline though. You're a masterpiece I'm sure but baby right now I just want to relax and get lost in the prairies, on a ranch, where I raise me some food, some horses, some calves. And when in the evenings I return to home, I've warm food and my girl with a very b'ful smile and kids noises filling the spaces.
You see may be there are guys who are looking someone exactly like you, you're a real catch, trust me. Independent and what not. For me, I like my woman homely, you know when you're back from all day work just one smile from her and you forget everything about the tiring day & of course there are kids also.
I'm repeating myself ain't I baby?
I wish you well, may you flourish, prosper, grow in the advance times and you've happiness. Me? Let me live there for a spell. Too much complexity in life these days & even having every means of communication ppl don't talk to each other.
Adios baby, I could've loved you but you were too advanced and I was too happy in the nothingness.
May be we started on the wrong foot since the beginning and it was downhill from there. You're all shiny & a great book I'm sure of it. You've a perfect "bod" (body...pls don't ask why I did that), you have curves just at the right places, you are lovely, sweet and sexy too sometime but the thing is babe I don't want to come to civilization just yet.
I need to live in those times where, though, everything was complex, the living, the judging ppl, the scarcity of population but love was simple. Yes, I admit there were headstrong women that time too but don't you see they loved everyone in their extended family. You say judging ppl but I see that those ppl helped each other out too. No offense to your sexy storyline though. You're a masterpiece I'm sure but baby right now I just want to relax and get lost in the prairies, on a ranch, where I raise me some food, some horses, some calves. And when in the evenings I return to home, I've warm food and my girl with a very b'ful smile and kids noises filling the spaces.
You see may be there are guys who are looking someone exactly like you, you're a real catch, trust me. Independent and what not. For me, I like my woman homely, you know when you're back from all day work just one smile from her and you forget everything about the tiring day & of course there are kids also.
I'm repeating myself ain't I baby?
I wish you well, may you flourish, prosper, grow in the advance times and you've happiness. Me? Let me live there for a spell. Too much complexity in life these days & even having every means of communication ppl don't talk to each other.
Adios baby, I could've loved you but you were too advanced and I was too happy in the nothingness.
April 23, 2013
I am usually pleased with LaVyrle Spencer books. I was not with this one. From the beginning I had a hard time getting involved in the character. I credited that to the story being written in 1982 therefore set before current time. But then that has never stopped me before, so it shouldn't have mattered now. So I kept trying. In fact I made it over halfway through the book before giving up completely.
When the story became repeated sex scenes beginning with her protesting and ending with steamy sex... page after page (although I skipped pages, so I can't really tell you how steamy the sex actually is), I decided that I might as well move on.
I will not give up on LaVyrle S., however, as this is the first of hers that I haven't liked.
When the story became repeated sex scenes beginning with her protesting and ending with steamy sex... page after page (although I skipped pages, so I can't really tell you how steamy the sex actually is), I decided that I might as well move on.
I will not give up on LaVyrle S., however, as this is the first of hers that I haven't liked.
June 5, 2016
A light story with likable characters. This is not my favorite LaVyrle Spencer novel, but it was still good. I have come to expect heartwarming, strong emotions, and superb writing from this author and the first two were lacking in this story. I missed the strong "feels" she evokes in this book. The story is engaging and I did enjoy it and the reason why I did rate it 4 stars instead of 3 was because this had to have had the most sensual love scene, without being graphic I have ever read; it was so beautiful. Plus, I'm a sucker for an artist!
November 27, 2011
It was an O.K. read, but not a favorite. It was very predictable. No surprises in this one.
August 7, 2017
I really liked LaVyrle Spencer's "Morning Glory," but "Forsaking All Others" didn't have as much of an impact on me. The protagonist felt whiny and unrelatable. I do not recommend this one.
April 14, 2019
My first book by LaVyrle Spencer, and overall, it wasn't bad. I did like the chemistry and jokes between the hero and heroine and the description of Allison's photography and photo-shoot building. I liked Rick a little more than Allison, but also understood her hang-ups from her previous relationship. Rick is portrayed as chivalrous and a gentleman, but there were parts where he did come across as pushy. I note also that this book was published in the 80's and there are some small parts where it shows, but doesn't detract from the story. The love scenes between Rick and Allison were tender and slow ...but didn't keep my interest and I skimmed the two scenes in the book. The ending could have been clearer, but still HEA. Bought it as part of a two-book bundle 'A Heart Speaks'.
January 7, 2018
Una novela realmente muy mala, casi no puedo creer que la haya escrito esta autora. Unos personajes flojos, con reacciones completamente infantiles, una estructura narrativa paupérrima, con una prosa repetitiva y aburrida, un “amor” surgido de la nada, sin ningún atractivo... en fin, una pérdida de tiempo total.
June 1, 2019
Allison Scott is a hired as a photographer to do a shoot for the cover of a romance magazine. This is how she meets Richard Lang. Will this handsome man turn out to be just as awful as her last boyfriend, a model who took advantage of her? She struggles to accept Rick's interest in her and to be able to trust him. It was an okay novel, but nothing spectacular.
April 10, 2023
I listened to the audio book, and I enjoyed the narrator. This book was published in the early 80s, and there are some things that do not hold up over time. They are minor, and if you can ignore them, it's a sweet romance.
February 15, 2018
Okay
I have always enjoyed this Author, but this book was not up to my expectations. Very disappointed in it. Too much sex for me.
I have always enjoyed this Author, but this book was not up to my expectations. Very disappointed in it. Too much sex for me.
May 22, 2019
Esta novela es una maravilla de relaciones de cualquier índole bien contados y sentimientos bien expresados. He disfrutado cada página leida. Esta autora es una narradora de historias magnífica.
July 7, 2019
Recuerdo vagamente una trama sin interés
November 21, 2019
Written in the 1980s, this story still holds up as a good read.
June 19, 2020
I have enjoyed many of this author’s books over the years, but this one just rotated around the inevitable too long. Boring.
January 25, 2021
Not one of her best at all...
March 4, 2021
Dated, but the magic is still there....
June 24, 2021
This is not my favorite LaVyrle Spencer book. It still had her signature beautiful writing but I didn't like Allison at all and didn't feel the connection between them.
April 8, 2022
Not good, just a love story
May 13, 2025
Audiobook. Sappy chic-lit romance. Read if you like that kind of thing.
June 28, 2025
boring
Lavyrle Spencer has written some of my favourite books. This just doesn’t cut it. No plot, no story just bland 😢
Lavyrle Spencer has written some of my favourite books. This just doesn’t cut it. No plot, no story just bland 😢
August 6, 2025
Love me some LaVyrle Spencer, but some are a tad too cheesy.
May 12, 2019
This novella is dedicated to fellow-author Dorothy Garlock, It is s contemporary story about an extremely attractive male who falls in love with an up-and-coming photographer. The only problem is that the photographer was betrayed by a previous live-in male model.
On the surface, the couple seems to have little in common. However, when Rick tells Allison that her photographs breathe and make the person looking at the photos sense smell, the reader knows that he is also an artist.
I prefer the author's Americana books, but appreciate this for what it is, a love story.
On the surface, the couple seems to have little in common. However, when Rick tells Allison that her photographs breathe and make the person looking at the photos sense smell, the reader knows that he is also an artist.
I prefer the author's Americana books, but appreciate this for what it is, a love story.
July 19, 2016
Vintage LaVyrle Spencer isn't as good as vintage Nora Roberts. But with that said, this wasn't a bad book, but is definitely of a style from that era (1982). Fortunately for all of us, Spencer was soon writing mainstream romance (and writing them very well). If a writer writes long enough, they almost always improve. (You know--practice makes perfect.)
I found the lead male character--Rick Lang--more endearing than the female lead character--Allison Scott. He is what every woman would want in her live, although he seems too-good-to-be-true. She bordered on annoying at times, and I kept thinking, "Oh, just get over the jerk who dumped you & led you to mistrust the male gender, and move on!"
I was hoping that the theft of transparencies (photo negatives), and the unlawful & uncredited use of them would've been dealt with before the book ended, but we are, after all, dealing with a Second Chance at Love book, and the writers only had so many pages to work with. Anyway, this would've made, for me, anyway, a more satisfying ending, although I do admit that I was hoping for such an ending because of my own personal experience. (My completed screenplay idea for "Baby Daddy" was stolen & used as the basis for the ABC Family sitcom "Baby Daddy.")
I found the lead male character--Rick Lang--more endearing than the female lead character--Allison Scott. He is what every woman would want in her live, although he seems too-good-to-be-true. She bordered on annoying at times, and I kept thinking, "Oh, just get over the jerk who dumped you & led you to mistrust the male gender, and move on!"
I was hoping that the theft of transparencies (photo negatives), and the unlawful & uncredited use of them would've been dealt with before the book ended, but we are, after all, dealing with a Second Chance at Love book, and the writers only had so many pages to work with. Anyway, this would've made, for me, anyway, a more satisfying ending, although I do admit that I was hoping for such an ending because of my own personal experience. (My completed screenplay idea for "Baby Daddy" was stolen & used as the basis for the ABC Family sitcom "Baby Daddy.")
February 9, 2017
No me ha gustado mucho...... mira que es corto y se me ha hecho pesado
le pongo un 3 y porque el prota es un solete
le pongo un 3 y porque el prota es un solete
September 9, 2015
Synopsis:
Spirited Allison Scott thought she had everything—a promising career and Jason, an exciting lover. Together, as photographer and model, their would make it to the top. Then Jason left, shattering her heartfelt dreams.
Allison’s new model, Rick Lang, has Jason’s perfect good looks, but is charming and attentive as well. He seems too good to be true—and Allison doesn’t trust him one bit. But his tender lovemaking and persistent caring begin to wear down her defenses. Still she fears the ultimate betrayal—his rejection of her love.
Spirited Allison Scott thought she had everything—a promising career and Jason, an exciting lover. Together, as photographer and model, their would make it to the top. Then Jason left, shattering her heartfelt dreams.
Allison’s new model, Rick Lang, has Jason’s perfect good looks, but is charming and attentive as well. He seems too good to be true—and Allison doesn’t trust him one bit. But his tender lovemaking and persistent caring begin to wear down her defenses. Still she fears the ultimate betrayal—his rejection of her love.
April 15, 2016
Good, but Not the Best
Forsaking All Others is a good beach read, but it's not the book that Family Blessings was for me. The story of Allison and Rick is sweet, funny and "nice", but it doesn't leave the feeling that everything was wrapped up as it should be and Family Blessings did that. I apologize for comparing the two books, but they are the only two LaVyrle Spencer books that I've read, so it's hard not to compare the two. So, if you're looking for a sweet romance with little complications, this is the book for you. Enjoy.
Forsaking All Others is a good beach read, but it's not the book that Family Blessings was for me. The story of Allison and Rick is sweet, funny and "nice", but it doesn't leave the feeling that everything was wrapped up as it should be and Family Blessings did that. I apologize for comparing the two books, but they are the only two LaVyrle Spencer books that I've read, so it's hard not to compare the two. So, if you're looking for a sweet romance with little complications, this is the book for you. Enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews