Customer Reviews

Family Blessings

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Family Blessings is a book I have read 4 times. Even though it is not my "favorite" Lavyrle Spencer book, I seem to never grow tired of it. Each time I read it, I am more in love with Christopher. He has such patience with and love for Lee. He allows her the time she needs to realize how much that love means. I would love to have my own real life Christopher. He really is too good to be true. These two people, with grief, age differences, and family opposition, prove that love conquers all.

I first read Family Blessings 2 years ago, and am reading it again for the 10th time, it is really the best Lavyrle Spencer book, although I love Hummingbird and Gamble and all of her books, this story really hits your emotions, the fact that the hero & heroine(Lee & Christopher) have a huge age difference didn't bother me, the story was very well written, it's about 2 people handling grief, how society will look upon you because of the age difference, and how they overcame it to finally be together. Make sure you have a box of kleneex when you read this, I did. I just wish this book was a little bit more longer, so I could have had some more to read. I highly recommend it.

I loved this story. Chris and Lee just seem to be a match made in heaven. With all the trials and tribulations that arise it keeps the reader reading. The thrill of the age differences and the fact that he was Gregs best friend makes the story its own uniquie story. I just loved the Joey Reston. I am not normally a romance reader, but this story makes me think twice. Maybe adding some more of Spencer's stories to my wish list.

The cover of my copy is in tatters I've read it so often - and then passed it around to everyone I know!

Noone is better than LaVyrle Spencer at creating genuine, warm characters that you feel like you know and whose fates you come to care deeply about. In FAMILY BLESSING she's outdone herself. Chris Lallek is the perfect hero: Warm, kind, funny, and the type of guy you can lean on - or cry with. Not a stereotypical romance-novel "knight on a white horse" - just an real man. And, I've never liked a heroine more than Lee Reston. She's what I've come to think of as the archetype LaVyrle-Spencer-woman: She's a grown-up - her body isn't perfect anymore, there are lines on her face, and she isn't coming into love this time innocent, or unscarred. She's strong and experienced, and she knows her own mind - but, she's not Superwoman. Like all of us, she has insecurities and fears and doubts, but she's determined to take life head-on and to grab every bit of joy she can. She's the type of person you'd want to be friends with - and you'll find yourself cheering for her.

It's a joy watching these two people find one another - and you do feel like you're "watching" it happen. LaVyrle has managed to capture beautifully that magic process through which friendship and respect is transformed into something deeper. When love finally blossoms for Lee and Chris you'll find yourself cheering - and maybe shedding a tear or two.

L LIVE IN MEXICO AND LOVE TO READ IN ENGLISH. THIS WAS THE FIRST BOOK I READ FROM MRS. SPENCER AND TOUCHED MY HEART. I LOVE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEE AND CHRIS. LOVE IS AGELESS! YOU MUST READ IT TOO.

I had ready several LaVyrle Spencer books before reading "Family Blessings" but none touched my heart as much as it did. The story of a widowed mother with three children who loses an adult child and then turns to his best friend for comfort, which turns to love, is an unusual love story. The story is real, the grief is real and the love is very real. Lee isn't a typical 22 year-old heroine whose greatest obstacle in life is getting the man she's determined to marry to say those magic words. Lee is a real woman dealing with grief and kids and life. The love scenes between Chris and Lee are all the more erotic due to the characters' normalcy and reality. The poignant use of Vince Gill's song "When I Call Your Name" still never fails to bring tears to my eyes. The pacing in this story is perfect; you follow Lee and Chris along their path and are as surprised as they when their feelings manifest themselves. You adore those who support them and band together with Lee and Chris against those who oppose their love. It's a book that's unusual, uplifting, heart rending and filled with the one thing equal to love - hope.

Once again I am rating a book by how many paragraphs or pages I skimmed. In essence, the more I skim, the less I end up liking the book. In Family Blessings I found myself reading scences over and over again because the characters were that well developed and interesting.

This book can be divided into three parts: Lee and Chris dealing with the grief of losing a loved one; then confronting their growing feelings for each other; and lastly, surviving the censure of their families.

What makes this book so interesting is that the reader gets the feeling that this is a gradual process, that the entire love affair did not happen in two weeks as some romance novels are wont to do. These are not cardboard characters who automatically believe in the power of love but grow to understand its significance in their lives. The feelings that Lee and Chris experience, and the doubts they have about the longevity of their relationships are believable, as are their solutions to these problems.

I highly recommend this book! It is a great read about wonderful characters.

Since I discovered LaVyrle Spencer I've bought almost all her books and loved reading them. Some are books that I think I probably won't read again but Family Blessings is definitely one for my keeper shelf.

Some of Spencer's books are set some time back (such as World War 1 or before) but this is a more modern book, published in the early 1990s and presumably set in contemporary America. She also tackles a subject which might not appear ideal for a romance - that of a relationship of an older woman with a younger man. And yet she writes this story with skill and you, the reader, are utterly convinced.

Lee Reston is a widow in her mid-forties. When her eldest son Greg is killed in a motorcycle accident her world falls apart - she's lost her husband, she lost a baby, now she's lost an adult child. Greg's flatmate Chris Lallek, also a policeman, helps Lee and her family to adjust to life without Greg. But as Lee and Chris console one another, it appears a romance is beginning - but how can a mother of two other children, and a woman nearly twenty years older than Chris, and a woman grieving after yet another bereavement, believe that this can be a real relationship?

LaVyrle Spencer's gift is in making you fully enter into the lives of her characters and believe absolutely in what is taking place. Her characters consider the issues around their relationships but you, like them, find answers in the story. She doesn't shy away from difficult issues in her books and yet you find them an immensely satisfying read. As always her hero and heroine are worthy characters, ones that you want the best for, but that only serves to make the book more enjoyable. I heartily recommend it.

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 ...

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.