The Gamble [Paperback]

LaVyrle Spencer (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group (1984)
• ISBN-10: 051508901X
• ISBN-13: 978-0515089011
• ASIN: B002Q6ZIDU
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 3.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,309,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Characters feel like family. Best I've ever read!!, October 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gamble (Mass Market Paperback)

My copy of this book appears to have been through a flood, a windstorm, or any other event you could imagine simply because I've read it so much that it is practically falling apart. Lavyrle Spencer is one of my favorite authors. The way she delves into each charators emotions and thoughts holds me captive. The Gamble, by far, is my absolute favorite book. I want a man like Scott Gandy. It's funny, but when I assess a man, I compare him to Gandy (luckly I found one!). The good boy gone bad can be a hard role to depict, but Spencer does it with taste and dignity and in a way that the reader can almost sense Gandy's upbringing before it is revealed. I adore his gallantry matched by his spirit and mischief. I love the protective nature in him. I admire the way he deals with Agatha on a business level, using not so fair tactics (such as the sewing machine) but being honest enough to admit it. I swoon at the way he treats women and I chuckle at his manner with Willy. Scott Gandy is absolutely my favorite hero. Rhett Butler has nothing on Scott Gandy!

Agatha Downing is, as well, my favorite heroine. Her proper air is not stuffy nor intimidating. She is generally a good, honest, decent women who does not look down on others even when she does not approve of their actions. She admires what others have in their lives rather than be jealous of them (such as the inhibitions of 'the girls') and displays a lot of spunk for such a 'proper woman. The elogance and carriage that Agatha shows, especially when she moves to Waverly, is admirable.

Then there is Waverly. I am always torn about which is my favorite part of the book. I love the feeling of new beginnings and those "first times" of discovering something (or someone) new to love, but Waverly is my fantasy of Southern charm, regal settings and an incredible way of life. I could never move south because all of my pre-ordained notions of Southern living are tied to Waverly Plantation and I could never have that.

All is all, The Gamble has become my comfort zone over the years. I find the need to re-read it at least once a year - like a family reuion. So far, only Lavryle Spencer has been able to cause that reaction in me.

I am currently re-reading Seperate Beds. Although this book is a different era and completely different storyline, I can't put this book down either!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one will leave you breathless!, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gamble (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first started this book I could not imagine how Scott and Agatha could ever be together and still keep it believable, or that I could even like Agatha's character. Maybe I just didn't believe a man like Gandy could fall for someone with her many imperfections. Because I am a big Spencer fan I kept reading. By the time I had finished this book I was completely in love with Scott(no big suprise) and Agatha now seemed as beautiful to me as she was to him. I felt their pain and joy as if it were my own. I had cried,laughed out loud and everything in-between, when I was done I sat and stared into space, speechless, in awe and immediately began to read it again. The magic of Lavyrle Spencer is that her characters don't jump into bed and start shouting I love you the first day they meet, she gives them (and the reader) time enough to make their love real and believable. Her characters are very often just average or even flawed in the looks department, helping us to remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is in my opinion the best of Spencer and that is saying much when you know the quality of her work.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accepting your life, caring for others, learning to love., July 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gamble (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read this book several times, and never cease to be moved by the story. It became bigger than life to discover that Waverly Plantation does in fact exist as is located in MS. Not in as grand a manner as portrayed in the book, but every bit as elegant, and filled with the "spirit" of the original builder and owner, Colonel Young who built it in the 1850's and was restored to it's magnificence by the Snow family in the 1960-70's. Read a very touching story based on respect, friendship and most of all a beautiful love that developes based on that respect and friendship. The Gamble reminds us of a time when honor existed and love was meant to last a lifetime.