Spring Rain (Seaside Seasons #1) [Paperback]

Gayle Roper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2001

In this first book of the Seaside Seasons series, Leigh Spenser, a young teacher and the single mother of ten-year-old Billy, is thrown into conflict. Clay Wharton, the boy's estranged father, comes home to Seaside, New Jersey, to await his twin brother's death from AIDS. Threats against Billy's life ratchet the tension tighter, as Leigh wrestles with both tough and tender feelings for her old flame. Clay's own conflict, as he seeks to come to grips with his brother's lifestyle choices and the needs of the boy he fathered, underline the issue of God's forgiveness in the hearts -- and lives -- of this modern-day family. An emotionally gripping read!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Spring Rain, the first entry in Roper's Seaside Seasons series, brings Leigh Spenser, a teacher and single mother on the Jersey Shore, once again in contact with her son's father, Clay Wharton. Clay, a career naval officer, has never owned up to fathering his son, Billy, preferring to believe that his one wild night with Leigh demonstrated her promiscuity. Clay is retiring from the navy to tend to his mother and his twin brother, Ted, who is dying of AIDS. Gay characters seldom make an appearance in evangelical fiction, and Roper carefully crafts her disapproval of Ted's lifestyle. Once that's out of the way, she presents him sympathetically and in some depth, even to the point that his fate upstages the nascent romance between Leigh and Clay. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Gayle Roper is the author of 26 books and a frequent speaker at women's events and writers' conferences. She and her husband live in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, minutes away from Lancaster County, and count many Plain folk among their friends.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (May 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576736385
• ISBN-13: 978-1576736388
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #564,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating Romantic Drama, May 29, 2004

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spring Rain (Seaside Seasons #1) (Paperback)

Ted Wharton is dying of AIDS. With not too much time left, twin brother Clay arrives back in Seaside to try to rebuild his relationship with his brother, damaged because of Clay's attitude toward Ted's lifestyle choices. Meanwhile, this causes a problem for Leigh Spenser. While Ted is her best friend, she is holding a secret from Clay she's not sure if she wants exposed. But with the threatening phone calls Leigh keeps getting, she may have no choice to turn to Clay for help.

I really wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. I couldn't decide if it was mystery or romance or something else entirely. This is a dysfunctional family drama and romance that pulls you in from the very beginning. While many of the major plot points are easily guessed early on, I had to keep reading to see how things would play out. In fact, I stayed up way too late too many nights in a row to read just a little further.

Frankly, I don't see how Gayle Roper could have written this book. The characters go through so much pain and heartache I could barely deal with it some times. If that's how I felt reading it, I can only image what it was like to write.

Ms. Roper doesn't shy away from tackling such issues as homosexuality and premarital sex. She handles them with honesty both in the consequences and what the Bible says. It was refreshing to see in this novel things I've believed for years regarding sin and the forgiveness God offers to all sinners.

While not the type of book I would normally read, it really got to me. I couldn't stop thinking about the characters and the themes even when I wasn't reading it. I highly recommend this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book For All Seasons, January 13, 2002

By 

Maurice M. Gray, Jr. (New Castle, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spring Rain (Seaside Seasons #1) (Paperback)

I was blown away by Spring Rain! I made the mistake of getting near the end around the time I should have been in bed, and wound up staying awake an extra two hours because I simply could not put that book down.

It's hard to say which plotline captivated me more- the romantic tension between Leigh and Clay or the smoldering conflict between Clay and Ted, fueled by severe stubbornness on the part of both brothers over the issue of Ted's homosexuality and brought out now because of Ted's impending death from AIDS.

You never know what to expect from any book dealing with sensitive topics such as AIDS and homosexuality, the author gives these timely issues the attention they deserve without becoming preachy. Through the interaction between Clay and his brother Ted, she gets the reader to see the fine line between righteousness and self-righteousness, and prayerfully, to be able to discern that difference in our own lives.

Not many authors could navigate the maze of family secrets and disagreements without turning their book into one big soap opera, but Gayle Roper has succeeded by treating each plotline with loving care, and giving us a clear look into the hearts of each character, from the youngest to the eldest.

I am eagerly awaiting more books in the SeaSide Seasons series (try to say THAT five times fast!)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light romance that tackles hard issues with good theology., May 29, 2001

By 

Annette D Best (Coatesville, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spring Rain (Seaside Seasons #1) (Paperback)

This is a fast moving romance with a lovely sea-side setting. With this as background, Gayle tackles the hard issue of AIDS, and does a great job at it. I thought I wouldn't enjoy a fiction account that included such a "pc" topic, but, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It encouraged me on a spiritual level, too. Good summer (and of course, spring) reading material! Gayle Roper has matured into a fine writer!!