Customer Reviews

Three Complete Novels : Bygones / November of the Heart / Family Blessings

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I just finished reading Bygones and loved it! It's the 17th LaVyrle Spencer book I've read this summer and I'm nowhere near close to stopping. This was such a satisfying book. It touched on areas completely different from her other books. Pain of a broken family, years of separation, grown children and growth and change and ultimately a reconnection of estranged protagonists with a very satisfying ending. I found, like all the others, that I had a great deal of difficulty putting the book down and doing things I should/needed to do. Prior to this, I finished November of the Heart. Oh........such a wonderful story of forbidden love, realized, tested, and ultimately love winning out. This was one I immediately had to re-read my favorite sections of. I never wanted to put it down! Before that, I had finished Family Blessings, and at the risk of repeating myself, I didn't want to put it down and I re-read my favorite sections over and over.....and over again! I can't emphasize how satisfying these books are. I decided they needed to be a part of my personal library and began purchasing them all in hardcover. I'm sure I'll want to read them many more times. I only wish I could thank LaVyrle for enriching my life with her beautiful stories that have touched me in ways I can't express.

As always Lavyrle Spencer takes your breath away with her modern and days gone by portrayal of romance. This is a winning compilation that highlights the best of Spencer who though not actively publishing at the moment is still the true "Gatekeeper of Romance" for 21st century readers. November of the Heart is perhaps the most striking of these novels because it gives us much historical insight into such subjects as John Phillip Sousa, Gibson Girl styling, and the evolution of yachting in America. Thus this is no ordinary romance novel of boy meets girl-girl meets boy, but rather it is rich in texture and time as the backdrop for romance. Spencer has done her research well and is true to time, place, and architecture as her native Minnesota roots qualify her to weigh in on the geography and landscape of this novel. For those of you who have never tried Spencer, it's not too late to lose yourself in the wealth of novels she has produced (even a made for tv movie....) The true pity is there will be no more. And for those like me sad to see her leave us, collections like this offer a threefold chance to enjoy, savor, and cry again for the bittersweet beauty of romance across the decades.