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Bitter Sweet
written by LaVyrle Spencer
Studio : Audio Literature
by Audio Literature
Publisher : Audio Literature
Released : 1990-04
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 2
EAN : 9781558002265
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 48 reviews)
List Price : $14.95
Our Price : $31.00
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Book Description |
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A touching novel about first loves and second chances from the author who "knows how to tug at readers' heartstrings" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Not a Very Moral Book |
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I was at the library when a woman who was standing at the romance section grabbed this off the shelf & encouraged me to read it because it was so wonderful. I started it and realized I had read it years earlier. I remembered it well because of my extreme negative reaction to it. First off, I NEVER read a book condoning adultery. There is no excuse for betraying the trust that a spouse places in you--I don't care why. After a divorce is one thing, during the marriage is another. I also hate how society seems to think an affair for a guy is one thing and an affair for a woman is totally another. When Eric has an affair with Maggie, I lost all respect for him. When it turns out that Nancy is having an affair, somehow that's supposed to be way worse than Eric's affair. Huh? Maggie gets pregnant & rejects her first child because of her love for Eric. Huh? What parent would turn their back on their child at a time when they are emotionally destroyed because of the loss of a parent? I have children & can tell you that no lover of mine would ever come within a million miles of my children's need for me. This part of the book is totally off base. My biggest complaint with this book is its ringing endorsement of the little woman who wanted to stay home & be the happy housewife while condemning and villifying the career woman who is up front about not wanting children & enjoying her career. Women do not have to be broody hens to be complete as women. I know many women who did not want to have children of their own, but do much to mentor and care for other children through family connections, their careers, and volunteering in the community. This is not the 1800's and women have many more options than they used to. This book reminds me of the awful romance novels my grandma used to read in the early 70's with nurses marrying doctors or secretaries marrying the boss & then quitting their jobs to be homemakers--ick! Give me a torrid contemporary romance any day with a sassy heroine & a modern hero. This book is just one big ick. |
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Finally... |
For years I've been searching for a romance writer who is even comparable to Judith McNaught. Well...I just found her. This book was touching and sweet and yes...bitter. Love, loss, human frailty, and the will to survive were all emotions realistically tapped into in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be checking out everything else LaVyrle Spencer has written.
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Such a sweet novel |
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I know that this is a book about a adultery, but it is also about a first love and finding love again. I think that the villian is the "wife" and that makes it easy to pull for these forbidden lovers. Really good romance. |
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Could be a Soap Opera |
I came across this book in some items I 'inherited' and decided to read it, not really know what to expect. I guess I expected a romance, and I guess it is...but not the typical, you know what's gonna happen romance. Not even the typical you know how it oughta end romance. The book was long..almost 500 pages. And like a typical soap opera, every time you think it could be resolved a new twist comes along. I'm not complaining...that is why we watch soap operas...right?
We pick up the story with Maggie, a widow in grief therapy. Maggie's husband was killed in a plane crash and the result is she has all the money she will ever need. She also has a daughter about to leave for college. Her therapist recommends getting in touch with old friends, and boy, does she ever. She ends up moving back to her home town, where her HS sweetie now lives with his wife and troubled marriage. He wants kids...she doesn't. He wants a small town life...she wants a cosmopolitan area. He wants a domestic woman...she wants a jet-setting career. Oh, and she is specatacularly beautiful; she doesn't like his family and they don't like her. The truth is, this marriage probably should have ended a decade ago, as they seem to have nothing in common.
Along comes Maggie, and though they seem to have good intentions in honoring his marriage vows...of course it doesn't work out as they plan. On one level, the whole story is about Maggie and Eric resuming their relationship. But at another level, it is about coping with change, and forgiveness. And a wise old woman...Eric's mom, Anna.
A couple of things about the story bothered me, and if you don't want to know....stop reading now. I don't want to spoil this for you if you plan to read the book.
Ok...first, though I do agree that Maggie, and any adult, has a right to do what is necessary to move on with life, I did think it was a bit selfish of her to pick up and move across the country 2 months after her daughter left for her freshman year of college. Not that she didn't have that right, because she did, but...she was ripping her daughter's life apart and didn't even acknowledge that. Yes, she moved back to HER home town where she spent her HS years, and it was comforting to HER, but in return she uprooted her daughter from HER hometown and HS friends...AND she didn't even get to say goodbye to them. She left for college assuming she'd be home at Christmas and probably hanging out with old friends next summer, not even SUSPECTING she'd be moving. I thought Maggie should have discussed it with her before she put the house on the market, and maybe offered to fly her out to see her friends, or even keep the house for a year, since she IS a millionaire now.
The second thing is that there were a lot of unanswered questions about Eric's wife, Nancy. The implication was that she'd had several one night stands while traveling for business, but that was dropped. The baby she aborted could have been the result of one of these, but we didn't get told about that. Neither did Eric. He was left feeling guilty because he cheated, and never even realized she did first. Also, we know that Eric and Maggie reunited and presumably lived happily ever after, but we aren't really told what became of Nancy. Did she return to Chicago? Did she find a partner who was enthusiastic about sharing her lifestyle and dreams. Nancy wasn't really a bad person...just scared. Once she was forced to acknowledge that Eric wasn't the right partner, perhaps she was also freed to find a man who was, but we don't know. |
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Who Knew? |
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This is another book that was given to me as a gift which again I probably would have never bothered to picked up otherwise. As someone who does not read the "typical" romance novel, I loved this book. I'm recommending it to my friends (who wouldn't pick it up either) and I am recommending it here. |
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