The Hellion

This is one of my two favorite Lavryle stories, Twice Loved being the other. I like a guy who still loves his woman through thick and thin, 4 ex-wives, ship wrecks and what have you and will do whatever it takes to win her love back.

Hallelujah! This time my TBR shelf produced a real winner - LaVyrle Spencer's THE HELLION. A touching story about lost love and wasted years. THE HELLION is simply beautiful! As children, Rachel Talmadge and Tommy Lee Gentry were best friends; as teenagers, Rachel and Tommy Lee were lovers; and by seventeen, Rachel and Tommy Lee were parents. Teenage parents who, regrettably, gave away their child. A tough decision forced by well-meaning parents. Unfortunately, along with their child, Rachel and Tommy Lee also lost each other! Time slipped away. Rachel Talmadge married another man and Tommy Lee Gentry lived life on the edge. He married other women, fathered more children, and drank! Now, twenty-four years later, Tommy Lee is divorced and Rachel is a childless widow and again destiny steps in. The ill-fated couple receive a second-chance, but can they control the golden moment? LaVryle Spencer took the "Second-chance Topic" by the horns and ran with it! Oh how, the author moved me with this sensitive love story. Outstandingly, Ms. Spencer applied tenderness, longing, and gentle humor. And as I turned the last page, I felt fate had truly granted the characters that rare second chance! Rachel and Tommy Lee would finally have a wonderful life . . . together! And LaVryle Spencer - well she wrote a gem! So why not the perfect A+ (10)? Because throughout the story, one nagging question loomed - why didn't Rachel and Tommy Lee contact each other during their college years? A nagging question . . . but minor and it will certainly not influence my final decision . . . from TBR shelf . . . straight to Keeper shelf! Grade: A MaryGrace Meloche.

The Hellion is one of those books I find myself returning to again and again. Although not one of her most sophisticated or complex plots - it is, as other reviewers here have pointed out, somewhat predictable - there is noone better than LaVyrle at creating genuinely likeable, engaging characters. Even if you can guess from the begining where Tommy Lee and Rachel are going to end up you'll want to go along for the ride!It's the kind of story LaVryle does best - the rediscovery of love once lost. Two people no longer young, no longer innocent, discovering that love never simply disappears and that it's never too late to find out "what if".And, finally, for anyone who ever fell for the "bad boy" Tommy Lee may inspire some wonderful memories!

This book takes you back in time to a day of innocence and growing up and a true friendship and love that is torn apart by others. It tugs at you heart thinking about the time that was wasted and what could have been. By the time the two reunite you can feel the passion of the past return and cheer them on to continue what was Meant to be! Great BOOK!

This book brings Rachel and Tommy, who were high school sweethearts, to the present troubles of adult life. Lingering in the background are unresolved feelings from their troubled past together. This makes for such a story of love and forgiveness. This is a definate story for the Layrle Spencer fan. She never fails to take me into the characters heart and show me exactly how they feel.