An old favorite of mine. Quite angsty. Don't read this if you have any "cheating" hot buttons. Which really I normally do, but somehow this one didn't push those buttons that hard for me, don't know why. Do know that they made this into the most abysmal TV movie and changed the ending which made the whole thing suck buckets of suck. Book is real good though. ( )

I actually liked this book a whole lot better than I thought I would. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. ( )

Another satisfying read from Spencer, this one shines as an example of how this author can take situations that would seem cliché in another HR but makes them seem realistic and dramatic in hers. Whether it’s her characterizations or her writing style, she always seems to make her romances down to earth and extremely heartfelt.

I loved all three of our leads. What could justifiably be termed a love triangle, these two brothers and Mary are so practical and earthy that the melodrama is kept to a bare minimum (a refreshing take, I assure you). Each character is unique in and of themselves; they form a tight knit family with undercurrents that every family has. I loved how each character has such a distinctive viewpoint on the world and each obstacle presented to them. I fell in love with all of them.

A plotline that actually made me role my eyes before starting, Spencer actually pulls it off by having such great characters and giving everything an atmosphere of plain country life. The way everything was presented, all out in the open and with much of it fully acknowledged by all parties involved, kept this story from sliding into a soup of dramatic farce, a trap I could see another author falling prey to.

The relationships between Mary and each brother were distinct and as varied as both brothers’ personalities. Jonathan was a dedicated farmer whose first love was to the land but who also had a very deep love for Mary, even if he wasn’t able to express it that well. Aaron was the charming, emotional younger brother who is closer in personality to Mary and more in tuned with her needs. Mary finds herself torn between these two men, both of whom she loves in her own way. It tore at the heart to see her affections swing between the brothers, seeing how her relationship with both could make her happy. It definitely kept the emotional tension up!

The one blip in the book I didn’t enjoy was occasionally the atmosphere would get in the way of the story, if that makes sense. The dogged pace of life on a Midwestern farm and the rigmarole of daily routines sometimes got in the way of the story. Not that the description came in massive spurts of text or paragraphs; far from that. However, I found myself getting bored with the scene setting more than I enjoyed it. Spencer seemed to have a similar problem with another book I read by her, Then Came Heaven .

Despite the over use of scene setting in places, this was a very enjoyable historical romance. The characters are strong, and the relationships emotional as heck. This is another winner from Spencer; I look forward to exploring more from her. Highly recommended for those who love emotional HRs! ( )

A beautiful novel by Spence....a founding of a forbidden passion ( )

This is a re-read for me. I am a huge LaVyrle Spencer fan and her books have held the top spots on my keepers shelf since about 1980 when I first discovered her!

I adore this romance story because it is bittersweet yet romantic and full of sexual tension. Mary and Jonathan have been married for seven years and live on the farm land Jonathan's parents left to him and his brother Aaron. Aaron lives with them and helps Jonathan work the land because the size of the farm is simply too big for one man to handle and because the brothers and Mary are very close.

When the boys were young they had the mumps. Jonathan's mumps were much worse and had spread to his genitals making him unable to father children (which Mary and Jonathan figured out years after they were married when no child was produced from their marriage). Mary desperately wanted a baby of her own, but even she didn't want one as badly as Jonathan.

Jonathan's first love was the land and building the farm with the idea of making it a huge success to leave to a son. A son he could not have. After months of contemplation Jonathan cooks up a plan to ask Mary and Aaron to have sex so that Mary and Jonathan could have a child of their own by the only man Jonathan loved as much as his own wife: his brother.

Mary and Aaron were very best friends. They had an easy going relationship and close bond but they never looked at each other sexually at all. They were hurt and angry at Jonathan's suggestion. It caused a rift between all of them and lots of tension in the house. But it also planted a seed in all their minds and Aaron and Mary began to look at each other differently. Mary was looking at Aaron as a nice looking, strong male. Aaron was looking at Mary as a beautiful, sweet and very desirable woman.

This new sexual awareness was destroying the easy going friendship they had for years and both of them were angry with Jonathan for driving this wedge between their entire family. But once the seed was planted, neither Mary nor Aaron could go back to not seeing each other with new eyes. As much as they tried, they avoided each other, they worked till exhaustion, Aaron tried pursuing another woman...but it was each other that kept their interest. When Aaron closed his eyes he saw Mary.

I won't go into any spoilers, but to say this was a wonderfully bittersweet romance full of sexual tension and love. A deep, bonding love that endures all the heartache or mistakes to come out on top, stronger than ever.

4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Final Comment: This is the only book I've ever read that the 'infidelity' works. It wasn't "cheating" in a way because it was proposed by the husband and set up with his blessing for the purpose of a much desired child that a couple couldn't' have on their own. It was a bit like a surrogate mother today would do for another woman who couldn't carry a child. The story "The Fulfillment" is a historical romance, so being artificially inseminated was not an option. This family did what they could at the time, for the love of a child they didn't have but wanted. ( )