I’m not sure where I heard about Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer but I think it was one of those Goodreads best of lists. I was looking for new (to me) historical romances and this one seemed like a good fit. I bought it months ago and it just sat on my shelf because to be honest, the cover kind of turned me off from reading it. You know what they say though, never judge a book by its cover. That’s definitely true for this one. This book was a five star read for me and one of the best romances I’ve ever read. This review will be spoiler free.

I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.

Synopsis:

LOVE IN A STRANGER’S EYES…

ELLY
In town, they called her “Crazy Widow Dinsmore.” But Elly was no stranger to their ridicule–she had been an outsider all her life, growing up in a boarded-up old house under the strict eye of her eccentric grandparents. Now she was all alone, with two little boys to raise, and a third child on the way.

WILL
He drifted into Whitney, Georgia, one lazy afternoon in the summer of 1941, hoping to put his lonely past behind him. He yearned for the tenderness he had never known, the home he’d never had. All he needed was for someone to give him a chance.

Then he saw her classified ad: WANTED–A husband. When he stepped across Elly Dinsmore’s cluttered yard, Will Parker knew he had come home at last …

My Thoughts:

• Rating-
• Heat Level-

Something you should know about me is I’m a sucker for a World War II era romance. I will cry every single time and Morning Glory made me SOB. This book begins right before the start of World War II with widowed Elly Dinsmore. She has two young sons and is pregnant with her third baby. Struggling to make it with her children on their farm, she places an ad for a husband. Then in comes Will Parker…

I truly don’t think I’ve ever loved two characters as much as I love Will and Elly. Both of them are just so real. They each struggle with trauma from the past and now have to survive during a very difficult time in history. Like their lives, their romance is anything but straight forward and easy. There were times that I was screaming (silently in my head) for them to stop being so stupid and realize how much they love each other. This book truly made me feel every emotion.

I want to say more but I also don’t want to spoil this magnificent book. If you like historical fiction or romance, I can not recommend this one enough.

Final Thoughts:

I loved this book so much that I bought ten of Spencer’s other books… I don’t think I’ve ever did that for any author so that should tell you how much I enjoyed her work. Please let me know if this sounds like a book you’d like! Thanks for reading and have a great day!