Until the Spring

by Alexandra Raife

A heartbroken woman recovers in the rugged Scottish highlands and meets a man who will help her rediscover hope

Genres: Romance, Scotland

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kim Schellin-Rog · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was over 300 pages of nothing. It was choppy and bounced around, it was boring, slow paced and you just keep hoping it will get better but it never does. I carried this book around in my purse for weeks as my backup book. It should have stayed there. Not worth my time at all.

[Jamie Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of an emotionally/socially abused woman named Kate who finds herself in an unfortunate situation of having gotten pregnant by a rich/fortunate brat. Jeremy dumps her off on relatives that live in the middle of the wilderness. She is to earn her keep as they allow her to stay through her pregnancy since her parents have banished her from their home. Although this world is completely new to her she discovers that she finds independence and self worth. She contributes more to the family than any of them could possible imagine by "being there" she falls in love with the entire family and their way of life though completely different than her own. And finds that she has discovered the family she has been missing all her life, and they see her as the missing element in theirs. Max, the man of the house, falls deeply in love with Kate and they agree to get married and build a new house to take care of Granny and Harriet in, with the knowledge of feeling like that is where they belong.

"Time can do strange things. When you've put today behind you, and life is more stable, you may feel differently. No doors have been closed. It doesn't have to be a final decision."

[Jina Howell-Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexandra Raife writes books with the same basic theme, but widely varied plot set-ups.

A woman has some tragic life altering event that forces her to find inner strength and start over. Her books are set in Scotland, and have beautiful descriptions of both nature and human foibles.

In this book, an innocent young girl is seduced and becomes pregnant. Her family disowns her and throws her out in the street. The father of the baby refuses to be involved, but does find her a place to stay with his distant relatives. There she grows up, finds her backbone, helps others and eventually falls in love. I really loved the setting and the characters, but the book was a little bit "Jane Eyre-ish", in the sense that bad things happened to the "not to blame but unable to stand up for herself" heroin far too often, Despite that, I love Jane Eyre, and really liked this story too. It was a very worthwhile read.

[MaryHelen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Having been to Scotland, I could so easily picture the setting. I thought this was very well written, and it kept my interest throughout.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was not excited about this book, but as I read, I became more attached to the special people in it. This one takes place in modern Scotland,

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
This was my least favorite Raife book. Lackluster characters, non-existent romance (not even 1 kiss), and a boring plotline. What happened, Raife?

[Debi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Alexandra Raise and this is a . favorite