The Daughters of Boston & Winds of Change Series

So, I loved Julie Lessman’s book so much I thought I’d group a whole bunch of reviews for each of her books in one post. I hope you enjoy what I have to say, and I hope you read her books! You won’t regret it!!

A Passion Most Pure:

A Passion Most Pure is probably my favorite of the Daughters of Boston series. Faith and Collin are two of my most favorite characters! They’re two people so different, yet so alike because when they believe in something they believe in it with their whole hearts. Faith’s love for Collin causes her grief and pain, but she knows that she can’t change him, only God can and that was the most beautiful lesson of the book. That only God can change a heart, and if we follow His path, we WILL get the desires of our hearts. Julie Lessman is an amazing writer!!! This is most definitely a must-read!

A Passion Redeemed:

 I can’t decide which is my favorite of the Daughters of Boston series. A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed or A Passion Denied. They were all amazing, the whole series captured my heart and if I were to choose favorite characters…well I couldn’t because they each took a piece of my heart from each member of the O’Connor fa…mily to the best friends of the family like Emma. This book was meant to capture hearts, and the first and third book accomplished the same. This series wasn’t supposed to be your typical boy meets girl, fall in love and live happily ever after that leaves you feeling somewhat indifferent, not really caring what happens to the characters. This series was meant to make you care. This series was supposed to make you love the characters. And that’s what Julie Lessman accomplished, along with a beautiful story of faith and love that rings true, with God always at the center. That’s what true passion is. That’s what true LOVE is. God at the center.

 

A Passion Denied:

 

Lizzie and Brady’s rocky road to love was a story that I will forever adore. Lizzie is one of my most favorite characters and I think that’s because of her faith in true love. Yes, she’s quite the bookworm–like me –and I know that life doesn’t always turn out like the love stories, but that’s a lesson that’s learned over time and that’s the lesson that Lizzie learns. She discovers that no love story is perfect, that no man, including John Brady, is perfect, but that with God on her side she can have faith, forgive and love.

 

A Hope Undaunted:

This book was incredible. I cried SEVERAL times! Julie Lessman’s books are officially at the top of my list of favorites. I absolutely loved Katie and Luke’s story and I love the O’Connor family. One of the best things about Julie Lessman’s books is how close she makes you feel to the characters. So close that you tear up at the thought of the series coming to an end. This book was simply phenomenal and most definitely deserves the title of ‘epic romance’.

A Heart Revealed:

Another epic romance from Julie Lessman!! Once again she has proven just how brilliant a writer she is! A Heart Revealed was everything I had hoped it would be, and more. From Sean’s determination never to get married because of a tragedy during the war, to Emma’s resolve to stay away from men because of a vow she took before God to a man who abused her mercilessly, this book takes you on a journe…y of love, loss, but most importantly, faith. Julie Lessman took two of my most favorite characters from her O’Connor series and brought them together. I absolutely loved this book, mostly because of my love for Emma and Sean. This is a series that’s about family, and you become a part of that family from the moment you open A Passion Most Pure to the minute you close A Heart Revealed. Keep writing Julie!! I can hardly wait for the final book of the Winds of Change series!!

 

North & South

It’s a movie review today!!

Margaret Hale is a sophisticated young woman from the south. The daughter of a clergyman, she is happy in her home when suddenly her father decides that the best thing for his family is to move them from their beautiful home in the south to a house smack in the middle of a dirty northern town surrounded by cotton mills. Margaret and her mother are not at all pleased by Mr. Hale’s decision and Margaret is most certainly not pleased with her surroundings or the people she now has to live with, especially not the stern Mr. Thornton, the man who runs a local mill.

John Thornton’s childhood was a tragic one, especially when it comes to the circumstances of his father’s death. He’s a man who doesn’t take chances, no matter how certain a gamble might be. When the Hale’s come to live in Milton, Thornton quickly befriends Mr. Hale and endures the disdain of his daughter Margaret. But the longer he’s around the young woman who could obviously care less about him, the more he falls in love with her.

When Margaret puts herself in danger to protect John Thornton, everyone assumes that she’s fallen in love with him. But even thought he hopes, John Thornton can’t believe that such a woman as Margaret Hale could care for him. But nevertheless he’s going to make his feelings known…but what will Margaret’s answer be?

North & South is an amazing mini-series. Margaret Hale and John Thornton’s story was captivating, exciting and heartwarming. Margaret suffers much in this story, but it makes her an even better person by the time the story reaches its conclusion. She develops a friendship with Bessy, a young mill worker’s daughter who is terminally ill because of the cotton she inhaled working in the mills. My review certainly doesn’t do this mini-series justice. Once you start with episode one, you won’t be able to stop until you finish the last episode.

Now, here’s something to look forward to. I’ve yet to finish the book, so be looking for my review comparing the book to the movie! I’m looking forward to finishing the book and giving a comparison.

If you’ve not seen North & South than you’re missing out on a phenomenal story. I’d say it’s the best love story since Pride & Prejudice and that’s saying a lot! So stop wasting time and go watch North & South now!!!

Coming Soon: When the woman he loves puts his entire family in danger and causes a tragedy that sends him reeling over the edge, will Colton be able to forgive her and love her even more? Look for my review of Digitalis, by Ronie Kendig, soon!!

To Honor a Vow

Emma Malloy has lived with her scars, on the inside and out, for years. Despite everything her husband Rory put her through, she has honored the vow she made to him as his wife, despite the fact that she ran away from Ireland and him to live in Boston. She has relied on her faith to get her through, and on her best friend Charity Dennehy, without whom she never would have escaped the man who scarred her face forever. But now Emma is faced with a challenge…the challenge of growing feelings for Charity’s brother Sean O’Connor. Loving Sean would destroy them both…because Emma will never forsake the vow she made to Rory.

In Julie Lessman’s latest novel A Heart Revealed we journey through one of the greatest trials of all…the trial of forbidden love.

Sean O’Connor has sworn to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life, but Rose Kelly is determined to keep that from happening. Young Rose has been in love with him since she was just a girl and Sean has avoided her as much as possible, even though he works in her father’s store. When Rose’s forward behavior gets Sean fired, he’s in desperate need of a job. But when Charity suggests to Emma that her brother come and work at the Dennehy’s store, where Emma is the manager, Emma hesitates for a split second. She’s seen a side of Sean that she never wanted to see. She’s seen a rage in him that reminds her much too much of her husband Rory and that frightens her. Sean was always like a brother, they were always close…but now she doesn’t know if she can trust him.

Sean knows that he’s lost Emma’s trust and he hopes he can rebuild it. But the problem is that Emma relies so much on God and he hardly speaks to Him anymore. After what he went through during the war he has trouble trusting that God truly cares and is in control. To make matters worse, Rose Kelly is still pursuing him and Sean finds himself tempted…in all the wrong ways.

Emma encourages Sean to give Rose a chance…especially when she starts having strange feelings when she’s around the handsome Irishman. Love for a man is forbidden because of her vow. She won’t forsake that vow, she won’t allow herself to love Sean O’Connor as long as Rory Malloy draws breath. It’s just not an option.

But when Sean also starts to feel more for Emma than just friendship, they both face a challenge that neither one of them expected. How can one deny a love so strong? A love that is rooted deep by the bond of friendship? They are now fighting a war in their hearts that could very well break them both.

A Heart Revealed is undoubtedly my most favorite of Julie Lessman’s books! She took two of my favorite characters and gave them one of the greatest tests God could give any of His children. Emma and Sean fall in love. And yet they can’t do anything about it because Emma still wears Rory’s ring on her finger. God tests their hearts, especially Sean’s, by giving setting the gift of love just out of their reach. This story was heartbreaking, at best, and yet as you read you still pray and hope that somehow these two will be given the chance at a happy ending…together.

As Emma and Sean deny their love for each other, another test arrives…in the form of Rory Malloy who claims to be a changed man after the death of the son he had with another woman. Will Emma believe that her abusive husband is a changed man and return with him to Ireland? Will Sean be able to let her go if that’s the choice she’s determined to make? Or will God step in and show them both the truth…and give them both a second chance at happiness?

This is most definitely a five star book! Julie Lessman has written yet another winner and I can hardly wait for the last book of her Winds of Change series!

Coming Soon: She’s a search and rescue pilot…he’s a U.S. Marshal reeling from a recent tragedy…they’re two little girls tortured by the evil monsters of the world…will Brannon and Roark be able to work together to save two innocent girls from the clutches of evil? Look for my review of Deliver Us From Evil, by Robin Caroll, soon!!

Happily Ever After

Lizzie O’Connor has fallen hopelessly in love with John Brady, but Brady has always looked on her as a little sister and refuses to see her as anything more. A man who wrestles with the demons from his past, Brady is determined not to fall in love with his best friend’s sister-in-law, hoping instead to remain close friends with her. But Lizzie is a determined young woman, out to get the man of her dreams and a happily ever after that comes right out of one of her novels. In Julie Lessman’s A Passion Denied, we take a lesson in the power of forgiveness.

Lizzie will do anything to make John Brady see her as a woman, not a little girl and certainly not his little sister. With the help of her conniving sister Charity and the gentle advice of her sweet sister Faith, she sets out to get her man and poor Brady is completely unprepared for what she’s about to dish out. But when every attempt seems to fail miserably, Lizzie starts to give up all hope of winning the heart of the man who’s held hers in the palm of his hand for years. Even when she starts going out with a different young man, who’s proprieties are quite different from Brady’s, Brady doesn’t seem to be jealous. Heart breaking more times than she cares to count, she starts to wonder if perhaps she should forget about Brady.

Brady has blinded himself to the woman Lizzie has become on purpose. She deserves better than him, he’s sure. She’s smart, beautiful and will make some man very happy one day. Just not him. But what she doesn’t know is that he is falling in love with her and everyone can see it…except him. Seeking advice from his friend, Father Mac, Brady starts to discover that it’s his past and his pride that’s holding him back from loving Lizzie. But than trouble arrives.

Michael Brady looks almost exactly like his brother and one night, when Lizzie shows up at Brady’s door upset, she is completely fooled by him. Lizzie soon realizes her mistake and is embarrassed and once again heartbroken because of what Michael had led her to believe. But then something strange starts to happen…Michael starts to show an interest and Lizzie begins to fall for his charms, something that Brady knows is dangerous. Michael will only hurt Lizzie, he’s sure, but how can he–a man who’s hurt her multiple times himself–convince her that seeing Michael is wrong?

As Brady starts to let the past back in, with Michael’s help, he starts to realize that forgiving himself is the key to opening his heart to Lizzie. But the problem is, will Lizzie’s love for him be able to strengthen her and enable her to forgive him when she finds out the truth?

 A Passion Denied is probably my favorite of the Daughters of Boston series. Lizzie, like me, is a bookworm who is searching for her happily ever after. But what she starts to come to realize is that not all stories end with happily ever after. She so desperately wants Brady to be her knight in shining armor. He’s the godliest man she knows and her own faith has been strengthened over the years because of his example. In her eyes he’s flawless, sinless. He’s perfection itself. So when the sins of his past are revealed, Lizzie is shocked and hurt all over again.

A Michael makes his move, determined to claim Lizzie as his wife and destroy Brady once and for all, Lizzie comes to a fork in the road. If she can’t have Brady, should she choose Michael?

Brady is in love with her, but is he too late? Has his brother beat him and taken away the love of his life?

Can Lizzie take the sins of Brady’s past and find it in her heart to forgive him? Or will she turn her back on him, unable to see past what he did and find a different life with another man?

This book was an incredible story about forgiveness and how love conquers all and never fails. I loved this story. Lizzie and Brady are in my group of #1 couples. Their faith and love is a beautiful example of what all of us should strive to find. If you’ve read the first two books of the Daughters of Boston series and loved them as much as I did, then you probably are just dying to start A Passion Denied.

Stop wasting time! You don’t want to miss this last book of the Daughters of Boston series! Trust me, it will leave you wanting to move on to A Hope Undaunted. These books leave you craving more and will also have you shedding tears at the thought of the O’Connor family stories coming to an end.

Coming Soon: He’s sworn to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life…she’s holding tight to a vow she made in her youth to an abusive husband…will Sean and Emma remain strong and deny their feelings for each other? Look for my review of A Heart Revealed, by Julie Lessman, soon!!

The Love of a Lifetime

Ada has loved deeply in her young life, only to have her heart broken. Now she finds herself alone, with nothing, leaving her rich life in Boston to be a companion to an old lady in Hickory Ridge, Tennessee. Little does she know that a life of happiness, contentment, yes and even love awaits her there. In Dorothy Love’s novel Beyond All Measure we are introduced to two people who believe that God has abandoned them, but who are about to learn that He never leaves us, even in our darkest hour.

Ada Wentworth only plans to stay in Hickory Ridge as Wyatt Caldwell’s aunt’s companion until she has enough money to establish a millinery shop. She finds Hickory Ridge to be a charming little southern town, but as a northerner, she knows that she could never fit in here, especially so soon after the war. Prejudice and anger over the loss the south suffered is still rearing its ugly head, and she knows that there could be more challenges in this town besides the dangerously handsome nephew and the headstrong aunt she is to be faced with every day.

Wyatt Caldwell is the local lumber mill owner and no doubt the handsomest, kindest man in Hickory Ridge. But when Ada realizes that he believes Providence brought her to town…and into his life…she shies away. How can she trust after all the hurt she’s been through? How can she let her guard down and allow another man into her heart? What if he betrays her, like the two men she loved most in her life already have? Besides, Wyatt has a dream of his own that doesn’t seem to leave any room for her millinery shop and is far away from Hickory Ridge and Boston both.

But will the wall around Ada’s heart keep her from finding the love of a lifetime?

Beyond All Measure was a heartwarming journey of love, faith and trust. As Ada not only struggles with her feelings for Wyatt and the town’s disdain for anyone coming from the northern states, she also befriends a young orphan girl named Sophie who is shunned by the townspeople because one of her parent’s was a negro. Ada’s kindness towards the negroes is repaid with hatred from the townspeople, a hatred that places Ada in danger.

Will Ada open her heart to Wyatt? Or will she leave as she always planned, turning her back on the man who loves her and the God who loves her more?

I loved this story, and it definitely deserves five stars!

Coming Soon: Lizzie has always loved Brady and dreams of a happily ever after that will come right out of one of her novels…but Brady is determined not to love the young woman he’s thought of as a little sister since she was just a girl. Look for my review of A Passion Denied, by Julie Lessman, soon!!

Charming Charity

Charity O’Connor always gets what she wants…until she falls in love with Mitch Dennehy. Her charms, her flirtations and even her actions don’t turn that man’s head and who can blame him? She burned him once, destroying the perfect relationship he had with her sister, and he won’t let her hurt him again. No, he’ll hate Charity forever…or so he thinks. In Julie Lessman’s A Passion Redeemed, we find out the truth of God’s love through terrible heartache and tragedy, two things that Charity O’Connor must suffer through before her eyes and heart are opened to God.

Charity O’Connor wants Mitch Dennehy, a dangerously handsome man who is sixteen years her senior. She could have any man in the world, but she’s chosen Mitch, her sister Faith’s ex-fiance. But Mitch has chosen to hate her forever after she put a dent in his relationship with Faith that eventually led to them breaking off their engagement for good. Now Charity, poor desperate Charity who is needy for a man’s love, will do anything to get Mitch Dennehy under her thumb…even if it means dating Mitch’s enemy, Rigan Gallagher, a man who only wants one thing from her.

Mitch Dennehy is furious to see that Rigan has a hold on Charity. Jealousy and hatred rear its ugly head, but he’s determined not to fall in love with Charity O’Connor. But she is Faith’s sister, and he would do anything for Faith…even keep Charity safe. But how can he protect her from Rigan without telling her the reason for his hatred towards the monster she’s now dating? Mitch wants nothing to do with either of them. No, he intends to marry Kathleen, a woman he hurt many years ago. He won’t hurt her again, he decides…but the pull of Charity’s charms, beauty and flirtations are almost too much for him to bear.

Charity’s made a deal with Rigan. He understands that the only reason they’re in this so-called ‘relationship’ is to get Mitch’s attention…doesn’t he? After a while, she’s not so sure anymore. And when Mitch makes it clear that he intends to marry Kathleen, Charity makes it clear that she intends to marry Rigan! Before she knows it, a ring is on her finger and she’s meeting his family…but her troubles have only just begun.

In A Passion Redeemed, we look into the life of a lost young woman, who is really still a scarred little girl inside. Charity O’Connor was treated in an unforgivable manner as a child by an uncle, a man she was supposed to trust, and even though she blocked out the memory, the hatred and scars remained. But she’d turned it against her father, and her older sister Faith. She hated Faith, because she thought Faith had stolen her father’s love and she rejected her father because he wasn’t around to protect her when she needed him the most. Because he was so wrapped up in Faith to notice the trauma and scars that his beautiful six-year-old Charity was struggling through. She had to face those things alone, and that wasn’t right. It scarred her heart and her mind forever. Charity is desperate, needy for a man to love her, but her attempts to make Mitch that man just lead her to more pain and heartbreak. We walk with Charity down a road that leads her first to destruction…and then right into God’s safe, loving embrace.

This story was so beautiful it nearly beat A Passion Most Pure as number 1 on my book list! Never have I read a book where the author takes her character down a road like this. Things just kept getting worse and worse for Charity before they got better. Charity’s relationship with Rigan takes a horrific turn that sends her on a boat back to Boston with Mitch as her companion, but her troubles don’t end there as she continues to deceive Mitch in order to make him her husband. But then she nearly loses him again forever…and Rigan isn’t through getting what he wants from her.

Charity’s pain and everything she suffers before, and even after, she embraces Christ as her Savior and Lord, is something you experience with her. Off of every page, in every sentence, you feel her pain, you see the sweet, innocent child in her that she’s hidden down deep and you just want to hold her. You yourself want to reach out to her and try to make her see the truth, love, forgiveness and mercy that God offers her. Charity is a lost soul who’s dug herself into so deep a hole that only God can reach in and pull her out.

This book was a journey towards salvation and freedom. One that Charity had to take, one way or another. Heartbreaking, yes, frightening, most definitely…but Charity proves herself to be stronger than anyone thought she was. Throughout this book you know that God is calling out to her with open arms, and once again we see just how amazing a writer Julie Lessman is. Never before have I read a book like this, a book only Julie could write! She brings the O’Connor family to life in ways that no other writer has ever brought characters to life for me. And I’m sure by now you’ve realized that she’s my favorite author.

A Passion Redeemed also gets steamy more than once. Charity’s need for Mitch to love her is twisted because she measures how much a man loves her by how much attention she gets from him. She uses her outward beauty to attract men, to lure them and that’s just another lesson she learns throughout the book. It’s not just her outward beauty that counts…its the beauty inside that will really win Mitch’s heart.

So, will Mitch be able to reach into the depths of his heart and forgive Charity for deceiving him over and over again? And will Charity finally place all her troubles and sins in God’s hands, allowing Him to guide her through the rest of her life?

If you’ve read A Passion Most Pure then you’re already much too involved with Charity to leave her story hanging! Read A Passion Redeemed, you won’t regret it and you’ll come to love her as much as you love Faith.

Coming Soon: Lizzie has always loved Brady and dreams of a happily ever after that will come right out of one of her novels…but Brady is determined not to love the young woman he’s thought of as a little sister since she was just a girl. Look for my review of A Passion Denied, by Julie Lessman, soon!!

Nightshade

Former Navy SEAL Max Jacobs can’t control his anger after returning home from active duty overseas. But it’s his anger that is pushing his wife, Sydney, away. In Ronie Kendig’s amazing novel, Nightshade, we go on a journey that eventually leads us to faith and hope.

Sydney Jacobs is afraid of her own husband. Max is no longer the man she married. Yes, he always had a temper, but this is worse. But even as she gets her restraining order and eventually plans to file for divorce, her heart is breaking. She knows that her Max is still somewhere deep down inside of him, but she can’t live like this anymore. She loves her husband, she doesn’t want to give him up, but what choice does she have? Even when she discovers that she’s pregnant, how is she supposed to entrust Max with her life as well as their child’s?

Max is devastated when Sydney files the restraining order and a petition for divorce. But then a mysterious man appears and makes him an offer. He’s putting together a group, recycling veterans like Max into a black-ops group known as Nightshade. Max, in need of purpose, he answers the call of duty and joins the group where he discovers friends from the least likely of places. Comrades in arms that become his brothers. They’d do anything for him, and he for them. But even as the bonds form, and the team becomes a real and true team, trouble is lurking.

When someone makes a violent move against Sydney, Max nearly goes wild with rage. But then he discovers why this move was made. Sydney is the reporter trying to track down Nightshade. The only trouble? If anyone finds out about Nightshade then each member of the team’s lives are forfeited.

Sydney doesn’t understand the danger she’s put Max in, Max is furious at his superiors for trying to kill his wife–whom he doesn’t realize is pregnant.

When I first picked up Nightshade I wasn’t so sure I would like it. I love war related books and movies, but this one for some reason didn’t seem to grab me. Let me tell you, the description on the back cover doesn’t do this novel justice! Once started, I couldn’t stop. This book shows in full force the bond between brothers in arms, the love that binds a husband and wife together no matter what and the great sacrifice of missionaries overseas suffer just to bring the truth of God’s love to a pagan nation. To say that this book was amazing, is an understatement. It was phenomenal!

When the team is called upon to rescue a missionary family from a rebel infested jungle, Max is forced to make a choice. The missionary family or his wife, who is miles away and catching up with Nightshade? Will Sydney and her unborn baby live to see the change in Max? Will Max give up his place on the team just to save his wife? Will he let go of all the anger inside of him…for love?

Nightshade is a must-read, no doubts about it!

Coming Soon: Charity is determined to get the man of her dreams…unfortunately he’s decided to hate her forever. Look for my review of A Passion Redeemed, by Julie Lessman, soon!!

Petticoats & Cattle Don’t Mix

Crystal Clark is looking for a fresh start and a change of scenery. A real southern belle, Crystal leaves Georgia behind to visit her aunt’s cattle ranch in Colorado. But the last thing she expects is to come face to face with a handsome foreman who thinks she should turn around and go right back where she came from. In Maggie Brendan’s No Place for a Lady, we meet Crystal and Luke. Two people with the same degree of stubbornness that will try your patience…but make you love them all the more before the story comes to an end.

Luke Weber has no doubts that this ranch is no place for a southern belle like Crystal Clark. She’s too soft for this land, too much of a lady to survive out here. No, the west needs more women like April McBride, a woman who’s tough…in every way. Luke is determined not to let Crystal get in the way of his dreams, or in the way of the work on her aunt’s ranch. No, Luke will have his own place one day and April McBride is the key to getting that place. And it doesn’t matter how pretty Crystal Clark is, he won’t be distracted.

Crystal can’t stand Luke Weber. He’s stubborn and mean and she’s determined not to like him. Let him go off and do whatever he pleases, she could care less. She’s determined to spend some quality time with her aunt, but most importantly she’s determined to make it on this ranch, no matter what Luke says. But as her feelings towards the man begins to change, she finds herself shocked and strangle unnerved when Luke announces his engagement to April McBride.

April McBride is a nasty, hard-hearted woman who sees what she wants and takes it, no matter what. Her father’s the richest man around apparently and the spoiled woman is used to getting her own way. Crystal, however, is determined to act happy for Luke and April. But Luke strangely finds himself looking for a much different reaction from Crystal when his engagement is announced.

When tragedy strikes Crystal, she finds herself with a ranch in her possession and a foreman she despises to help her run it. A cattle drive is coming up and Crystal, against Luke’s will, is determined to ride along with the men to sell the cattle and save her aunt’s ranch. But Luke knows very well that petticoats and cattle don’t mix…the only problem is he’ll never convince Crystal to stay behind.

No Place for a Lady takes you on the ride of your life through the hardships of running a cattle ranch, to the trials along the cattle drive and finally ending you with a love story that makes you smile. Crystal and Luke’s journey together to discovering what God has in mind for their futures is truly a wonderful story. Along the way they both discover what’s really important and their feelings for each other begin to come to the surface as they drive the cattle to the market.

But, the question is, will Luke break his engagement to April? Or will his desire for a ranch of his own win out, binding him to a woman he doesn’t love for the rest of his life? And will Crystal return to Georgia, or remain in Colorado where she is most needed on the ranch…and in Luke’s life?

Maggie Brendan will have you racing to the end of this book, it’s that good. So what are you waiting for? Put No Place for a Lady on your must-read list right now!!

Coming Soon: She’s running away from the pain of her past…he’s pushing forward towards a dream…will Wyatt and Ada discover what’s most important along the way? Look for my review of Beyond All Measure, by Dorothy Love, soon!!

Faith

She’s fallen in love with the bad boy of the neighborhood…but he’s determined to marry her sister. In Julie Lessman’s A Passion Most Pure we go on the biggest roller coaster in the world that eventually leads us to the truth of God’s love and the faith that we all should have.

How simple that title has to be. No, it’s not just because the female lead of this incredible book is named Faith, it’s because this whole book is about having faith. The kind of faith that is never shaken, no matter how bad the situation gets. And that, with great faith, at the end of the day love never fails.

Faith O’Connor has been in love with Collin McGuire for years. He’s brash, cocky and most certainly from the wrong side of the tracks. What’s worse, he’s forbidden by her father. So what is she to do, especially when she catches him kissing her sister in their backyard? Faith knows that her sister, Charity, doesn’t share the same faith in God as she does. But she knows that as much as she dislikes her sister, the only thing she can do for both her and Collin is pray for them…and pray for herself to have the strength to move on as Collin wheedles his way into her father’s good graces.

Collin is after the beauty of the O’Connor family. Charity turns heads walking down the street and in many ways Collin and Charity are very much alike. She’s the prize he’s always wanted and he’ll do anything to get her. Even pretend to be the kind of man Patrick O’Connor wants for his daughters. But there’s just one problem…and Faith O’Connor is her name. The woman who Collin has called ‘Little Bit’ since she was a small girl. Suddenly he starts seeing her in a very different way. No, she’s not as beautiful as Charity, but there’s just something about her….

As Collin’s feelings shift from one sister to the other, he tosses the O’Connor’s into a world of chaos that they could have very well done without. But, despite the fact that Faith’s dream is coming true and Collin is falling in love with her, another obstacle stands in her way…Collin’s lack of faith.

A Passion Most Pure is a book that will twist your heart–and your stomach–at the same time. But, the heart and stomach test are what tells me it’s one of the most incredible books ever!! From the first page you’re transported to 1916 Boston and you’re living Faith’s life. Her dreams, her aspirations…but most of all her heartache. Oh how I suffered with Faith while reading this book! I have read all three of the Daughters of Boston series and the first book of the Winds of Change series, and I feel as though the O’Connors are family. That’s how involved Julie Lessman makes you with her characters. That’s how brilliant her writing and her stories are. When you make a personal connection with the characters, you know you’ve just picked up one of the best books you’ll ever read. Faith’s struggles to stop loving Collin because of his lack of faith, and Collin’s struggles to accept the fact that Faith will never be his are heartbreaking situations. But Faith’s knowledge that she can’t change him, that only God can change him, is also a good lesson in life. Only God can change a heart and Faith embraces that in this book.

A Passion Most Pure gets steamy at times, but Faith’s trust in God and her belief in purity is beautiful. Charity’s lack of faith causes her to start down a road to destruction…but you’ll hear more about her in my review of A Passion Redeemed.

So, now the question is, will Faith and Collin ever be together? Or will Collin reject Faith’s belief in God once and for all and continue on down the faithless road he’s been traveling for years? Now, why don’t you go find out? Believe me, A Passion Most Pure is one you don’t want to pass up!

Coming Soon: Charity is determined to get the man of her dreams…unfortunately he’s decided to hate her forever. Look for my review of A Passion Redeemed, by Julie Lessman, soon!!

The Heart Within

One of the things I love about Karen Witemeyer’s books is the way she describes her characters. In each of her novels, the female lead is different. They’re all unique in their own way with their own opinions and outlook on life. In her latest novel To Win Her Heart we meet Eden, a young woman who is against violence of any kind…but who falls in love with Levi, a young man who spent two years in jail for killing his opponent in a fight.

Levi Grant completes his sentence for the unintentional crime he committed in his youth and pursues a blacksmith job in a new town. New people, new places…no one knows who he is or what he did. He can start over. But he soon discovers that it’s not so easy to win the trust of the pretty, young librarian Eden Spencer. And it’s not as easy to live around her, especially with the speech impediment that holds him back from saying her last name.

Eden Spencer isn’t sure if Levi Grant is just stupid or rude. Either way, she wants nothing to do with the new blacksmith who’s come to the town her father founded. She can see for herself that he must be uneducated. And despite her insistence that he call her Miss Spencer, he only addresses her as Eden or ma’am and that’s something she can’t stand. But when Levi walks into her library and asks to borrow a book, Eden’s first impression of Levi starts to change.

Levi doesn’t know if he can win over the young woman who is quickly stealing his heart, but he’s willing to try despite her obvious dislike of men with violence in their past. Levi is determined to prove to Eden that the heart beating in his chest is pure and free of all violence. He can only hope that with God’s help he’ll succeed.

To Win Her Heart was a beautiful story and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It’s definitely my favorite of Karen Witemeyer’s books so far. We watch as Eden struggles with her desire to stay away from men with a violent past and we watch Levi’s undying faith that God will show Eden that he’s a changed man. That violence, while it was in his history, is no longer a part of him. That he lives for God alone, to please Him and live according to His Word.

Eden’s faith is tested when the truth comes out. Levi’s love for her drives him to reveal everything that was bad about him before he changed. Eden has fallen in love with him, but she doesn’t know who she fell in love with. Is it the sweet, kind and gentle man who came into her library? Or the ferocious monster that he claims he was before he went to jail? Eden’s trust for him is shaken, and Levi fears he will never get it back.

Will Eden ever see past Levi’s past actions to the heart within him now? Or will she reject him once and for all and lose the only man she’s ever truly loved? Well, if you want to know you’ll just have to read it for yourself.

Coming Soon: She needed a change in scenery, and got more than she bargained for…he’s going to marry a woman he doesn’t love in order to fulfill his dreams…will Crystal and Luke soon find themselves on a rocky path to love? Look for my review of No Place for a Lady, by Maggie Brendan, soon!!