Book reviews from EMH92

A Love Surrendered

by Julie Lessman

Annie Kennedy moves to Boston after the death of her father. Feeling empty inside and abandoned by God, Annie forsakes her faith and her usual ‘good girlness’ and falls into the company of the wrong crowd. But it’s because of her new ways that she meets Steven O’Connor, a man who had also fallen away but is, very slowly, finding his way back to what is right. In the very last book of the O’Connor Saga and the Winds of Change series, A Love Surrendered by Julie Lessman, we learn what it means to surrender our hearts to God and read a story about finding a love that’s pure and faithful. Annie Kennedy never thought she’d meet Steven O’Connor, her sister’s ex-fiance, while backed up against a wall by two scoundrels on a dark street. While he does save her life, Annie is not only embarrassed but she soon finds that Steven O’Connor treats her like she is a child who doesn’t know what she’s doing. He keeps insisting that she’s a good girl, that she shouldn’t hang around with the people she now calls her friends. Maybe he’s right, maybe she should do as he says, but living with her innocent little sister Glory and an aunt who is strict and somewhat cold, Annie can’t seem to stop seeing the people Steven insists are bad for her. Steven has made some huge mistakes in his life. But he’s getting himself back on track…sort of. While he’s not as wild as he used to be with the drinking and the women, he still can’t seem to get away from the friends who still are. But then he meets Annie and he sees in her the definition of innocence and purity. So why is she hanging out with the crowd he used to go with? The people who can only lead her to trouble and destroy that sweetness that he finds so attractive? It’s girls like her that he ruins. So, while he wants to help her, get her back to where she belongs and away from the people and the places that will eventually hurt her, he also knows he has to keep his distance. Or he may end up hurting her worse than any of those people she calls her friends would. Julie Lessman, you’ve done it again!! I absolutely adored Steven and Annie’s story! Beautifully written, filled with family drama, passionate romance and overwhelming heartbreak, A Love Surrendered almost beat A Heart Revealed on my Favorite-Julie-Lessman-Novel-List. In the beginning Annie’s faith had suffered because of the loss of her father, but when she gets it back it guides her through her journey with her frustrating aunt, her struggling surrender to God and her feelings for Steven. Julie Lessman shows us once again that God is always at the center of every epic love story. I loved how Annie’s faith helped Steven open his eyes and his heart to God. Julie Lessman knows how to weave a story of faith and love, intertwining the two with such clarity and skill that they become one and the same. There cannot be love without faith, there cannot be faith without love. Both Annie and Steven discover that a love surrendered to God is the greatest love there is. This book made me laugh out loud, grin from ear to ear during the beautifully written, heartwarming love scenes and had me in tears at the very end. I can’t believe it’s time to say goodbye to the O’Connor family! Julie Lessman brought these characters to life, she made me love them. It’s like saying goodbye to my own family. I’m going to miss them so, so much!!

Love At Any Cost

by Julie Lessman

Oh my. Let me begin by saying that Julie Lessman is, and has been for quite awhile now, my favorite author ever!! And this book...OH MY! Putting this book down every time that I had to was painful! It was definitely lighter and funnier than her other books, which I adored because it separated the characters. At first I wondered if when I read about Cassidy, would it be like reading about Faith, or Charity or Lizzie, Katie, Emma and Annie. But it wasn't! Cassidy was a whole new personality that I fell absolutely, positively in love with. And Jamie? Can all us girls say 'swoon'? ;)Cassidy McClare comes to San Francisco looking to forget the fortune hunter who jilted her and heal her heart in the warm, loving arms of her family.Jamie MacKenna wants nothing more than to marry well in order to provide a better life for his mother and sister, and to help get his sister the surgery she desperately needs. When Jamie meets the Texas oil heiress, Cassie McClare, he starts to believe that he can get love and money all in one package...until he finds out Cassie is probably poorer than he is.This book stole my heart in so many ways! The playful teasing and flirting between Cassie and Jamie, the light funny dialogue that had me laughing, not to mention the sweet yet steamy kissing scenes that never fail to bring a grin to my face. As Jamie and Cassie discover love, tension is thrown into the mix with the painful history that stands like a brick wall between Caitlyn McClare and Logan McClare. I refuse to give anything too important away, but those two are one of the many reasons I am now bouncing up and down, anxious to get my hands on the next book!!Julie Lessman has once again weaved a tale of passionate love, unshakeable faith, and painful realities that are faced by each and every one of us every day. Releasing everything into God's hands, especially the people you love so dearly and want to protect, can be a very difficult thing. But it is always the right and perfect thing to do. Once again, Julie has given me a story to cherish and has reminded us that every perfect love story always, without fail, has God at the center. Thank you Julie, for your exquisite writing, your passion for romance but most importantly, your ability to put down on paper what we as weak human beings strive to achieve every day in our hearts. Eternal, steadfast, absolute faith in God.

A Passion Most Pure

by Julie Lessman

Passion Most Pure is probably my favorite of the Daughters of Boston series (aside from A Passion Denied). 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

by Julie Lessman

While I still think A Passion Denied, Book 3 of the Daughters of Boston series is still my favorite, I think that this one comes close to second favorite. I can't decide between it and A Passion Most Pure! Both were 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 family 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

by Julie Lessman

Aside from A Hope Undaunted, this was my favorite of Julie Lessman's!!! 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 thinkt 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.

Hope Undaunted, A

by Julie Lessman

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'. ;)

Heart Revealed, A

by Julie Lessman

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 journey of love, loss, but most importantly, faith. Julie Lessman took two of my most favorite chracters 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!!