Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A Passion Redeemed



This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing


A Passion Redeemed

Revell (September 1, 2008)

by

Julie Lessman



ABOUT THE BOOK

No man can resist her charms. Or so she thought. Charity O'Connor is a woman who gets what she wants. Her stunning beauty and flirtatious ways have always succeeded with men. Until Mitch Dennehy, that is.

Brilliant and dangerously handsome, Mitch is a no-nonsense newspaperman who wants nothing to do with her. Charity burned him once, destroying his engagement to the only woman he ever truly loved. He won't play with matches again. But Charity has a plan to turn up the heat, hoping to ignite the heart of the man she loves. And she always gets what she wants--one way or another.

Or does she? Will her best-laid schemes win his love? Or will her seductive ways drive him away forever? Book 2 in the Daughters of Boston series, A Passion Redeemed will captivate your heart and stir your soul with a story of faith and redemption rising from the ashes of temptation, desire, and shame.

MY THOUGHTS:

I enjoyed Julie Lessman's first book, A Passion Most Pure, and I've been looking forward to this second book in the series. Julie did not disappoint me! This book takes readers back and forth between a cottage in Ireland and a family home in Boston, allowing us to feel as if we are part of the O'Connor family. It is very helpful if you have read the first book in the series, but it isn't necessary. I was pleased to find that Julie continues the story of Faith and Collin through this book, too. The book is full of beautiful people, manipulation, spiritual struggles, romance, and true love. Please note that it is a little too racy for young readers!

Charity, the main character, is one of those people who is just too beautiful for her own good, and she knows it. She uses her beauty and sex appeal as a tool to chase after the man she has targeted as her future husband, and she will go to any lengths to get her own way. As the story unfolds she faces the consequences of many situations from her past and present, learning to rely on God and to see herself as God sees her. Charity embodies the selfishness and desire for control that hides inside each of us.

Julie keeps the tension level high throughout this book in many ways. She juxtaposes the physical beauty yet shallowness of Charity with the deep spiritual beauty found (with and without the physical aspect) in her friends and family. Despite the way she acts around men, Charity shows a wonderful ability to love and care for others through her relationships with Emma and Mima. Mitch and Colin provide an insight to the male perspective of beauty and lust and the inner struggle men have to stay pure despite their temptations. Through it all is the everyday struggle we face to be obedient to God while we abandon our misguided attempts to control our own lives.

Through it all are wonderful (and tragic) twists that leave the reader wondering about the outcome until the very last pages of the book. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julie Lessman is a debut author who has already garnered writing acclaim, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She is a commercial writer for Maritz Travel, a published poet and a Golden Heart Finalist. Julie has a heart to write “Mainstream Inspirational,” reaching the 21st-century woman with compelling love stories laced with God’s precepts. She resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever, and has two grown children and a daughter-in-law. A Passion Most Pure was her first novel.





Praise for the first book in the series:

"Full of romance, humor, rivalry, and betrayal, A Passion Most Pure will captivate readers from the first page." --Historical Novels Review "Superb! Incredible!

"I loved Julie Lessman's A Passion Most Pure from the second I picked it up until the very last moment I stopped reading." --Armchair Interviews

"I devoured this book and loved every single page. . . . This is a thick, juicy read, and one I would pick up again in a heartbeat." --christianreviewofbooks.com


If you would like to read an excerpt from A Passion Redeemed, go HERE.

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