Saturday, October 6, 2012

BOOK REVIEW: A LOVE SURRENDERED by JULIE LESSMAN


 
A Love Surrendered
By 

Julie Lessman

978-0-8007-3717-6
$14.99
Paperback
416 pages
Pub Date:   October 2012

 
A Love Surrendered

Winds of Change Series- #3

About the Book . . . 

With heart-pounding romance, intense family drama, and emotional twists and turns, A Love Surrendered is everything Julie Lessman's many fans have been waiting for.

Orphaned in Iowa, Annie Kennedy moves to Boston to stay with her spinster aunt. She longs for romance to fill the void left by her parents' death. But when she falls hard for Steven O'Connor, the man who broke an engagement to her sister, Annie is worried. Will he break her heart too when he discovers who she really is?




About the Author . . .          

 
Julie Lessman is the popular author of A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied, as well as A Hope Undaunted, which was one of 2010's Booklist Top Ten Inspirational Fiction winners, and A Heart Revealed. Winner of the 2009 ACFW Debut Author of the Year and Holt Medallion Awards of Merit for Best First Book and Long Inspirational, Julie is also the recipient of 14 Romance Writers of America awards and was voted by readers as "Borders Best of 2009 So Far: Your Favorite Fiction." Chosen as the #1 Romance Fiction Author of the Year in the Family Fiction magazine 2011 Readers' Choice Awards, Julie was also awarded #1 Series of the Year in that same poll and #3 Author of the Year, #5 Novel of the Year, and #4 Historical Fiction Author of the year. She resides in Missouri with her family and is the author of The Daughters of Boston series and the Winds of Change series. You can contact Julie through her website at www.julielessman.com.


Reader Review . . .

Annie Kennedy was left orphaned and bitter at a young age.  She moved to Boston to live with her aunt, determined to experience all that life has to offer.  Using her aunt's last name, she became friendly with the crowd her older sister had left behind, never intending to fall in love with the her sister's ex-fiance'.  Steven has spent the intervening time trying to forget her sister; will he be able to move beyond his own past to create a future with Annie?

A Love Surrendered is classic Christian romance.  It is decent, safe,  and people say really sweet, religious things to one another that few say in real life.  For example:
"...I thank God every hour of every day for the joy of being your wife, Sean."
 It isn't bad; it's just very, very nice.  That being said, there is enough suspense in the plot to keep the reader hooked.  Will he find out her secret?  If he does, how will he react?  Will her new city friends be a bad influence on her?  Having started this series with this book, the third in the series, I suggest that if you have not yet read Books 1 and 2, you might want to buy all 3 and begin at the beginning.  I know they are now on my TBR list.  

4 stars

“Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Baker Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
 
 

1 comments:

Julie Lessman said...

Dear Tammy,

Thank you SO much for taking the time to participate in Revell's blog tour for A Love Surrendered AND for the very nice review -- MUCH appreciated!!

I had to smile at your comment, "people say really sweet, religious things to one another that few say in real life. For example: "...I thank God every hour of every day for the joy of being your wife, Sean."

Uh-oh, would you believe that THAT is EXACTLY how I talk to my husband?? Of course, we have a pretty fabulous marriage (Marcy and Patrick's marriage is actually based on my husband's and mine), but even so, I guess it does come across really "sweet."

That said, I want to thank you for even considering reading the whole series -- that pretty much blows me away, but I am VERY grateful! And if you DO decide to read the rest, I strongly recommend you start from the beginning of the saga, which is book 1 of The Daughters of Boston Series, which I will warn you -- it won American Christian Fiction Writers Debut Book of the Year in 2009, so it is "really sweet" ... ;) Unfortunately, you already know several of the big surprises in that book, but that's okay. I think it stands on its own, or at least I hope it does. :)

And to thank you for reading the rest of these two series -- if you do and like them -- I will be happy to send the 5th book in the saga -- A Heart Revealed -- to you free. All I ask is that if you DO like them, you would post a short review for each, okay?

Anyway, thank you AGAIN, Tammy, and I LOVE your website -- makes me hungry!! ;)

Hugs,
Julie

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