Review: A Passion Denied

Title: A Passion Denied

Author: Julie Lessman

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Pub Date: April 2009, Baker Publishing

Trade Paperback, 463 pages

Synopsis

Book 3, A Passion Denied, is the story of Faith and Charity’s little sister, Lizzie, a shy bookworm who dreams of a fairy-tale romance. It unfolds a man’s dark past and a young girl’s shattered dreams … and the God who redeems it all. Elizabeth O’Connor is the little sister John always longed for. With a fire for God in his belly, he has been her spiritual mentor since she was thirteen, sharing her love of literature and her thirst for God. But when his gangly protégé blossoms into a beautiful young woman bent on loving him, he refuses to act on the attraction he feels. His past won’t let him go there. Unfortunately, “Lizzie” won’t let him go anywhere else … until his dark and shocking secrets push her away.

My Thoughts

First off, my apologies for posting this review so late in the day. I had computer issues all day at work and was not able to post anything on my lunch break like I usually do. But, better late than never!

With A Passion Denied, Julie Lessman has brought to life another incredible story about the O'Connor family. While I enjoyed both of the first two books in the series, the first, A Passion Most Pure, was definitely my favorite between the two. For me, this book reminded me very much of that one and I found myself unable to put it down, but fortunately I was not awake until 3:00am this time around! While this story focuses on Lizzie, I was happy to see that we were able to keep up with what is going on with Faith and Charity, as well.

And let me tell you, all of these O'Connors are a very passionate family! In fact, sometimes I feel like they might be too passionate--or a better way of putting it is that they are very open about it. There were some conversations that took place and I tried to envision them happening in my family and it just wasn't working. In fact, I personally would probably have been embarrassed to have some of the conversations that were had between some of the family members!

But all of that aside, Lessman has an amazing gift for telling a great, fast-paced story with lots of twists and turns. On more than one occasion I found myself saying, "Are you serious?!" when certain events unfolded. I love getting to know all of the characters even better, and it's always great to have a new hero to love--in this case, it's Brady. I definitely liked him--and really, it's hard to have a favorite among these men--but boy is he so darn stubborn sometimes! Then again, many men are. :-) In the end, Lessman is always able to wrap everything up with a nice bow, though. Without giving away too much, let me also mention that there is a little side plot involving Marcy and Patrick's marriage that also added another element to the story and gave it greater depth.

Bottom Line: if you've read either of the first two books and enjoyed them, you're sure to like A Passion Denied, as well. If you haven't read any and have any interest in Christian/Historical fiction, you should definitely give these a try! My contest to win one of Julie Lessman's books is a great way to do that!

My rating:



Other reviews of A Passion Denied:

My Friend Amy ~ Window To My World ~ Critty Joy
Relz Reviews ~ So Many Books, So Little Time
This That and the Other Thing

If you have reviewed this book and don't see your link above, please leave a comment and I'll add yours to the list!