Customer Reviews

A Hope Undaunted: A Novel (Winds of Change)

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Yes, it's official, with this book Julie Lessman's books have ALL earned permanent spots on my keeper shelf. Not only does A Hope Undaunted have the passion and strong Christian message that are Ms. Lessman's trademarks but it also has some terrific plot twists! I can usually predict how a story is going to end, especially romances since I've read so many, but there were some curveballs in this I wasn't expecting at all!

If you've come to love the O'Connor family as much as I have through her Daughters of Boston series you will love all the interactions between the family members that are included throughout this book including the introduction of some new characters like little Gabriella aka Gabe who will really worm her way into your heart. We are reunited with Cluny who we met briefly in A Passion Denied as a little boy who is now all grown up but still giving Katie, the youngest O'Connot fits. Luke is sure to make all the ladies who read this sigh. What a hunk!

I loved this book and I'm sure you will too. It can be read as a stand alone but I highly recommend reading the entire Daughters of Boston series first so you can get to know the entire O'Connor clan a little bit better!

Once again, Julie Lessman has written a book with so many twists and turns, I couldn't stop reading! My favorite part is how she draws you closer to God - we need to have PASSION for God - not just the man in our life. I love how Katie questioned her faith and worked it out herself - she didn't just believe b/c her parents did...this is so much better than just reading a romance novel that sweeps you away for a few hours - it truly is a book that caused me to look at how I treat my husband and children - am I being a godly wife and a godly example to my 3 girls of what true, unconditional LOVE really is?

please keep writing Julie - I just wish I had another book to read, although it's probably good I don't have one right now - I get nothing else done when I have one of her books in my hands! My daughter is the one who got me hooked on these great books - my husband laughed the one night when he realized that my daughter and I were both reading the same book! and yes, I bought 2 books, cuz I couldn't wait until my daughter was done reading hers to start my own!! Revell really needs to consider publishing her books faster!! I'm telling you, the reader would buy them!!

Nov 2010

I really wanted to give this a 3.5 stars, but could only choose 3. It definitely kept me reading, but I found myself very frustrated @ times. Katie, as you've read in other reviews was a little spoiled, but that didn't bother me. She just needed to do a little growing up. There were also times that her dad seemed fine, but others when he seemed very hard and very judgemental w/ no mercy whatsoever. I know it was a Christian book, but I also felt frustrated that Luke was willing to be such a martyr when it came to love and marriage! This is no way to handle a lifelong commitment as serious as marriage. Sex was handled w/ discretion in this book. However, it really bothered me how quickly Luke was willing to move on in this area when it seemed he wouldn't get who he wanted, especially when he kept being given an out if he wanted it. I found myself not liking him so much in that moment! Especially when Betty, whom I liked for the most part, tries again and again to let him out of the situation they find themselves in. I don't want to give too much of the story away. Betty is a long-time friend from his past that is very much a part of the book, and you do find yourself pulling for her, but I just didn't like how Lessman handled what happend to her and then her relationship afterwards w/ Luke. I guessed what would eventually happen in this situation, but would have like it much better if I had been wrong and Lessman had handled this differently. Then I was frustrated w/ Katie and Parker, and how they moved on. I guess I eventually got the ending that I wanted, but I really didn't like how I got it. I finished the book feeling frustrated rather than satisfied. I also was very bothered by the situation w/ Collin, Faith and Evelyn. I for one would not have been nearly as understanding as she was in this situation. She trusted him completely, but yet he did not trust her w/ the truth @ all until he had to. When he finally made his revelation, I didn't understand that a situation of this gravity was resolved so quickly considering all that he had kept from her during their subplot. It would not have been resolved nearly so quickly in my house! It was a good read, and I do recommend it. I may even go back and read some of the other books about the O'Connors. I know life doesn't always work out perfectly, but I think she could have worked things out in a better way that left the reader more satisfied @ the end. I did think for the most part her characters were real and had real emotions. That I appreciated. I was even convicted a time or two, which was really a good thing too. Okay, I think I've gotten out most of my frustrations. It was still a pretty good read, and ultimately, I recommend it.

I really did, but I just couldn't. I was looking forward to the newest Lessman book and was so disappointed that I actually paid for it. If you've ever read any of Julie's other books, you pretty much know the plot to this one. It was far too long, the plot was predictable even with the supposed "twists", and waaaaay too much time was spent setting the 1920s scene. Anytime a character (mostly Katie) wanted to get away from embarrassing situations, they always went inside to make lemonade! How much lemonade can one family drink in one summer?! It seemed like the same scenes kept rehashing themselves over and over and the only excitement came near the end of the book! Katie was a brat throughout most of the book with no real reason to begruge her father and sisters. I will admit that her transformation was good, but afterward it seemed like all she did was cry. The romance between Luke and Katie was good, not wonderful. It really could have been cut in half, rather than trying to meet the lengths of the other three. The stock market crash was more background than actual plotline, thrown in to drag out the book. Stupid thing to notice, but how did they manage to shuck corn at Mother's Day in Boston?!? I'm no farmer, but I'm pretty sure if corn is knee high by fourth of July, then it sure isn't gonna be harvested in May! Editor should have caught that. If I hadn't bought this, I probably wouldn't have finished it. It just didn't enthrall me. Sorry.

then you will love this book. The book is over 500 pages, and contains a plethora of characters. It is well written, but I felt like I was stuck in a soap opera nightmare. Everyone in this story deals with tragedy of some kind, and it gets really unbelievable. I think approximately 250 pages, and more than half the characters could have been edited out. Almost every character gets an equal amount of time in this story. It is almost as if there aren't any secondary characters. It was overwhelming and I was pretty bored with all the drama by the end of the book. Glad this was free. I normally finish a book in one or two evenings, but this took me a couple weeks to push through.

This book was a disappointment. Not because of how much I spent, because I got it free, but rather the waste of time slogging through it. I found the male characters very strange. More than one lashes out at his wife unjustly, while the wife is supposed to just go on "thinking what is good" while her husband lies to her. Then the twist and turns taken to keep our "true loves" apart, reminded me more of a soap opera than real life. I'm getting really tired of the way Christian literature kills off characters to keep the protagonists from committing adultery and allowing them to be together in the end. This one has the added twist ***spoiler*** of getting rid of one character by sending him off to be a priest. Really its melodrama is too much.

The Kissing Queen is back with her newest novel, A Hope Undaunted, and let me just tell you guys - you will not be disappointed. Cluny McGee (aka Luke) is a FABULOUS hero. Fabulous. Rivals Collin - and that says a lot.

And Katie O'Connor is SUCH an adorable brat. If you've followed Julie Lessman's books at all, you'll have met most of the characters in A Hope Undaunted - and Julie has a beautiful way of bringing out those stories, keeping them consistent, and giving the reader a feel for the dynamics of a close-knit family.

Let me just tell you - there are so many varied types of love that Julie introduces in the story, the reader gets an opportunity to cringe, laugh, and hope along with the O'Connors - and particularly Katie and Luke McGee.

I COULDN'T put the book down.

HAD. To. Finish. IT.

Which is the hallmark sign of a good book. No surprise there, if Julie Lessman's name is on the cover. It's a fabulous story about what true love really looks like and how it can often surprise us - especially those of us who want to have our lives all figured out ahead of time. But it's also about sacrifices of the heart for the good of others. And sacrifices are painful.

But - as the old adage goes - no pain, no gain.

Read the book for the treasure chest at the end of this marathon journey.

After reading the "Daughters of Boston" series, A Hope Undaunted felt like attending a wonderful, crazy, and heart-warming family reunion! One of the best parts of the book was getting to know the O'Connor family again--catching up with all the older sisters and their families, as well as Patrick and Marcy, the exemplary parents. In every Julie Lessman book, there are a lot of powerful lessons about relationships, whether they be between a man and a woman, a daughter and a father, or a person and God.

This book doesn't disappoint when it comes to drama! There were times when it seemed a bit much to bear, but Lessman's characters always run deep. In any case, the book was filled with pain and passion, and it's hard not to sympathize with these characters. Their feelings are real and serve as a connection between the reader and the story.

I will say that there were some events in this book that felt rather abrupt, regarding romantic relationships. For example, one character seems to sort of disappear from the pages after a revelation in Katie's life, and I found it a little odd that the character simply left without a scene.

However, I really did enjoy this book, and I loved some of the subplots with other characters in Katie's family. It was a joy to get to see how characters from the previous series had grown, and also to see how love in a marriage can be both exciting and enduring! It was hard to read about some of the struggles within marriage, as well, but I appreciated learning more about understanding and forgiving one another.

This book is long, no doubt about it, but Lessman uses those numerous pages well to tell a beautiful story of hope and family. There is a sweet satisfaction after finishing the last page, and lovers of romance and history will be well-advised to pick up a copy of this great book!

*With thanks to Revell publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

"Available September 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

Still love this family, but ugh, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the others (yet, I again devoured it!). Some of the events between characters were a bit too frustrating for me. Part of my disappointment too, was that I had loved the Katie/Cluny storyline in the last book so much, but here, as grown ups, they lost their special something. I still recommend this book as it is part of a wonderful series and there is so much to love about this family (trials and crises abound, but so does faith, forgiveness and redemption).

The Daughters of Boston series was really good, one of my favs. But this book was just so good!!! Very well written. I will agree with another "negative" post on here, there was a bit much of description of things I didn't care too much about. HOWEVER, the story just really got me over that quick. I laughed out loud, cried out loud, got frustrated out loud...it was wonderful! The twists were great...and without giving too much away, you THINK you know things and they change and you THINK again, and it changes...and this keeps happening but with all different types of outcomes. It was just great!!! :)