Skip to main content

Review - A PASSION MOST PURE by Julie Lessman

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.25.2007

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

She's found the love of her life.

Unfortunately, he loves her sister.

As World War I rages across the Atlantic in 1916, a smaller war is brewing in Boston. Faith O'Connor finds herself drawn to an Irish rogue who is anything but right for her.

Collin McGuire is brash, cocky, and from the wrong side of the tracks, not to mention forbidden by her father. And then there's the small matter that he is secretly courting her younger sister.

But when Collin's affections shift, it threatens to tear her proper Boston family apart.

Book 1 of the Daughters of Boston series, A Passion Most Pure will carry your heart from the sophisticated streets of Boston to the green hills of Ireland as men go off to war and women long for their return. Full of passion, romance, rivalry, and betrayal, it will captivate you from the first page.

Camy here:

This was a wonderfully rich historical romance that kept me guessing until the last few pages about who will win Faith’s heart. I love those kinds of books! I couldn’t stop reading because I had to find out how everything turns out.

The characters are very strong Christians with strong faith. They have a mighty impact on the people around them like Collin, with his anger at God, and Mitch, with his stagnant relationship with the Almighty he grew up with.

This is a more sensual book than typical CBA historical romances, and I loved that aspect of it. It made the characters’ struggles so much more realistic and relatable.

The characters are so well drawn that I felt strongly for each of them. In fact, I hated Charity so much, I kept reading and hoping she’d die or get maimed or something in the next chapter!

The novel’s theme of futile chasing after the wind—pursuing things that have no eternal value—is very deftly woven into the story, and resonated with me quite a bit.

I think this would be a fabulous novel for any teenage girl to read. The sensuality is not graphic, and the struggles of the main characters are things any single woman could relate to. There’s a great deal of realism and yet encouragement in the characters’ actions and choices.

I highly recommend this novel. Fans of Deeanne Gist will probably enjoy this one.

Comments

Deborah said…
oh thank goodness I'm not the only one who felt that way about Charity. now i don't feel like such a bad person :)
Kaye Dacus said…
Ooh, thanks for the review. I've been curious about this title and now I'm going to have to go get it. Good thing I've already planned to stop by the bookstore tonight!
Julie Lessman said…
Camy said: "In fact, I hated Charity so much, I kept reading and hoping she’d die or get maimed or something in the next chapter!"

LOL, you're not alone Camy and Deborah ... I got one e-mail from a reader asking if I would slap Charity for her! Trust me, in book 2, A Passion Redeemed, Charity gets her due. But, oh ... what fun it was to redeem her!! :)

Thanks, Camy, for the great review and for posting it on your site.

Hugs,
Julie
Amy said…
I, too, loved this book, and am certainly looking forward to seeing Charity redeemed! :)
LaShaunda said…
I loved this book too Camy. I couldn't put the book down either.

I interviewed Julie on my site.

I'm looking forward to Charity's book.

I can't wait for the book discussion next month. I want to talk about this book.
Carolynn said…
I can't wait to read this book, I wish I could get it around here, I haven't seen it anywhere! Hopefully the book store or library will get it soon!
Julie Lessman said…
Thanks, Carolynn, but what a bummer that you can't find it!! I live in St. Louis, so it's a little easier to understand why it's hard to find here (it's sold out in most of the B&N and Borders, probably because I have a large, LARGE family!! ;)), but I don't know why you wouldn't be able to find it unless it's sold out there (dare I hope that's the reason??). I do know that it's being sold in select Wal-marts, so you might try there. If all else fails, check my Web site at www.julielessman.com for upcoming book giveaways in the weeks ahead, including Camy's Loft!

Hugs,
Julie
Carolynn said…
Thanks Julie, I'll do that! But I live in Canada, so maybe it takes a while longer to get them up here, I'm not sure but I'll keep looking! :) I am so looking forward to reading it!!

Popular Posts

Lena’s Diamond Shawl – A Free Knitting Pattern from a Regency Spy Novel

In my book, Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster , my heroine Lena is recovering from sickness and uses her favorite shawl to keep warm. 🧵 Click here to download the FREE PDF of the pattern. Here’s the short excerpt from the book that mentions the shawl: 📖 Excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster Lena still felt a chill as she sat in the sunlight streaming through the window of the Viponds’ drawing room. She was swathed in her favorite lace shawl, a gift from Melinda, who had knit it in Lena’s favorite color, red, along with cream and pink stripes. Tabitha finished pouring the tea and handed her a cup. Lena tried to smile as she took it, but her face felt stiff, like hardened clay. She was an utter failure. Despite all her training as an agent, she’d been undone by a malicious woman and a locked balcony in the rain. Had she given up too quickly? She’d been deterred by the railing, believing it would have broken under her weight. She had also been shivering t...

Writing Goals for 2007

Captain’s Log, Supplemental I considered cheating on my goals for this year, but decided I was being a wimp. So here they are: Here are the goals required by my contract: Book 3 in the series marketing info sheet due March 15th Book 3 manuscript due June 1st Book 1 substantive/line edits due sometime in Jan/Feb Book 1 galleys due sometime after that Book 2 macro edits due sometime in Spring? Book 2 substantive/line edits due, I’m guessing in Summer. Book 3 macro edits due sometime in October, I’m guessing Dang, laid out like that, looks like I’ll be busy. Here are my personal writing goals: Long-term goals: --Complete two manuscripts and a novella by December 31st, 2007 (I have to write the two manuscripts, but I’m trying to push myself and write a third project. I chose a novella since it’s easier than a full novel.) Short-term goals: --Write a short story this year (I keep putting it off because I’m such a perfectionist about it! I think I’ve got to get just the right plot, etc. bef...

Free Christian Romantic Suspense Novels by Camy Tang / Camille Elliot

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Read the beginning of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer

Pride and Prejudice meets Mission: Impossible If you love witty banter, secret agents in cravats, fierce heroines, and slow-burn romance with high-stakes suspense, then welcome to my world of Christian Regency Romantic Suspense! This is the two prologues and chapter one from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer , the first installment in my epic-length historical adventure series. I originally posted this excerpt in weekly parts, but I’ve compiled everything here so you can read it all in one sitting—no need to click through multiple posts. Before the excerpt begins, here’s the back cover description so you know what to expect: ⸻ Part one in a Christian Regency suspense series with slow-burn romance and a supernatural twist She met him again by shooting him. Unmarried after four Seasons of towering over her dance partners, Miss Phoebe Sauber learns she will be cast out of her home when her father remarries. Feeling betrayed by her father and God, she misfires an arro...