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

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Pink Sunshine Shawl

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.06.2010 While in Arizona, I visited three knitting stores (all I had time and money for, unfortunately!) and bought this gorgeous yarn by Colinette. The model had this silk colorway with a pink mohair, which made it more pink than I wanted because I already have a very pink shawl and while I love pink, I wanted something both dramatic and different from, well, pink. So I paired this mostly pink silk colorway yarn with a greenish yellow mohair to get this gorgeous shawl that looks like pink sunshine! If you’re on Ravelry, you can see my more detailed notes here . Here’s the shawl! Isn’t it pretty? The mohair makes it very light and airy, while the silk gives it beautiful drape. I edged it with gold glass beads.

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...

I’m a Book of the Year winner!

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.22.2008 I won first place in the Debut Author category of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year awards! Here are all the winners! Debut Author Sushi for One? (Camy Tang) Zondervan, editor Sue Brower Bayou Justice (Robin Miller writing as Robin Caroll) In Between (Jenny B. Jones) Contemporary Novella Finally Home in Missouri Memories anthology (Deborah Raney) Barbour Publishing, editor Susan Downs Moonlight & Mistletoe in A Big Apple Christmas anthology (Carrie Turansky) Remaking of Moe McKenna in Race to the Altar anthology (Gloria Clover) Historical Novella Love Notes in Love Letters Anthology (Mary Davis) Barbour Publishing, editor Rebecca Germany Beyond the Memories in Missouri Memories anthology (DiAnn Mills) The Spinster & The Tycoon in The Spinster Brides of Cactus Corner anthology (Vickie McDonough) Lits Splitting Harriet (Tamara Leigh) Multnomah Books, editor Julee Schwarzb...

Poll for the title of my book!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is The Wedding Caper by Janice Thompson . My Monday book giveaway is Thanks for the Mammogram! AND Reconstructing Natalie , both by Laura Jensen Walker . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on the blog posts above . On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for The Wedding Caper and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Pick my title! The Zondervan Marketing Department is torn about which title would be best for my debut novel. So you guys get to weigh in! Here are your choices: Solo Sushi Sushi for One Single Sushi Solo Sashimi Leave a comment about which you prefer and WHY. I’ll run this poll for a couple weeks to figure out which will be the title for my new book! TMI: Writing: I posted another "Health and the Writer" post at WriterQuotes , and an agent post at my Story Sensei blog . And in case you missed it, my review of The Guy I’m Not Dating by Trish Perry is ...