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14 September 2011

Review of A Hope Undaunted



Julie Lessman
A Hope Undaunted (Revell, 2011)

By Julie Lessman

Book reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels
I highly recommend this novel and gave it five stars!  *****


I read this on Kindle.  It is available through Amazon and Christian Book Distributors (paperback). As Julie mentioned in her interview, it is available as a free download through many sources.

This is my first Julie Lessman book that I have read.  I bought a paperback last year but found reading print on the page rather difficult at that time.  Which is a great thing about Kindle – I read this every night until I was done and it did not bother my eyes at all. 

Well, now I know why everyone loves Julie Lessman’s writing.  I was aware that her tagline is “Passion with a Purpose” and now I know why!  She packs realistic passion in a Christian context on the pages, and boy are there pages.  I wonder how many words her books have in them as I was told 110,000 was the limit and I cannot figure out how a 500 page or so book would have that few! 
A Hope Undaunted, Winds of Change Series #1
In this story we have a spoiled young woman, Katie, who was tormented when she was younger by a street urchin who had been taken into her brother’s home. Now a handsome attorney, he still annoys her, only in different ways. Luke, as he now calls himself, ends up becoming her boss when Katie’s father gives her a consequence for her constant disobedience, which usually had to do with running around with her serious (and also spoiled!) boyfriend.  Boy, oh boy, does Katie need to grow up.  And she does in this heart-warming novel that also has a sizzling romantic thread. 

Julie does a very nice job of including the storylines of the other couples that surround Katie and Luke, including Katie’s parents.  This serves to shed light on why Katie is such a strong willed and affectionate young woman and to lend sympathy to some of her behavior.  And it is nice that mom and dad are not on the page as a couple of old decrepit fogeys. There is also an entire thread about fidelity, faithfulness, trust, and death of a child with one of the couples.

Bibliotherapy: Loss, abandonment, marriage, health issues, forgiveness, finding a godly spouse, respect, and transitions in life.


Giveaway:  Leave a comment and your email address for a chance this week to win a copy of any one of Julie's books in your choice of format.



26 comments:

  1. Wow. This book sounds like a great read. I would love to win a copy of one of Julie's books. Thank you for this giveaway!

    God Bless!

    judyjohn2004[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  2. Great review, Carrie! I have read every one of Julie's books from the first in The Daughter of Boston Series up 'til now, and I love that she still incorporates the characters from her very first series into this new series. So as you said in your review, Carrie, about her parents, etc., I enjoy that too...I miss those characters I've come to love in the first series!

    I also love that Julie's characters all have "issues" which makes them more human and realistic. When reading one of Julie's 500 pg. books on Kindle, Carrie, I wonder how many times you had to click the next page button, especially if you read it in large print? I think my finger would have been sore. haha I think of things nobody else thinks of, I guess!

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  3. I LOVE Julie's books! I would absolutely love to win a copy of her newest book 'A Heart Revealed'! Please enter me and thanks for the opportunity.

    lovetoread205 [at] gmail [dot] com

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  4. I would love to read this book. Please enter me!

    Blessings,
    Jo
    ladijo40(at)aol(dot)com

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  5. Judy, always great to see your smiling face over here! Good to "see" you, too, Jo! Throwing your names "in the hat" right now, ladies!

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  6. Hmmm Megan, love the shamrock! Maybe you will have the "luck of the Irish" and win one of Julie's wonderful books! If you don't, a pic of a rabbit's foot...perhaps?:)

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  7. Hey, JUDY ... you sound like a new reader, so if so, do I have a deal for you!!

    Right now you can DOWNLOAD A Hope Undaunted (book 1 in this series) FREE on Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook and Sony e-reader.It's only available for a limited time and can be downloaded on PCs, Macs, Droids, i-Phones, i-Pads, etc., so GO FOR IT!!! And if you like my style, then good luck in the contest!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  8. CARRIE!! Thank you SO much for the great review -- I am BLESSED!!

    And I had to laugh at your comment, "I wonder how many words her books have in them as I was told 110,000 was the limit and I cannot figure out how a 500 page or so book would have that few!"

    Uh, A Passion Most Pure originally had about 170,000 words before I tamed it down to a manageable (and publishable) 145,383!! YIKES ... A Hope Undaunted came in at 166,000 words, A Heart Revealed at a whopping 171,996 and Steven's story, A Trust Restored, weighs in at a modest 170,906. Of course, those are the "word counts" on the computer ... I prefer to go by 250 words per page, which comes in considerably lower ... :)

    WHICH is why my new series will only be about 300 pages per book. Heck, at that rate, I can write two a year ... :)

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  9. DIANA ... thank you for your kind comments, my friend, and YES, my characters DO have issues galore because I am a CDQ (caffeinated drama queen) who likes angst and passion in my roller-coaster stories. Pray for my husband, will you???

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  10. MEGAN ... fingers crossed and prayers said, my friend, so here's to a win ... :)

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  11. JO!!! We have GOT to get a book in your hands, my friend. Sure hope you downloaded the FREE copy of A Hope Undaunted because that will tell you if you will even like my books. Good luck in the contest!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  12. Can't wait to read this one!

    Also wanted to let you know that I awarded you the "One Lovely Blog Award" on my blog today. Stop by to see it. http://www.sherisalatin.com/2011/09/14/one-lovely-blog-award/

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  13. Thank you so much, Sheri!!! That is so kind of you! Diana and I are very pleased to accept this award. I want to let Sarah Sawyer know, too. Oh, she is also on your list, so my web designer does know then - she is a sweetheart! Will put up my info on Saturday or Sunday then. Hmmm, Diana has to put up half of it lol!!

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  14. Congrats, Carrie, I agree, this is one lovely blog! I can take no credit, for the blog was designed before I ever arrived on the scene...what a lovely blog to go with such a lovely person!

    Now that being said, I am in a twix 'tween the two as the Apostle Paul once said. I am wondering whether to download Julie's new book on my Kindle with my gift card or get it in paperback...I so love holding Julie's thick, lovely books in my hands! Kindle, paperback, Kindle, paperback...eeny meeny miny mo. ACK!

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  15. Loved reading Katie's story in this fabulous novel...Love ya, Julie :)

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  16. Diana, So glad you have you on board as my partner in this ministry!
    Karen, Katie grew up so much that I was proud of her by the end of the book! LOL!

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  17. Hey, SHERI ... I "can't wait" for you to read this one, either, and right now you can DOWNLOAD it FREE on Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook and Sony e-reader.It's only available for a limited time and can be downloaded on PCs, Macs, Droids, i-Phones, i-Pads, etc., so GO FOR IT!!! And if you like my style, then good luck in the contest!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  18. CARRIE AND DIANA!!! SUPER CONGRATS on the "One Lovely Blog" award, girls -- you ROCK!!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  19. Hey, KAREN, love you too, sweetie!! Here's hoping you pull out a win in this contest, my friend. Would LOVE to see you win!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  20. I just began reading A Hope Undaunted on my kindle last night. I am now 17% into the book -- I couldn't put it down.

    I LOVE the way Katie and Luke first met. I was laughing out loud over that whole incident, and then when he met up with her later at her house. LOL!!!! :-P

    And I can't get over how cool it is to have a character with my name. Really, it's totally cool! While I'm not as stubborn (at least, I don't think) as Katie, I do have stubborn streak. ;-)

    I can't wait to find out what's gunna happen next with Luke and Katie's story. And it's great to see the other characters again, all in one big happy family -- Faith, Collin, Patrick, Marcy, Charity, etc. :-)

    Haha, okay, I've rambled on enough. All that to say, Julie...I'm really enjoying AHU!!!! ;-)

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  21. Julie, thank you for the offer of down loading your book "A Hope Undaunted". I would love to be able to do it. I can't read books on the computer...I know you are probably saying to yourself, what??!! I get migraines very easily and anything can set one off. I have found that staring at the computer screen and reading things very often triggers a migraine. That's why I stick with books. If I have even a slight headache I can't read. Thanks again for your kindness and I hope you understand!

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  22. KATIE!!! YAY!!! Soooo glad you are enjoying AHU, my friend, and most people don't like Katie at first, but I LOVE her!! And Luke McGee??? Hubba, hubba!!! He just bounced Collin out of first place by a long shot as the favorite Lessman hero in a poll on Relz Review last week, which is saying something because Collin has won every poll taken on top Lessman hero by a landslide, so that should tell you how charasmatic Luke is!! He and Mitch are my favs ...

    Can't wait to see what you think, sweetie, so happy reading!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  23. Aw, JUDY, BUMMER!!! I am SO sorry about the migraines and totally understand. We will just have to pray extra hard you win a hard copy, okay??? God bless and good luck in this contest!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  24. I absolutely LOVE this line from your interview and your webpage, Julie: "We are changed from weak, downtrodden human beings to powerful kids of the King!" So simple, yet so profound!! I, too, find that "targeted Scripture" carries me through the tough situations in life. I take my kids to the Scriptures when we are facing an obstacle or situation or discipline that seems unsurmountable to us. LOVE God's Word! Thank you for including it in your writing!
    Blessings,
    Kelly Y in Virginia
    kelly*at*dkcountryarts*dot*com

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  25. KEL!!!! "Targeted Scripture," YES!!! A laser of truth to defeat the enemy!! Your little ones are very lucky kiddos, having you as a mom. God bless you and your family, my friend ... which it sounds like He already has! :)

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  26. Oh, Julie! I love my kids so much and there is nothing more important to me than watching them grow in their own personal walk with Jesus! Sometimes I have to help them along the way with those targeted Scriptures, but Jesus has to "target" me sometimes, too! And, He does it because He loves me, which is what I tell the kids...I do it because I love them. Yes, God has blessed me richly...an amazing husband, four beautiful gifts, and an incredible life!

    Hugs right back at ya!
    Kelly

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