A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman Reviewed by Teresa Matthews

A HOPE UNDAUNTED
By Julie Lessman
(Revell Publishing, 2009)
reviewed by Teresa Matthews

5 Stars! *****

In this first book in the Winds of Change series Julie Lessman once again takes us back to Boston to join the O’Connor family. If you have read any of Julie’s Daughters of Boston series you know what a treat they are, this one is no different. Going back to visit the O’Connor family is like going home. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting them yet I promise you will love them.

  

The year is 1929 and the spirited Miss Katie O’Connor has her life all planned out. She is going to study to be a lawyer and maybe on to be a congresswoman. As for right now she has a wonderful boyfriend, Jack Worthington, whom she has wrapped around her little finger and life is good.

  

One night while out late with Jack and some friends they stop for a quick bite to eat at a nice little dinner, the gorgeous young man Luke, working there tells them it’s almost closing time and all he can serve them is a soda or ice cream. Jack becomes angry when Katie wants a burger and Luke refuses, so Jack decides to teach the “soda jerk” a lesson. They dart out without paying for their sodas and shakes only to find out that he is right behind them. After going a few rounds in the street with Jack and his friends, Katie steps in to stop the fighting and throws enough money to pay the bill at Luke’s feet. As she is getting into the car, he grabs her arm and whispers “nice girls don’t run with riffraff”.

When Katie arrives home late once again, she tiptoes up the stairs hoping to avoid her father but has to stop when she hears him calling her name, after a nice conversation he informs Katie that he has had enough of her disregard of his rules, and that he and her mom have decided that she needs to do something worthwhile for the summer so they have made arrangements for Katie to volunteer to work for the Boston Children’s Aid Society. Little does she know this will be a life changing decision, little does she know she will be working for the pesky Cluny McGee, her nemesis from childhood.

Luke “Cluny” McGee hasn’t been to the O’Connor house since he was a young teen hanging around Brady,(husband of Lizzie O’Connor). Cluny was the name he had been known as back then, Cluny the runt of a boy that lived to pester Katie O’Conner baby of the family. Now that he was a lawyer he had dropped “Cluny” and taken up using the name Luke. He couldn’t wait to eat the delicious food the O’Connor’s women were known for, but truth be known he couldn’t wait to see little Katie. When Luke walks in and sees the girl from the night before and realizes that it’s Katie, he is very surprised, but no more than Katie is to see the”soda jerk”. Poor Katie is in for a lot of surprises this summer, the biggest of all is that maybe the life she planned for herself is not the life that God has in store for her.

Ms. Lessman has once again created a story that will hold you spellbound until the very end. I love how she brings you up to date on the others in the family that you have met in the earlier books. Like Faith and Collin who were in A Passion Most Pure, the first book in the Daughter of Boston series. In this book Collin and Faith will face a situation that could bring an end to their beautiful marriage. There are a lot of pages in this but if you haven’t read one of Julie’s books I know you will be pleased at how fast you will be able to read it. To me it was like a taking a drink of cold water on a hot summer day--you just can’t get enough.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Julie's books, choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners will only receive the book in ebook format not as a paperback. Three giveaways this week!!!