Isle of Hope (By: Julie Lessman)

Isle of Hope

By: Julie Lessman

Storyline
Lacey Carmichael has returned to her hometown in Georgia, where she left a trail of broken hearts and burned bridges ten years ago in an act of rebellion. Now that she has turned a new leaf, God leads her back to make amends with her father, her best friend and Jack - the fiancée she left behind. Last Lacey knew, he was a young Godly man attending seminary to become a pastor. But upon her return, she is shocked to find Jack is now a doctor and running from God after a wild lifestyle. Additionally, both Lacey's father and best friend refuse to forgive her. How will she persevere in reconciliation when she faces so many obstacles? A rich cast of characters entertains us as we move through this good read. 

However, a few plot inconsistencies distracted us from getting as hooked into the story as much as we would have liked.

Depth

Wowza, this book does not shy away from the ugly realities of life! Broken families are at the root of the issues here and all the pain and destruction caused by a single family member's actions. We have the pleasure of knowing characters' inner thoughts and feelings, and author Julie is a master at bringing hope into even the most devastating of situations.

Faith

God is at the center of Lacey's desire to return home and make amends. And her calling isn't an easy one - many are the bridges she burned and the hurt she inflicted all those years ago, and bitterness runs rampant among some of the characters. However, even the most broken of people are restored and given new life in Christ's forgiveness and redemption.

Squeal Factor

Author Julie is one of the best at writing romance! She has an incredible ability to make us, as the readers, feel what the characters are feeling. Her romantic scenes get our hearts racing, and the love stories are genuine and deep.

Overall

Julie Lessman is one of our favorite authors, but unfortunately this newest read fell just shy of the mark for us. As mentioned above, a few plot inconsistencies distracted us from being swept away into the story. But the main reason for our less than stellar rating was simply the long length of this novel. Although the story was excellent, the conclusion felt like it was too long in coming. We will say, however, that the characters stuck with us long after we finished and we hope the remainder of the series will hit the bulls-eye!

Find it on Amazon: Isle of Hope


Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review 

Love at Any Cost (By: Julie Lessman)

Love at Any Cost
By: Julie Lessman

*Note: This is book one of The Heart of San Francisco Trilogy.

Storyline

This book is quite the page turner! Cassidy McClare comes to San Francisco to visit her cousins after having her heart broken by a fortune hunting suitor. Almost from the moment she steps off the train, she and Jamie McKenna, a family friend, hit it off and a romance ensues. But there's a problem - Jamie is himself a fortune hunter and Cassidy's wealth has recently dried up - neither of which know about the other. Also introduced in this first book is the saga of another couple - Logan McClare and Caitlin McClare - that adds enough elements to keep this book emotionally exciting. At first we thought the book would be fairly predictable, but that was not the case. The journey is original, exciting and delightful and made for a few late nights of reading with intelligent writing and a heart-stopping plot twist.

Depth

Julie does a wonderful job weaving together complicated family history with the current events going on. The characters are complex and facing real life issues of grief, betrayal, love and family. Author Julie isn't afraid to let her characters experience hard realities about life, and she doesn't tie them up neatly with a bow for some quick solutions.

Faith

The reality that God desires to be involved in every aspects of people's lives is evident in this book. Cait and Cassie have very deep relationships with Jesus, mostly displayed by their high standards of purity they demand upon their prospective beaus. As such, Logan and Jamie are forced to examine their own standings with God and, when they come up short, then must realize the choice they have between surrender or pride.

Squeal Factor

You will rarely find a good, solid, wholesome book that can get any higher in squeal factor than this! This story is already solid, so the fireworks are the cherry on top here. Lots of tender moments, lots of sweet stolen kisses and lots of chemistry have pushed this book into our Golden List!

Overall

This book has all the elements needed - excitement, plot twists, romance, deep faith and just the right amount of activity going on. But be prepared for some sleepless nights if you choose to pick up this gem!

Trilogy Review: The Heart of San Francisco (By: Julie Lessman)

The Heart of San Francisco Trilogy

By Julie Lessman

This exciting trilogy is made up of the following three books: Love At Any Cost, Dare To Love Again, and Surprised By Love. It reads as a good cross between historical and modern day fiction.

The entire series revolves around the McClare family: wealthy, Nob Hill residents in early 20th century San Francisco, who are grieving the early death of their patriarch, Liam. Left behind are his widow, Caitlin McClare, his brother Logan McClare, and his children Blake, Alli, Megan and Maddy. Also mixed in with this family are Blake's best friends, Bram Hughes and Jamie McKenna. At the very start, plenty of family history is revealed, the most prevalent storyline being that Logan and Caitlin were once engaged. Logan broke Cait's heart, which threw her into the arms of his brother to whom she was happily married for 26 years. Logan became the perfect, gentlemanly brother-in-law during that time, his formal betrayal forgiven by Cait. But now, 26 years later and with Liam passed away, Logan and Cait fight the chemistry that is threatening to rise to the surface after a long, long deep burial.

In the first book, Love At Any Cost, cousin Cassidy McClare arrives to spend the summer with the family. She is recovering from a broken heart, brought about by a fortune hunter who withdrew his love when her family's oil fields - and thus, wealth - dried up. Friend of the family Jamie begins to fall for her, but has a problem: It has been his steadfast mission to marry into wealth. This book is full of real faith, exciting chemistry, and stunning plot twists - including one near the end that nearly made our hearts stop beating. The first book in this series actually made it onto our Golden List!

The second book, Dare To Love Again, centers on feisty oldest daughter Alli, as she fights for her heart's greatest desire: independence. She fiercely loves her family, but desires to be free to do things as she pleases. She has a strong relationship with the Lord, mainly resulting from having her heart broken several times, and has decided that He and her calling to teach are enough for her. She meets Nick, the cop who patrols the school's neighborhood, and who wants to keep her safe, and the sparks begin to fly - but not the good kind. Between both of their tempers and pride, they fight from day one but reluctantly begin to work together. This book also includes a wonderful plot twist and ending that left us wanting more!

In the final book of this trilogy, Surprised By Love, we finally get to see Megan's story blossom. Meg has long been the wallflower of the family; the insecure, homely girl that was noticed only to be teased. Her family has been her constant source of unconditional love, especially family friend Bram Hughes, who has acted as a big brother to her. But as Meg grows up and blossoms into a stunning beauty, Bram is suddenly conflicted by his new attraction to her and the course he was planning for his life. Again (as Julie Lessman is sooo good at!!), faith issues and squeal factor play large roles in this book!. We are also given satisfying conclusions to several other storylines that were picked up earlier in the trilogy.

So onto our criteria:

Storyline - Julie Lessman is one of the best. Her writing is intelligent, descriptive and flows nicely together. Her storylines are fairly original and she excellently works out plot twists to satisfying conclusions. She keeps us on our toes!

Depth - The depth in these books is tied very closely with faith. Each character deals with real life issues, and then must wrestle with these issues and God. Author Julie isn't afraid to let her characters experience hard realities about life, and she doesn't tie them up neatly with a bow for some quick solutions. But she reminds readers that alongside these painful moments in life is the beauty of family and that there is always something to be thankful for.

Faith - All three books delve into deep spiritual issues that everyone must wrestle with during their lives. Jesus is a very real, personal Savior in her books, desiring to be involved in every aspect of the characters' lives. Of particular note in this trilogy is a theme of the heroines' high respect for themselves and for purity. As a result, the men in their lives are held to a high standard and forced to examine their own hearts as they line up with God. The ladies absolutely do not accept a man's simple word that he "believes in God" - they want to see it. And when they don't, they don't settle.

Squeal Factor - As if these books weren't already good enough, author Julie adds the cherry on top by giving us plenty of heart-racing tenderness and touching moments between the various couples. 

Overall - this series is a must read!