Review: A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

This is another of the novels I’ve picked up free from Amazon’s Kindle store and read on my iPhone. You all do know that there are always dozens if not hundred of freebies available? Doubtless many of the titles won’t appeal to you, but I’m pretty sure you’d find several to intrigue.

At any rate, I’ve heard of author Julie Lessman over at the Seekerville Blog and so was interested to read her novel A Passion Most Pure. It is the story of two sisters in Boston around the time the first world war broke out. Faith is the older sister who works at the same newspaper office as her dad, and whose love for God is a deep part of her. To the point that even though she loves ‘bad boy’ Collin, she refuses him because he doesn’t share her foundation.

Faith’s sister Charity has no such problem and loves to flirt with danger as well as ‘one-up’ her sister. She snags Collin’s attention and reels him in, much to Faith’s pain. Things come to a head shortly after Collin and Charity get engaged, and Collin goes off to war. At which point things really begin to get interesting.

This is not your typical CBA novel OR your typical romance. For one thing, the romantic outcome was not a foregone conclusion. For another, it’s an edgier book. What I didn’t like about the story was how Faith, though portrayed as a strong believer, kept falling for the same kind of guy. I just wanted to shake her. I also wanted to shake her sister (who totally deserves a good swat, trust me.) What I DID enjoy about the story in particular was the relationship between Faith’s parents. They’ve got a good thing going, and the author isn’t afraid to let the reader know!

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of ‘Passion With a Purpose’ underscores her white-hot passion for both God and romance. Winner of the 2009 ACFW Debut Author of the Year and 2009 Holt Medallion Awards of Merit for Best First Book and Long Inspirational, Julie is also the recipient of 13 Romance Writers of America awards. She resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever and is the author of The Daughters of Boston series, which includes A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied.