My review of A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman...
Posted by:
Michelle Sutton on
December 12, 2007 at
9:57AM EST
Book Description:
Refusing
to settle for anything less than a romantic relationship that pleases
God, Faith O'Connor steels her heart against her desire for the roguish
Collin McGuire. But when Collin tries to win her sister Charity's hand,
Faith is not sure she can handle the jealousy she feels. To further
complicate matters, Faith finds herself the object of Collin's
affections, even as he is courting her sister. The Great War is raging
overseas, and a smaller war is brewing in the O'Connor household.
My review:
This
is moving to the top of my list of favorite books of all time. It's
packed with romantic tension, and emotional and spiritual passion. It
made me crazy as I wasn't sure what I wanted them to do and my feelings
were all over the place. I did enjoy the ending, though, as it was very
satisfying and I cried through the last three chapters or so. Don't
read ahead if you get this book. It'll spoil the joy and wonder of the
story for you. I was tempted to do that several times (which I never
do) because I so desperately wanted to know who Faith ended up with,
but I was good and I'm glad I didn't peek.
What an emotional
roller coaster ride! I got whiplash from the plot twists and the
changing of the tides. My heart soared and plummeted along with Faith.
I could not stop reading this book and hauled it with me everywhere.
It's long (like 480 pages) but I wouldn't cut a thing. Everything is
relevant and important to the story. I'll admit that I was extremely
curious about this book after reading an article that said it was
overly sensual. I disagree. Just because you are in her head and her
thoughts are honest doesn't make it sensual. A lot of author's can
write about kissing but most aren't daring enough to write the honest
thoughts in a heroine's head. That's what this author did that was so
fabulous. If she took out the internal thoughts she would remove the
alleged sensuality, but then the passion is squeezed from the story and
it would be a dry scene with description, but no life. I loved this
story. It's daringly innovative and the most fabulous debut I've ever
read. Plus, the historical portion of the novel was well done, too. I
felt like I was there!
One last thought...I see this as a
clearly Christian novel in that the emphasis is that having passion for
God is what makes a marriage a beautiful, solid, and holy union and
anything less than that is robbing you of the joy you could experience
if you loved within the boundaries God set. It's a very strong message
but done naturally and through the story. It feels real. I knew men
like Collin who were insanely jealous of a woman's relationship with
God and how they said they felt like they were competing with Him.
Without the love of Christ in our hearts we are truly deprived of the
most intimate love their is. This story delivers that message with such
perfection I want every woman who has not married yet to read this
book! It would save a lot of heartache if women trusted God in regards
to their marriage partner. He wants marriage to be an example of his
love for us and that cannot exist in a marriage without Him at the
center.
Before you judge this book you need to read it for
yourself. Initially I struggled with the number of POVs but once I got
into the story I see how important that was for the author to include
so many. Bravo!
A Passion Most Pure is published by Revell/Baker Publishing and will be released in January 2008.
