Cecelia's Christian Fiction Blog

A fun place to discuss Christian novels, the Bible, and writing-related topics. Although my focus is Christian fiction, I'll still talk about an occasional secular fiction title or an inspirational non-fiction book.


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Cecelia Dowdy
I'm a Christian fiction romance author with books published by three major houses: Steeple Hill/Love Inspired, Barbour, and Crossings Book Club.
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My Published Novels

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Christian Fiction Online Magazine

Sunday, June 13, 2010

A Passion Redeemed By Julie Lessman



A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman

From Amazon.com:
From the Back Cover
No man can resist her charms. Or so she thought. Charity O'Connor is a woman who gets what she wants. Her stunning beauty and flirtatious ways have always succeeded with men. Until Mitch Dennehy, that is. Brilliant and dangerously handsome, Mitch is a no-nonsense newspaperman who wants nothing to do with her. Charity burned him once, destroying his engagement to the only woman he ever truly loved. He won't play with matches again. But Charity has a plan to turn up the heat, hoping to ignite the heart of the man she loves. And she always gets what she wants--one way or another. Or does she? Will her best-laid schemes win his love? Or will her seductive ways drive him away forever? Book 2 in the Daughters of Boston series, A Passion Redeemed will captivate your heart and stir your soul with a story of faith and redemption rising from the ashes of temptation, desire, and shame. Praise for the first book in the series: "Full of romance, humor, rivalry, and betrayal, A Passion Most Pure will captivate readers from the first page." --Historical Novels Review "Superb! Incredible! I loved Julie Lessman's A Passion Most Pure from the second I picked it up until the very last moment I stopped reading." --Armchair Interviews "I devoured this book and loved every single page. . . . This is a thick, juicy read, and one I would pick up again in a heartbeat." --christianreviewofbooks.com Julie Lessman is the author of A Passion Most Pure and the recipient of ten Romance Writers of America awards. She resides in Missouri with her family.


I loved this book! I'm afraid my review is based upon memory since I finished reading this book weeks ago, before I temporarily shut my blog down due to a self-imposed writing deadline!

Charity O'Connor is used to getting what she wants. Beautiful, flirtateous, and somewhat self-centered, she gets angry when a man doesn't fall for her feminine charms. When she falls for Mitch, her sister's former fiance, she feels she's finally found a man that she wants to spend her life with, however, her lies and deceitful ways are a big turn-off for Mitch since he's a Christian. However, as Mitch gets to know Charity, he discovers a woman who has been tormented by an early childhood experience that fuels her current, somewhat destructive behavior. Mitch doesn't know if things can work between him and Charity since she doesn't share his deep faith in the Lord. However, a traumatic event forces Charity to take a good hard look at her life and her actions, makes her think about how her behavior has affected others, and makes her take a deep hard look at her own faith.

This book was full of lust, passion, and real feelings. There was also a very deep inspirational message. This is the second book in the Daughters Of Boston Series, and as I'd mentioned before, YOU NEED TO READ THE BOOKS IN ORDER. I didn't read them in order because I "discovered" this author when the third book was released and I read it for a blog tour. All three books are exceptional reads and I highly encourage all of you to check out Julie's books if you haven't already done so. Here are the books, listed in order:


















I thought the author did an awesome job with the setting. A large portion of A Passion Redeemed takes place in Ireland! She used elements that made me feel that I was in another place and time!

I'm going off on a tangent here and I'm going to talk about Irish food for a minute. While I was reading this book, I noticed that Julie mentioned several Irish dishes. I wondered about these dishes and so I looked them up online and found some recipes. If you've ever tried these dishes, leave a comment and let me know if you liked them. Here are the dishes that I was curious about when reading Julie's book:

Coddle - this was a ham, sausage and potato casserole
Apple Duff - this looks like it's similiar to apple pie.
Crubeens - Pig's feet!!! I haven't had pig's feet since I was a kid! I know people eat these, though, but I don't care for pig's feet!

If you've been reading this blog long enough, and if you've read my writing, you know that I like to talk about food. I doubt I'd try the crubeens....pig's feet? Not my favorite, but I would be interested in trying the Coddle and Apple Duff!

~Cecelia Dowdy~
Posted by Cecelia Dowdy at 8:11 AM
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Labels: Book Talk, Food And Recipes, Historicals, Julie Lessman

6 comments:

Julie Lessman said...

WOW, Cecilia, thank you SO much for the great review!! I always LOVE your reviews because they are written with so much passion, and I LOVE passion, as you know by now!

And, YES, I noticed your love for food when I read (or I should say "devoured") your review for A Passion Denied when you likened it to spaghetti with hot sauce. :)

Anyway, I have a confession to make. I did not actually realize that crubeens were pig's feet!! I did research all my Irish dishes, trust me, but I thought crubeens were a spicy pork appetizer and frankly, I just liked the name. Like you, I would NOT try crubeens, but I would definitely eat coddle and apple duff. And I have eaten (and prepared) colcannon, which is one of the dishes Bridget serves to Mitch when he comes to dinner.

Thanks again, Cecilia, for your kind words.

Hugs,
Julie

Sunday, June 13, 2010 3:14:00 PM EDT
Tea said...

Cecilia, you write a beautiful review. If I didn't like Christian fiction, I would like it after reading your review. Thanks for putting the books in order too.

Sunday, June 13, 2010 3:33:00 PM EDT
Tea said...

(whisper, whisper) I just bought "Bittersweet Memories" from Barnes and Noble. I can't wait to read it. And I placed a hold on at the library for Passion Redeemed. Thanks.

Sunday, June 13, 2010 3:55:00 PM EDT
Cecelia Dowdy said...

Hi, Julie!

That was the first recipe that popped up when I did my google search! It's possible that crubeens can be made with other pork besides pig's feet? Who knows. If I did try it, I would definitely want it made with some other type of pork, besides the feet! LOL!

Sunday, June 13, 2010 4:28:00 PM EDT
Cecelia Dowdy said...

Tea, thanks so much for your support and I'm glad that you purchased the books! I really, really hope you enjoy them! Be sure to email me or leave comments on my blog after you've finished reading them! :-)

Sunday, June 13, 2010 4:39:00 PM EDT
Esther Y.M. said...

Hi Cecilia,

Great review..

I have an award for you at my blog.

http://estherisblogging.blogspot.com/2010/06/versatile-blogger-award.html

Monday, June 14, 2010 7:11:00 AM EDT

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