A Hope Undaunted: A Novel

by Julie Lessman

The 1920s are drawing to a close, and feisty Katie O'Connor is the epitome of the new woman--smart and sassy with goals for her future that include the perfect husband and a challenging career in law. Her boyfriend Jake fits all of her criteria for a husband--good-looking, well-connected, wealthy, and head-over-heels in love with her. But when she is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Luke McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face to face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jake? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever? A Hope Undaunted is the engrossing first book in the WINDS OF CHANGE series from popular author Julie Lessman. Readers will thrill at the highly charged romance in this passionate story.

• ISBN10: 0800734157
• ISBN13: 9780800734152
• Publish Date: 5 April 2012 (first published 1 September 2010)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Out of Print: 8 January 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Imprint: Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

I would have given this 3 to 3.5 stars except for the whole plot point where he leaves her to marry another girl he's not even in love with and then she almost marries someone else and that whole section was just painful.

I like the way Lessman writes and the engrossing nature of her stories. I like that they involve the whole family (at least in this series). 

I didn’t so much love the Evelyn sub-plot because it feels like it was contrived out of thin air. On the other hand, I did really like the way she pulls these characters in as threads from different books. By this point it feels like the whole picture is coming together and it’s nicely satisfying. 

That being said, I really don’t like how drawn out the story is because of how convoluted it has to become to get there. Oh my gosh these characters go in so many different directions and it’s because of their own will, which I’ll grant is entirely realistic but still frustrating as a reader. And sad too because these characters have to pick up so much baggage on their way to happiness it taints things. 

That’s the thing I don’t like about Lessman’s books that I’ve read so far. Yeah, there's a happy ending but it’s always an ugly way to get there. And its conflicts that can’t be shaken or forgotten and they take some of the fun out of reading her books. 

But maybe that’s just me. There’s lots of good parts too which is what keeps me reading. Lots of characters and fun dialog and engaging characters and sweet moments, not just with the couples but between friends and among the family and with God. This is a story that’s heartbreaking (but not inna fun way) and also heartwarming.

[Molly J(Cover To Cover Cafe)]

*This review is from my blog and originally published in 2010*

Okay. Let me start this review with SHAME ON ME! Why? Because, sweet saints, I haven’t ever read a Julie Lessman novel until this one and I most definitely should have been reading her books already! She is absolutely FANTABULOUS! The power that Julie has over her readers when they open the first page is mind-blowingly INCREDIBLE!

In A Hope Undaunted, Julie combines tenderness and passion with wit and God’s love, to create a romance story set in the 1920’s that will carry you away and leave you utterly breathless. Katie O’Connor was such an amazing young woman….thinking she had her life all planned out for herself. That is until she encounters a very handsome “soda jerk” by the name of Luke. Luke “Cluny” McGee, the boy she hated as a child, has been chiseled into a stunningly remarkable character. (Julie, can you send him my way, please?!) So, that leaves Katie with a choice….to follow HER hopes and choices, or God’s hopes and choices for her life. A beautifully created plot line!

For years, I’ve collected The Queen of Christian Fiction, Karen Kingsbury’s books, including true crime novels she wrote prior to her Christian work, and the ones that are under her pen name, but after reading this breathtaking, passionate story of a hope undaunted and a love that’s pure, Julie Lessman has earned a spot on my favorite authors list at the very top, pushing Karen Kingsbury down one. It takes an absolutely fantastic author to do that because I’ve held Karen Kingsbury at the top of my list for years! I’m still in awe and savoring this unforgettable story and it’s characters!

So, what you waiting for?! Don’t be a ninny like myself , who waited TOO long to read her work. GO GET A COPY OF A HOPE UNDAUNTED RIGHT NOW! You will instantly fall in love with the people in this book as they crawl in and take over your heart. Worthy of 1,005 stars, this 5 star book is a MUST read for everyone! Thank you, Julie, for creating a story full of passion, history and a breathtaking plot….it’s what I was needing and looking for! Now, I anxiously await the release of book 2, A Heart Revealed, in the Winds of Change series!

[cherryblossommj]

480 pages was not long enough for any of the books in the first series, so why would you think 505 pages would be? A Hope Undaunted is the first book in the Winds of Change series, but really the fourth book for the Daughter's of Boston continuing the saga and story of the O'Connor daughters with a passion. Through the adventures with these Irish girls we have learned about "a passion most pure", "redeemed" and even "denied" yet now we turn to learning about hope. More specifically about "a hope undaunted". Around page 185 all I could do was sigh. At 275 pages into the story I never wanted it to end, but to continue on and on bringing these characters to life off the page and surrounding me in their historical romantic lives. By the time I got to just beyond 400+ pages, I had so many thoughts surging around my head that I hardly knew how to put pen to paper with my thoughts. I hardly know what to share in a review and just to express how much I love it. (Even with a sinus infection and craving sleep, I needed to read more and find out what would happen next with all the energy in my soul.) This morning with just over a hundred pages to go I found myself relating back to the story and found it interweaving itself in my morning devotional. It even found it's way in a thought provoked blog post --> http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2010/09/15/hope/

Julie Lessman is an artist with words on a page. Her characters are so real and I find so many relatable times that I have to reflect and go back and really seek forgiveness or God's will in certain cases of my own past. She tells a story that is entertaining and romantic. The passion is on the page but also in the tingling of your toes. The fervor with which characters like Faith, Brady and Emma pray comes off the page and gives a guidance and hopeful light to just how a friend of the faith should be. I know these characters come by it honestly, because that is the kind of woman Julie is. Full of a heart of faith and it shows on the page and beyond. This on-going story of the O'Connor family is a lesson of the importance of faith and the dire importance of prayer and it is a story for anyone and everyone. Most romances are for women, but Julie's books are different, they are for the men who want to know how to romance their women as well as for the women readers.

As this is the first book in a series, you could read it alone, but I highly recommend that you start with the Daughter's of Boston and [b:A Passion Most Pure|2121231|A Passion Most Pure (The Daughters of Boston, #1)|Julie Lessman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404478848l/2121231._SY75_.jpg|2126668], [b:A Passion Redeemed|2288562|A Passion Redeemed (The Daughters of Boston, #2)|Julie Lessman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347677031l/2288562._SY75_.jpg|2294769] and [b:A Passion Denied|5497945|A Passion Denied (The Daughters of Boston, #3)|Julie Lessman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436636236l/5497945._SY75_.jpg|5567481] first to really be able to understand the characters and the changes that occur in their lives.

Katie O'Connor has her plan, but might just change her hopes to be in the Lord and follow a different path. Knowing in my life how things can change when you put your hope in the Lord, I can only imagine what is in store for Katie.

Undaunted by definition means "unshaken in purpose," and/or "showing courage and resolution". Hope is something that we all have when we map out and plan our next steps, but only when God is in charge of those steps is our hope undaunted.

*Thanks to Revell Books for providing a copy for review.*