A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman

Back Cover: The 1920’s 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, Jack, 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 Cluny McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face to face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jack? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

Julie Lessman’s books have opened up a whole new world in the genre of Christian fiction! Although A Hope Undaunted is novel #1 in the Winds of Change Series, it’s an extension of Lessman’s Daughters of Boston Series. Spoiled Katie O’Connor, the youngest member of the O’Conner clan, gives her father grief when she refuses to follow his house rules. For example, she stays out with her rich friends, breaking her curfew. As a punishment, she has to volunteer at the Boston Children’s Aid Society for the entire summer and not have any contact with her rich friends or her upper-class boyfriend, Jack during her time of confinement. She’s shocked when she discovers her new boss is none other than Cluny McGee, her nemesis – a street rat from her childhood. Both Cluny (now called Luke) and Katie have troubling, hurtful memories from their short time together as kids, and they find it hard to accept the sizzling attraction that grows between them as they work together over the summer.

This book has rich, emotional scenes between the O’Connor family and it was a treat to re-visit the characters from the Daughters of Boston Series. It’s hard to give too many details without giving spoilers, but I wanted to mention that although Katie is spoiled and somewhat of a brat at the beginning of the book, she changes drastically by the end of the story. The adventures of Katie, Betty (an office worker at Boston Children’s Aid Society and Luke’s friend from the streets), Luke and Parker (Luke’s best friend), give you a glimpse of office life during the 1920’s. Also, you get to see a glimpse of history as the story shows how the beginning of the Great Depression affects the characters. So many things happened in this book that I wasn’t expecting. It’s not predictable at all and when you read it, you’ll find a few surprises and the story is packed with emotional moments among the main and secondary characters. I also noticed that there were a few people in the book that had faced traumas in their lives (either they were disabled, sick, or disfigured in some way) but they still had faith in God, in spite of the hard knocks they’d endured in their troubled lives.

I noticed that a lot of the family scenes happened during meal time and I just wanted to pull up a chair and get my plate and eat with the O’Connors while reading this book – the characters and the situations seemed so real to me, that I felt like I was right there, part of the story. Lemonade was mentioned a lot, and I wanted to pluck a few lemons from the counter and squeeze myself a glass along with the characters, and have a relaxing time with the O’Connors.

You can read this book as a standalone if you wish, but, I think if you haven’t read this author’s books, you should read the Daughters of Boston Series so that you’ll get a chance to see how Katie’s sisters found love and romance.

This book was a treat to read, and if you enjoyed the Daughters of Boston Series, then I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy this title.

~Cecelia Dowdy~