ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jody has written novels for the last 20 years (with a hiatus when her children were young). After many years of writing and honing her skills, she finally garnered national attention with her double final in the Genesis Contest, a fiction-writing contest for unpublished writers through ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers).
Her first published book, The Preacher’s Bride (2010 Bethany House Publishers), became a best seller and has won multiple awards.
Her second book, The Doctor’s Lady, released in September of 2011, and her third book, Unending Devotion, is out now. She’s currently busy researching and writing another book!
Jody has been married for twenty years to her college sweetheart. Jody has five children ranging in ages from 15 to 6, with a set of twin daughters in the mix to make things more lively.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
High-Stakes Drama Meets High-Tension Romance
In 1883 Michigan, Lily Young is on a mission to save her lost sister, or die trying. Heedless of the danger, her searches of logging camps lead her to Harrison and into the sights of Connell McCormick, a man doing his best to add to the hard-earned fortunes of his lumber baron father.
Posing during the day as a photographer’s assistant, Lily can’t understand why any God-fearing citizen would allow evil to persist and why men like Connell McCormick turn a blind eye to the crime rampant in the town. But Connell is boss-man of three of his father’s lumber camps in the area, and like most of the other men, he’s interested in clearing the pine and earning a profit. He figures as long as he’s living an upright life, that’s what matters.
Lily challenges everything he thought he knew, and together they work not only to save her sister but to put an end to the corruption that’s dominated Harrison for so long.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Unending Devotion, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
Loosely based on actual historical facts, “Unending Devotion” is the story of Lily Young, a young woman dedicated to finding and rescuing her younger sister from a life of prostitution. As she searches northern Michigan in the late 1800?s with her foster father Oren as his photographic assistant, Lily manages to free other girls from the same lifestyle. Unfortunately, she has yet to locate her sister. When she and Oren land in Harrison for awhile, her impetuous nature places Lily in more than one dangerous situation and stirs up unwanted trouble for herself and some of her new found friends. Although Connell McCormick is a bit wary of Lily and her unbridled enthusiasm to right wrongs, he nevertheless feels compelled to protect her.
I really liked the characters of Lily and Connell. Lily is one of those rare people who did not assume that the “soiled doves” chose their profession and deserved whatever happened to them but viewed them as victims who needed to be saved. Connell was a young man who was raised to respect and protect women and treated them accordingly. Although not in agreement with Lily at first, he gradually opened his eyes to the truth and realized that there are times that people must take a stand for what is good and true no matter the cost.
With a plot that moves at a good pace, well-developed characters, a nice mixture of drama, suspense, humor, and romance, “Unending Devotion” is laced with historical fact and Biblical principles. I thoroughly enjoyed and story and the fact that it left me with plenty to think about. I would definitely recommend this novel.
