ABOUT THE BOOK:
Has she fallen in love with a man who cannot love her back?
Elizabeth O’Connor has been like the little sister John Brady always wanted, sharing his love of literature and his thirst for God. But in the throes of the reckless Roaring Twenties, Lizzie has grown up. Suddenly she wants more from the man who has been her friend since she was a child. When this shy little bookworm blossoms into a beautiful young woman bent on loving John, she discovers that his past won’t let him return that love. But Lizzie refuses to give up–until his shocking secrets push her away.
Can true love survive the betrayal and deceitful of a painful past . . . or will it be shattered like the fairy-tale dreams of a girl in love?
Brimming with romance, longing, and redemption, A Passion Denied, will quicken your pulse and gladden your heart with a riveting story of the true power of love.
MY REVIEW:
In A Passion Denied Julie Lessman once again takes the reader into the world of the extended O’Connor family and their friends. If she has read the first two books of the Daughters of Boston series, the familiar characters will feel like old friends.
A Passion Denied is primarily the story of Elizabeth (Lizzie) O’Connor and John Brady. At the mature age of 17, Lizzie who has always idolized Brady, decides that she is truly in love with him and that he is the man God has for her. Brady is equally determined that Beth (he refuses to call her Lizzie) will always be like a little sister and nothing more. And that is just where the narrative begins to get interesting.
As in the previous books of the series, the other members of the O’Connor family have their own stories to tell. Each of the couples has their highs and lows but the underlying message is that only with a relationship with the Lord can a marital relationship be all it should.
A Passion Denied is filled with passion, betrayal, much soul searching and angst. In Brady’s story the reader is shown how easily we can let guilt and shame from the past destroy our future unless we learn to accept God’s forgiveness and to forgive ourselves.
A Passion Denied is not a book to be read in one sitting. It weighs in at nearly 500 pages. At times I grew impatient with Brady and Elizabeth. I thought that she was just a little too eager to find a husband at all costs and was too willing to settle in order to forget Brady. I also could have done with a little less of Brady’s self-reproach and self-denial. In other words, I was ready for a resolution at least 100 pages before the end. But overall, A Passion Denied is a worthwhile read with many real life lessons to learn.
