Review: “Love Everlasting” by Julie Lessman ~ Blog Tour & Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be participating in the blog tour for Julie Lessman’s latest indie release, Love Everlasting, the second book in her contemporary “Isle of Hope” series. Read on for more about the book, Julie, my review, and an opportunity to enter the giveaway for an ecopy of book 1 or 2!

(Just a little note here: you can read this book as a standalone, for sure, but you would experience the story with more perspective and deeper emotional investment if you start with book 1, Isle of Hope: Unfailing Love.)

Series: Isle of Hope
Genre: Christian, Romance
Publisher: Julie Lessman, LLC
Publication date: September 30, 2016
Number of pages: 307

He sets hearts on fire.
She’s been burned by love.
Can hope survive the flames of the past?

School teacher by day, ghostwriter by night, sweet and shy Shannon O’Bryen doesn’t mind writing romance on the sly, but to live it? No, thank you, not since the man she loved turned out to be a player who broke both her heart and her spirit. Now focused more on her faith and her fiction, she vows the next time she falls in love, it will be safely—through the pages of a book.

Dr. Sam Cunningham is a charismatic player who breaks hearts as regularly as he washes his pearl-white Corvette. Abandoned as a young child, Sam was an orphan shuffled through the foster-care system, bitterly driven to prove he is worthy of love—the kind that lasts forever. Once he learns Shannon is a romance writer, he enlists her help in winning back his ex-girlfriend. She teaches him about faith and the true definition of love, and he soon discovers he’s been seeking it in the wrong place all along—and with the wrong girl. But can he convince a woman who’s been burned by love to open her eyes—and her heart—to a love everlasting?

GOODREADS | AMAZON

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. A lover of all things Irish, she enjoys writing close-knit Irish family sagas that evolve into 3-D love stories: the hero, the heroine, and the God that brings them together.

Author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, and Heart of San Francisco series, Julie Lessman was named American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and has garnered 17 Romance Writers of America and other awards. Voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie was also named on Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction and Borders Best Fiction list.Julie’s most recent novel, Isle of Hope was voted on Family Fiction magazine’s Best of 2015, and Surprised by Love appeared on Family Fiction magazine’s list of Top Ten Novels of 2014. Her independent novel A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers’ Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner. Julie has also written a self-help workbook for writers entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets.

You can contact Julie through her website and read excerpts from each of her books at www.julielessman.com.

Whew! Julie Lessman calls herself a caffeinated drama queen, and this book certainly reaffirms that fact with the characters’ habits of caffeine and my need for some after losing a little sleep for “just one more chapter”.

What begins as an engaging, sweet story of friendship with moments of romance grows into a story full of Scriptural truths, honest failures and pain, and a message of the hope we can only find through the love of Christ.

Sam and Shannon’s dynamic is somewhat predictable at first, with the shy good-girl and rebellious player thrown together in a new friendship. While their eventual mutual love might have been predicted from page one, the arduous journey each one of them travels to get to their happy ending comes with an unexpected grittiness. Shannon’s past is hinted at as holding her back from trusting herself to love again, and Sam’s lack of faith in God combined with his carefree lifestyle prove to be obstacles for both of them. With a realness and loving approach, Julie takes these two on a journey of faith influenced by the wisdom of family and close friends, showing them both what unconditional love looks like.

Also, we get to see our favorite returning families and spunky supporting characters again! I was happy to read a secondary plot and romance carried over from book 1 between Tess O’Bryen and Ben Carmichael. Their relationship continues to grow while facing its own hurdles to overcome (like trust).

This is another fantastic contemporary romance with so much depth and several swoony moments from Julie. I personally am already anxious for book 3, releasing in 2016, because I suspect it’s centered on two of my favorite secondary characters from this series (Cat and Chase!! 🙂 ).

Thank you to the publisher and Singing Librarian Books for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Click here to enter the rafflecopter giveaway!

October 1–
October 2–Bibliophile Reviews | Wishful Endings
October 3-–Book by Book | Singing Librarian Books
October 4–Flowers of Quiet Happiness
October 5–Getting Your Read On | The Green Mockingbird
October 6–Faithfully Bookish | Just Commonly
October 7–Daysong Reflections | Bookworm Mama
October 8–Smiling Book Reviews | Zerina Blossom’s Books

12 thoughts on “Review: “Love Everlasting” by Julie Lessman ~ Blog Tour & Giveaway”

COURT!!! Thanks so much for being part of my blog tour, my friend — MUCH appreciated, along with your great review.

Hugs and more hug!
Julie

courtney207 | October 5, 2016 at 8:48 pm

Thank you, Julie! I SO enjoyed revisiting the O’Bryen’s world. As I said, I’m quite anxious for book 3 now 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to read my review! *hugs back* ❤

Reply

Nice post, Courtney! I’m anxious to read this book and hoping to get to it soon! 😀

julielessman | October 7, 2016 at 12:28 pm

WINNIE!!! What a surprise to see you here, my friend!! 😉 I am SO proud of your diligence and perseverence in wading through all these blog websites to leave comments that that alone should garner more points in addition to the comments. 🙂

Good luck, although with all the comments you’re leaving, you might not need it … 😉

Hugs,
Julie

Reply
- Winnie Thomas | October 7, 2016 at 12:48 pm
  
  Hi Julie, I’m stalking your blog tour! LOL Hopefully you don’t mind. Sydney from Singing Librarian is a friend of mine. She used to live about 3 blocks away from me–before she got married and moved away. I like to keep up with what she’s doing.
  
  Yes, hopefully I can snag a copy of your book! If not, Christmas is coming sooner than we want to admit! LOL
  
  Hugs back,
  Winnie
- julielessman | October 7, 2016 at 6:04 pm
  
  Whoops, Winnie … I responded in a separate comment below. 😐
  
  Hugs,
  Julie

The good girl vs. the player is my type of romance! Redemption stories are always the best!

julielessman | October 7, 2016 at 6:06 pm

Trust me, MANUELA, you’re going to like it! BUT … if you haven’t read book 1, Isle of Hope, yet, I can send that to you instead if you win, okay?

HUGS!!
Julie

Reply

WINNIE!! Any friend of Sydney’s is a friend of mine, girlfriend! And did you know Sydney’s name is in book 1 of this series, Isle of Hope? You bet, so you are definitely going to have to read that one! And just by way of convincing, you IOH has a straight 5-star rating on Amazon with 161 reviews and was one of Family Fiction Magazine’s Top 15 Novels of 2015, so it’s not a dog, I promise. 😉 How can it be with Sydney in it???

Hugs and GOOD LUCK!
Julie

Isn’t it SUCH a wonderful story?! Definitely one of the highlights of my reading year. And yes, now I really must go back and read book one! I know, I know. 😉