Book Review: "A Passion Redeemed" by Julie Lessman

Graced with physical beauty, though shallow of heart, Charity O'Connor is a woman who knows what she wants. She sets her sights on the cantankerous Mitch Dennehy, editor at the Irish Times, who has unwittingly stolen her heart. And although the sparks are there, Mitch refuses to fan the coals of a potential relationship with his ex-fiancee's sister. But Charity has a plan to turn up the heat and she always gets what she wants--one way or another. Is revenge so sweet after all? Or will Charity get burned?

When I finished the first book in this series, A Passion Most Pure, I hated Charity. Honestly, I wanted to slap the sense out of that girl. I honestly haven't really hated a character so much in my life. I guess it was mainly because she reminded me of girls I knew in school, who got away with everything especially the guys that you happened to like. I was told that with this book however that my feelings for her would change because Charity would get what's coming to her and a change of heart as well.

Sadly, after finishing this story I am STILL not a fan of Charity. I will admit I am more sympathetic of her after finding out what happened in the past. Also there are scenes that happen in the book that even I felt extremely sorry and hurt for her. No matter what she could have done, she definitely did not deserve to be treated in that way. However, even that does not totally excuse her behavior. I swear that girl just does not learn from her mistakes or anything that happens in her life. She gets by and rewarded because of her looks which she uses to her advantage. I also got really mad that Mitch somehow became the bad guy at the end of the book when it was ENTIRELY Charity's fault! In fact, the one instance where Charity seems to have any sort of heart would have to be how she acts with her co-worker Emma. Due to the situation with Emma's abusive husband, this is the one time where Charity seems to care more about another person's well being than herself. She even uses the negative situation she finds herself in to help Emma finally see the light and get out of that relationship.

There are some conservative readers who find these books to be really racy and practically pornographic. Honestly, I really scoff at this. Sorry, but I find these books to be extremely refreshing and true to life. To say that just because someone is a Christian and does not feel passion or any other romantic feelings is lying to yourself. I sound harsh but it really does get on my nerves about this. Pretty much if you don't read Christian fiction and you pick up this book, you will find it really tame compared to the general market books that are out there. If you are the type of person who blushes at the thought of holding hands with a guy, this book is probably not for you.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. As I said, I still am annoyed by Charity but the story itself is very engaging and I was glad to revisit with the O'Connor family again. Another wonderful thing about this book is that it's really long and thick, which makes a for a splendid way to pass an entire day by reading this tome. I'll be looking forward to picking up the final book in the series, both to read Lizzie's story and perhaps to see if I end up liking Charity a bit more!

A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman is published by Revell (2008)

This review copy was provided by the publisher