A Love Surrendered : A Novel

Annie Kennedy moves to Boston after the death of her father. Feeling empty inside and abandoned by God, Annie forsakes her faith and her usual ‘good girlness’ and falls into the company of the wrong crowd. But it’s because of her new ways that she meets Steven O’Connor, a man who had also fallen away but is, very slowly, finding his way back to what is right. In the very last book of the O’Connor Saga and the Winds of Change series, A Love Surrendered by Julie Lessman, we learn what it means to surrender our hearts to God and read a story about finding a love that’s pure and faithful. Annie Kennedy never thought she’d meet Steven O’Connor, her sister’s ex-fiance, while backed up against a wall by two scoundrels on a dark street. While he does save her life, Annie is not only embarrassed but she soon finds that Steven O’Connor treats her like she is a child who doesn’t know what she’s doing. He keeps insisting that she’s a good girl, that she shouldn’t hang around with the people she now calls her friends. Maybe he’s right, maybe she should do as he says, but living with her innocent little sister Glory and an aunt who is strict and somewhat cold, Annie can’t seem to stop seeing the people Steven insists are bad for her. Steven has made some huge mistakes in his life. But he’s getting himself back on track…sort of. While he’s not as wild as he used to be with the drinking and the women, he still can’t seem to get away from the friends who still are. But then he meets Annie and he sees in her the definition of innocence and purity. So why is she hanging out with the crowd he used to go with? The people who can only lead her to trouble and destroy that sweetness that he finds so attractive? It’s girls like her that he ruins. So, while he wants to help her, get her back to where she belongs and away from the people and the places that will eventually hurt her, he also knows he has to keep his distance. Or he may end up hurting her worse than any of those people she calls her friends would. Julie Lessman, you’ve done it again!! I absolutely adored Steven and Annie’s story! Beautifully written, filled with family drama, passionate romance and overwhelming heartbreak, A Love Surrendered almost beat A Heart Revealed on my Favorite-Julie-Lessman-Novel-List. In the beginning Annie’s faith had suffered because of the loss of her father, but when she gets it back it guides her through her journey with her frustrating aunt, her struggling surrender to God and her feelings for Steven. Julie Lessman shows us once again that God is always at the center of every epic love story. I loved how Annie’s faith helped Steven open his eyes and his heart to God. Julie Lessman knows how to weave a story of faith and love, intertwining the two with such clarity and skill that they become one and the same. There cannot be love without faith, there cannot be faith without love. Both Annie and Steven discover that a love surrendered to God is the greatest love there is. This book made me laugh out loud, grin from ear to ear during the beautifully written, heartwarming love scenes and had me in tears at the very end. I can’t believe it’s time to say goodbye to the O’Connor family! Julie Lessman brought these characters to life, she made me love them. It’s like saying goodbye to my own family. I’m going to miss them so, so much!!