Surprised by Love by Julie Lessman

Description:

Shy and unattractive as a child, Megan McClare has always been teased by her classmates. But when she returns home from her senior year in Paris, the wallflower has suddenly blossomed into a beauty. With ambitions to become a lawyer or doctor, Megan accepts an internship at the district attorney's office only to discover that she will be working with Devin Caldwell, a boy who mercilessly mocked her at school--and with whom she was hopelessly enamored. She turns to her dear friend Bram Hughes for support and advice. But Bram's vision is clouded by his sudden unwelcome attraction to a girl he had always thought of as a kid sister. He advises forgiveness, but can he forgive himself for pushing the woman he loves into the arms of another man?

My Opinion: 

Something that I will never get over and never stop cherishing about these books is the easy camaraderie between the characters. Their is tons of dialogue and at no time does it seem forced. The conversations are hilarious, emotional, informative, and entertaining. Not once did I get bored over the story or plot. It all smoothly rolled along scene by scene, and I didn't want to miss a moment of it. Just like Julie Lessman's other books series: Daughters of Boston and Wind's of Change, I felt like I was a part of the story. Seeing everything through their eyes. When Bram would take Meg's hands in his and comfort her, I felt like it was my hands he was holding. When Blake and Jamie joked around with Bram, I felt like they were joking around with me. When the family sat down for dinner together, I felt like I had my own place mat. 

I cannot get over how real these stories become to me, and that is the reason I get so much out of them. The lessons that Julie shares with us are things we can impart in our daily lives. The situations and struggles these characters go through are hard to read, but only because they are SO relate-able for the majority of people today. Their problems strike home for most of us, and truth be told, Julie does not take it easy on us in her writing. Their stories grab and twist your heart until you think you can't take anymore pain, but then she redeems us with the love of God washing over the characters, to the point where I can't put the book down. 

I love the time period that Julie writes about, the late 1800's - early 1900's. I don't come across many authors who write about that period. But what I think I like most about that is she picks to write about ordinary people. Not famous people, not people in a war, but ones you could walk passed down the street. Then she goes on to continue the series with someone else from the family, not a whole new unrelated character, but someone we already know a bit about. This allows us to go DEEP, she doesn't giveaway everything about a character in the first book, but we learn more and more as their life progresses. This is my favorite type of writing. 

Now I am to understand that Julie is about to take on her very FIRST contemporary novel. Which, of course, will turn into a series. It's a given. Even though modern stories have not been my 'thing' in the past I pray that Julie will be the one to change that. After all, she does have a way with words. 

Stars:5