A Hope Undaunted
In Boston, 1929, Katie Rose O’Connor is a smart, feisty woman who knows what she wants from life: a law career and marriage to stable, rich, Jack Worthington. Her father, Patrick O’Connor, however, believes Katie must first develop responsibility and faith. Much to her chagrin, he forces Katie to volunteer at the Boston Society for the Care of Goods and Massachusetts Infant Asylum, who just happens to be run by her detested childhood enemy: Luke McGee. Katie and Luke naturally clash and continually bicker, inevitably secretly falling in love with one another. In typical Christian romance formula, Luke and Katie encounter misunderstandings, troubles, and lessons of the heart. With some surprising twists, A Hope Undaunted sparkles with emotion, drama, and upstanding morals.
While this is a spiritually pleasing romantic read, Lessman undertakes a bit too much in the novel. She updates readers on the lives of the other O’Connors (whose stories were told in the Daughters of Boston series), going into intricate detail regarding the hardships, issues, and troubles each face as the Depression approaches, and as marriages lose its first bloom. While this information will be appealing to Lessman fans, it often interrupts Katie and Luke’s story, undermining the importance of their tale. A lot of the charm, heartache, and final passionate ending were lost in Lessman’s endeavors to include all O’Connors in the story. Overall, recommended for anyone curious to know how the entire O’Connor family fares.
