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Monday, January 20, 2014

Love At Any Cost by Julie Lessman

About the Book
Jilted by a fortune hunter, cowgirl Cassidy McClare is a spunky Texas oil heiress without a fortune who would just as soon hogtie a man as look at him. Hoping a summer visit with her wealthy cousins in San Francisco will help her forget her heartache, Cassidy travels west. But no sooner is she settled in beautiful California than Jamie McKenna, a handsome pauper looking to marry well, captures her heart. When Jamie discovers the woman he loves is poorer than he is, Cassidy finds herself bucked by love a second time. Will Jamie discover that money can't buy love after all? And can Cassidy ever learn to fully trust her heart to a man?
With delectable descriptions and a romantic sensibility, bestselling author Julie Lessman brings the Gilded Age to life in this sumptuous new series. Readers will faithfully follow Lessman to the West Coast for more romance, passion, and surprising revelations found in Love at Any Cost.

My Thoughts
After adoring the O'Conners I was slightly worried as to how much I would like this new series. I shouldn't have worried though since I ended up loving it! I loved the McClares from the get go and I can tell I'm going to love reading all of their stories!
Cassie was such a fun heroine! I loved her spunk and down to earth ways! I also loved how wow she was sweet and fun when she wanted she could be tough and no nonsense when needed! And another favorite thing about her was how strong her faith was and how she refused to lower her standards! I felt so bad for her with all the pain she went through but I was greatly impressed by how strong she stayed through it all!
Jamie was great too! Though I was a little annoyed with how he wanted to marry rich I did understand where he was coming from since he wasn't thinking just about himself but rather about his mother and sister. I really admired his love and care for his family and how dedicated he was to making a better life for them. I also really liked the fact that he held himself to a pretty high standard when it came to drinking and women. It was really cool to watch as he learned to give God the control and trust in Him rather than doing everything himself.
As I said I loved the rest of the McClares as well, from kind and motherly Caitlyn, to stubborn rogue Uncle Logan, and Cassie's cousins Blake, Allison, Meg, and Maddie. I also really liked Bram (side note: I love that as a nickname for Abraham!) with his quiet faith and his friendship with Jamie. And then there were Hadley, the old butler with the bad hearing, Rosie, the gruff but sweet housekeeper/nanny, and Miss Behave, the parrot that they taught to say funny things, all of whom I loved.
So suffice it to say I thoroughly loved this first book of Julie's new series and I can't wait to read more!

Meet the Author
Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of "Passion With a Purpose" underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. Winner of the 2009 ACFW Debut Author of the Year and Holt Medallion Awards of Merit for Best First Book and Long Inspirational, Julie is also the recipient of 14 Romance Writers of America awards and was voted by readers as "Borders Best of 2009 So Far: Your Favorite Fiction." Chosen as the #1 Romance Fiction Author of the Year in the Family Fiction magazine 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie was also awarded #1 Historical Fiction Author of the Year in that same poll and #3 Author of the Year, #4 Novel of the Year and #3 Series of the year. She resides in Missouri with her husband, daughter, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter and is the author of "The Daughters of Boston" series--A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied. Book 1 in her "Winds of Change" series A Hope Undaunted ranked #5 on Booklist's Top 10 Inspirational Fiction for 2010. You can contact Julie through her website at www.julielessman.com
P.S. She's just an all around amazing person!

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28 comments:

  1. Money - big topic in our culture. I am eager to know how is Julie´s take on this !

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  2. Janka-Money is a rather big topic today and in the past and I think Julie handled it excellently!

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  3. Another great review, Abbi! I was excited to dive into this series when I first read LAAC, and knew that Julie would be able to get me to fall in love with her characters once more. I thought that she handled the situations so well, and I loved the sparring that went on between Cassidy and Jamie. They were so much fun! And of course, the side characters were amazing... I can't wait to read about Allison!

    lubell1106(at)gmail(dot)com

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  4. Another great review!! So looking forward to reading this book! :)

    bookworm9404(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. I have this book and it's now moving up to the top of my to-read pile! Too many books, too little time :)

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  6. Elyssa-Thanks! Yeah I knew Julie would make me love her new cast of characters and she definitely did! She handled the situations with her amazing skill and I too loved the sparring! I just started Allison's book and it's amazing!

    Micaela-Thanks! It's so good!

    Heidi-It is definitely one you'll want to get to soon!

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  7. Anonymous1:46 PM

    I love this book by Ms. Lessman! I loved Cassie! How she stood up for herself and was very down to Earth, country girl. Jamie was a good hero, though I agree with you about his fortune hunting. It was rather annoying.
    You need to quit reading my mind! I'm going to have a terrible time coming up with a review as good as yours! lol :)
    ~Sarah

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  8. Sarah-Haha! Thank you! Though I'm sure your reviews will be great as well!

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  9. Bonnie Roof2:25 PM

    Thanks for the great review, Abbi!

    I am in a reading marathon of Julie's books - but haven't started the San Fran series yet. Like you, I am hesitant to leave the O'Connor family behind - but know that I can always re-read the series, new books about the O'Connor's will be coming out, and I trust Julie to thoroughly entertain, and inspire, me - no matter what family, and locale she uses!! She is a master at bringing her characters to life for her readers to enjoy!!!! And she should be able to handle comedy in her books very well, as she is SO funny, joyful, and full-of-life herself!! The twists she always puts in her books, are compelling enough to entice me to read her books, and the inspiration, redemption, and happy endings - always keep me coming back for more!!

    I am ABSOLUTELY sure I will love the McClare family, also!!!!

    bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. Oh, Abs ... I am SO glad you like the McClares too!! You weren't the only one who was worried the O'Connors would be a hard act to follow. Which is one of the reasons I went to great lengths to make these two family sagas so different -- different coasts, time periods, families, social cultures and books that were shorter, less complicated, funnier, lighter and more linear with less subplots. A total departure from the O'Connors, so I was anxious to see what people thought. THANK YOU for your wonderful review -- excellent as always!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  11. Bonnie-You're welcome-thank you! Julie is amazing, isn't she?! I hope you love the McClare's-I'm sure you will!

    Julie-I knew I would! Even though I was sad to end the O'Conner Saga, I knew your new series would be amazing! You did a great job if making them different yet keeping many of the aspects we love about your books! You're so very welcome and THANK YOU for such amazing books that I can't help but gush about!

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  12. Great review! I have this book an am definitely looking forward to reading it!

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  13. I really want to read this! I've only read A Light in the Window by Julie (which I loved) but I hope to read more of her books soon :)

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  14. I love the McClare's! I really enjoyed Love At Any Cost. Loved Cassie of course. Jamie required some getting used to. But once he got the "getting a rich wife" out of his mind then he was a good guy ;)

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  15. Jasmine-Thank you! I hope you read it soon and love it!

    Jillian-They are amazing and well worth the read! I hope you get to read them soon!

    Julie-I agree with everything in your comment!

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  16. Shellie5:13 PM

    As a Texas girl, I know I will love this one! Already a fan of Julie's books.

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  17. Shellie-If you love her other books then you will definitely love this one!

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  18. An oil-heiress with no fortune? Now you've got me wondering what happened! ;)

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  19. Girl, we think just alike. You should check out my blog and my reviews for all these books at: http://kissedbooks.blogspot.com/

    I was slightly hesitant to this new family as well, but I am reading Dare to Love Again right now because Love at Any Cost dug down deep into my soul like all the rest. I wish that these books were a little longer so we could get more sub-plots with the rest of the family like with the O'Conners, but other than that it is just as good!

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  20. Thea C.6:37 PM

    I am ashamed to say I have yet read to this book. It is on my wish list but the opportunity to get it hasn't been available. I am a little sad that I am leaving the O'Conner family but I am excited at the chance to jump into a new book with completely new characters. Reading this review has heightened my excitement to read Love at Any Cost!!

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  21. LadySaotome-Hopefully enough to pick up a copy!!

    Salyna-I'm reading DTLA as well! I agree with you about wishing for more subplots, but since she had to shorten her books it's a lot harder to fit that in!

    Thea-It took me a little while to get it on my shelves too, but it was the first book I bought with my Christmas money! I had the same feelings and I'm glad my review has helped get you excited!

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  22. I have reviewed some of your books in the past. Also have one here yet to read and review. I love your books.
    jrs362 at Hotmail dot com - Jane

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  23. I have not read this one yet but sure looks like Julie has a great character with this little lady, I hope this young man finds out money is not everything but Love is...
    thanks for sharing your comments and the books....
    Paula O(kyflo130@yahoo.com)

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  24. Jane-Her books are great-aren't they?! I'm glad you've enjoyed them!

    Pol-Cassie is a great character and I hope you get to meet her and the rest of the family soon!

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  25. Lady DragonKeeper2:45 AM

    It was a great start to a new series! I don't think the shorter book length impacted the storyline until I finished --then I wished it was longer so I could keep reading about this great new cast of characters! It'll be interesting to see Caitlyn and Logan's relationship play out (I'm assuming) over the course of this trilogy. =)

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  26. Lady DragonKeeper-Haha I felt the same way! Yeah their relationship looks like it'll last through the series!

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  27. Hmm, I love it when I find a book that has a character in it who shares my name! It's always fun to see if the character has a personality similar to mine or if hers is totally different. Weird, I know! :D
    Anyhoo, great review, Abbi!
    Makes me wanna read this one at some point! :)

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  28. Caitlyn-I do the same thing! Thank you! I hope you get the chance to!

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