Love at Any Cost

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He’s looking to take care of his family.  She’s looking to take care of her heart. 
Trouble is…love’s looking to take care of them both.

 

Cassidy McClare is a spunky Texas oil heiress without a fortune who would just as soon hogtie a man as look at him.  Jilted by a fortune hunter, Cassidy travels west hoping a summer visit with her wealthy cousins in San Francisco will help her forget her heartache.  But no sooner is she settled in beautiful California than Jamie McKenna, a handsome pauper looking to marry well, captures her heart.  Can love prevail when Jamie discovers that Cassidy is poorer than he is?  And can Cassidy ever learn to fully trust her heart to a man?

 

Review

 

My sister has been bugging me for a long time now to read a Julie Lessman book, praising Lessman’s writing to the ninth degree, as if her words were absolutely golden.  She owns Julie’s first series, “Daughters of Boston”.  The little minx even “stole” this book from me and devoured it before I had a chance to read one word.  I just haven’t had the opportunity until now to read one of Ms. Lessman’s creations, and now, I wish I hadn’t waited so long.

 

I really don’t have anything bad to say about this novel!  It had all the right elements: passionate (but CLEAN) romance, fantastic dialogue with a wonderful story, and chock full of interesting characters.  It was one of those hard-to-put-down-just-one-more-chapter kind of book.  If you’ve never read a Julie Lessman book, you’re definitely missing out.  Needless to say, I think I will be “borrowing” some particular books from my sister’s collection in the near future...

 

 

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Taylor's Gift

 

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It was the last run of their first day on the slopes, the beginning of another great family vacation for Todd and Tara Storch and their three children.  But when thirteen-year-old Taylor`s life was tragically cut short in a skiing accident, the Storches were overcome by the devastating loss of their daughter.  Still in shock, they were asked a question no parents ever think they will hear: “Would you  be willing to donate Taylor’s organs?”

 

Their answer would change their family’s lives forever and provide comfort during their darkest moments.  It would also save the lives of five desperate people anxiously waiting for a heart, a liver, a cornea, a pancreas, and a kidney.

 

Review

 

Taylor’s Gift is a heart-rending, and at times difficult, book to read.  It is a true story of a family grappling with the terrible loss of their daughter, sister, at the young age of 13 years old.  They say one of the greatest losses is that of a child, and no parent should ever have to bury their child.  But the Storches had to do the unthinkable. 

 

It is hard to believe that there could be any good that comes from the death of a thirteen year old girl, brimming with life and happiness, and who brought joy to every life she touched.  But as God promises “all things will work together for good to those that love God and those who are the called according to His purpose”, through the Storches’ loss, heartbreak, and emptiness, emerges a story of hope, healing, and even life.  One of Taylor’s dreams was to help people, and through her passing, she was able to help five different individuals with different health concerns – some of them would have been terminal without the gifts Taylor gave them. 

 

Taylor never knew how big of an impact she would leave.  Through her, lives were changed.  It was this that gave the Storches strength and healing through this horrific tragedy.  Knowing that their daughter’s passing saved lives and made lives better helped them.  It also sprung a new organ donation foundation that in and of itself has been saving even more lives. 

 

Full of raw emotion, Taylor’s Gift will undoubtedly leave an impression on every heart who reads this story.  It was encouraging to see a family pull together to lean on God first, and then each other, and then change an awful tragedy around to work good from it.  The Storches have my highest respect and I can only pray that God will continue to bless the work they are doing, and more awareness is raised for organ donation.  Please be sure to look into organ donation – you could save a life.

 

 

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.