A HEART REVEALED by JULIE LESSMAN (Winds of Change Book 2)

Oh, the romance that I found as I opened this lovely book. Be still my heart. This book holds such beautiful characters all weaving them into a place of renewed peace. Emma Malloy is one of those unforgettable characters. She is that woman with a past that holds regret. She wants love, but with her past it will be difficult for her to ever trust again. She is such a sweet spirit and a woman of virtue. Although her character went through such heartache in 1919, it is a pain we can relate to today. She is holding much fear from the past, but we get to watch healing wash over her. I say fear, because it is that deep emotion of losing control and having another bring such deep pain that the scars last forever.

Sean O'Connor is that young man that all girls are attracted to. He has everything going for him, except one thing. He is battling a rage that he didn't even know was there. His character shows us that we must face our demons head on. Sean has one love and that is, Emma. We watch these two characters battle many things as they are always uplifting others. I found this very poignant. We try to hide our own pain at times by reaching out to others. But we too must find healing through revealing our true heart and that is exactly what they do.

So many wonderful characters come together once again here in book two. They are a combination of married couples and single folks all searching for the same thing. Love and acceptance. Isn't that what we are all after? We see true romance here as the love of God washes over these characters as they are refined by the fire they must walk through. I love this story because we get to glimpse the imperfectness of the characters. We witness their journey forward as they try to let go of yesterday. It's not always easy, but in faith we trust the Lord to lead us into that place where we feel complete in Him.

Once opening this book to the first page I couldn't put it down. Julie pulls the reader into the story through these deep characters that inspire us to take a look inside our own heart and lay down our past as we accept the present with grace and joy.

This book was a gift from Revell for it's review.

Julie Lessman is the popular author of A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied, as well as A Hope Undaunted, which was one of 2010's Booklist Top Ten Inspirational Fiction winners. Lessman has garnered several writing awards, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She lives in Missouri.